Woori Financial to hold digital training for employees

Woori Financial Group said Tuesday it would implement an employee training program starting this month, to enhance its digital capabilities. For the program, the group will publish storyboards online about how to create digital financial services, make a good use of e-marketing methods and study consumer trends, officials said.  Employees from digital finance units across the banking group’s affiliates -- Woori Bank, Woori Card, Woori Finance Research Institute and Woori FIS, a fina

MarketNov. 3, 2020

SC Bank launches online sales channel to support social ventures

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Tuesday it had launched an online sales channel on Naver, South Korea’s biggest search portal, to support social ventures operated by young entrepreneurs.  The lender has partnered with Naver’s donation platform, called “Happybean,” and opened up an online market there, which will be run until Nov. 30.  As of Tuesday, six social enterprises were selling a wide variety of products ranging from food to clothing, while introdu

MarketNov. 3, 2020

Doosan Infracore produces 200,000th excavator in China

Doosan Infracore Co. said Tuesday its Chinese unit has produced its 200,000th excavator in the country. The accumulated output came 26 years after South Korea's leading construction equipment maker entered the Chinese market in October 1994, the company said in an emailed statement. The Chinese excavator market is expected to grow by 275,000 units this year, surpassing last year's overall sales of 200,000 units, Doosan Infracore said. Sales of excavators by the company rose 21 percent to 14

EconomyNov. 3, 2020

[Contribution] OECD recognizes Korea’s competitiveness in digital government

At the recent e-Leaders 2020 meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea ranked first in the Digital Government Index, which the OECD conducted for the first time. The latest result, a consecutive achievement after the OECD ranked Korea first in the OUR (Open-Useful-Reusable) Data Index in 2019, showed that Korea is leading the world’s digital government transition and innovation. The Digital Government Index measures the level of digital transformation an

EconomyNov. 3, 2020

[Monitor] Lee Jae-yong to take father’s crown in stock rich list

Assuming that the Samsung family inherits the shares of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee at the legal ratio (1.5 for wife and 1 for children), his wife Hong earns the largest amount of 5.9 trillion won ($5.2 billion). Each of the three children, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will inherit 3.9 trillion won. If so, the value of Vice Chairman Lee’s equity holdings will exceed 10 trillion for the first time, and he will be the largest holder of shares in South Korea.

IndustryNov. 3, 2020

Industry ministry to launch new division on future cars

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it will launch a new division under its wing, which will be in charge of spearheading the country's future car sector in line with the country's blueprint on the automobile segment. The new division will also center on developing electric vehicle and hydrogen car-related technologies, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The new body will officially launch Nov. 11. The decision came in line with the country's efforts to foster en

IndustryNov. 3, 2020

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street ahead of the US presidential election. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.83 points, or 1.12 percent, to 2,325.99 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index rose after a 1.46 percent rally the previous session, hoping that the stocks will advance after the US election on Wednesday (Washington time). The upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting also boosted investor

MarketNov. 3, 2020

GC Pharma produces more COVID-19 plasma therapy amid growing demand

South Korean biotech company GC Pharma has begun additional production of its plasma therapy treatment for the novel coronavirus amid growing demand for treatment purposes, company officials said Tuesday. The plasma therapy, known as GC5131, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. It is considered one of the earliest treatment options. The treatment candidate is undergoing clinical trials both at home and abroad,

IndustryNov. 3, 2020

S. Korea's H1 exports to China fare relatively well despite pandemic

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's exports to China fell at a slower rate than its overall overseas shipments in the first half thanks to brisk Chinese demand for consumer goods and electronics parts, a report showed Tuesday. South Korea's exports to the world's second-largest economy came to $61.4 billion in the January-June period, down 6.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The decline is much lower tha

EconomyNov. 3, 2020

S. Korea's inflation grows at slowest pace in 4 months in Oct.

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in four months in October due largely to one-off state subsidies for mobile phone bills, data showed Tuesday, underscoring the country's low inflationary pressure. The consumer price index inched up 0.1 percent on-year last month, sharply slowing from a 1 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the slowest on-year growth since June, when the price index stayed flat, and the fourth

EconomyNov. 3, 2020

S. Korean hospital develops AI-based COVID-19 mortality risk predictor

South Korean researchers developed a machine learning model for predicting a COVID-19 mortality risk in patients at the point of care. The research team at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital said in Monday’s press release the model was able to estimate poor outcomes in patients with COVID-19 for over 90 percent of the cases. The model, as described in a study published last week on Scientific Reports, is based on 10,237 patients diagnosed here between Jan. 23 and April

