EV competition gets tougher in Korea

The electric vehicle competition in South Korea is becoming fiercer with more local and foreign automotive brands launching their new electric cars in line with government support and the global environmental trends. In the first half of this year, 22,267 electric vehicles were sold here, up 23 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, although sales of EV passenger cars among them slightly declined 2.7 percent. The surge was mainly

MobilityOct. 3, 2020

Nonmonetary institutions expand loan supplies, while banks tighten grip over lending

While Korea’s major lenders are gesturing to tighten their loan extensions in apparent response to financial authorities’ regulatory efforts, nonmonetary institutions are striving to expand their loan supplies, seeking to absorb market demand. Several savings banks, insurers and e-payment service operators ran special promotional events throughout the last two weeks of September, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, offering cash back or other benefits to potential credit loan borrowers.

MarketOct. 3, 2020

Air traffic to stay below pre-pandemic levels next year

Airline traffic in South Korea and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region will remain well below 2019 levels next year due to the coronavirus's impact on the airline industry, according to a global ratings agency Saturday. The pace of the recovery will depend on each market's relative success in bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control to help improve passenger confidence and reduce the risk of further travel restrictions, Fitch Ratings said. "Airline passenger volume could impro

MobilityOct. 3, 2020

Korean chipmakers to benefit from US restrictions on China's SMIC: analysts

South Korea's chipmakers are expected to benefit from the United States' export restrictions against China's leading foundry firm, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), analysts here said Saturday, as the ban could give them more opportunities to secure orders. The US Commerce Department recently added SMIC to its blacklist, saying that exports to the Chinese firm pose an "unacceptable risk" of being used for Beijing's military activities. The move prevents US

TechnologyOct. 3, 2020

Rate of workers taking child care leave still low in private sector: lawmaker

Although child care leave was introduced by the country more than 30 years ago, the rate of workers who use such leave at private companies is still significantly lower than that of civil servants, a lawmaker said on Saturday, citing recent official data. A total of 4.5 percent, or more than 54,800, of about 1.22 million government employee pension holders, were on child care leave as of June this year, Rep. Kang Byung-won of the ruling Democratic Party said. He cited data from the Korea Worke

IndustryOct. 3, 2020

Trump diagnosis to strengthen dollar, but high market volatility not likely: experts

US President Donald Trump's infection with the new coronavirus is expected to strengthen the dollar due to investors' chasing after safe assets, but financial markets are not likely to undergo high volatility, market experts here said Saturday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, sending Wall Street's main stock indexes lower. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's value against a basket of six foreign currencies, rose 0.14 percent. Analysts said Tr

MarketOct. 3, 2020

S. Korean bio firms in race for COVID-19 treatment, vaccine development

South Korean pharmaceutical companies have joined the global race to develop vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus, and several of them have received approval for clinical trials from the country's drug safety agency. Among the front-runners is Celltrion Inc.'s antiviral antibody treatment candidate called CT-P59 that is currently undergoing phase two and three trials both at home and abroad. Celltrion said it has completed phase one clinical trials on 32 healthy adults in the coun

TechnologyOct. 3, 2020

S. Korea extends incentives for primary dealers to stabilize bond market

South Korea has extended incentive programs for primary dealers in state bond auctions until the end of this year, as part of its efforts to stabilize the bond market, according to the finance ministry Saturday. The ministry launched the incentive programs for primary dealers, who buy state bonds directly from the government and sell them to the market, in April this year as it sought to stabilize the bond market in the face of a hike in sales of state bonds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

MarketOct. 3, 2020

US retail sales of Hyundai Motor rise 7% on-yr in Q3

Retail sales of Hyundai Motor Co. in the United States rose 7 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier on rising demand for its sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the carmaker's US unit said Friday (Korean time). Hyundai sold a total of 170,838 units stateside in the July-September period, down 1 percent, or 2,200, from a year earlier, according to a release by Hyundai Motor America on its website. But its retail sales reached 161,254 units over the three months, up 7 percent from the same

IndustryOct. 2, 2020

[News Focus] Why are Koreans loyal to Korean cigarettes?

Smoking culture in South Korea has seen a great change in the past decades. Smoking indoors and in public areas have been banned, and the number of smokers has been decreasing amid rising health consciousness. New preferences for flavored cigarettes and less smelly products are proving popular, as well as technologies developed to introduce new ways of using the tobacco leaves, by heating and not burning. Still, one thing in Korea remains the same. Korean people are loyal to Korean cigarettes

IndustryOct. 2, 2020

Will Big Hit log record-breaking IPO subscription?

