Cyworld to restart service

Cyworld, South Korea’s first-generation social media platform from the early 2000s, will restart its service next month, according to local industry sources on Tuesday. Cyworld has been recently acquired by a consortium of five local entertainment firms. Cyworld Z, an entity established by the five to take over Cyworld, said that the company plans to bring back the Cyworld service in March after two weeks of beta testing. It plans to introduce a mobile version of the social network dur

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2021

Korean shipbuilders forecast to suffer decline in 2nd half order backlogs

South Korean shipbuilders, led by top player Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., are expected to undergo a temporary shortage of order backlogs in the second half of the year due to a decline in new orders last year, an industry watcher said Tuesday. "A temporary shortage of work is predicted to take place in the second half of the year, as new orders of ships last year, which are slated to be delivered by 2022, were very deficient, " Yang Jong-seo, a researcher at the Korea Eximbank Overse

IndustryFeb. 2, 2021

BOK board members wary of risks from asset rally: minutes

Most members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board voiced concerns about risks from a rally in the nation's stock and housing markets, citing financial imbalances caused by a flood of liquidity and cheap loans, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Jan. 15, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Holding fire on the

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Tension lingers among Korean firms in Myanmar in wake of military coup

As Myanmar deals with the aftermath of the latest military coup, South Korean businesses operating there are promptly following through with contingency measures, seeking to ensure the safety of their workers and their families and also to minimize the anticipated disruption to major ongoing projects. Likely to take the most visible impact are players in the energy and trading sectors, especially those that have expanded investments into landmark development projects in recent years. Accordin

IndustryFeb. 2, 2021

Myanmar’s military coup rattles S. Korean banks’ ASEAN biz plans

South Korean banks have ordered their employees in Myammar to stay at home and launched emergency safety measures, as of Tuesday, upon the news of the military having taken control of the ASEAN nation in a coup. The coup is expected to put a damper on the lenders’ plans this year to expand their presence in the ASEAN economies, to recover from blows dealt by the coronavirus pandemic. For local banks this year, Myanmar was supposed to work as a springboard for recovery from coronavirus

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Samsung Electronics among world's 50 most admired firms

Samsung Electronics has regained a spot on the Fortune list of the world’s 50 most admired companies, according to the survey published by the US economic magazine on Monday. The tech behemoth this year ranked 49th, becoming the only South Korean company to make the top 50 this year. Samsung Electronics this year received 7.56 points, slightly up from 7.50 a year earlier. Samsung Electronics marked top scores in five evaluation categories, including innovation, global competitiveness

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2021

Fear on Korean version of GameStop looms

Tension in South Korea’s financial market escalated Tuesday over groups of retail investors vowing to defend themselves in battles with short sellers here if the government moves to lift a temporary ban on the negative betting system next month. The Korea Stockholders Alliance, which represents around 22,000 retail investors, has launched a monthlong protest, threatening to wage an all-out war against short sellers, claiming that foreign and institutional investors benefit the most while

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Seoul has fastest 5G network speeds: report

Seoul boasts the world’s fastest 5G network services, according to a broadband speed test conducted with iPhone 12 devices. According to Ookla’s speed test data published last month, Seoul ranked first with a median download speed of 472.28 megabits per second, followed by Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh, Sydney and Helsinki. Seoul had the fastest upload speed, reaching 49.09 megabits per second, the data also showed. Ookla’s report noted that

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2021

[News Focus] From yoga pants to electric cars, Hyosung gets a boost in materials business

South Korean textile and chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group is gaining a double boost from the prolonged pandemic and the global transition to electric and hydrogen vehicles. Hyosung TNC, the fiber production unit of Hyosung Group and the world’s No. 1 spandex producer by capacity, is witnessing a surge in spandex sales as more people choose to work and exercise at home. “Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people are spending more time at home, for telecommuting for instance, and th

IndustryFeb. 2, 2021

Naver doles out hefty bonuses to executives

Naver gave out hefty stock bonuses to its 98 executives worth a combined 3.1 billion won ($2.78 million), the company said Tuesday, after the tech giant raked in record-high profits last year. CEO Han Seong-sook received 1,000 treasury stocks of the firm, amounting to 355 million won based on Thursday’s closing price of 355,000 won apiece. Chief Operating Officer Choi In-hyuk, Chief Communications Officer Chae Sun-joo and Chief Financial Officer Park Sang-jin received 700 shares each,

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day amid US rallies, eased China concerns

