[67th Anniversary Special] Amid contactless boom, Korea steps into cashless society

Cashless stores, digital payment and contactless banking all existed before the pandemic swept South Korea’s retail markets. What’s different now is that walletless services have gained dominance as a payment method, accelerating the nation’s shift to a cashless society. Concerned about the new coronavirus, people are increasingly using mobile services to order food and other necessities online instead of dining out or buying their clothes at brick-and-mortar stores. During t

MarketAug. 15, 2020

[67th Anniversary Special] Mobile screens take center stage of entertainment

Commuting to work by public transportation in Seoul at 2020, after just a few seconds onboard you will easily come across people watching the latest films, full length, in full HD. You might stop and wonder, “Where did they download those films? I saw the review of that film last week saying it’s going to come up in theaters soon.” That’s right. This weekend’s film that you bought tickets for and have been waiting heartily is already up on your smartphone. With

TechnologyAug. 15, 2020

[67th Anniversary Special] Keeping up with new eating habits brought on by the pandemic

With the COVID-19 pandemic, some priorities have become universal -- hygiene, personal safety and social distancing. With the pandemic showing no signs of abating, experts say these factors will ultimately change the way people consume food. In turn, related industries should gear up for the “new normal.” “The increased awareness of food safety, and demands for healthy food and preference for noncontact transactions … such consumption patterns will continue for a lon

IndustryAug. 15, 2020

US conducting anti-dumping, countervailing duties probe on S. Korea steel pipes

The United States is conducting anti-dumping, countervailing duties probe on South Korean steel pipe products, following complaints by a local company, an international traders organization said Saturday. The investigation on seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line and pressure pipes was officially launched on July 28 by the US Department of Commerce, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said. It said Texas-based steelmaker Vallourec Star, claiming unfair price cutting, req

IndustryAug. 15, 2020

Kim Jae-shin appointed as FTC vice chairman

Kim Jae-shin, secretary-general of Fair Trade Commission, has been appointed by Cheong Wa Dae as the vice chairman of the antitrust government agency on Friday. It was part of the presidential office’s reshuffle of vice minister-level officials. Kim, who started his career at FTC after passing the civil service exam in 1990, is said to be an expert on policymaking regarding business practices. He served at various bureaus, including planning and coordination, business trade policy, c

IndustryAug. 14, 2020

Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank post mixed Q2 earnings in Korea

Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank’s Korean subsidiaries posted mixed earnings in the second quarter, as per their disclosures Friday. The New York-based lender’s subsidiary bit the dust amid the coronavirus pandemic, with its net profit plummeting 72.4 percent on-year to 30.3 billion won ($25.5 million). This was mostly due to provisions set aside for coronavirus risks coupled with dissipated effects from the sell-off of its landmark headquarters tower last year. Its net profi

MarketAug. 14, 2020

Jin Air suffers Q2 operating loss of W59.6b

Low cost carrier Jin Air posted an operating loss of 59.6 billion ($50.3 million) won during the second quarter, nearly doubling the loss it suffered the same time last year, according to its regulatory filing on Friday. The quarterly revenue stood at 23.2 billion won, down 89 percent from a year ago. Its net loss for the second quarter was 59 billion won. The low-cost subsidiary of Korean Air said its business suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic despite its efforts to increase domestic

MobilityAug. 14, 2020

Banks to adjust loan payments, ATM fees for temporary holiday

For the temporary national holiday slated for Monday, South Korean lenders and financial authorities said Friday that loan payments, ATM fees and other services would be adjusted for the time being. According to the Financial Services Commission, loan payments due Monday will be automatically delayed to Tuesday. Late fees will be waived, but some loans -- including those that could require early payoff fees, charged when customers pay off their principal balance early -- may require consulting

MarketAug. 14, 2020

Finance minister rules out 4th extra budget

South Korea's finance minister on Friday ruled out the possibility of a fourth extra budget as he held out the prospect of economic growth in the third quarter. "We can fully cover the costs of recovering from heavy rains through such measures as reserve fund without an extra budget," Hong Nam-ki said in a meeting with reporters from foreign media outlets at the government complex in the central city of Sejong. The government's reserve fund is currently worth about 2.6 trillion won

EconomyAug. 14, 2020

Delivery workers on ‘refresh holiday’ for first time in 28 years

Delivery workers at major logistics firms took a day off Friday, for the first time in 28 years since the introduction of a delivery system in the country. The companies have designated Aug. 14 as “Delivery worker’s refresh day,” amid surging workload in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. CJ Logistics, Hanjin, Lotte and Logen -- four major logistics companies here -- decided last month to give their delivery staff a day off, after they accepted the demand of two labor unions of

