S. Korea's net foreign assets touch new high in Q3

South Korea's net overseas assets hit an all-time high in the third quarter, mainly due to increased stock investments, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's external financial assets came to $1.81 trillion at the end of September, up $66 billion from a quarter earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Net international investment position came to $553.1 billion as of the end of September, down $100 million from a year earlier, the data showed. The positio

EconomyNov. 19, 2020

Savings banks' 9-month profit grows on interest income

South Korean savings banks reported 9 percent growth in their combined net profit for the first nine months of this year, supported by a modest rise in interest income, data showed Thursday. The combined net income of the 79 savings banks stood at 1.02 trillion won ($918 million) for the January-September period, compared with a profit of 935.7 billion won a year ago, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 8.9 percent on-year to 4.8 trillio

EconomyNov. 19, 2020

Households' wage income dips for 2nd quarter in Q3 amid pandemic

South Korean households saw their income earned through wages decline for the second straight quarter in the third quarter as the new coronavirus outbreak dealt a blow to the job market, data showed Thursday. The average household earned 5.31 million won ($4,774) per month in the July-September period, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But hit by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, household income earned through wages declined 1.1 percen

EconomyNov. 19, 2020

[Monitor] Huawei losing out in global smartphone market

Due to the US sanctions on Huawei, which have cut off the Chinese smartphone maker from chip supplies, the company has decided to sell its mid-range phone brand Honor, according to reports Tuesday. Considering the current shares of the global smartphone market, Huawei that had claimed a 14 percent share as of the third quarter of 2020 would fall behind its rivals like Samsung Electronics. Honor’s phone shipments accounted for 25 percent of Huawei’s total shipments. Meanwhile, Sa

TechnologyNov. 19, 2020

Ministry, carriers in gridlock over bandwidth redistribution price

As past generation network frequency bands used by South Korea's major telecom operators are set to expire next year, the ICT ministry and the three carriers are locked in a fierce debate over their redistribution price. Earlier this week, the government said it wants at least 3.2 trillion won ($2.9 billion) from the carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- for the 2G, 3G, 4G frequency bands up for redistribution next year, nearly double their proposal of around 1.65 trillion

TechnologyNov. 19, 2020

Doosan Heavy teams up with SK Engineering on floating wind farm

South Korean power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday that it will team up with local builder SK Engineering Construction Co. to develop floating wind farms. SK Engineering will carry out a project to develop the floating wind farm, while Doosan Heavy will provide technologies for key equipment of the farm, the power plant builder said in an emailed statement. In July, the government said it plans to start building the floating offshore wind farm to ge

IndustryNov. 19, 2020

Seoul to supply more public homes to tackle rental home shortage

South Korea will supply 114,000 public 'jeonse' houses by 2022 to help tackle a shortage of the two-year contract-based rental homes, the transport ministry said Thursday. The government plans to purchase existing homes to convert them into public jeonse houses mainly for the underprivileged who have difficulties in finding such homes, as higher demand has pushed up jeonse prices amid low rates and a recently passed related bill, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a stat

EconomyNov. 19, 2020

[Graphic News] Exports of instant noodle, kimchi on rise amid pandemic

　South Korea’s exports of instant noodles and kimchi products rose sharply in the first nine months of the year on the back of rising demand for ready-to-eat meals and healthy foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. 　Outbound shipments of instant noodles jumped 36.3 percent on-year to $456 million during the January-September period, while those of kimchi jumped 38.5 percent to $109 million over the cited period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry

BusinessNov. 19, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on valuation pressure, virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday after hitting a nearly three-year high the previous session, as valuation pressure and concerns of surging COVID-19 cases offset vaccine hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.41 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,533.23 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks fell after hitting a 33-month high in the previous session. Investor wariness increased on valuation pressure and rising coronavirus cases. Market kingpin Samsung

MarketNov. 19, 2020

Won sinks after verbal warning against rapid gains

The South Korean currency dropped against the US dollar Thursday after currency authorities warned that they are ready to take actions at any time to curb the won's sharp gains. The local currency ended at 1,115.6 won to the greenback, down 11.8 won from the previous session, when the won rose to a 29-month high of 1,103.8 to the dollar. Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said that FX authorities are closely monitoring the market, warning that excessive currency volatility is not

EconomyNov. 19, 2020

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine 95% effective in its last-stage trial

