Asiana to expand capital with additional shares, bonds

Asiana Airlines held an extraordinary shareholders meeting Monday, and voted to raise capital by increasing shares and issuing convertible bonds. The South Korean flag carrier put to a vote its decision to revise its articles of association, calling for an increase in the total number of issued shares and a higher limit on CBs. The amendment was passed with the approval of all shareholders present. With the shareholders’ approval, Asiana will increase the total number of its shares to 1

MobilityJune 15, 2020

DSME turns to tech to ensure distancing at shipbuilding site

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Monday it is applying domestically developed technologies at its shipbuilding sites to reduce person-to-person contact amid the coronavirus pandemic. The shipbuilder said it recently completed testing liquefied natural gas carriers by utilizing its own remote maintenance support system called DS4 AR Support. Its pilot tests were successful, which were done with engineers from overseas via an online application.  This system combines au

MobilityJune 15, 2020

[Monitor] South Korea’s govt. budget to grow 6% in 2021 　

South Korea’s government budget is expected to hover around 542 trillion won ($449 billion) next year, rising 6 percent from the 2020 budget, according to plans submitted by each government branch to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry said the combined budget requested by each government branch for 2021 stood at 542.9 trillion won. The budget amount, if approved, will be up 6 percent from the 2020 budget. The country’s government budget has been increasing around

IndustryJune 15, 2020

S. Korea's chip industry needs better govt. support: biz lobby group

South Korea's chip industry needs more support from the government to fend off challenges from fast-rising China and catch up to the dominant leader, the United States, a Seoul-based business lobby group said Monday. According to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), South Korea had an average 18 percent market share over the past decade, only behind the US with 49 percent. Japan came in third with 13 percent, followed by Europe with 9 percent, Taiwan with 6 percent and China with 4 perc

IndustryJune 15, 2020

S. Korea to set up W300b fund for auto subcontractors

South Korea will set up a fund of 300 billion won ($248.6 million) to provide more liquidity to automobile subcontractors that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, a top financial regulator said Monday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo said the fund will be jointly set up with carmakers, including Hyundai Motor Co. Hyundai Motor plans to chip in 10 billion won to the fund, and the government has been in talks with other carmakers, Eun said. The fund will provide g

EconomyJune 15, 2020

Samsung unveils BTS edition of Galaxy S20 smartphones, earbuds

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday unveiled a special edition of its Galaxy smartphones and earbuds in collaboration with K-pop sensation BTS. The South Korean tech giant introduced the BTS edition of the Galaxy S20 Plus 5G, S20 Plus and the Galaxy Buds Plus. The design of the Galaxy S20 Plus BTS edition highlights a purple glass and metal exterior. It also carries the boy band's logo and purple heart iconography on the back. The BTS edition of the Galaxy S20 Plus will be available in both

TechnologyJune 15, 2020

[Graphic News] Auto exports fall nearly 60% in May amid pandemic

　South Korea’s auto exports more than halved in May from a year earlier due to falling demand in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic that as infected more than 7 million people, data showed. 　Local carmakers shipped 95,400 units of cars overseas last month, down 57.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　In terms of value, auto exports also fell 54.1 percent over the period to reach $1.81 billion. 　In the fi

IndustryJune 15, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on coronavirus resurgence fears

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid global concerns of a coronavirus resurgence. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 13.74 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,118.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The drop was largely attributed to investor concerns of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic feared amid the rollback of economic lockdowns in major economies, analysts said. Most large caps traded lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics lost 1.72 percent,

MarketJune 15, 2020

Tougher regulations eyed to stop S. Korean boats' illegal fishing overseas

South Korea said Monday it will revamp its regulations to prevent possible illegal fishing activities by South Korean-flagged boats operating overseas, after the country had been on the verge of being labeled as one of the nations engaging in unregulated fishing. Previously, inspections had been carried out for illegal fishing activities only on foreign-flagged boats arriving in South Korea. The new measure will be implemented on the first batch of 12 deep-sea squid fishing boats in July, acc

IndustryJune 15, 2020

S. Korea to help companies win more overseas orders

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister said Monday the government will spare no efforts to help companies win overseas orders this year, as part of its efforts to revive economic growth amid the coronavirus pandemic. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said such efforts would help companies clinch overseas orders worth $30 billion this year The government will set up total funds of 3.7 trillion won ($3.07 billion) to aid local firms in winning overseas orders, Hong said. Hong said South Korea pla

