Foreigners extend stock sell-off to 5th straight month in June

Foreign investors extended their selling spree of South Korean stocks to a fifth straight month in June, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 420 billion won ($348.6 million) worth of local stocks last month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 2.5 trillion won worth of stocks last month, while British investors net purchased 1.7 trillion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-June, local stocks held by foreign

MarketJuly 13, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on stimulus hopes

South Korean shares opened higher Monday on hopes for economic rebound despite rising virus outbreaks around the globe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 13.51 points, or 0.63 percent, to 2,163.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were led by optimism for a quick economic recovery. South Korea's exports fell 1.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July, but a slower rate of decline signaled recovery in outbound shipments. This week, South Kore

MarketJuly 13, 2020

S. Korea's exports fall 1.7% in first 10 days of July

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports fell 1.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July, but a slower pace of contraction signaled a recovery in shipments as more nations lifted coronavirus lockdown measures, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $13.3 billion in the July 1-10 period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 10-day period also declined 1.7 percent. In the first 10 days of June, exports jumped 20

EconomyJuly 13, 2020

Plasma COVID therapy pioneers seek more blood donors

Expectations are growing that South Korea will have plasma-derived COVID-19 therapy by the end of this year, but with the lack of blood donors, the deadline appears unrealistic. GC Pharma, which is leading the research and development of Korea’s plasma-derived therapy for COVID-19, aims to make its GC5131A pipeline commercially available this year. The drug will not eradicate COVID-19, but will lower the death toll among critically ill patients, a GC Pharma official told The Korea Herald

IndustryJuly 12, 2020

[Herald Interview] Former WeWork Korea general manager dives into proptech scene with platform Dongnae

Looking for a home, whether to rent or own, is an extremely time-consuming and painstaking job in South Korea. House hunters have to jump from one real estate agency to another to find the right one to fit their budget. Many factors contribute to this decision, including proximity to educational resources, commute times, and the neighborhood itself. And the mission of finding a perfect house for Matthew Shampine, former general manager of coworking space giant WeWork Korea, was also difficul

MarketJuly 12, 2020

BOK likely to keep rate frozen due to heated housing market: experts

South Korea’s central bank is expected to keep its base rate frozen near-zero at its regular monetary policy meeting scheduled Thursday, to avoid further aggravation of the local housing market, experts said Sunday. According to experts, the Bank of Korea will maintain its policy rate at the current record-low of 0.5 percent for the time being, despite rate cut pressures stemming from economic downturns due to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the trend of low inflation. This is main

EconomyJuly 12, 2020

Hyundai Motor’s sales of eco-friendly cars up 36.2%

Hyundai Motor Group’s sales of specific models -- hybrid, plug-in, electric and hydrogen-powered -- in the local market jumped over 36 percent in the first half of this year, indicating a growing preference for eco-friendly cars.  The top South Korean automaker said Sunday its sales of the eco-friendly cars stood at 67,798 as of June, up by 36.2 percent compared to the same period last year.  Specifically, it sold a total of 37,697 units, up by 29.3 percent on-year, while Kia

MobilityJuly 12, 2020

Car industry hit harder by COVID-19 than any other financial crisis: expert

COVID-19 has hit the global car industry harder than any other financial crisis, and car sales will not recover to last year’s levels until around 2023, a market analyst said Friday. Lee Bo-sung, the head of Hyundai Motor Group’s global business R&D center, delivered those predictions at a seminar organized by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association. Members of KAJA gathered at the AMG Speedway, a driving circuit in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to attend the seminar and s

MobilityJuly 12, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem announces ‘LG Chem Green Connector’

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemical company, has introduced its corporate social responsibility vision “LG Chem Green Connector,” the company announced on Monday. The chemical company’s new CSR vision focuses on education, environmental issues and others, according to the company’s announcement. To nurture future talents, LG Chemical is running a wide range of educational programs, to which it invites students and offers them resources for science education.

