Online sales of CheongKwanJang rise globally amid pandemic

Korea Ginseng Corp. said on Thursday that global sales of its red ginseng products have increased amid growing interest in strengthening the immune system following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the company, CheongKwanJang, its red ginseng brand, saw online sales increase 41 percent year-on-year during the first six months this year in China, thanks in part to its online flagship stores on platforms such as Tmall and JD.com. Online sales in the US and Japan also grew after the products b

ConsumerOct. 22, 2020

Jeju Air joins rivals' push for plane conversion for cargo

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Thursday it will carry cargo using a passenger jet to offset a sharp decline in air travel demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Jeju Air plans to deploy a B737-800 passenger jet to deliver cargo from Incheon to Bangkok from late Thursday, the company said in a statement. "The company is considering expanding cargo delivery using passenger jets to other countries depending on market conditions," the statement said. Budget c

MobilityOct. 22, 2020

Overseas stock transactions hit new high in Q3

South Koreans' overseas stock transactions soared to a new high in the third quarter of the year on brisk investment in tech companies, data showed Thursday. Local investors' trading of overseas shares was valued at $62.02 billion in the July-September period, an all-time quarterly record and up 42.7 percent from the previous high of $43.46 billion three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The value of US stocks traded by South Korean investors to

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

Shinhan Financial, Grab partner on digital finance services in Vietnam

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese subsidiary of Singapore-based ride-hailing giant Grab to jointly develop new digital financial services.  Under the agreement, Shinhan’s startup accelerator unit, Shinhan Future’s Lab Vietnam, and Grab will join hands to nurture budding local enterprises developing new services ranging from fintech to real estate and will work together to build a startup-friendly ecosyst

MarketOct. 22, 2020

Number of beef cattle in S. Korea hits all-time high in Q3

SEJONG -- The number of beef cattle in South Korea surged to a record high in the third quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed Thursday. There were 3.39 million beef cattle, including Korean-bread cattle known as "hanwoo," in the country as of Sept. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. It represents the largest-ever tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983. The third-quarter

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

S. Korea, China up currency swap size

South Korea and China signed a deal to extend their bilateral currency swap agreement and expand the size, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday, a move aimed at helping ease a potential liquidity crunch amid the pandemic. The BOK and People's Bank of China clinched a won-yuan currency swap deal worth $26 billion in December 2008 in the midst of the global financial crisis. They have extended it by three years three times so far and enlarged the size to some 64 trillion won ($56.5 billion) in 2

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

Kumho Tire to supply tires for Scoda Kamiq from January

Kumho Tire Co., South Korea's second-largest tiremaker by sales, said Thursday it will begin supplying tires for the Skoda Kamiq compact crossover in January. Kumho Tire also has been supplying ECSTA PS71 original equipment (OE) tires to Skoda's Czech Republic-based plant that produces the Octavia sedan since May. Scoda is a carmaker belonging to Volkswagen Group. Supplying OE tires to car manufacturers does not generate much revenue for tiremakers but securing big companies as clients helps

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

Doosan Bobcat launches new product line for Europe

South Korea's small-sized construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Thursday that its European unit Doosan Bobcat EMEA Ltd. has held a virtual event to launch its new product line as part of efforts to expand sales in Europe. The line of 12 new products includes a compact wheel loader, a light compaction machine, a small-sized loader and a mini-sized excavator, Doosan Bobcat said. Doosan Bobcat EMEA based in the Czech Republic plans to annually sell 1,000 units of compact wheel loa

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

[Monitor] Samsung, Hyundai see global brand value soar

Samsung Electronics ranked fifth in the world in brand value this year with a record value of $62.3 billion, up 2 percent from last year, according to Interbrand’s latest top 100 global brands list on Tuesday. It is the highest position Samsung or any South Korean company has attained since Samsung first made the top 10 in 2012. Hyundai Motor ranked fifth on Interbrand’s top brand value list for global automakers, and was acknowledged for its future mobility endeavors. Hyundai jum

IndustryOct. 22, 2020

Moody's says quality-related expenses credit negative for Hyundai

Moody's Investors Service said Thursday that Hyundai Motor Group's 3.4 trillion-won ($3 billion) quality-related provisions will be credit negative for the South Korean carmaker. In its recent report, Moody's said the sizable provisions for engine recalls and quality management highlights the continued quality-control challenges facing Hyundai and will hit the carmaker's profitability this year. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. put aside 2.1 trillion won and 1.26 trillion

