Power generators to bleed W1.3tr in 2021 due to anti-coal drive

South Korea’s state power companies are projected to register 1.3 trillion won ($1.17 billion) in combined losses this year due to the nation’s anti-coal drive and low electricity prices. According to budget plans submitted by five subsidiaries of Korea Power Corp. on Tuesday, the Korea South-East Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Southern Power, Korea East-West Power and Korea Western Power are expected to record net losses of between 230.8 billion won and 350 billion won. The b

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Korean defense industry set to enjoy robust 2021

South Korean defense companies enjoyed a solid performance last year despite complications from the pandemic and are expected to continue their momentum this year, according to market tracker FnGuide on Tuesday. Last year, five major local defense firms -- Hanwha Aerospace, LIG Nex1, Korea Aerospace Industries, Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Systems -- were estimated to have logged sales similar or slightly lower than those of a year prior, as the coronavirus prevented them from landing new contra

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Hyundai Motor marks 41% growth in Q4 profits

Hyundai Motor saw its operating profit soar by over 40 percent in the fourth quarter last year despite the COVID-19 market fallout, on the back of new product launches and robust domestic sales, the company said Tuesday. The carmaker achieved 1.64 trillion won ($1.49 billion) in operating profit from October to December last year, up 40.9 percent from the 1.24 trillion won a year earlier. Sales for the given period stood at 29.24 trillion won, up 5.1 percent on-year. The overall yearly figur

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Hyundai’s Kona EV investigated for catching fire after recall

The Transport Ministry will investigate the cause of a fire involving a recalled unit of Hyundai’s Kona electric vehicle, as well as the propriety of the car maker’s recall measures, the ministry said Tuesday. On Saturday, a Kona EV caught on fire for an unknown reason, while it was charging in a public charging station in Daegu. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the car had been recalled by the automaker. It decided the car should be investigated b

MobilityJan. 26, 2021

Pfizer says supply reduction temporary, won't affect Korea

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine’s temporary supply reduction in Europe has sparked worries for a possible delay in shipments here, but Pfizer Korea said Tuesday that Korea will suffer no such setback. “For the doses Pfizer Korea has signed with the South Korean government, there appears to be no problem with the supply,” a Pfizer Korea official told The Korea Herald. Pfizer and BioNTech announced via press release dated Jan. 15, that the companies have decided to scale-up the manufa

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Seoul stocks slump over 2% on profit-taking

South Korean stocks dropped more than 2 percent Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors sought to cash in profits after the key stock index hit its all-time high the previous session. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 68.68 points, or 2.14 percent, to close at 3,140.31 points. Trading volume was high at about 860 million shares worth some 21.6 trillion won ($19.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 639 to 239.

MarketJan. 26, 2021

Hyundai Heavy Industries to go public on Korean stock market this year

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's leading shipbuilder, said Tuesday it will raise 1 trillion won ($907 million) by listing its shares on the main bourse this year for its environment-friendly business. Hyundai Heavy said it will issue new shares equivalent to a 20 percent stake in the company to finance its eco-friendly business projects following the initial public offering on the Korea Exchange within this year. The shipbuilder said it plans to use the proceeds from the new share s

MarketJan. 26, 2021

Samsung BioLogics 2020 net profit up 18.8% on increased sales

Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, said Tuesday its net income increased 18.8 percent on-year in 2020 on the back of improved factory utilization and increased sales. The company's net profit reached 241 billion won ($217.8 million) in 2020, compared with a net income of 203 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income reached 292.8 billion won last year, compared with 91.7 billion a year earlier

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Samsung Biologics Q4 net income down 54.3% to W96.2b

Samsung Biologics Co. on Tuesday reported its fourth-quarter net profit of 96.2 billion won ($87 million), down 54.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the October-December period fell 13.4 percent on-year to 92.6 billion won. Sales increased 19.8 percent to 375.3 billion won. (Yonhap)

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Korea’s economy shrinks 1% in 2020

