Mr. Pizza operator’s shares plunge after market return in 40 months

Shares of MP Group, the South Korean company that controls pizza restaurant franchise Mr. Pizza and coffee chain Manoffin, plunged over 21 percent at the close, after it resumed trading on the nation’s secondary bourse after some three years and four months. Shares of MP Group began trading at 1,920 won ($1.80), down 210 won or 9.86 percent, from the previous session’s close on July 25, 2017. The firm’s stock continued to fall sharply to close at 1,670 won. Its subsidiary MP

MarketDec. 7, 2020

SK bets on ‘targeted protein degraders’ as future anchor business in pharma

  　SK Holdings on Monday announced an investment of $200 million in a new subsidiary to be founded by Roivant Sciences -- the name of which remains undecided -- that will use its targeted protein degradation technology.   　This is a key step in SK Group’s pivot to biologics business, SK Holdings said, citing its focus on growing markets more than maturing ones, and a search for “disruptive tech” that could create synergy with SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Pharmteco.

IndustryDec. 7, 2020

IPO proceeds in Korean market exceed W5tr

Companies going public this year in South Korea have fetched more than a combined 5 trillion won ($4.6 billion) in proceeds from their initial public offerings on the local stock market, filings showed Monday, as they took advantage of windfalls from stock rallies throughout this year on high market liquidity. The combined IPO proceeds of 66 companies listed this year as of Monday came to 5.17 trillion won, excluding the special purpose acquisition companies, respective prospectuses showed. The

MarketDec. 7, 2020

Korea Maritime Institute to hold forum on Yellow Sea and importance of oceans

The Korea Maritime Institute will hold a forum on the Yellow Sea and the important role of oceans in achieving the UN sustainable development goals, in Seoul on Thursday. The 2020 Sustainable Development Forum for the Yellow Sea will see a group of environmental experts -- including Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations and current chair of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality of Korea -- put their heads together to discuss the challenges facing oceans, particul

IndustryDec. 7, 2020

SK hynix develops 176-layer 512-gigabit NAND flash

SK hynix announced Monday that the chipmaker has finished development of its 176-layer 512-gigabit 4D NAND flash chips, the third generation product in its 4D NAND line-up. The Korean chipmaker is the second player, after US-based Micron to announce the industry’s highest-level NAND product, beating market leader Samsung Electronics. According to the company, its new 176-layer NAND flash has cells with 20 percent faster read speed and 33 percent data transfer speed at 1.6Gbps -- when co

TechnologyDec. 7, 2020

Samsung to unveil new Micro LED TV this week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will introduce a new Micro LED TV later this week as the South Korean tech giant tries to further boost its presence in the premium TV market. Samsung said it will unveil its new Micro LED TV product at a webinar Thursday. The world's largest TV producer has yet to reveal the product's specification and price, but industry insiders predict it will be a Micro LED TV for home entertainment use. The Micro LED TV uses micrometer-sized LED modules as singula

TechnologyDec. 7, 2020

LG Group sets up AI research center

LG Group said Monday it has set up an artificial intelligence research center called LG AI Research as part of its digital transformation strategy to create better value for customers. The research institute will study data intelligence that predicts optimal judgment through big data analysis, next-generation voice, image recognition and analysis technology, and language processing technology that enables natural situation recognition. To this end, it will establish a high-performance computin

TechnologyDec. 7, 2020

Brokerages' Q3 profit rises 19.3% on robust gain in commission fees

South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profit rise 19.3 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier due mainly to a robust gain in commission fees, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 56 brokerages stood at 2.16 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in the July-September period, compared with 1.81 trillion won, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The combined brokerage fees stood at 3.7 trillion won in the third quarter, compared with 3.2 tri

EconomyDec. 7, 2020

Economic recovery momentum slows down amid flare-up in COVID-19 cases: KDI

South Korea's economic recovery momentum is slowing down due largely to a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, despite improving exports, a state-run think tank said Monday. The country's manufacturing sector sustained a moderate recovery on improving exports, but the service sector remained sluggish due to a flare-up in COVID-19 cases, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "Despite a recovery in the manufacturing industry owed to impr

EconomyDec. 7, 2020

[Monitor] Meat consumption in South Korea soars

South Koreans' consumption of meat has continuously soared over the years, data from Statistics Korea showed recently. The average consumption of meat per person in a year increased from 11.3 kilograms in 1980 to 53.9kg in 2018. Pork was the most popular meat to consume, with the average consumption rising by an average of 3.9 percent each year.   (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryDec. 7, 2020