ConsumerAug. 14, 2020

Hyundai Kona Electric sets new travel range of over 1,000 km

Hyundai Motor said Friday its electric compact sports utility vehicle Kona Electric succeeded in driving over 1,000 kilometers on a single battery charge, setting a new range record for electric vehicles. The auto maker said it had conducted a test run of three Kona Electric vehicles, the company‘s pure electric car brand, at EuroSpeedway Lausitzring, a racing circuit located in northeast Germany from July 22 to 24. Each of the three vehicles went 1,026 kilometers, 1,024.1 km and 1,01

MobilityAug. 14, 2020

Seoul stocks snap winning streak on profit-taking

South Korean shares ended their nine-session winning streak Friday, as investors attempted to cash in part of recent gains. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 30.04 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,407.49. Trading volume was high at about 956 million shares worth some 16.4 trillion won ($13.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 531 to 337. Foreigners sold a net 462 billion won, while retail investors purchased a

MarketAug. 14, 2020

Samsung’s overseas research centers win AI competitions

Samsung Electronics’ said Friday its overseas research centers on artificial intelligence are gaining global recognition, winning top prizes in multiple competitions. The company’s researchers in Poland and China have won a highly prestigious global AI competition, winning global attention in speech translation research. Samsung R&D Institute Poland and Samsung R&D Institute China-Beijing competed with some of the world’s top universities and research labs to win f

TechnologyAug. 14, 2020

Hyundai Rotem teams up with Ulsan city for hydrogen-powered tram project

Hyundai Rotem, a train-making subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, said on Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ulsan Metropolitan City to build a hydrogen fuel cell tram for a demonstration project. The project will see the company roll out a hydrogen-powered tram and build a fueling station and a railway depot for a railway spanning 4.6 kilometers connecting Taehwagang Station and Ulsanhang Station in Ulsan – a line that has been left abandoned. Ulsan city will pr

MobilityAug. 14, 2020

Fire breaks out at LG Chem plant in Ulsan

A fire broke out at a warehouse outside LG Chem’s plant in Onsan, Ulsan, on Friday morning, which was put out an hour later. A flare-up was noticed at around 10:50 a.m., thought to have been from spontaneous combustion of crop protection agent materials, according to the company. No casualties were reported and people who were evacuated from the area, including workers on the site and residents, are safe. Following the incident, some media outlets reported there was leakage of chemical

IndustryAug. 14, 2020

Celltrion to begin trials of Prolia biosimilar in Sept.

Celltrion said Friday that it will begin clinical phase 1 trials of its Prolia biosimilar CT-P41 in September. The study aims to test CT-P41’s safety in healthy participants and is anticipated to wrap up in the first half of 2021. Celltrion said it plans to finish clinical phase 3 trials by February 2025 when Prolia’s patent in the US will expire. CT-P41, as a biosimilar, gets to bypass clinical phase 2 trials given that it proves its similarity to the original drug. Proli

IndustryAug. 14, 2020

Sanofi Pasteur to continue nonprofit flu vaccination of homeless

Despite forecasts that there will be an unprecedented boost in global demand for the flu vaccine this year, Sanofi Pasteur Korea said Friday it will continue to provide free inoculations for the homeless. “Due to COVID-19 this year, we have seen an unprecedented increase in influenza vaccine demand as health authorities seek to prevent what is preventable and keep people who are at risk of influenza safe,” a company official said. Sanofi Pasteur anticipates around a 20 percent i

IndustryAug. 14, 2020

ULikeKorea expands livestock healthcare tech to sheep in Mongolia

ULikeKorea, a preventive health care company for livestock, said Friday that it has expanded its bio-capsule services to sheep in Mongolia. ULikeKorea’s LiveCare bio-capsule has passed proof of concept at sheep farms in Erdene Soum, Mongolia, some 50 kilometers east of the capital Ulaanbaatar using SK TNS’ 6-kilometer long-range Lora network and one other foreign partner’s collaboration. Mongolia has a vast number of sheep, with the country’s livestock population esti

IndustryAug. 14, 2020

Hannam The Hill holds the fort as top-priced apartment in S. Korea

Hannam The Hill, a premium residence located in central Seoul’s Hannam-dong, continued to stand as the most expensive apartment in South Korea, extending its record for five consecutive years, data showed Friday. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, one unit of the apartment with an exclusive use area of 240.305 square meters was valued at 7.3 billion won ($6.16 million) in April this year. The latest amount was up 200 million won from the

MarketAug. 14, 2020

SK Bioscience to contract manufacture Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine

SK Bioscience will contract develop and manufacture American biotechnology firm Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, the company said Thursday. Through a trilateral agreement, SK Bioscience, Novavax and Korea’s Ministry of Healthcare will collaborate to quickly and stably produce the vaccine; support equitable global distribution; and improve public healthcare in Korea through efforts to secure supply. SK Bioscience, a vaccine-specialized spin-off of SK Chemical, recently rose in global r

IndustryAug. 14, 2020