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 95 percent effective during its last-stage trial, Reuters reported Wednesday, adding that the drugmaker will soon apply for emergency authorization in the United States. Reuters said that the efficacy of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech was consistent across age and ethnicity demographics, meaning that the drug could be used to boost immunization broadly for people across the globe. No major side effects were reported

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

Apple to reduce app store commission for small developers

Apple Inc. said Wednesday that it will reduce the standard commission from 30 percent to 15 percent for small-sized app developers at its app store starting next year. Apple currently takes a 30-percent cut of the developers' revenue when iPhone or iPad users make purchases. Virtually all in-app purchases are subject to the fees. According to a new program to be adopted on Jan. 1 next year, Apple will only charge a 15-percent fee on app developers with annual revenue less than $1 million

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

CJ Logistics introduces electric trucks in local industry first

CJ Logistics said Wednesday it will introduce electric trucks to replace its diesel vehicles, for the first time in the Korean logistics industry. The company said it will introduce 1-ton electric freight vehicles and also start a new business installing EV charging stations for the trucks. To begin, the company said it will operate two electric trucks each in two sub-terminals in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, and Ulsan. Marking the introduction of the electric vehicles, CJ Logistics held an ope

MobilityNov. 18, 2020

Korea plans up to W10tr investment for biohealth by 2023

South Korea’s newfound focus on the bio industry is only anticipated to further concentrate on the heel of announcements made Wednesday by the nation’s leading biologics companies that they will invest hundreds of billions of won to building additional plants in the bio cluster city of Songdo, Incheon. Samsung Biologics will pour 1.7 trillion won ($1.54 billion) into its new Plant 4, and Celltrion 500 billion won to its Global Life Science Research Lab and Plant 3. The Government al

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

Kakao sets new standards for digital wallet

Kakao said Wednesday that it would add a digital wallet feature to South Korea’s largest messenger application KakaoTalk. The company will also start introducing new subscription-based services via the messenger application. Kakao’s co-CEOs Yeo Min-su and Cho Soo-yong introduced new features that are to be added to KakaoTalk during an online press conference held as part of the company’s annual conference, which runs from Wednesday to Friday. The digital wallet feature woul

TechnologyNov. 18, 2020

Growth rate of pay TV subscriber slow

The growth rate of pay TV subscribers in South Korea has slowed this year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The number of new pay TV subscribers during the first half this year reached around 350,000, down by 220,000 compared to that of last year, marking the lowest increase in three years, the report said. In the first half of 2017, the number of new pay TV subscribers reached 830,000. The figure increased to 910,000 in the second half in 2017. I

TechnologyNov. 18, 2020

SKT CEO pushes ahead with remote working

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho said Wednesday that the company will allow its employees to work from anywhere. “We need to study how we can improve the ways in which we communicate while working since it is not possible to fully return to the ways we did before (the coronavirus),“ he said. The CEO said the company will try many different solutions, utilizing its data and technology to change the company’s work environment. SKT will increase its number of regional offices, whi

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

GS Caltex gas stations evolve under new brand ‘Energy Plus’

GS Caltex on Wednesday launched its new brand, Energy Plus, to roll out a new type of gas station that can function conventionally and serve as a mobility and logistics hub. According to the South Korean refinery, the company opened Energy Plus Hub in Seocho-gu, Seoul, as the first pump station under the new brand Energy Plus, which can charge electric and hydrogen vehicles and serve as a car-sharing platform and logistics hub for drone shipping. “GS Caltex will continue to transform

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

Netmarble seeks turnaround with newly released Seven Knights 2

Netmarble on Wednesday launched its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Seven Knights 2 in Korea, drawing attention to whether the much-anticipated game will be able to compensate for the company’s lackluster performance in the third quarter. As a sequel of Seven Knights, launched in 2014, Seven Knights 2 continues on the plot lines of the previous work and offers a story that players can consume like a movie. The mobile MMORPG showcases 46 heroes, and players control a gro

IndustryNov. 18, 2020

[Feature] Can Korea handle COVID-19 vaccines?

While the development of COVID-19 vaccines makes the need to store vaccines at low temperatures increasingly urgent, South Korea is proving to be less than prepared. The new vaccines from US companies Pfizer and Moderna are based on messenger RNA (mRNA), and as a result, need to be stored at low temperatures -- minus 70 degrees Celsius for Pfizer’s and minus 20 degrees Celsius for Moderna’s.  When the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Korea Disease Control and Prevention A

IndustryNov. 18, 2020