South Korean stocks advanced for the second straight day Tuesday to finish just short of the 3,100-point mark in tandem with global stock rallies and eased concerns over China's liquidity squeeze. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 40.28 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 3,096.81 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 874 million shares worth around 18.9 trillion won ($16.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Delivery app Yogiyo in legal battle over price guarantee policy

Delivery Hero Korea, the Germany-based company behind major food delivery app Yogiyo, is facing a court battle ahead of the planned sale of its stake in the app. South Korean prosecutors last week indicted DH Korea under the country’s monopoly regulation and fair trade act, accusing it of having coerced restaurants to offer lower prices on the Yogiyo platform than on competing platforms, according to the legal circle on Monday. It is alleged that between July 2013 and December 2016 the

ConsumerFeb. 2, 2021

Average jeonse price sets new high in greater Seoul

Soaring prices for jeonse, a two-year housing lease that requires a lump sum deposit, have been putting a financial burden on tenants despite the government‘s protection measure that extends contract periods by two more years with a price cap, data showed Tuesday. According to KB Kookmin Bank, the average jeonse price in the greater Seoul area in January exceeded 400 million won ($358,710) for the first time since the bank started to collect relevant data in June 2011. It took only fi

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Korean sovereign wealth fund takes W23.7tr in investment return

Korea Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund owned by the South Korean government, said Tuesday that it earned 23.7 trillion won ($21.8 billion) from investment last year despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The whopping 23.7 trillion-won profit amounts to 4.6 percent of the government’s budget last year, standing at 513 trillion won, and 1.8 times higher than the amount of corporate tax tech giant Samsung Electronics paid in 2019, at 13.2 trillion won. The KCI’s ret

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

Kakao Bank to target loan market for low credit borrowers

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s second internet-only lender, will expand loans for those with low to moderate credit scores and make a foray into the business loan area within the year, the company’s CEO said on Tuesday. Yoon Ho-young, CEO of the lender, told reporters that loans for the low- and mid-credit borrowers will be “significantly” increased from last year’s 1.38 trillion won ($1.24 billion). The size and interest rates for such loans will be dependent on the m

MarketFeb. 2, 2021

[Feature] Evolving cosmetics: science in facial care

At-home skin care is evolving more than ever as facial creams are getting borderline therapeutic. An increasing number of pharmaceutical firms are branching out into the cosmetics business, aiming to apply therapeutic science, such as stem cell, probiotics and microbiome, to help treat skin trouble and aging. For biotechs, it is a way of making use of their factory production lines that can double as a cosmetics manufacturing site when operation rate is low and to secure cash flows during the

IndustryFeb. 2, 2021

Govt. launches review of details about more pandemic emergency handouts

The finance ministry on Tuesday launched a review over how to draw up a fourth round of emergency handouts designed to help people cope with economic slumps caused by the pandemic. South Korea is likely to seek to draw up an extra budget to provide more pandemic relief funds in March or April to assist merchants and businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since last year, the country has drawn up three rounds of emergency relief funds totaling 31.4 trillion won ($28.1 billion), including

EconomyFeb. 2, 2021

Hyundai Capital floats $600m in green bonds

Hyundai Capital Services Inc., South Korea's leading auto finance company, said Tuesday that its has issued global green bonds worth $600 million. The five-year bonds, which were sold to overseas investors, carry an annual interest rate of 1.25 percent, or the yield on five-year US Treasurys plus a spread of 92.5 basis points. The interest rate is 37.5 basis points lower than the guidance rate and the lowest-ever rate that Hyundai Capital has offered to offshore investors. Hyundai Capital sai

IndustryFeb. 2, 2021

Mercedes-Benz Korea seeks cancellation of hefty fine for manipulating emissions

Mercedes-Benz Korea has requested a Seoul court cancel a multibillion-won fine imposed on the company for manipulating diesel emissions in the country, judicial sources said Tuesday. The German carmaker filed a lawsuit against the environment ministry in October with the Seoul Administrative Court, seeking the cancellation of a 77.6 billion-won ($69.3 million) fine over its emission manipulation, the sources said. Details on the upcoming hearing schedules have yet to be disclosed. As for the

MobilityFeb. 2, 2021

S. Korea to spend nearly W3tr for overhead cable maintenance

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it will invest 2.85 trillion won ($2.55 billion) until 2025 for the maintenance and replacement of aged and messy overhead electrical and telecommunications cables across the country. Over five years, the ministry plans to spend 1.4 trillion won for cable maintenance, while investing 1.45 trillion won to put them underground, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The move comes after the country spent 2.6 trillion won for cable maintenance in aro

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2021