South Korea’s economy shrank 1 percent in 2020 from the previous year, due to blows dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic, marking its first contraction since it was hit by the devastating 1997 Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago, the central bank said Tuesday. The 1 percent contraction in the country’s gross domestic product was slightly better than the Bank of Korea’s earlier projection of minus 1.1 percent in November, its advanced data showed. Yet, it was one of its

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

Samsung heir urges employees to keep Samsung going

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in another message from prison, asked the company’s executives and employees to carry on with planned investments. Samsung’s three CEOs -- Kim Ki-nam, Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk -- wrote on the company’s intranet, Samsung Knox, on behalf of Lee, conveying the heir’s message to the employees. “To my Samsung family, I regret that I have caused worries because of my shortcomings,” Lee said. “Samsung fac

TechnologyJan. 26, 2021

KRX chief to reform short-selling regulations for ordinary investors

The chief of South Korea’s sole bourse operator on Tuesday pledged to strengthen pre-to-post management of short-selling -- a strategy of borrowing, selling and repurchasing stocks to return them to the lender -- and reform unfair systems and practices on the matter. The nation’s financial watchdog previously announced it would be resuming short-selling from March 16, after first introducing a temporary ban in March last year, as the pandemic impact rattled the stock market. Local p

MarketJan. 26, 2021

Live commerce catches on as retailers focus on online shopping

South Korean retailers are rushing to tap the emerging new trend of live commerce, which combines streaming and e-commerce. Hyundai Home Shopping said on Monday it aims to reach 100 billion won ($90.5 million) in sales from its live commerce channel this year, after their latest data showed sales jumped fivefold last year. Sales generated from the company’s live commerce business in 2020 reached 28.5 billion won, up nearly 500 percent from 5 billion won in 2019, according to their latest

ConsumerJan. 26, 2021

Biz sentiment edges up for Feb. on eased uncertainty: poll

South Korea's business sentiment inched up for February from a month earlier on decreased economic uncertainty, a poll showed Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 96.6 for next month, up 4.9 points from January, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. KERI said the February confidence got a boost from

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Population mobility at 5-year high in 2020 amid rising housing transactions

The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country hit a five-year high last year as housing transactions increased amid rising home prices, data showed Tuesday. The number of people who changed their residences gained 8.9 percent on-year to 7.74 million in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest since 2015, when the number of such people came to 7.76 million. It also represented the fastest on-year increase since 1999. The populati

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

Bourse operator to boost consumer trust, short selling system: KRX chief

South Korea's bourse operator said Tuesday it is willing to raise financial consumers' trust by strengthening monitoring of suspicious trading transactions and improving short selling regulations. The increase in the number of investors has raised people's standard for the local market, requiring a higher level of protection and fairness, Korea Exchange (KRX) Chairman Sohn Byung-doo said in an online press conference held in Seoul. "We are open to hearing different voices to reasonably ov

MarketJan. 26, 2021

Imprisoned Samsung heir apologizes to employees, asks them to keep up their work

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, has expressed an apology to his employees following his imprisonment as he asked workers to maintain their work despite his absence, officials here said Tuesday. Lee was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was put behind bars again less than three years after he was allowed to walk free. In a me

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

7 steelmakers fined W300b over price collusion

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine seven steelmakers a combined 300 billion won ($272 million) for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers rigged prices and timing to buy the key material between 2010 and 2018, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). It marked the fourth-largest amount of fines levied by the regulator

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Imported commercial car sales fall 6.9% in 2020

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 6.9 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on lower demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 4,482 units last year from 4,812 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. KAIDA expects the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. Imported commercial ca

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

BMW Korea to spend W60b on logistics center

BMW Group Korea said Tuesday it will invest 60 billion won ($54 million) until 2023 in expanding its local logistics center. The logistics center in Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, will be able to accommodate about 18,000 vehicles, up from the current 11,000 with the expansion, the company said in a statement. BMW said it will continue to increase investment here to meet customers' demands and boost sales. The German carmaker said it will establish the infrastructure at the logistics center

IndustryJan. 26, 2021