[Monitor] Korea's 5G download speed 2nd fastest in world

South Korea’s 5G download speed is second fastest globally, reaching an average speed of 336.1 megabits per second (Mbps), a report by industry tracker Opensignal showed Tuesday. First on the list was Saudi Arabia, who showed an average speed of 377.2 Mbps. Korea‘s average 5G download speed was also 5.6 times faster than its average 4G download speed of 60.5 Mbps. In August, the average download speed of 5G was 312.7 Mbps.  (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryOct. 21, 2020

Mobile carriers sharpen AI services for corporate clients amid pandemic

As the business appetite for cloud and remote work services grows amid the pandemic, South Korean telecom operators are expanding artificial intelligence (AI) services to help companies cope with the shift to new technologies. While the country's three major carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have traditionally focused on AI services for subscribers, such as virtual assistants, they have recently targeted corporate clients to help them deal with growing network issues su

TechnologyOct. 21, 2020

Jeju Air resumes flights to China's Harbin

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, on Wednesday resumed flights to the Chinese city of Harbin to meet travel demand from businessmen and students. Jeju Air will offer one flight a week on the Incheon-Harbin route from Wednesday after suspending the route for more than seven months amid the new coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier has suspended most of its 76 international routes since March as countries strengthened entry restrictions to

MobilityOct. 21, 2020

Hyundai Motor to overhaul process for quality control

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it will overhaul its product quality control process following engine recalls and fires in an electric model. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. plan to simplify the overall quality control process to better focus on resolving problems, a Hyundai official said over the phone. Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, will also simplify the decision-making process to respond to customers' demands as qu

EconomyOct. 21, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, taking a cue from an overnight rise on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.42 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,363.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got a boost from US peers, despite lingering uncertainties from the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.33 percent on Tuesday (New York time), with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding

MarketOct. 21, 2020

Producer prices up for 4th straight month in Sept. on farm goods

South Korea's producer prices rose for the fourth straight month in September, due largely to increased costs of agricultural, livestock and fishery goods, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, inched up 0.1 percent in September from the previous month, slowing from a 0.5 percent on-month gain in August, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fourth consecutive month of increase after the price index stayed flat in

EconomyOct. 21, 2020

Exports fall 5.8% in first 20 days of October

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports fell 5.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October amid the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Wednesday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $25.2 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $26.7 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, rose 5.9 percent on-year in the Oct. 1-20 period, the Korea Customs Service said. This month, fewer working days from the Ch

EconomyOct. 21, 2020

Authorities seek to revoke Lime Asset license

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Tuesday recommended that Lime Asset Management lose its license, the toughest penalty possible, for defrauding its investors and costing them trillions of won.  The FSS decision followed a meeting to decide the level of sanctions it would advise the regulator, the Financial Services Commission, to impose on the Seoul-based hedge fund manager. If the FSC agrees, Lime’s license as a privately pooled fund manager could be revoked as early as Nov

MarketOct. 20, 2020

S. Korea state pension partners with Dutch fund for joint investments

South Korea's state pension fund said Tuesday it has partnered with its Dutch counterpart to make joint investments in overseas assets. The National Pension Service has recently joined hands with APG Asset Management, which runs the biggest Dutch pension fund, to explore investment opportunities in global markets, the NPS said in a statement. The partnership came as the Korean pension fund increases the ratio of alternative investments in global markets amid low rates and an extended slowdown,

MarketOct. 20, 2020

Hyundai launches facelifted Genesis G70 in S. Korea

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, on Tuesday launched the upgraded G70 sedan under its independent Genesis brand in the domestic market to boost sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The facelifted G70 comes with a 2.0-liter gasoline turbocharged engine, a 2.2 diesel engine or a 3.3 gasoline turbocharged engine, the company said in a statement. The upgraded version of the first-generation G70 underwent major design changes and features a wide and deep crest grille, quad headlamps

MobilityOct. 20, 2020

KITA’s Startup Branch becomes mecca of innovative growth

The Korea International Trade Association’s open innovation venue Startup Branch is becoming a mecca for innovative growth among local and global firms. According to KITA, it has been 500 days since the venue opened. Startup Branch was set up at Coex in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, in June last year to create a domestic startup ecosystem and encourage global scale-ups. Since that time, leading local and foreign companies and startups have visited the venue and held about 400 large-sca

