Bendable, high-definition displays gearing up for 2021

Displays that are interactive, transparent, bendable and emit sound are no longer the product of science fiction. In 2021, Korean display companies LG Display and Samsung Display are seeking to attract global clients with innovations in form factor and display performance, aiming to capitalize on the consumer electronics boom on the back of COVID-19.  One thing to note is the players, respectively known for their expertise in big displays and small displays -- LG for big organic light-em

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

Pandemic-hit oil refiners' losses estimated at W5tr in 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have come as a big draw on South Korean oil refiners last year as their low refining margins ate into their profitability, industry sources said Sunday. Whipsawed by weak oil prices and sluggish refining margins, industry leader SK Innovation Co. and three other players are projected to have posted a combined net loss of more than 5 trillion won ($4.6 billion) last year. The situation didn't improve much in the third quarter of last year despite rising dem

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

Top Afreeca TV streamer made W1.7m per hour in Dec.

AfreecaTV streamers reaped donations of worth 41 billion won ($37.6 million) in December, with the highest-earner recording 452 million won, equivalent to an hourly wage of 1.7 million won. According to Poong Today Sunday, which tracks donations made on the country’s most popular online streaming platform, viewers donated more than 380.5 million “star balloons” in total last month. On AfreecaTV, fans can send streamers bundles of star balloons, a digital currency that costs

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

Small shareholders' clout grows at Samsung

Holdings of small shareholders in the nation’s largest company, Samsung Electronics, grew to 6.5 percent in 2020, up from 3.6 percent at the end of 2019, data showed Sunday. The number of small stockholders is expected to have more than tripled from 568,313 to 2 million during the same period. Small shareholders refer to individual investors who have less than a 1 percent stake. The portion of Samsung shares held by retail traders in 2019 stood at 3.6 percent in end-2019 while domestic

MarketJan. 3, 2021

IBK to begin operation in Myanmar this month

The Industrial Bank of Korea said Sunday it will officially launch and operate a local subsidiary in Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar as early as this month, which marks its third overseas unit, following its operation in China and Indonesia.  Branded as IBK Bank Myanmar, its new overseas subsidiary was designed to handle various banking services, including corporate financing, personal financial management as well as foreign exchange business, officials said.  Through the newly

MarketJan. 3, 2021

S. Korea to invest nearly W6tr into science, ICT R&D in 2021

South Korea said Sunday it will spend 5.8 trillion won ($5.3 billion) on science and information and communication technology (ICT) research this year as the country fosters new tech industries under its digital New Deal drive and targets going carbon neutral. The earmarked amount is a 12 percent rise from 2020 and focuses on basic scientific research as well as new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 6G wireless networks. The ministry said it has set aside 1.8 trillion won

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

EV battery makers set to report robust Q4 results on strong demand

South Korea's three electric vehicle (EV) battery makers are expected to report robust or improved fourth-quarter earnings results on growing demand for electrified vehicles, analysts said Sunday. LG Energy Solutions Ltd., SK Innovation Co. and Samsung SDI Co. likely performed well in the October-December period as carmakers are adding more battery-powered models to their lineups due to emissions restrictions, they said. The three companies plan to release their business results for the fourth

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

Samsung Electronics Q4 earnings estimate cut on weak dollar, virus resurgence

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip maker, is expected to report a smaller-than-earlier operating income estimate due to the weakness of the US dollar, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, Samsung, also the world's largest smartphone vendor, is likely to report an operating income of 9.74 trillion won ($8.95 billion) during the fourth quarter of last year, up 36.8 percent from a year earlier. But the latest estimate is slightly lower than the 10.16 trill

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

S. Korea's antitrust watchdog tipped to complete review of Daewoo Shipbuilding-KSOE merger in Q1

South Korea's antitrust watchdog is likely to complete the review of the merger between two South Korean shipbuilding giants during the first quarter of the year, industry sources said Sunday, possibly paving the way for the creation of the world's largest shipyard. In March 2019, Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a deal to purchase a 55.72 percent stake in Daewoo Shipbuilding. The deal would lead to the creation of the world's biggest shipbuilder with a global market share of around 20 percent.

IndustryJan. 3, 2021

Contactless technology takes spotlight in post-virus era

Moon Seon-woong, a junior at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, began his winter semester on December 23 by opening his laptop at home instead of going to campus. “It is nothing new,” Moon told the Korea Herald in a phone interview. “I have been taking classes online all year since the beginning of the spring semester.” “As the coronavirus outbreak became worse, all lectures suddenly turned into online classes and I did not know what to do at first,” he said.

