Doosan Bobcat buys stake in US radar maker Ainstein

South Korea's small-sized construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Friday that it has bought a stake in US radar maker Ainstein. Doosan Bobcat did not reveal the vale of the deal, or how much stake it bought in the US company, citing a confidentiality agreement with the US firm. The stake purchase is a preemptive move to dominate the unmanned small-sized construction equipment market, which has been growing at a rapid pace, Doosan Bobcat said. Ainstein, based in Kansas, offers a fu

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

S. Korea to jack up support for electric, hydrogen cars

South Korea plans to increase budgetary support for the purchase of electric and hydrogen cars by around 30 percent this year in a bid to nurture the next-generation vehicle sector, the finance minister said Friday. The country has set the non-memory chip, bio-health and next-generation vehicle sectors as the "BIG 3" industries that it seeks to nurture for job creation and innovation-driven growth. As part of such efforts, the country will spend 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) to sup

EconomyJan. 8, 2021

LG Electronics teams up with Naver for remote learning service

LG Electronics Inc. on Friday said it has signed a partnership with South Korea's top internet portal operator Naver Corp. to enter the remote learning service business amid the pandemic. Under the deal, the two sides will develop a notebook dedicated to Naver's online education platform Whale Space. Tentatively named "Whalebook," it will be a cloud-optimized laptop powered Whale operating system (OS). The two tech firms also agreed to seek further business opportunities that can uti

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

Video streaming services focus on original content in S. Korea amid new competition

Video streaming services in South Korea are headed for heated competition this year as local media companies and global giants alike splurge on original content to take a solid position in the booming local market. Earlier this week, local media giant CJ ENM Co. said it is partnering with production company JTBC Studios to operate its over-the-top (OTT) service Tving. CJ ENM said the new joint venture will invest 400 billion won ($365.3 million) in production costs over the next three years in

TechnologyJan. 8, 2021

Hyundai Motor in talks with Apple to make Apple Car

Hyundai Motor Group confirmed Friday that it was in negotiations with Apple to manufacture an Apple Car. “The negotiations are in the early stages, but nothing has been decided, including whether Hyundai Motor will supply auto parts or manufacture the whole car,” a Hyundai Motor official said. Apple is said to be in talks with automakers, including Hyundai, to avoid the costs of developing battery technology and establishing production facilities. Hyundai Motor and sister comp

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

Samsung to unveil new Exynos mobile microprocessor next week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it will unveil a new mobile application processor (AP) next week that is expected to be used in the company's upcoming flagship smartphone. The South Korean tech giant confirmed its new Exynos chipset will be introduced at the Exynos On 2021 event on Tuesday, saying that the product "redefines the standard for premium mobile experiences." Industry observers believe Samsung's high-end Exynos 2100 processor will be introduced at the event. The latest

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea's wine imports hit new high in 2020 amid coronavirus outbreak

　South Korea’s wine imports soared to a record high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking and partying at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, government data showed. 　South Korea imported $239 million worth of wine in the January-November period last year, much higher than the $204 million for all of 2019, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. 　If the December numbers are included, last year's value of wine imports will far exceed the previous year’s tally. (Y

BusinessJan. 8, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains over global recovery hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 53.49 points, or 1.76 percent, to 3,085.17 in the first 20 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start, led by chemical and auto gains. The gains were largely attributed to speculations that the upcoming US administration would increase stimulus and spending. Samsung Electronics added 1.93 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK

MarketJan. 8, 2021

Samsung expects solid Q4 performance on chip, display biz

Samsung Electronics Co. on Friday forecast solid fourth-quarter earnings as its cash cow chip business apparently stayed afloat in the face of the weakness of the US dollar and the resurgence of novel coronavirus infections to cover mediocre performance in its mobile business. In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its operating profit at 9 trillion won ($8.2 billion) for the October-December period in 2020, up 25.7 percent from a year ago. The fourth-quarter operating

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

Shares of battery makers flying high on growth optimism

South Korea's three battery makers have been on a roll as investors swoop on them amid growing optimism for their future growth, industry sources said Friday. LG Chem Ltd, the parent of LG Energy Solution Ltd.; Samsung SDI Co; and SK Innovation Co. finished at record highs on the Seoul bourse Thursday amid expectations that eco-friendly policies across the global will increase demand for electric vehicles, powering their growth down the road. LG Energy Solution, which spun off from LG Chem in

IndustryJan. 8, 2021

S. Korea's current account surplus narrows in November

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed on month in November last year, mainly due to a decline in investment income, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $8.97 billion in November, narrowing from a surplus of $11.66 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on falte