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply lower on tech, auto losses

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday on tech and auto losses, tracking losses from its US peers amid lingering stimulus uncertainties in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.28 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,347.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a weak start on long-stalled stimulus talks in the United States, one of South Korea's largest trade partners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3

MarketOct. 22, 2020

European sales of Samsung Bioepis' 3 biosimilars up 13% in Q3

South Korean drugmaker Samsung Bioepis Co. said Thursday sales of its three biosimilar products in Europe jumped 13 percent on-year during the third quarter of this year. Combined sales of the three autoimmune biosimilars -- Benepali, Flixabi and Imraldi -- came to $279 million in the July-October period, the company said. The company cited a third-quarter earnings report of its US partner Biogen. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics -- a biopharmaceutical unit of Sou

IndustryOct. 22, 2020

Brokerages revise up Q3 earnings outlook for major listed firms

South Korean brokerage houses have upgraded their third-quarter earnings outlook for major listed companies despite the coronavirus pandemic, a market tracker said Thursday. The combined operating income forecast for 173 major listed firms came to 38.2 trillion won ($33.7 billion) for the July-September period as of Wednesday, up 24.1 percent from a year earlier, according to FnGuide. It also represents a 5.5 percent increase from their estimate of 36.1 trillion won made a month earlier. The

EconomyOct. 22, 2020

LG Chem breaks records in Q3 ahead of split-off

LG Chem enjoyed the greatest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history in the July-September period ahead of its controversial battery business split-off, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The South Korean refinery-to-battery firm recorded 7.5 trillion won in revenue ($6.6 billion) in the third quarter, a 8.8 percent increase on-year, while its operating profit jumped 158 percent to 902.1 billion won in the same period. The revenue and operating profit figures would be

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

[News Analysis] LG Chem to reignite bio biz after battery separation

Many may have forgotten, but LG Chem was once the center of Korean bio innovations -- and it is taking steps to get back in the game where new players Samsung and SK are now making strides. In the latest, groundbreaking announcement for shareholders, LG Chem said it will separate its cash cow battery business and focus on promoting the balanced triangular growth of its petrochemicals, advanced materials and life sciences businesses. Shareholders are noticeably displeased with the company&rsquo

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

Samsung Biologics' Jan.-Sept. margin surpasses profit for whole of 2019

Samsung Biologics marked an operating profit in the first three quarters of 2020 of more than double its entire yearly performance of 2019, proving it has been undamaged and even buoyed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has largely slashed earnings across various industries. During the three months of July through September, Samsung biologics made revenue of 274.6 billion won ($242.4 million) and an operating profit of 56.5 billion won, according to the accumulated third quarter report on Wednesd

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

[From the Scene] Korea’s biggest battery expo invites LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK Innovation

South Korea’s biggest battery expo, “Inter Battery,” opened Wednesday, the first and the largest expo to be held in Coex, Seoul, since Oct. 12, when the social distancing measures were lowered to Level 1. At the expo, which will be held until Friday, 198 companies are participating, including LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation, to tout their battery technologies. To enter the expo, visitors had to scan their QR codes and wear masks and disposable gloves. As Korea’s

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

Disney picks LG Display for OLED

LG Display signed a three-year strategic partnership with Walt Disney Studios’ StudioLAB to provide it with organic light-emitting diode TV panels, the company said Wednesday. The deal will add transparent, ultrahigh-definition display panels developed and manufactured by LG Display for StudioLAB. StudioLAB is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios that researches cutting-edge filmmaking technologies. Walt Disney Studios comprises of Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

Lexicon Premium Sound System applied to sporty Genesis G70

Harman International Korea said Wednesday its Lexicon Premium Sound System is being offered as an option for the Genesis sports sedan, the New G70, which was recently rolled out. According to the car audio supplier, the Lexicon Premium Sound System adds six more speakers to the originally installed nine to offer the best audio sound quality, with a high power output Class D Amplifier and under seat subwoofer. The 15 speakers balance the different ranges of sound, and the subwoofer installed

MobilityOct. 21, 2020

Vietnam again asks Samsung to invest in semiconductor infrastructure

Vietnam’s leader has asked Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Electronics, to make an investment in building a semiconductor plant in the country, according to news reports by Vietnamese media on Wednesday. During a meeting held in Hanoi on Tuesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his hope that Samsung makes an investment in Vietnam by building a chip manufacturing plant there. While visiting Seoul in November 2019

TechnologyOct. 21, 2020