Hyundai E&C shifts to Q4 loss on FX losses

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major South Korean builder, said Friday it shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter from a year earlier due to currency-related losses. For the three months that ended in December, Hyundai E&C swung to a net loss of 122 billion won ($110.6 million) from a net profit of 6.9 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said the US dollar's strength against the won mainly contributed to the l

IndustryJan. 22, 2021

Korean Air to up stock sale to W3.3tr for Asiana acquisition

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it will raise a higher than previously planned amount by selling stocks for its planned acquisition of smaller rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air plans to sell 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) worth of new stocks, which is higher than the originally planned 2.5 trillion won to finance the acquisition of debt-laden Asiana, due to its soaring stock price, the company said in a regulatory filing. The national flag carrier plans to i

IndustryJan. 22, 2021

S. Korea to launch mid-sized observation satellite in March

South Korea’s ICT Ministry said Friday it has dispatched the country’s new mid-sized satellite to Kazakhstan for a March launch. The 500-kilogram low Earth orbit satellite will arrive at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday, where it will go through a series of steps before the March 20 launch, according to the ministry. From there, the mid-sized satellite will be flown into a 500-kilometer-high orbit by a Russian Soyuz rocket. When in orbit, the satellite, which is

TechnologyJan. 22, 2021

Online platform operators to face stern measures over unfair biz practices: regulator

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Friday it will seek to take punitive actions against unfair business activity by online platform operators in a bid to protect contractors and consumers. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) plans to submit a bill designed to prevent unfair business activity by online platform operators to the National Assembly next week, the regulator said in its 2021 policy plan. Under the bill, online platform operators will be levied with a hefty fine if they conduc

IndustryJan. 22, 2021

At least 5 ships to be deployed to address soaring freight rates

South Korea said Friday it plans to deploy at least five vessels by the end of February to support exporters facing troubles from a hike in freight costs amid soaring demand. Under the plan, HMM Co., the country's leading shipper, will operate a ship with a capacity of 4,600 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) on the American route in January, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. TEU is a measure used for the capacity of container transportation. SM Line Corp., another loca

IndustryJan. 22, 2021

Korean investors hold $7.8b of Tesla stocks

South Korean investors held a combined $7.8 billion worth of Tesla stocks at the end of last year, data showed Friday, capping off a meteoric rise in 2020 to become Korea’s most-owned foreign stock. This accounted for 16.6 percent of the entire $47 billion foreign currency-denominated stock holdings of Korean individuals and corporations as of December, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Tesla was not among the top 10 foreign stocks in 2019. Alongside Tesla, US tech

MarketJan. 22, 2021

T-Money ups ‘untact’ efforts with facial recognition plans

Public transportation in urban cities has been one of the central places of anxiety and fear amidst the COVID-19 era, since physical contact with other people is unavoidable, especially during rush hours. Korea Smart Card says it is trying to reduce these concerns with a “face recognition payment system” that eliminates the need to tap in with a card or a phone. This pilot scheme of instant tag-less payment introduces a safer and more efficient non-contact payment method, it said.

TechnologyJan. 22, 2021

Samsung stands to benefit from Intel’s chip outsourcing plan

Samsung Electronics stands to benefit from US tech giant Intel’s chip outsourcing plan, industry sources said Friday. Intel’s incoming CEO Pat Gelsinger said during an earnings call Thursday that the company is likely to increase use of outside chip factories “for certain technologies and products.” The CEO’s remarks came after a news report that Samsung had bagged an order to produce Intel’s Southbridge chipset, one of two controlling chips in the core lo

TechnologyJan. 22, 2021

Over 4,000 training equipment accidents reported each year, consumer watchdog says

Amid social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have turned to home training instead of going to the gym. But working out at home with training equipment should be handled with care, the Korean Consumer Agency (KCA) says. Over 4,000 accidents related to training equipment have been reported across the country every year since 2015, according to the annual data from the KCA’s Consumer Injury Surveillance System. The number of injury reports has increased stea

TechnologyJan. 22, 2021

S. Korea sets official tariff on rice at 513%

South Korea said Friday it has officially set its tariff on imported rice exceeding a quota at 513 percent, ending its yearslong tariffication process for the nation's key staple grain. Under the measure, South Korea will slap a 513 percent tariff on imported rice for quantities outside a designated quota, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Quantities below the quota of 408,700 tons will be imposed with a tariff of 5 percent. The measure is aimed at providing on

