S. Korea's July exports tipped to drop 9% amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to fall 9 percent on-year in July, possibly extending a slump to the fifth consecutive month, a poll showed Tuesday, but their pace of decline is predicted to slow on the back of economic reopenings. The country's outbound shipments are estimated at $41.8 billion this month, compared with $46.14 billion from a year earlier, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on nine local brokerage h

EconomyJuly 28, 2020

Woori, IBK suffer earnings slump in Q2 on coronavirus, fund misselling

Woori Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea reported on Monday that their second-quarter net profit plummeted by 45 percent and 25 percent, respectively, weighed down by risks stemming from the coronavirus and hedge fund misselling. Woori Bank’s net profit for the April-June period slipped 45.28 percent on-year to 682.1 billion won ($570.2 million), while its operating profit fell 35.04 percent to 1.3 trillion won. But revenue increased 21.34 percent to 13.8 trillion won. The commercial ban

MarketJuly 27, 2020

Celltrion’s Remsima SC gains IBD indication approval in Europe

Celltrion’s anti-inflammatory biosimilar Remsima SC, which is injected under the skin, gained approval from the European Medicines Agency as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. Remsima SC contends to be a biobetter, as the upgraded method of administration enables patients to self-administer the drug at home. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted conventional hospital drug dispensing systems, Remsima SC’s convenience is being seen in a new light. Celltr

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

[Herald Interview] Digital forensics to play bigger role in Korean companies’ foreign litigation

The dominance of digital devices in the work environment has led to significant changes in global litigation involving corporate disputes. The massive amounts of intangible data have increasingly emerged as key evidence of business misconduct that is becoming more and more sophisticated. A high-profile case in the US this year was a true testament to the trend. Electronic discovery conducted by the US International Trade Commission led to a preliminary ruling -- by default -- in favor of plai

MarketJuly 27, 2020

Taihan secures W92.5b power grid project in the UK

Taihan Electric Wire said Monday it has signed a 92.5 billion won ($77.3 million) contract with the UK’s National Grid to supply underground cables and accessories for the London Power Tunnel 2. It is the largest electric grid project to be undertaken by a Korean cable manufacturer in the country, and the company had to fend off stiff competition from other bidders. The bidding process lasted for over a year. “We are excited that we will play a big part in this large-scale, long-te

MobilityJuly 27, 2020

Pessimism soars over HDC-Asiana deal

Market pessimism over HDC Hyundai Development Company’s purchase plan of the country’s second-largest airline grew Monday, with Asiana Airlines stocks plunging. Shares of the airline closed at 3,560 won ($2.98) on Monday, down 2.86 percent from the previous session. However, HDC shares remained almost unchanged and were being traded at 33,100 won. The drop in stock price comes as HDC, which leads a consortium with Mirae Asset Daewoo to take over Asiana, called for another round of

MobilityJuly 27, 2020

SKT to take visitors back 600 years in time with Changdeokgung AR tour

SK Telecom on Monday unveiled an augmented reality-powered application designed to let visitors experience life in Seoul’s Changdeokgung 600 years ago. Changdeokgung, built in 1405 as one of the Joseon era’s main royal residences, is listed among UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.　 According to SKT, visitors to the royal palace can download the mobile application ARirang and use it as a virtual tour guide starting Tuesday. The mobile carrier said it created the AR content in c

TechnologyJuly 27, 2020

[News Analysis] Cost of scaling up EV industry: Short-term profitability

Economics 101: price goes up when there’s more demand than supply. In the case of electric vehicle batteries, the current supply crunch is only to intensify, with the demand of 916 gigawatt-hours is to overtake the supply of 776 gigawatt-hours in 2023, according to SNE research. However, the prices have been going down 18 percent every year. Ironically, it’s the battery makers that are bringing down the price of their own products. “When battery prices fall to $100 per k

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

LG Electronics won’t quit solar module biz, refutes rumors

LG Electronics said Monday it won’t quit its solar module business, denying rumors that it has been searching for a financial advisor since last year to sell off the business. In response to recent local media reports that it is considering to sell off its solar module business due to a lack of price competitiveness against cheaper Chinese modules, the home appliance giant said such claims are unsubstantiated. “LG Electronics is currently injecting tens of millions of dollars i

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

S. Korea’s ample liquidity mostly remains in bank savings

South Korea’s lenders saw savings by customers climb rapidly during the first six months of the year, along with household and corporate loans, central bank data showed Monday. Such a visible rise was seen as a signal that the ample liquidity triggered by expansionary fiscal and monetary policies did not spill out into the market, despite policy intentions. According to data from the Bank of Korea, the credit balance of domestic banks came to 1.86 quadrillion won ($1.55 trillion) as