TechnologyJan. 2, 2021

Retailers urged to cut ties with Japan beauty firm DHC over racism scandal

Retailers around the world including Target and Superdrug face pressure to cut ties with DHC as the Japanese cosmetics company refuses to apologize for its CEO’s racially discriminatory remarks against Koreans. Activists have launched a campaign to boycott DHC products after CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida’s use of the term “Chon” -- a racial slur for Koreans -- came to light earlier this month. “By selling DHC products, they are supporting the business of an openly racist c

ConsumerJan. 2, 2021

Assignment left to solve in contactless era: digital divide

Living in a crowded urban city, one can realize in the daily routine that the proportion of “going digital” has drastically increased over the year -- waking up to use smartphones for running bank errands, standing in front of digital kiosks for takeout orders during lunchtime and ordering groceries online after sunset. The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us further to a society where non-face-to-face interactions are strongly recommended across different tasks to halt furt

TechnologyJan. 1, 2021

S. Korean stock market cap exceeds GDP

The ratio of the total market capitalization of listed firms on the benchmark Kospi to the nation’s gross domestic product hit an all-time high last year amid a retail stock fad, according to the Korea Exchange on Friday.  The Kospi market cap amounted to 1,980.5 trillion won ($1.82 trillion) as of Wednesday, the last trading day of 2020, hitting 104.2 percent of the year’s estimated nominal GDP of 1,900 trillion won, it said. The size of the stock market compared to the rea

BusinessJan. 1, 2021

S. Korea's exports fall 5.4% in 2020 on COVID-19 fallout

South Korea's exports decreased 5.4 percent in 2020 from the previous year amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday, but the decline was partially cushioned by the latest recovery in the outbound shipments of chips.  Outbound shipments came to $512.8 billion last year, and imports moved down 7.2 percent on-year to $467.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $45.6 billion in 2020, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the

EconomyJan. 1, 2021

[New Year Special] What will lead Korea’s economic recovery in 2021?

With 2020 behind us, the question now is what the recovery will look like for Korea Inc. With COVID-19 still raging here and abroad, and the prospects for vaccination in South Korea appearing hazy, optimism and pessimism coexist. But not much will change, economy-wise, for the next two quarters at least unless vaccines become easily accessible, according to a recent report from global consulting firm Deloitte. Seoul-based consulting firm KPMG Samjong offers positive outlooks for sectors r

IndustryJan. 1, 2021

S. Korea's 5G users near 11m in November: data

South Korea racked up nearly 11 million users on fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks as of end-November, data showed Thursday.  The country had 10.9 million 5G users last month, accounting for 15.5 percent of the total 70.5 million mobile subscriptions, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.  Subscriptions to the high-speed networks jumped by nearly 1 million from the previous month amid launches of new 5G phones, such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone 12 series, th

TechnologyDec. 31, 2020

Asiana Airlines appoints new CEO in executive reshuffle

Asiana Airlines named Jung Sung-kwon as the new CEO in a major executive reshuffle on Thursday. Jung, who previously served as the head of the airline’s China operations, will replace current CEO Han Chang-soo to lead the country‘s second-largest carrier. Born in 1963, Jung joined Asiana in 1988 and had taken on multiple roles including finance and human resources. In the shakeup, Ahn Byung-suk, Asiana Airline‘s management director, has been tapped to head Air Busan, its s

MobilityDec. 31, 2020

Top 8 purchases of 2020

We are what we buy. Our purchases reflect our needs and desires, formed by the circumstances and trends of the time. If before, people spent money on goods that would enhance their exteriors, such as garments and cosmetics, in pandemic-ridden 2020, confined to homes for the most part and always hidden behind masks when outdoors, many opted to buy items that would enrich their lives at home instead. In this listicle, we decided to pay tribute to the buys that made this weary year more bearable.

IndustryDec. 31, 2020

Lingering COVID-19 risks cloud S. Korea’s anticipated recovery in 2021

Despite heightened hopes that vaccinations would put an end to the still ongoing pandemic in the new year, the South Korean economy is expected to face another series of challenges, uncertainties and risks. The COVID-19 pandemic was the biggest threat to Asia’s fourth-largest economy last year, dragging down its GDP in the second quarter to minus 3.3 percent, the lowest since the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis when the country went through massive restructuring nationwide. Reflecting c

EconomyDec. 31, 2020

Bio sector output up 16.2% at over W12tr in 2019: data

Output in South Korea's bio industry increased 16.2 percent in 2019 from the previous year on the back of robust growth of outsourced business, industry data showed Thursday. The value of output in the local bio industry was estimated at 12.32 trillion won ($11.36 billion) last year, compared with 10.48 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization. Noticeably, the value of outsourced services that include contract manufacturing organizat

IndustryDec. 31, 2020