Naver's V Live streaming platform logs 100m global downloads

South Korea's top internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Monday its live streaming platform, V Live, has surpassed an accumulated 100 million downloads globally. Launched in August 2015, V Live allows K-pop celebrities to broadcast live videos on the internet and chat live with fans from around the globe. Naver said the service has 85 percent of visitors from overseas and is available online, as well as on Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms.Naver said the number of live concert sh

TechnologyDec. 28, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on chip gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, backed by strong advances by major tech firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.87 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,823.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish after finishing at an all-time high the previous session, led by chip and bio advances. The gain came amid investors' optimism over whether the United States, one of South Korea's largest trading partners, would finalize a coronavirus stimulus pac

MarketDec. 28, 2020

Number of corporate rating downgrades hits 4-year high

South Korean companies have suffered the most credit rating downgrades in 2020 in four years in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Three major credit appraisers here -- NICE Investors Service Inc., Korea Ratings Corp. and Korea Investors Service Inc. (KIS) -- have downgraded credit ratings of 41 firms in separate evaluations, according to the data from Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News. It represents the highest number of rating cuts since 2016, when

EconomyDec. 28, 2020

Samsung Electronics top pick of S. Korean retail investors this year

South Korean retail investors have loaded up on shares in top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. this year, reaping a huge return on their investments, data showed Monday. Local individual investors had bought a net 14.7 trillion won ($13.3 billion) worth of common and preferred shares in the global tech giant as of Thursday, according to the data from the Korea Exchange. Retail investors' massive purchase has made Samsung, the world's leading smartphone and memory chip maker, the most-bought stock a

IndustryDec. 28, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Fair economy laws’ need adjustment to reflect reality: KCCI chief

The head of South Korea’s leading business lobby group called for additional legislative measures to minimize the side effects of the so-called fair economy laws, which have caused concern among business operators here. He added that Asia’s fourth-largest economy should refrain from relying too much on a fast-paced recovery, as the effects of the pandemic are likely to be enduring, and extraordinary measures entail fiscal repercussions later on. “Thanks to the health authorit

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

KOTRA opens ‘Korea Desk’ in Myanmar to support trade

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Sunday that it has opened a “Korea Desk” in Myanmar to support trade and investment between the two countries. Launched with the backing of South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Myanmar’s Commerce and Investment ministries, the Myanmar Korea Desk will offer help to companies from both countries wishing to branch out into each other’s markets. While Korean businesses in Myanmar can receive new or

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

What now? Nearly on cusp of COVID-19 conquest, virus mutates

Coronavirus variants spreading out of the UK and South Africa are new obstacles for companies struggling to bring forth viable treatments and vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. The outstanding question is: Are the treatments and vaccines thus far developed still effective against the coronavirus variants? According to the World Health Organization, the UK variant has a genetic mutation in the S gene, making its binding affinity to human receptor cells more powerful. Simply put, this makes th

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

Posco uses smart technology to make plants safer

Steelmaking is dangerous work that involves heavy equipment and hot materials, including molten iron that gets as hot as 1,500 degrees Celsius. Minor mistakes can lead to deadly accidents. To prevent industrial accidents and to promote safety for its employees, Posco has implemented various smart technologies, the country’s leading steelmaker said Sunday. Recently, for example, the steelmaker introduced drones to its plants. In the past workers had to use ladders and climb about 100 m

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

Hyundai, Kia sell 300,000 eco-friendly cars overseas

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the country’s two largest automakers, witnessed their overseas sales of environment-friendly vehicles surpass the 300,000-unit mark for the first time this year, industry data showed Sunday. From January to November, the two affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group sold a combined 306,266 electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell electric vehicles in overseas markets. The figure shows an increase of 26.8 percent from the 238,155 environment-friendly vehicl

MobilityDec. 27, 2020

S. Korea needs to brace for spread of China’s digital currency: experts

As China accelerates the development of its sovereign digital currency, South Korea should prepare for looming changes that the new form of money may bring about to its largest trading partner, experts had said as of Sunday. China has been intensifying its efforts to introduce the digital yuan, known officially as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment, with the second round of its pilot program launched earlier this month for testing on major e-commerce platforms like JD.com, the country&rsq

MarketDec. 27, 2020

Samsung Group market capitalization rises above W700tr for first time

Boosted by the surge in stock prices of key affiliates, the combined market capitalization of Samsung Group’s listed firms exceeded 700 trillion won ($636 billion) for the first time, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday. As of Thursday, the market cap of 23 listed stocks of the nation’s telecom-to-chemicals conglomerate came to 719.13 trillion won, soaring over 200 trillion won within the year. It is also the first time that a local group’s total market valuation has to