IndustryJuly 12, 2020

Samsung affiliate announces 5 new MLCCs for automobiles

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic parts supplier affiliated with Samsung Electronics, has developed five new types of multi-layer ceramic capacitors for automobiles, expanding its automotive MLCC lineup to further penetrate into the global market, the company said Sunday. MLCC is an essential part for electronics, which controls electric currents to flow at stable levels, supply needed amounts of power for chips, and remove noise inside products. The capacitor, known as the tiniest

TechnologyJuly 12, 2020

LG donates electronic masks to Severance Hospital

LG Electronics said Sunday it has developed an electronic mask using its air purifier technology and donated 2,000 units to the Severance Hospital in Seoul. The company utilized its know-how on air purifying machines to develop the electronic mask. The mask has two H13 HEPA filters that are replaceable and a user can inhale air through the filters. Under the filters, there is a tiny fan that can control the amount of air. The fan is applied with an algorithm that raises the fan speed to le

TechnologyJuly 12, 2020

Kospi likely to rebound to 2,200-level amid key economic policies

Facing a series of key economic events slated for this week, South Korean stocks are set to rebound slightly with investors weighing hopes against the coronavirus woes, according to market watchers Sunday. At the core is the “New Deal” package scheduled to be unveiled Tuesday -- seeking to create jobs and foster economic growth amid the COVID-19 fallout, President Moon Jae-in’s administration put forward a program to invest more than 100 trillion won ($83.29 billion) into &ld

MarketJuly 12, 2020

COVID-19 shocks on wane in Seoul’s office leasing market

The prime office market in Seoul has recently showed signs of normalization, as uncertainties due to the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak have been on the wane in key business districts, data showed Sunday. Demand from the information technology industry remained healthy, allowing major prime buildings to sign leases with large tenants, according to an estimate from real estate service firm Colliers International. In Gangnam, one of the larger business districts of the city, financ

MarketJuly 12, 2020

S. Korean economy to shrink 2.3% this year due to virus: private think tank

The South Korean economy is expected to contract 2.3 percent on-year in 2020, hit by the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak, a local private think tank said Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is forecast to have fallen 1.7 percent in the first half and to contract 2.9 percent in the second half, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). The yearly projection is the same as its earlier estimate made in March. It would mark the South Korean economy's first contraction

EconomyJuly 12, 2020

Banks' loan delinquency dips in June on sharp rise in lending

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' loans inched down in June from a month earlier, but the fall was mainly attributed to a sharp rise in lending amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Sunday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue against total lending by five major banks preliminarily stood at 0.21-0.33 percent as of end-June, down from 0.25-0.4 percent the month earlier, according to industry data. But industry watchers cautioned against reading too muc

EconomyJuly 12, 2020

S. Korea to expand routes to China to meet biz travel demand

South Korea is in talks with China to increase the number of flights to the country to 10 a week mainly to meet travel demand from businessmen, the transport ministry said Sunday. Korean airlines currently serve three routes from Incheon to Chinese cities and plan to resume flights on four more routes to the neighboring country this month, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "The (Seoul) government is in talks with the Chinese authorities to resume flights o

MobilityJuly 12, 2020

[Weekender] Is she real? Artificial humans move to the fore

If the names Miquela or Imma ring a bell, you have been keeping up with the growing demographic of digital humans. Miquela and Imma are Instagram influencers, respectively followed by 2.48 million and 200,000 users. They are computer-generated imageries, but have pretty realistic personal descriptions. For example, Miquela is an American that hails from Los Angeles, California, who has Spanish and Brazilian heritage. Her passions are music and creating a world where women‘s voices are

IndustryJuly 11, 2020

Koreans use Kakao for messenger, Naver for other purposes: data

South Korea’s top mobile messenger application KakaoTalk has more users than that of Naver, the nation’s biggest portal, data showed. According to the data from mobile big data platform IGAWORKS, KakaoTalk and Naver recorded 35,590,000 and 30,160,000 monthly active user (MAU), respectively, last month. KakaoTalk exceeded Naver in both monthly average time and days spent on the platforms per single user. People spent a monthly average of 11.7 hours/24.6 days on KakaoTalk, and 10.2

TechnologyJuly 11, 2020

SoftBank-backed Coupang buys Hooq assets to take on Netflix

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is buying the software of Hooq Digital, the South-east Asian video streaming service owned by Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), Sony and Warner Bros that's filed for liquidation, according to people familiar with the deal. Coupang has already struck a deal to acquire the assets, the people said, asking not to be named because the information hasn't been announced. The deal ushers SoftBank-backed Coupang into a competitive over-the-top video streamin

ConsumerJuly 10, 2020

Bourse operator to review normalization plan of SillaJen at risk of delisting

South Korean bourse operator Korea Exchange said Friday that it will review a business normalization plan by bio tech firm SillaJen to decide whether to delist it. The KRX has been reviewing the company's listing, after the company's chief executive and key management were indicted over charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. SillaJen submitted its business normalization scheme to the bourse operator, and the KRX will have to decide whether to accept it by Aug. 4. In the case of granti

MarketJuly 10, 2020