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

Mercedes-Benz new Actros exhibition, test-drive event runs in 11 regions

Daimler Trucks Korea said Tuesday that it is successfully running an exhibition and test-drive event for Mercedes-Benz’s new Actros, launched last month. Presented via a digital launching event Sept. 10, the new Actros has grabbed the attention of truck drivers and Mercedes-Benz customers for its newest technological functions, the automaker said. The fifth-generation Actros is equipped with five innovative functions, the company said: the MirrorCam, Active Drive Assist, Active Brake A

MobilityOct. 20, 2020

SK E&C’s new fuel cell plant opens

SK Engineering & Construction opened a new fuel cell manufacturing plant in the city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on Tuesday. The facility for the joint venture with US fuel cell company Bloom Energy 2020, known as Bloom SK Fuel Cell, comes as part of the company’s yearslong efforts to locally produce solid oxide fuel cells. The annual generating capacity of the factory is projected at 50 megawatts in 2021 with plans to grow to up to 400 megawatts by 2027. By Yim Hyun-su (hyu

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

LG Chem, Hyundai breathe new life into dead EV batteries

Major South Korean firms including LG Chem, Hyundai Glovis and Hyundai Motor have come up with new business models to reuse dead electric vehicle batteries to address approximately 80,000 used-up EV batteries that will materialize by 2029. The plan follows the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s fourth committee meeting on Monday to review regulatory exemptions for new business models, giving the green light to three projects that reuse EV batteries. When an EV batteries’ pe

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

Incheon Global City to build new residential block

Special-purpose company Incheon Global City has announced plans for the second phase of its project to build an apartment block for South Koreans based in the US. The plan will see the company sign a contract with Posco Engineering & Construction later this month and see construction begin in December, with its completion scheduled for April 2025. Those eligible for the newly constructed apartment subscription will be allotted apartments through a draw in November before signing deals the

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

Intel deal to make SK hynix world's No. 2 NAND provider

SK hynix announced Tuesday that it would acquire Intel’s NAND business for $9 billion, in a deal that will make it the world’s second-largest NAND flash memory provider. SK hynix said it has signed an agreement with Intel under which the Korean chipmaker will acquire the US tech giant’s NAND memory and storage business. The $9 billion deal includes transaction of the NAND solid-state drive business, the NAND component and wafer business and the Dalian NAND memory manufactur

TechnologyOct. 20, 2020

Doosan Heavy wins $787m power plant order from Vietnam

South Korean power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Tuesday it has signed a $787 million deal to build a coal-fired power plant in northeastern Vietnam. Under the deal with Vapco, a Vietnamese unit of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), Doosan Heavy Industries will build the plant and provide equipment including boilers from March 2021 to February 2025, the company said in a regulatory filing. Early this month, the board of Kepco decided to take

EconomyOct. 20, 2020

NCSoft makes foray into console gaming market with ‘Fuser’

NCSoft is gearing up to enter the fast-growing global console gaming market with its first console title “Fuser,” a DJ rhythm game set for release on Nov. 10. According to the South Korean game company Tuesday, its North American subsidiary NC West will release Fuser for both on PC and three major console platforms -- PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch -- in North America and Europe. NCSoft says its playlist will distinguish Fuser from other rhythm games. While previo

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells partners with Kowepo to build 150MW solar farm in Spain

Hanwha Q Cells said Tuesday that it has joined hands with Korea Western Power to launch solar power projects in Spain with a total capacity of 150 megawatts. According to South Korea’s leading solar cell and module maker, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kowepo at Plaza Seoul Hotel on Monday agreeing to cooperate on the projects. In September last year, Hanwha Q Cells purchased the business rights from Spanish firm Hive to its 200-megawatt solar power projects. Under the a

IndustryOct. 20, 2020

Medytox’s Coretox at risk of losing license

After most of its Meditoxin units were stripped of its sales licenses, Medytox is at risk of losing two more of its products’ licenses as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety moves to penalize their illegal sales in China. On Monday evening, the ministry issued an announcement that it has determined the 50, 100, 150 and 200 units of Meditoxin and Coretox violated the Pharmaceutical Act by trading overseas without the agency‘s permission to leave the country. Meditoxin 50, 100 and

IndustryOct. 20, 2020