MarketDec. 27, 2020

Corporations to skip in-person New Year’s meetings amid pandemic

South Korea’s major corporate groups are opting out of hosting New Year’s kickoff meetings in person this year, as the coronavirus outbreak shows no signs of abating, according to industry sources. Companies such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor typically host large-cale staff meetings at auditoriums on the first workday of January to mark the beginning of a new year. But the ongoing global pandemic has made the logistics of holding such an event difficult, forcing companies to go onli

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

Chicken franchises entered 2020 on a high on strong demand for delivery

Fried chicken franchises marked the largest on-year sales increase last year on growing demand for takeout and delivery, data showed Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, fried chicken franchises saw their sales jumping 21.7 percent in 2019, with each branch selling about 200 million won of products and services on average. “Increased chicken prices, along with the inclusion of delivery fees in chicken prices, have boosted the overall revenue in the segment,” said Lee Jin-seok

MarketDec. 27, 2020

Galaxy S21 Ultra likely to support fastest Wi-Fi so far

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is expected to support the fastest Wi-Fi speeds among all mobile gadgets in the Korean market, according to news reports Sunday. The highest-end model of the upcoming Galaxy S21 series next month is likely to become the first mobile device to support Wi-Fi 6E, an extended standard technology using the 6-gigahertz band. Compared to the current Wi-Fi 6, the new standard technology enables twice faster transmission of data at the highest speed of 2.4 gigabits per

TechnologyDec. 27, 2020

LG set for record home appliance profits

LG Electronics is forecast to reap a record profit from its home appliance business this year, due to high sales of premium items at home and abroad, according to industry sources on Sunday. As of the third quarter of 2020, LG posted an accumulated operating profit of 2.5 trillion won ($2.27 billion). Some 2 trillion won of that amount was from the company’s home appliance and air solutions business, which sold premium products like the Tromm Styler clothing care system and the DIOS dish

TechnologyDec. 27, 2020

42 conglomerates earned W1.42tr in brand license fees from affiliates last year

South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Sunday 42 large business groups earned a combined 1.42 trillion won ($1.29 billion) by selling brand licenses to their affiliates last year amid concerns conglomerate owners could glean profits from such transactions. The 2019 tally marked a 7.6 percent rise from the previous year's 1.32 trillion won, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). Of 64 business groups that are required to disclose such data, 42 conglomerates, or 65.6 percent, raised

IndustryDec. 27, 2020

Will perovskite solar cells provide answer to Korea’s carbon neutrality?

Starting in 2030, all new buildings in South Korea, public or private, with a gross floor area of 500 square meters or more must be fully energy efficient, generating the power they need from renewable sources such as the sun, wind and water. Part of the country’s grand plan to go carbon neutral by 2050, the zero-energy building rule is widely expected to boost local demand for solar panels for building walls. Next-generation solar cells made from materials called perovskites are dra

IndustryDec. 26, 2020

FSS chief apologizes for fund fiasco, urges banks to cut dividend payouts amid pandemic

The chief of South Korea’s financial market watchdog said Wednesday he feels sorry for causing public concern over the massive fiasco surrounding Lime Asset Management, which the regulator‘s employee was embroiled in. “As the head of FSS, I feel heavy responsibility for the issue and apologize for our employee’s involvement in the scandal. We will take the recent fiasco as an opportunity to enhance internal control over irregularities through measures to improve employ

EconomyDec. 25, 2020

Mexico agrees to raise import quota of S. Korean cold-rolled steel products

Mexico has agreed to increase its import quota of South Korean cold-rolled steel products, South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday. Last month, Mexico said it will import 662,000 tons of cold-rolled steel sheets in 2023, up from 548,000 tons in 2019, according to the ministry. The move came after South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gunn made the request for an import quota hike of cold-rolled steel sheets during his visit to the Latin American country in October. Cold-rolled sheets a

IndustryDec. 25, 2020

BOK to keep monetary easing in 2021 to support economic recovery

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday it will maintain an accommodative monetary policy next year to help the nation's economic recovery from the pandemic, but it will closely watch the side-effects of monetary easing. "Under the direction of its monetary policy in 2021, the Bank of Korea will maintain the easing stance of its monetary policy to support the recovery in growth and to ensure the rise in consumer prices will be stabilized at around the target level," the BOK said in a stat

EconomyDec. 25, 2020