EconomyJune 15, 2020

[Herald Interview] Startup mixes Korea’s strongest areas: math and tech

The day will soon come when artificial intelligence provides a full-length explanation for all math problems and even inspire the students to do better, at least according Lee Yong-jae and Lee Jong-heun, the founding CEOs of South Korea’s up-and-coming educational technology startup Mathpresso. Mathpresso is a startup that operates AI-powered edtech platform Qanda, through which the company raised a total of around 70 billion won of investment since its establishment five years ago. Mat

TechnologyJune 14, 2020

SPC Group plans Paris Baguette debut in Canada

SPC Group, the operator of Korea’s leading bakery franchise Paris Baguette, said Sunday it will enter Canada by launching the flagship Paris Baguette brand next year. According to the company, it recently established Paris Baguette Family Canada Licensing with a plan to open the first stores in major cities in the country, including Vancouver and Toronto in the first half of next year. The move comes as part of its plan to expand its business in North America. SPC Group has had laid o

ConsumerJune 14, 2020

Mahindra hints at giving up on SsangYong Motor amid COVID-19 losses

Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian automaker that owns a 75 percent stake in SsangYong Motor, has hinted at giving up control of the struggling South Korean automaker amid snowballing losses from COVID-19, industry sources said Sunday.  Mahindra’s Managing Director Pawan Goenka reportedly told reporters last week that “SsangYong Motor needs a new investor. We are working with the company to see if we can secure investment.” Goenka, who is also the chairman of SsangYong

MobilityJune 14, 2020

2020 liquor exhibition held under stricter hygiene measures

Seoul International Wines & Spirits Expo 2020 was held from Friday to Sunday to present novel items related to drinking, under stricter disinfection measures amid the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 330 companies participated in the three-day annual event, the only wine and spirits exhibition of its kind in Korea, to promote their products, including beer, wine, traditional drinks and related devices, such as homebrewing machines. Held amid the prolonging COVID-19 crisis, the organizer sa

IndustryJune 14, 2020

Robust demand likely to support Korean chipmakers through Q3

South Korean chipmakers are forecast to fare well through the third quarter of this year despite aggravating economic conditions amid the prolonging COVID-19 impact, owing to robust demand for memory chips upon the growing noncontact market, according to industry sources Sunday. The country’s semiconductor exports jumped 22.6 percent from June 1 to 10, compared to a year earlier, according to data by Korea Customs Service. In May, the total semiconductor exports rose 6.6 per

TechnologyJune 14, 2020

[News Focus] Are AR glasses really around the corner?

Glasses that show you directions on a road you have previously never walked, or that present a meeting room table filled with participants not physically occupying the seats in the same room -- these may become a thing of the real world soon enough. When Google first put forth the first generation of a glasses-type wearable augmented reality device in 2012, the immediate question that arose took issue with the hefty price range, security issues and heavy design. The next generation of AR glas

IndustryJune 14, 2020

[Banks of Future] Security concerns overshadow fast-growing fintech industry

Recent unauthorized payments on money transfer platform Toss are stoking concerns about the safety of payment solutions in general and online financial services available in South Korea. Online purchases worth 9.38 million ($7,770) were made on websites without permission of Toss account holders earlier this month using their personal data. Although initial inspections by the financial authority showed that users’ personal data were not compromised via the fintech platform itself, the i

MarketJune 14, 2020

Commercial banks slash savings, checking account yields to near 0%

Korean commercial banks had cut their yields on savings and checking accounts to near zero as of Sunday, in line with the central bank’s move to slash its policy rate to a record low of 0.5 percent last month to combat economic risks from the coronavirus pandemic. Major commercial banks Shinhan, KB Kookmin and NH Nonghyup have lowered their yields on one-year savings and checking accounts -- which are most popular among customers here -- to a range of 0.3 percent to 0.75 percent, in rec

MarketJune 14, 2020

New jobless people hits record high in May amid COVID-19 outbreak

The number of people who are in search of jobs hit a record high in May as the new coronavirus outbreak hammered the job market, data showed Sunday. The number of jobless people who had been seeking to find jobs for less than three months reached 735,000 in May, up 107,000 from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The tally marked the largest figure for the month of May since the agency began to compile data in June 1999. The monthly growth also marked the largest since January

EconomyJune 14, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Start saving as early as possible for financial freedom in later years’

For many people in advanced economies, retirement means freedom. But for South Koreans, it means deteriorating health and reduced financial independence. Asia’s fourth-largest economy has its own pension system, a subscription-based national pension program and the basic income support for senior citizens living in poverty. Together they serve as an important social safety net. But that is not enough to ensure a healthy and independent life, according to Park Jin, who studies the rela

MarketJune 14, 2020