Doosan Infracore's sales of mini-sized excavators triple in S. Korea

South Korea's leading construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Monday that sales of its mini-sized excavators in South Korea nearly tripled in the first nine months from a year ago. Sales of mini-sized excavators, which refer to those under 5 tons, rose 192 percent in the January-September period from a year ago, thanks mainly to Doosan Infracore's competitive edge in customer service, the company said. Compared with 2018, sales of mini-sized excavators increased four times in th

IndustryOct. 26, 2020

S. Korea to donate W6b to developing nations in Southeast Asia

South Korea said Monday it has inked an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to provide 6 billion won ($5.3 million) in aid to build sustainable infrastructure in farms in Southeast Asia. The fund, set to be provided over the next three years, will be spent to install solar facilities at farms in Myanmar and Cambodia, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It marked the first time for the agricultural ministry to officially join forces with the UND

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

S. Korea approves $200m in aid for developing nations fighting pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it has approved $200 million in health care aid for three Asian nations to better combat the coronavirus pandemic. The approval is part of the nation's plans to provide more than $400 million in loans and grants to developing nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus. The three nations are the Philippines, Cambodia and Bangladesh. The fund is expected to help developing nations build testing and

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Imported commercial car sales jump 26% in September

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea jumped 26 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Scania and Iveco trucks, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 383 units in September from 304 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Increased sales of Scania and Iveco trucks helped offset decreased sales of MAN and Mercedes-Benz trucks la

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Q3 net jumps on demand recovery

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a major electronics components maker in South Korea, on Monday reported robust third-quarter earnings on firm demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Samsung Group affiliate chalked up a net profit of 240 billion won ($212.5 million), up 119.4 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 302.5 billion won in operating profit for the July-September period, up 59.9 percent from a year ago. Sales rose 3.3 percent on-ye

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

LG releases upgraded wireless earbuds in S. Korea

LG Electronics Inc. on Monday released premium wireless earbuds with an active noise cancellation (ANC) system in South Korea as the company seeks to expand its presence in the wearables market. The high-end model of the LG TONE Free wireless earbuds, the HBS-TFN7, was launched here for 219,000 won ($190). LG said the earwear device is equipped with ANC technology that tunes out ambient noise, allowing users to better concentrate on the sound coming through the earbuds. It also used technolo

TechnologyOct. 26, 2020

Pandemic, brisk exports may boost instant noodle makers' Q3 earnings: survey

South Korea's major instant noodle makers are estimated to have posted solid earnings in the third quarter, as demand from stay-at-home consumers rose amid the pandemic and sales in overseas markets remained robust, a survey showed Monday. The combined operating profit of Nongshim Co., Samyang Foods Co. and Ottogi Co. is projected to have reached 107.1 billion won ($94.9 million) in the July-September period, up 31.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the fi

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Key Samsung units surge as succession issue looms following group chief's death

Shares in Samsung Group's key affiliates closed higher Monday on expectations that they may increase dividend payouts to help the late Samsung chief's scions secure funds to pay record high inheritance taxes and they may overhaul their governance structures. Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee died Sunday at age 78, more than six years after being hospitalized for a heart attack. Shares in three Samsung affiliates held by the late group chief spiked in the morning session as investors bet that th

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

S. Korea's beer exports more than halve this year on virus

South Korea's beer exports more than halved in the first nine months of the year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of Korean beer stood at $54.1 million in the January-September period, about 46 percent of last year's $117.3 million, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Exports to China fell by a third to $20.3 million from $67.6 million over the cited period. Shipments to Hong Kong sank 27.3 percent, and those to the United

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on US stimulus hopes

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday on hopes of fresh US stimulus to insulate the fallout from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.17 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,366.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Sunday (Washington time), US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would push for an agreement for the new stimulus scheme amid a resurgence of the virus. The United States reported 83,757 new COVID-19 cases Friday (US time), an all-t

MarketOct. 26, 2020

S. Korea, Britain agree to maintain close ties after Brexit, pandemic

South Korea and Britain agreed Monday to maintain their trade ties after the scheduled end of the transition period of London's departure from the European Union and to form a deeper bond to overcome the economic jitters caused by the pandemic. Seoul's Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo met Alok Sharma, Britain's secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, in Seoul to discuss the two countries' post-pandemic cooperation, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