EconomyJan. 22, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Friday on valuation pressure after they hit another new high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.34 point, or 0.01 percent, to 3,161.18 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.34 percent, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.76 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem moved down 0.3 percent, but rechargeable battery maker Samsung SDI advanced 1.21 percent. P

MarketJan. 22, 2021

S. Korean observation satellite heads to Kazakhstan for launch

South Korea's science ministry said Friday its new midsized satellite has started traveling to Kazakhstan for a launch this year as the country seeks to develop homegrown space technology. The 500-kilogram low Earth orbit satellite is scheduled to be launched into space on Russia's Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome on March 20, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Once in orbit, the satellite, equipped with an imaging sensor system developed by South Korean resea

TechnologyJan. 22, 2021

WTO rules in favor of S. Korea in lawsuit against US

South Korea's trade ministry said Friday that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of Seoul in its lawsuit against the United States centering on high tariffs imposed on local steel and power transformer products. Washington has been levying high tariffs on some South Korean products by applying the "adverse facts available" (AFA) provision since May 2016, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The provision allows extremely high anti-dumping and co

EconomyJan. 22, 2021

ULikeKorea, Sumitomo sign deal on Japanese pet care market

ULikeKorea on Thursday announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Sumitomo Corporation Korea to develop a health care tracker chip for pets in Japan. While existing microchip implants for dogs and cats reveal their identification serial numbers and can be used to trace lost animals back to their families, the proposed new product could enable real-time monitoring of an animal’s body temperature and activity levels through a mobile application. With this information, p

IndustryJan. 21, 2021

Gopizza achieves monthly sales of W100m in Singapore

Gopizza, a Korean pizza franchise specializing in single servings, saw sales break past SG$100,000 ($75,000) in Singapore in December, eight months after its first launch in the country, the company said Thursday. The pizza franchise tapped into the Singaporean market in April 2020, and has been seeing its monthly sales rise steadily, with an increase rate of 20 percent in average following the opening of new outlets, the company said. With December sales of SG$110,000, Gopizza attributed i

ConsumerJan. 21, 2021

Samyang Foods vows to focus on ESG program

Samyang Foods on Thursday unveiled a new corporate management vision that focuses on environment, society and improved corporate governance. The company, known globally for its popular Buldak Spicy Chicken noodles, said it plans to launch an audit committee and a compensation committee in March to actively promote transparency and environment-friendly values in business management. “This year, we will create social values by actively promoting ESG management,” Samyang Foods Pres

ConsumerJan. 21, 2021

Kyobo Life shareholder feud intensifies on unfulfilled IPO

A foreign investor group of South Korea-based Kyobo Life Insurance is in hot water as its plan to exit from the insurer faces a setback after an indictment of its officials, while its demand for an initial public offering by Kyobo Life since 2012 remains unfulfilled to this day. Key officials of the international investor group, led by Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, and Seoul-based accounting firm Deloitte Anjin have been indicted by Korean prosecutors for alleged

MarketJan. 21, 2021

Upbit launches digital currency exchange in Thailand

Upbit, a South Korean digital asset exchange, said Thursday that its Thailand unit was up and running after receiving the necessary licenses from regulators. The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission recently granted approval for Upbit Thailand in four business areas -- digital asset exchange and brokerage and digital token exchange and brokerage -- with Upbit Thailand being fully operational as of Wednesday, the company said. “It is a very exciting time for the digital asset indu

MarketJan. 21, 2021

Hanwha sets eyes on green hydrogen

Market turbulence brought on by the pandemic has left many companies in shambles. Some forward-looking corporations took the unease as an opportunity to reset and refocus, in order to emerge stronger in the post-pandemic era. For Hanwha Solutions, this was a prime time to invest. Aiming to dominate the global solar-to-hydrogen business, the Hanwha Group company announced last month a plan to raise 1.2 trillion won ($1.09 billion) through rights offering. The new share issue is part of the

IndustryJan. 21, 2021

LG Group chief is richest Korean under 50

Among South Korea’s rich stockholders aged under 50, LG Group Chairman Koo Gwang-mo ranks No.1 with an estimated stock value of 2.8 trillion won ($2.55 billion), industry data showed Thursday. Also, in the superrich group of those with stock assets worth more than 1 trillion won, two were chaebol heirs while the other two were self-made men in the up-and-coming entertainment and game industries -- reflecting the market changes over recent years. The number of those under 50 and with s

IndustryJan. 21, 2021