Smilegate launches tank battle game Super Tank Blitz in 142 countries

Smilegate said Thursday that it has officially launched its mobile tank battle game Super Tank Blitz in 142 countries. According to the South Korean game maker, the casual sandbox game is the follow-up to Super Tank Rumble, launched in 2017, which scored more than 20 million downloads worldwide. In the game, users can make their own tanks with different parts and engage in battles with other users. They can also share the blueprints of their tanks. A sandbox game is a video game with a game

IndustryJuly 23, 2020

Jeju Air pulls plug on Eastar Jet with nowhere to go

After months of negotiations and trading barbs, Jeju Air finalized its decision Thursday to scrap its plans to purchase Eastar Jet -- a decision that Jeju said was inevitable amid uncertainties, but was detrimental to the Eastar Jet that now faces real risk of bankruptcy. 　 “Despite the government’s willingness to support and mediate, the level of uncertainty facing Jeju Air was too high to move forward with the acquisition,” the airline said in a statement. Jeju Air, South K

MobilityJuly 23, 2020

Korea to develop AI-powered immigration control system

The Science and ICT Ministry will invest 45 billion won ($37.6 million) in developing an AI-powered immigration control system by 2022, it announced on Friday. The ministry said it will test the smart control system at Incheon International Airport starting next year. There are currently 11 consortiums joining the state-led project, according to the ministry. Included in the consortiums are computer vision solution maker Alchera, and AI and big data solution developers Minds Lab and Onycom.

TechnologyJuly 23, 2020

KT to develop self-driving EV with Edison Motors

South Korea’s telecom giant KT said Thursday it has joined hands with Edison Motors to develop self-driving vehicles. The firm plans to work on the control system and other software required in self-driving vehicles to improve its 5G-powered mobility solution for new traffic control tower for automated vehicles. Edison Motors, which specializes in manufacturing electric cars, will make machinery for the automated cars, according to the company. The companies have signed a memorandum

TechnologyJuly 23, 2020

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on weak data, US-China tensions

South Korean shares closed lower for the second straight day Thursday due to weaker-than-expected growth data and the rising US-China frictions. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 12.47 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 2,216.19. Trading volume was high at about 920 million shares worth some 16.1 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 597 to 271. Foreigners sold a net 210 billion won, and instituti

MarketJuly 23, 2020

Coupang's delivery workers doubled to reach 10,000

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Thursday that the number of its delivery workers has doubled in the last seven months to surpass 10,000. Coupang said its direct employment system is attractive to workers as it offers different benefits than other delivery service companies, allowing employees to work just five days a week and keeping the hours below 52 per week. The company also provides employment insurance and 15 days of annual leave, as stated in the law. The company also pays

ConsumerJuly 23, 2020

Watchdog accuses Optimus hedge fund of alleged fraud, embezzlement

The nation’s financial watchdog said Thursday its probe revealed that scandal-ridden hedge fund Optimus Asset Management faked the fund portfolio to its investors, misappropriated their money and obstructed the authorities’ investigation. “Optimus misguided fund investors to pool their money, which led to fraudulent transactions,” Financial Supervisory Service Deputy Governor Kim Dong-hoe, who is in charge of financial investment services supervision, said in a briefing

MarketJuly 23, 2020

Samyang Corp. Trusweet Allulose obtains kosher certificate

Korean food and chemical company Samyang Corp. said Thursday its food brand Trusweet Allulose obtained kosher certification from Orthodox Union. Samyang said it has worked to be verified as kosher, which confirms that the ingredients meets the dietary standards of traditional Jewish law, as part of its effort to present the product to the global kosher market valued at $250 billion.  Trusweet Allulose was also certified halal by the Korea Muslim Federation in February, the company added.

ConsumerJuly 23, 2020

SK hynix announces 205% jump in Q2 earnings upon unusual COVID-19 demand

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip manufacturer, on Thursday reported a 205.3 percent on-year increase in its second-quarter operating profit, due to unusually high demand for server DRAMs amid the protracted COVID-19 impact. The consolidated revenue of the chipmaker stood at 8.61 trillion won ($7.2 billion) during the April-June period, up 33.4 percent on-year, while operating profit amounted to 1.95 trillion won and net profit was 1.26 trillion won. Its operating margin