EconomyJan. 8, 2021

Market cap of S. Korea’s top 100 firms climbs near 80% in 5 years

The combined market cap of the top 100 South Korean companies reached a record high of 1,745 trillion won ($1.6 trillion) this year, up 77.5 percent from 983 trillion won in 2016, data showed Thursday. According to a report by local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute, the combined market cap of local firms as of Jan. 1 jumped 43.1 percent on-year, or 526 trillion won. The corresponding figures were those observed on the first day of each year at the bourse operator Korea Exchange. Samsun

IndustryJan. 7, 2021

SKT reshuffles AI division, pushes digital transformation

SK Telecom has relocated its artificial intelligence service division under the company’s main business that operates mobile networks and information technology solutions, in a gesture to add full momentum to digital innovation, the company said Thursday. “The latest corporate reshuffle has reflected SKT CEO Park Jung-ho’s will to marry AI technology with the company‘s all mobile network services and solutions,” SKT explained. The AI service division -- AI&CO

TechnologyJan. 7, 2021

Kospi closes at fresh record high above 3,000

After South Korea’s benchmark Kospi hit the historic 3,000 mark a day before, the bull market continued unabated Thursday as it set a fresh record thanks to foreign and institutional investors who turned to net buyers. The Kospi began at 2,980.75 in the morning, up 12.54 points or 0.42 percent from the previous session’s close. Within a minute of the market opening, it soon recovered to 3,000 points and then rose to its fresh high of 3,055.28 during intraday trading. Fueled by in

MarketJan. 7, 2021

Homeplus CEO resigns after 3 years

Homeplus CEO Lim Il-soon intends to resign after leading the hypermarket chain for three years, the company said Thursday. Lim, the first female CEO in the industry, told the company last year that she wished to resign for personal reasons, and the company recently accepted her resignation. Since she was appointed to lead the retail giant in October 2017, Lim has been responsible for many industry firsts, Homeplus said. In 2019 Lim decided to convert some 15,000 contract employees to f

ConsumerJan. 7, 2021

Controversial workplace disaster bill reaches final step

The National Assembly‘s legislation subcommittee on Thursday passed the controversial bill on punishing owners of businesses in cases of workplace disasters. The bill will be voted on at the plenary session on Friday to be enacted. The legislation, spearheaded by the progressive minor Justice Party, aims to curb recurring deaths of workers by upping criminal punishment for business owners and CEOs if they are found to have neglected safety measures. The bill, heavily protested by busine

IndustryJan. 7, 2021

Starbucks Korea rolls out limited Playmobil figurines

Starbucks Coffee Korea on Thursday launched a set of limited edition Playmobil toy figurines, hoping to re-create the successes of their previous merchandise collections. Customers can get one of six tall-size beverages with an accompanying Playmobil figure for 12,000 won. In collaboration with the famed German toymaker, the coffee chain will release a total of eight different Playmobil figurines this month, while the drink and toy combo -- named the Buddy set -- will end on Feb. 3. The fir

ConsumerJan. 7, 2021

[News Focus] Korea ranks 26th of 32 OECD members in employment

SEJONG -- South Korea still fell short of major economies in the employment index as of the third quarter of last year, which was the latest available data. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea posted 65.7 percent in the employment rate for people aged between 15-64, deemed the working age population, in September 2020. While the OECD compared 32 members, Korea ranked 26th in the index. Of the total 37 members, the French-based organization had yet to

EconomyJan. 7, 2021

Korean venture capital E& leads merger of clinical stage biotech firms

E& Investment, a South Korean venture capital that specializes in the bio and health care sectors, said Thursday that NeuroBo Pharmaceutical, in which the company owns a 40 percent stake, had acquired a US COVID-19 treatment developer. NeuroBo, a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biotechnology company, on Dec. 31 acquired ANA Therapeutics, which is developing a treatment for COVID-19 that is currently in phase two and three clinical trials.  “This is an exciting and transformative

MarketJan. 7, 2021

One month ahead of vaccination, Korean syringe manufacturers face uncertainties

With a nationwide vaccination campaign scheduled for next month, South Korean manufacturers are looking ahead to the mass production of syringes. But challenges remain, as the government has yet to designate the type of syringes to be used. According to industry sources Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency recently made phone calls to domestic syringe makers regarding their production capacity and the types of syringes they can manufacture. “Despite the phone call

IndustryJan. 7, 2021