Business groups seek next leaders

South Korea’s major business organizations will see the terms of their incumbent chiefs end early next year, with attention being paid to who their successors will be. The term of Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan, Korea International Trade Association Chairman Kim Young-ju and Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Huh Chang-soo will end in March. Each business group plans to hold a general meeting early next year to elect its next leader. For the KCCI

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

Samsung narrows gap with Apple in Canadian smartphone market in Q3: report

Samsung Electronics Co. remained the second-largest smartphone vendor in Canada in the third quarter of the year but narrowed its market share gap with Apple Inc., a report showed Wednesday. The South Korean tech giant took a 33 percent market share in the July-September in Canada, up from 32 percent a year ago, according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research. Apple kept its top status in Canada, accounting for a 53 percent share in the third quarter of the year, down from 56 percent a ye

TechnologyNov. 25, 2020

Woori Financial sets up infrastructure fund to promote New Deal project

Woori Financial Group said Wednesday that it has set up a 200 billion won ($180 million) fund to invest in social infrastructure projects, called the “Woori Global Infra New Deal Fund.”  In September the government announced its New Deal Fund, a state-led fund worth 20 trillion won aimed at investing in tech and green sectors, including artificial intelligence, renewable energy and hydrogen vehicles, through money pooled from government agencies, private financial institutions

MarketNov. 25, 2020

More virus cases confirmed at Samsung's mobile research lab

Four more workers at Samsung Electronics Co.'s mobile research lab have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said Wednesday, stoking concerns of group transmissions at the facility. The South Korean tech giant said an additional four virus cases were confirmed at its R5 lab in Suwon, south of Seoul, after it came out earlier this week that three workers were infected with the virus. They all worked on the same floor with an employee who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

Naver eyes re-entering Japanese search engine market after 2 previous failures

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's dominant internet portal, is positively reviewing making inroads into the Japanese search engine market despite two previous failures, the company's executive said Wednesday. Naver first entered the Japanese search engine market by establishing Naver Japan but exited the country in 2005. Naver made another attempt in the market by introducing a search engine, Naver Japan, but closed down the service in 2013. "We believe we can make it this time,&

TechnologyNov. 25, 2020

S. Korea's trade terms up for 7th consecutive month in October

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the seventh consecutive month in October, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 97.76 in October, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the seventh straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain

EconomyNov. 25, 2020

Overseas card spending plunges 54.8% in Q3 amid pandemic

South Koreans' overseas card spending plunged 54.8 percent on-year in the third quarter on a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $2.17 billion in the July-September period, compared with $4.79 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with three months ea

EconomyNov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] Kia workers go on strike over little progress in wage talks

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. began a partial strike Wednesday to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said. The workers in the morning shift walked away from their production lines at 11:40 a.m. in a four-hour strike while those on the evening shift plan to put down their tools at 8:30 p.m. for another four-hour strike. The union will stage the partial strikes until Friday, after the company and the union failed to narrow differences over wages and pe

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

6 companies to recall over 160,000 vehicles

Hyundai Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz Korea and four other companies will voluntarily recall over 160,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The four other companies are Kia Motors Corp., Renault Samsung Motors Corp., GM Korea Co. and Daijeon Machinery Co., the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a st

MobilityNov. 25, 2020

Shippers to operate 5 more vessels amid soaring demand

South Korea said Wednesday it has joined forces with local shippers to operate five additional vessels by the end of this year to lend hands to exporters facing troubles from a hike in freight costs and supply shortages in shipping services. Under the cooperation with local shippers, South Korea will begin using the five ships that have a total capacity to carry 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worldwide through the special shipping schedules by the end of this year, according to the M

EconomyNov. 25, 2020

Biz sentiment for Dec. weakens amid pandemic: survey

Business sentiment in South Korea turned weak for December due to a recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local think tank said Wednesday.   The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 98.9 for December, down from 99.5 for November, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. "Business sentiment is expected to remain weak until next year due to uncertainties involving the pandemic. The government's aggressive

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

S. Korea to spend W1.44b to foster experts of eco-cars

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to allocate 1.44 billion won ($1.29 million) through 2025 to foster experts of eco-friendly cars in sync with the country's green growth policy, which centers on breaking away from fossil fuels and utilizing more sustainable resources. Under the project, South Korea will spend the budget to educate around 480 experts of eco-friendly cars annually over the next five years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The project is aimed at

MobilityNov. 25, 2020

Coupang picked as millennials’ favorite shopping mall

Coupang was chosen as the most popular online retail platform by millennials in a survey conducted by the UnivTomorrow Research Laboratory for the Twenties, the firm said Tuesday. The survey also showed that 47.1 percent of millennial Koreans have joined the Rocket Wow Club, Coupang’s membership service. The term “millennials” here refers to those aged 15-34. Coupang was ranked as the favorite online shopping mall with 33.8 percent. Coupang enjoyed higher popularity among yo

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

[Monitor] US and Chinese startups dominate global top 10 list

China-based artificial intelligence company ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has been selected as the most-valued startup in the world, valued at $140 billion, according to the data collected by CB Insights. Companies based in the US and China dominated the list as of November. Among the top 10 “unicorns” around the globe, six firms are based in the US, while those based in China numbered three. According to CB Insights, there are more than 500 startups in the world that a

TechnologyNov. 25, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Dow's record gain, vaccine hopes

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from record gains on Wall Street, as US political uncertainty receded with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden starting his White House transition. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.11 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,634.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Also, investor sentiment ran high in the global financial markets, amid growing optimism that continued progress in COVID-19 vaccine development and transit

MarketNov. 25, 2020

Large S. Korean firms sit on huge cash pile amid greater uncertainty

Large companies in South Korea sharply increased their cash reserves over the past year amid increased uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The cumulative free cash flow of 259 listed firms came to 28.1 trillion won ($25.3 billion) as of the end of September, up 163 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Free cash flow refers to cash a business generates after accounting for capital expenditures and taxes. Free cash flow indicates a com

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

Market value of top 10 group firms soars 22% on stock rally

Listed firms of South Korea's top 10 business groups saw their market capitalization jump nearly 22 percent this year amid a strong stock market rally, data showed Wednesday. The combined market value of those 102 listed firms came to 1,069.5 trillion won ($960 billion) as of Monday, up 22.3 percent from the end of last year, according to the data from financial information provider FnGuide. Four groups -- Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor -- had a market value of more than 100 trillion won. T

MarketNov. 25, 2020

Households' Q3 spending on liquor, tobacco hits new high amid pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's household spending on alcohol and cigarettes reached a new record high in the third quarter as the coronavirus outbreak forced more people to stay home, government data showed Wednesday. Local households spent an average of 42,980 won ($38.7) on liquors and cigarettes during the July-September period, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marks the largest quarterly amount since the agency began tracking related data in 200

EconomyNov. 25, 2020

Manufacturers' sentiment up for 2nd straight month in December

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for the second consecutive month in December, thanks to hopes for economic recovery, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 76 for December, up from 72 for November, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the next month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. On Oct. 12, South Ko

EconomyNov. 25, 2020

3 killed in Posco plant explosion

Three people were killed in an explosion that occurred at a plant operated by South Korea‘s top steelmaker, Posco, on Tuesday, fire officials said. 　 The incident took place at around 4 p.m. with a roaring sound at its plant in Gwangyang, 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul, involving a blaze that was put out in about 20 minutes, according to the officials. 　 Authorities said the explosion appears to have started near a furnace while workers were handling high-pressure gas, adding that they

IndustryNov. 24, 2020