MarketJuly 27, 2020

SKT finally halts 2G mobile services

SK Telecom said Monday it has permanently ended its 25-year-old 2G mobile service. The top mobile carrier here received the go-ahead from the ICT Ministry last month and started to switch off the 2G service in smaller cities including Sejong since July 6. Seoul was the last city that it shut down the service. Subscribers of SKT’s 2G service in Korea can no longer receive and make calls or send text messages. According to the company a majority of the company’s 2G users -- around

TechnologyJuly 27, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 3-day losing streak on stimulus hopes

South Korean shares closed higher Monday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as stimulus steps in major economies boosted investors' appetite for risk. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.42 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 2,217.86. Trading volume was high at about 918 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 561 to 284. Foreigners bought a net 156 billion won, with

MarketJuly 27, 2020

Koramco’s REIT to invest in 187 gas stations

South Korean firm Koramco REITs Management & Trust said Monday it plans to raise 106.6 billion won ($89.04 million) from retail investors for its market debut on the nation’s main bourse Kospi next month.　 Koramco Energy Plus REIT is designed to directly invest in the 187 gas station sites, including the land, buildings, tanks and pipelines. Spanning an area 316,621 square meters, the land and buildings were valued at nearly 1.13 trillion won as of May 31 this year, Koramco REITs Man

MarketJuly 27, 2020

Samsung’s consumer electronics unit pushes harder into UK

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has clinched multiple supply deals in the UK, in an apparent move to push harder into the home interior and housing market. The South Korean tech giant recently inked a deal to supply 1,000 Air Dressers -- its wardrobe care machine -- with Lux Group. The British firm is a well-known interior design and construction company specializing in high-end mansions, and also manufactures home and dining room furniture. It is one of the major customers that Samsun

TechnologyJuly 27, 2020

KT set to further solidify No.1 pay-TV operator status via acquisition

KT Skylife Co., a satellite broadcasting affiliate of local telecom giant KT Corp., was chosen as the preferred bidder to buy cable TV operator Hyundai HCN Co., the company said Monday, beating out rival telecom operators. The country's three major mobile carriers, including SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Corp, have been racing to acquire the cable TV operator which has been put up for sale since late March, as they look to strengthen their presence in the local pay TV market. The acquisition dat

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

K bank to launch ‘untact’ loan transfer service

South Korea’s online-only lender K bank said Monday it plans to launch a new untact -- non face-to-face -- loan balance transfer service in the second half of this year, the first of its kind in the industry.  Customers will have digital signatures registered to its own electronic system, so it can lend money instead of having to go through paper work needed to verify the authenticity of one’s seal certificate. A loan balance transfer is a service that allows borrowers to

MarketJuly 27, 2020

FCA Korea chief suspended over sexual harassment allegations

Fiat Chrysler Korea confirmed Monday that President Pablo Rosso has been suspended following allegations of sexual harassment, verbal abuse and assault.  To ensure the integrity of the investigation is upheld, Pablo Rosso has been temporarily suspended from his duties as managing director of FCA Korea, the automaker said. "FCA does not tolerate any form of harassment, abuse or discrimination of our employees or business partners. It is the company’s policy to both immediately

MobilityJuly 27, 2020

LG chairman donates W1b to IVI for coronavirus vaccine

The International Vaccine Institute, a Seoul-based independent nonprofit agency, said Monday that LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo has personally donated 1 billion won ($836,120) to develop therapies for the new coronavirus. Koo hopes his donation would help speed up the development of vaccines to tackle the unprecedented pandemic, the organization said. The donation will be used to study methods to prevent infections, improving the human immune response to COVID-19 vaccines and for strengthen

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

Yuhan-AbClon’s COVID-19 antibody therapy revs up for trials

Yuhan and AbClon have joined the list of companies that are in the race to develop a therapy for COVID-19. Although they are still in the animal-testing stage, they have identified a multifariously adaptive candidate for COVID-19 therapy which they plan to begin testing on humans before the year-end. Since February, AbClon had been running its Novel Epitope Screening Technology platform to identify antibody candidates for the epidemic. The company has identified 20 antibodies that wholly cuts

IndustryJuly 27, 2020

Samsung Heavy seeks 3D design approval from ABS

Samsung Heavy Industries said Monday it has become the first shipbuilder to seek approval for its 3D model-based ships from American Bureau of Shipping. ABS sets standards for safety and excellence as one of the world‘s leading ship classification organizations. The South Korean shipbuilder said it began using the design techniques since 2016 but has taken an extra step for approval from ABS. “Shipbuilders must obtain approval from a classification society for the design of ship

MobilityJuly 27, 2020