20-somethings overburdened with bank overdrafts, card loans

South Koreans in their 20s are overburdened with bank overdrafts and loans from credit card companies amid a jobs crunch sparked by a protracted economic slump, data showed Monday. Outstanding overdrafts and card loans extended to local 20-somethings came to some 2.15 trillion won ($1.91 billion) as of the end of June this year, according to the data that the Financial Supervisory Service prepared for an annual parliamentary audit. The amount is up from 2.08 trillion won from the end of last y

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Budget carrier Jeju Air seen to get state support

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's top low-cost carrier, will likely receive state financial support in a bid to help overcome a coronavirus-caused cash crunch, sources said Monday. In May, South Korea launched a 40 trillion-won ($35.4 billion) fund to provide financial aid to the country's backbone industries, including the airline service sector, amid the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the sources, the operational council of the Key Industry Stabilization Fund is slated

MobilityOct. 26, 2020

S. Korea, China to discuss expanding bilateral FTA scope

South Korea and China on Monday launched the ninth round of talks with China to bolster ties in the service and investment fields as part of their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which went into effect five years ago. South Korean and Chinese trade officials will hold a virtual meeting that will run through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the first FTA follow-up meeting in 2018. "During the meeting, we plan to set more det

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

[News Focus] Is recent slide in dollar prices undesirable?

SEJONG -- The Korean currency has regained its value against the US dollar over the past few weeks after losing ground for more than a half year in the wake of the novel coronavirus. The dollar traded between 1,131 won and 1,142 won last week, closing at 1,132.9 won on Friday, the cheapest level since it traded between 1,131 won and 1,137 won in March 2019. As a result, some government officials are raising concerns that the strengthening won could weaken the competitiveness of local exporters

EconomyOct. 26, 2020

Finance minister turns to YouTube to defend fiscal soundness

October has been a brutal month for South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. Amid heated public criticism against the government’s key fiscal decisions, Hong turned to YouTube on Saturday to defend the government’s fiscal soundness plan announced earlier this month, in a rare move as the top public official of the country. The minister, wearing casual clothes, appeared in five videos explaining the “Korean fiscal soundness rules” to give a full picture of how the gov

MarketOct. 25, 2020

Retail traders go on selling spree in Oct.

Retail traders, which have so far buttressed the pandemic-hit stock market, appear to have begun to unload shares, becoming net sellers in the market, data showed Sunday. According to the nation’s sole securities exchange operator Korea Exchange, they sold 1.27 trillion won ($1.13 billion) worth of stocks on Oct. 1-23. For the 14 trading days from Oct. 5-23, they sold 1.06 trillion won of shares in market kingpin Samsung Electronics, the most among large-cap companies. They sold off 269.

MarketOct. 25, 2020

Under late tycoon’s 27-year leadership, Samsung market cap grew 350 times

The market capitalization of Samsung Group under the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s leadership of 27 years grew nearly 350 times, as the corporate empire he built turned into a global information technology powerhouse from a mere home appliance maker. The combined market value of the conglomerate’s affiliates -- including crown jewel Samsung Electronics and construction firm Samsung C&T -- reached 318.7 trillion won ($282.4 billion) in 2014, when the late chairman had a heart atta

MarketOct. 25, 2020

[News Focus] Lee Kun-hee: Giant who took a leap forward

Today’s Samsung Electronics stands as one of the world’s leading conglomerates, but at the time Lee Kun-hee took the helm of Samsung Group in 1987, the company was in need of radical change. Though Lee was born in Daegu in 1942 as the third son of Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group, it was perhaps his bold instincts for change and survival that made his father change his mind and bequeath the throne to Lee, bypassing his two older brothers. During his childhood, Lee was se

IndustryOct. 25, 2020

[Herald Interview] Glimpse into future of AI that talks fluently

While artificial intelligence is slowly entering everyday life, AI that speaks and understands human language flawlessly is still a work in progress for tech firms. Google’s Duplex technology, for instance, has been allowing users to make reservations in restaurants automatically or arrange appointments, with the AI assistant making the phone call, since 2018. South Korean telecommunications firm SKT earlier this month has added its self-developed voice assistant Nugu to its voice call

TechnologyOct. 25, 2020