Korean Air to charge additional fees on emergency exit seats

Korean Air Lines Co. said Monday it will begin charging additional fees on emergency exit row seats when booking international flights next year. South Korea's biggest carrier said on its website that optional fees will be charged on exit row seats with extra legroom, which are located in the front row of each section of the economy class, starting Jan. 14. Emergency exit row seats will be limited to passengers that satisfy the official safety requirements, and those who book the seats will b

MobilityDec. 7, 2020

Foreign IBs slightly upgrade S. Korea's growth outlook

Foreign investment banks (IBs) have slightly upgraded their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth for this year on growing hopes of a recovery, a report showed Monday. However, economic uncertainties are high over a third wave of coronavirus infections, with the country reporting more than 600 daily new cases for the second straight day. As of end-November, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, projected Asia's fourth-largest economy to shrink 1.1 percent this ye

EconomyDec. 7, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding inks initial deal for 10 crude carriers

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Monday it has signed an initial deal with a European company to build 10 very large crude carriers (VLCC). The deal is expected to be concluded by the first quarter of next year, Daewoo Shipbuilding said in an emailed statement. The 300,000-ton crude carriers will be propelled by both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fuel oil, the shipbuilder said. Daewoo Shipbuilding will have a chance to build vessels to be fueled by the two energy sou

IndustryDec. 7, 2020

LG Uplus has fastest 5G download speed in S. Korea: report

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, has the fastest 5G download speed among South Korean mobile carriers, a report showed Monday. The mobile carrier's median 5G download speed in Seoul stood at 476.5 megabits per second (Mbps), followed by the country's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. at 436.2 Mbps and telecom giant KT Corp. at 425.8 Mbps, according to a report by market researcher RootMetrics, RootMetrics added that LG Uplus had greater accessibility to 5G in the cap

TechnologyDec. 7, 2020

Almost 30% of instructors at private institutes lost jobs amid pandemic: survey

More than one out of four instructors at private institutes lost their jobs during the course of the new coronavirus pandemic, predominantly without unemployment benefits, a survey showed Monday. In an online survey on the effect of COVID-19 on 500 instructors released by Gabjil 119, a workers' advocacy group, 27 percent of the respondents said they experienced unemployment in the past 10 months since the virus outbreak. Commissioned by Gabjil 119, the survey was conducted from Nov. 20-24 on

EconomyDec. 7, 2020

Naver's live-streaming shopping platform logs 45 million views in 4 months

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant internet portal, said Monday that more than 45 million accumulated views have been made at its live-streaming shopping platform in the four months since its launch. More than 45 million accumulated views were recorded and 400,000 purchases made at Shopping Live since the platform was launched on July 30, Naver said. Live commerce, or TV home shopping-style mobile shopping, has recently emerged as a potential game changer for the country's ret

TechnologyDec. 7, 2020

[Graphic News] 40% of delivery drivers work over 14 hours per day during peak season

　About 40 percent of parcel delivery drivers in South Korea work more than 14 hours a day during peak seasons, government data showed. 　The Labor Ministry released its study on the working conditions and health of couriers following a recent series of deaths of workers, apparently from overwork. The survey was conducted online on 1,862 workers at four major logistics companies from Nov. 1-13. 　The survey found that 41.6 percent worked 14 hours per day during busy times of year, including

BusinessDec. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad higher on pharmaceutical, chip gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday due to strong pharmaceuticals and chip gains, following the government's decision to toughen the quarantine measures against the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.65 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,735.1 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted after closing at an all-time high Friday, as hopes of vaccine development and chip demands continued to run high in the financial markets. The gain

MarketDec. 7, 2020

Gold prices on downswing amid stock market surge

Gold prices in South Korea have been on the skids in recent months amid a soaring local stock market, data showed Monday. A gram of gold changed hands at 64,320 won ($59.23) on the domestic market Friday, down 0.80 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The closing prices were down 19.7 percent from an all-time high of 80,100 won per gram recorded on July 28 this year. International prices of the yellow metal have also dropped to the $1,800 range per ounce from th

EconomyDec. 7, 2020

S. Korea's imports of Japanese beer jump in Oct. amid weaker boycott

South Korea's imports of Japanese beer spiked in October from a year earlier due to stepped-up marketing activities amid a weaker local boycott of goods from the neighboring country, data showed Monday. Seoul brought in $370,000 worth of Japanese beer in October, up a whopping 873.7 percent from the same month last year when the boycott was in full swing, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the liquor industry. Imports of Japanese beer had been on the upswing in recent mon

EconomyDec. 7, 2020