Like it did in the global entertainment scene, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS is likely to wow South Korea’s stock market and its investors with what is widely expected to be the biggest initial public offering of the year. A total of 1,420 domestic and foreign institutional investors, including BlackRock and Singapore’s GIC, participated in the two-day book building, which wrapped up on Sept. 25. Competition for the 4.27 million shares, 60 percent of the new shares issued,

MarketOct. 2, 2020

South Korea's first-ever smart project soon to be in action

South Korea’s first smart city project, involving an area of 2,743,000 square meters in Sejong, is expected to take shape soon as local firms have recently joined the bidding competition. Other smart city projects, including one in Busan, are expected to follow as well. Parties that placed bids include a group led by LG CNS and KT-Hyundai Motor consortiums, according to sources familiar with the pilot smart city project. The successful bidder will work on this 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 bil

TechnologyOct. 2, 2020

Korea ranks No. 18 of 25 OECD members in Q2 employment

SEJONG -- South Korea underperformed in a comparison of employment among some members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It ranked 18th among 25 major economies that released hiring data for the second quarter. Alongside the tough job market, the proportion of nonregular workers held by Korea far exceeded the OECD average. According to the France-based organization, Korea posted 65.4 percent in the employment rate in the second quarter of the year, which is an indica

EconomyOct. 2, 2020

Analysts divided over Big Hit's target prices

South Korean analysts offer a wide range of target prices for Big Hit Entertainment, an agency of K-pop superstar BTS, ahead of the company's market debut slated for this month. Big Hit Entertainment's listing, set for Oct. 15, is one of this year's mega IPO deals, thanks to the K-pop septet's global fame. The initial public offering (IPO) price was set at 135,000 won ($115), but analysts' target prices range from 160,000 won to 380,000 won. Brokerage houses' forecasts vary over how the comp

MarketOct. 2, 2020

[Newsmaker] Smartphone market heats up with new arrivals

Suffering from stalled growth in recent years, the smartphone market remained dull until the first half of this year amid the gloomy sentiment driven by the pandemic. But starting with Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 20 launch in August followed by LG Electronics’ new swiveling form factor smartphone in September, the market is seeing consumer excitement grow again with the releases of new models. Among others, the launches of new form factors seem to be leading the overall recov

TechnologyOct. 1, 2020

[Feature] The dangers of drinking solo

More South Koreans are drinking unaccompanied in the comfort of their homes since the novel coronavirus pandemic began. A September report on local alcohol beverage markets by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs showed that for 87.3 percent of consumers surveyed, home was their primary place of drinking and 45.2 percent said they were drinking alone. Kang Sang-yun, 28, is part of that demographic. He said he’d barely gone out for drinks since QR-coded ID became mandatory

TechnologyOct. 1, 2020

Demand jumps for fresh food on e-commerce platforms

More major e-commerce platforms are offering new services for grocery shoppers as demand for fresh food in online shopping continues to rise amid the ongoing pandemic, according to industry sources. In September, WeMakePrice announced it would start offering a full refund to shoppers who are dissatisfied with the quality of perishable goods sold on its website. The return rate was nearly zero percent during the trial period of the quality assurance service, one official at the company explain

ConsumerOct. 1, 2020

Sept. exports rebound for 1st time in 7 months on chips, autos

South Korea's exports rebounded for the first time in seven months in September, data showed Thursday, helped by increased shipments of chips and automobiles as major trade partners gradually resumed their business activities amid the pandemic. Outbound shipments came to $48 billion last month, up 7.7 percent from $44.6 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The on-year gain in exports marked the largest increase since Octob

EconomyOct. 1, 2020

Top 10 Chuseok gifts Koreans love

Chuseok is Korea’s autumnal holiday, a time for sharing the year’s harvest together with family. It is the perfect time to offer gifts to family elders, business partners and anyone you’d like to be on extra good terms with -- or just to prove you’re now legitimately in the adulting phase of life. 1. Cash Who doesn’t love cash? Cash gifts are arguably the most preferred way of showing a person that you genuinely care in South Korea. Because by giving them the mon

IndustrySept. 30, 2020

Stuck in traffic? Enjoy Chuseok while playing BTS Universe Story

Chuseok, also known as the Korean Thanksgiving, is an annual ritual of family reunification. The scale of human migration on the roads is astounding, with cars stuck on highways for several hours. For children moaning “Are we there yet?” and bored adults habitually checking their smartphones, what better way to kill time than playing games? Here are a few recommendations. 1. BTS Universe Story  Launched globally on Sept. 24, Netmarble’s BTS Universe Story is a storytel

IndustrySept. 30, 2020