TechnologyNov. 2, 2020

Economy will recover from fallout, return to normal trajectory in H1 2021: Moon

President Moon Jae-in predicted Monday that South Korea’s economy will be able to return to a normal track in the first half of next year if the current trend of economic rebound from the new coronavirus pandemic continues in the fourth quarter. “When reviewing recent indicators, we can see that the economy is rapidly recovering by overcoming the recent difficulties,” Moon said during a weekly meeting with his senior Cheong Wa Dae aides. “If the trend of economic reboun

EconomyNov. 2, 2020

KRX chief likely to lead insurance association

Korea Exchange Chairman Jung Ji-won has been recommended as the sole candidate to take the helm at the General Insurance Association of Korea, an organization that represents domestic general insurance firms, according to news reports Monday. After reviewing four candidates, who also included Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance CEO Kang Young-gu and former Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairman Yoo Kwan-woo, an eight-member committee under the insurance association chose Jung. The com

MarketNov. 2, 2020

Seoul jeonse price surges despite tenant protection measures: data

The average price for “jeonse,” one of the most common housing lease systems in Seoul, steeply increased, running counter to the government’s efforts to cool the heated real estate market and protect tenants. The average price of jeonse in the capital city rose by 7.5 percent from 510 million won ($449,000) in August to 536.7 million in October, according to KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On. Jeonse refers to a minimum two-year least contract wit

MarketNov. 2, 2020

Korea Herald‘s 1st finance forum to discuss digital innovation in post-coronavirus era

COVID-19 has rattled the economies around the world and Korea is no exception.　 In light of the prolonged crisis, however, South Korea, an IT powerhouse, is seeking a paradigm shift in its finance sector. To gauge the impact of the virus on the financial and investment sectors and to discuss how to rejuvenate the coronavirus-hit economy with innovative ideas and technology, The Korea Herald, South Korea’s largest English newspaper, holds its first finance forum on Wednesday in Seoul. Un

MarketNov. 2, 2020

Jin Air becomes first South Korean budget airline to deliver cargo to US

Budget airline Jin Air said Monday that it has begun flying cargo to the United States as part of efforts to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Though major South Korean airlines have resorted to cargo services to offset the impact of the virus in recent months, the sister airline of Korean Air is the first low-cost carrier in the country to deliver cargo to the US. On Sunday, Jin Air flew its B777-200ER passenger jet from Incheon to Los Angeles, carrying 23 tons of displays and other electronic

MobilityNov. 2, 2020

[News Analysis] EV fires draw attention to separator tech of LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation

The recent recall of Hyundai Motor’s Kona electric vehicle is shining a spotlight on separators, one of the four key components of EV batteries along with cathodes, anodes and electrolytes. Separators are basically thin walls with tiny holes that divide cathodes from anodes. When batteries are charged and discharged, ions go back and forth between cathodes and anodes through these tiny holes. Separators prevent cathodes and anodes from reacting to each other and triggering short circui

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Kepco to build grids preemptively to meet growing renewable energy facilities

Korea Power Corp. said Monday it has launched a special task force dedicated to tackling structural and systemic constraints that keep South Korea’s burgeoning renewable energy industry from growing. According to the state-run utility, it will construct power grids preemptively in regions where renewable energy facilities are expected to be built, including Shinan and Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province. Since October 2016, Kepco has initiated a policy that guarantees access to power

IndustryNov. 2, 2020

Microsoft launches HoloLens 2 in S. Korea

Microsoft Korea Monday announced the launch of mixed-reality headset HoloLens 2 in South Korea, targeting business customers that plan to implement digital transformation. HoloLens 2 is an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset that uses technology that overlays digital images onto the real world. The latest version of headset was first launched in February 2019. The newest version of mixed-reality headset features a field of view that’s twice as large as the company‘s prev

TechnologyNov. 2, 2020

Seoul stocks rally ahead of US election, FOMC meeting

Seoul stocks rallied Monday ahead of the upcoming US presidential election and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.01 points, or 1.46 percent, to close at 2,300.16. Trading volume was moderate at about 665 million shares worth around 8.4 trillion won ($7.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 683 to 165. Foreigners bought a net 49 billion won, and institutions purchas

MarketNov. 2, 2020