TechnologyJuly 23, 2020

New models defend further drop in Hyundai earnings

Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor posted half of its operating profit in the second quarter from a year earlier. But the earnings still came above market expectations due to the launch of new models. 　 Hyundai Motor’s operating profit fell 52 percent to 590 billion won ($493 million) and sales dropped 19 percent to 21.86 trillion won, according to the firm’s regulatory filings Thursday. Net profit fell 62 percent to 377 billion won. The automaker said, “The globa

MobilityJuly 23, 2020

S. Korea pushes privately funded infrastructure projects worth W30tr

South Korea will push ahead with privately financed infrastructure projects worth more than 30 trillion won ($25.1 billion) this year, as part of its efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered economy, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. The projects include construction of highways as well as sewage systems, worth 4.5 trillion won and 2.3 trillion won, respectively, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in a meeting with economy-related ministers.  The authorities

EconomyJuly 23, 2020

Number of beef cattle in S. Korea hits new high in Q2

  SEJONG -- The number of beef cattle in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter of the year amid rising beef prices, government data showed Thursday.  There were 3.33 million beef cattle, including Korean-bread cattle known as "hanwoo," in the country as of June 1, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.  It marks the largest-ever tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1986.  The s

EconomyJuly 23, 2020

Dyson's new vacuum cleaner with omnidirectional head makes global debut in S. Korea

British home appliance maker Dyson Ltd. on Thursday launched its new vacuum cleaner with an omnidirectional head for the first time in the world in South Korea as it aims to boost sales here. The Omni-glide features an omnidirectional head that allows consumers to remove dust easily in tight spaces, such as underneath furniture. Dyson said it decided to launch the product in South Korea as it considers the market important and wanted to attract more local customers who usually have a lot of

TechnologyJuly 23, 2020

Naver's cloud unit launches new cloud service

The cloud affiliate of South Korea's leading internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday that it has launched a new type of hybrid cloud for more stable and easier service. Neurocloud is a type of cloud model called Cloud as a Service (CaaS) in which underlying computer resources are delivered to users as a service from a cloud provider, Naver Business Platform (NBP) said. The CaaS model helps corporate clients to simplify container management within their software-defined infrastru

TechnologyJuly 23, 2020

Telcos establish 5G networks on nine subway lines nationwide

South Korea's three major telecom operators said Thursday that they completed establishment of 5G networks on nine subway lines across the country as they look to accelerate the rollout of the latest generation network amid the government's digital New Deal drive. SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. said in a joint statement that they established 5G networks in the capital region's subway Line No. 9 and eight other subway lines in four major cities -- the southern port city of Busan, t

IndustryJuly 23, 2020

Local PEF zeroes in on Mr. Pizza acquisition

TR Investment has been given exclusive rights to negotiate with shareholders of MP Group, the operator of pizza restaurant chain Mr. Pizza, to buy a 41.39 percent stake for 35 billion won ($29.19 million), a disclosure showed Thursday. Under the binding memorandum of understanding, the South Korean private equity firm has agreed to buy 10 million existing shares of MP Group -- which operates pizza restaurants and coffeehouse chain -- from its current major shareholders including founder and e

MarketJuly 23, 2020

[Monitor] Apartment prices in Seoul continue to surge despite state curbs

Taming soaring house prices in Seoul has always been a popular policy goal of almost all governments in South Korea. With the Moon Jae-in administration’s latest string of strict curbs stoking controversies, a civic group released data showing that the apartment prices in Seoul have continued to soar for long, except during the Lee Myung-bak administration, and the increase has been the sharpest under Moon’s rule. According to the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice that

IndustryJuly 23, 2020

[Graphic News] Hallyu boosts demand for Korean ice cream in Vietnam: report

　South Korea’s exports of ice cream to Vietnam jumped 30 percent in 2019 from a year earlier on the back of the growing popularity of Korean culture in Southeast Asia, data showed. 　Outbound shipments of ice cream to Vietnam reached $7 million in 2019, rising sharply from $5.3 million a year earlier, according to the report released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. 　In contrast, Thailand, the top player in the segment, saw its ice cream exports to Vietnam only edge up

BusinessJuly 23, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on disappointing Q2 GDP growth

South Korean shares opened lower Thursday as investor sentiment worsened over the country's biggest economic contraction in the second quarter in over two decades. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.99 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,219.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. In the April-June period, South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 2.9 percent from the same period last year, marking the slowest growth since a 3.8 percent on-year contraction in

MarketJuly 23, 2020