Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid optimism that coronavirus infections around the globe are nearing a peak. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 29.59 points, or 1.64 percent, to 1,836.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.4 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 2.6 percent. US stocks soared amid the

MarketApril 9, 2020

S. Korea may suffer job losses amid pandemic: finance minister

South Korea's job creation may suffer a decline, as the coronavirus pandemic has strained the country's economy and business activities, the nation's chief economic policymaker said Thursday. "There is a possibility that unemployment may increase among part-time workers or small business owners," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. "The number of applicants for unemployment allowances is estimated to have increased in March from a

EconomyApril 9, 2020

South Korea’s best method of tracking COVID-19 spread: credit card transactions

The sucess behind South Korea’s fast action toward containing the spread of COVID-19 is in its legal access to private information of credit card tranaction, according to observers on Wednesday. Despite disputes on infringing on individuals’ privacy, the method is being touted in and out of the country for its efficiency, as it can take just 10 minutes to track the movement of patients infected with the virus. Since the first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed on Jan. 20,

EconomyApril 9, 2020

Lotte, Shilla surrender Incheon airport duty-free biz amid coronavirus woes

South Korea's two leading duty free operators have decided to give up their bids to operate stores at Incheon International Airport as the novel coronavirus has devastated business at the transportation hub, industry sources said Wednesday. The move by Hotel Lotte and Hotel Shilla comes as the business environment at South Korea's main airport has changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insiders said. The two companies should have signed new 10-year lease deals with Incheon Inter

IndustryApril 8, 2020

KT is still after D’Live

KT on Wednesday said that it is still considering options to acquire local cable TV operator D’Live. According to a regulatory filing Wednesday, it is still discussing options of acquiring the cable TV operator, but no details have been confirmed yet. The company added it is current exploring various choices to strengthen its pay TV business. The latest official comment on the acquisition of D’Live came in six months since it showed its intention to purchase the local cable TV op

TechnologyApril 8, 2020

Brokerages on alert as overseas real estate investments suffer losses

South Korean brokerages are on high alert as funds related to foreign real estate -- and their direct investment in property ownership abroad -- are likely to suffer losses in the novel coronavirus pandemic situation, according to industry sources on Wednesday. As the current crisis sends property values tumbling with market chaos in major countries, the S&P Global REIT index plummeted 31.87 percent from the beginning of the year to Monday, while the S&P 500 plunged 17.55 percent in th

MarketApril 8, 2020

S. Korea unveils another massive stimulus package against coronavirus

South Korea has unveiled an additional economic relief package worth 53.7 trillion won ($44 billion) in its continued struggle to boost the domestic market and export industries amid the fallout of COVID-19. Of the newly added amount, 36 trillion won will be allocated to trade finance, expanding the insurance and guarantee caps, while 17.7 trillion won will be used to stimulate local consumption. “The global economy is sinking into a severe recession and our export-dependent economy

EconomyApril 8, 2020

LG Chem supplies most EV batteries globally by capacity in Feb.

South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem took the lead in the global electric vehicle battery market in February, accounting for more than one third of global EV battery capacity. According to the latest report from Adamas Intelligence, LG Chem supplied 1,800 MWh of EV batteries for newly sold passenger EVs in February, commanding 34.6 percent of total battery capacity deployed to EVs globally in the same month.  The battery deployment for passenger xEVs (BEV, PHEV, HEV) in February 2

IndustryApril 8, 2020

[News Analysis] If not India’s Mahindra, what can save SsangYong Motor?

Despite SsangYong Motor’s decision to go ahead with a self-rescue plan after its largest shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra scrapped the cash-strapped Korean unit last week, some experts say the South Korean automaker’s weak exports may have led to the latest crisis. On Friday, Indian auto empire Mahindra & Mahindra said it won’t invest 500 million won ($410 million) for a turnaround, as requested, considering the global economic downturn due to COVID-19.  The pare

MobilityApril 8, 2020

Individual investors bet on oil price recovery

With oil prices sinking, individual investors in South Korea are increasingly opting for investments linked to oil prices, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday. The stock market operator noted that the combined value of 10 oil-linked exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes that individuals bought last month jumped more than ninefold from the previous month to reach 1.42 trillion won ($1.16 billion). Kodex WTI Crude Oil Futures ETFs, in particular, attracted 421.4 billion wo

MarketApril 8, 2020

Household, corporate debts see record growth in March

South Korea’s household and corporate debts saw unprecedented growth last month, data from financial authorities showed Wednesday, as risks stemming from the novel coronavirus continue to weigh on the economy. Bank loans extended to local households, including state-backed mortgage loans, increased by 9.6 trillion won ($7.88 billion) on-month to 901.9 trillion won, the Bank of Korea said. It is the highest figure since the BOK started keeping records on household debt in 2004. The corr

EconomyApril 8, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 4-day winning streak amid virus woes

South Korean stocks snapped a four-day rally to end slightly lower Wednesday as foreign and institutional investors offloaded large-cap stocks amid a lack of upside momentum. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.46 points, or 0.90 percent, to 1,807.14. Foreign and institutional investors sold a combined 422.2 billion won ($346 million) worth of stocks, weighing down the bourse. Foreigners continued to offload local stocks f

MarketApril 8, 2020

Mirae Asset strives for balanced growth in global push

Mirae Asset Financial Group said Tuesday it had topped the 1 trillion won ($820.48 million) mark in the group‘s combined operating profit, net profit and earnings before tax each, quoting its 2019 earnings statement. The South Korean group’s key affiliates, including brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo, asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments, insurer Mirae Asset Life Insurance, nonbanking lender Mirae Asset Capital and Mirae Asset Consulting, recorded a combined 1.16 trillio

MarketApril 8, 2020

Samsung, Apple scurry to meet new phone launch schedules

The world’s two biggest smartphone makers Samsung Electronics and Apple are working on new products with the aim of meeting initially set launch schedules, despite rumors that tech companies are delaying plans amid the global coronavirus pandemic. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Samsung has begun to prepare for the launch event for its Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 planned for August. Samsung was lucky to hold a flashy event to unveil its Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z

TechnologyApril 8, 2020

Sunscreen sales on the rise, despite face masks

With the weather warming up in South Korea, sunscreen sales are on the rise -- despite the “new normal” of wearing face masks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, industry sources said Tuesday. According to CJ Olive Young, a health and beauty store chain here, sales of sunblock jumped 81 percent from March 30 to Sunday, compared with the same period a month earlier (March 2 to 8). Among them, organic or carbon-based sunscreen products were the most popular, witnessing a 132 percent incre

ConsumerApril 8, 2020

‘Slowdown in US, China, Japan can lower Korea’s economic growth by 2%’

A slowdown in major economies following the global coronavirus pandemic could cut South Korea’ economic growth rate by as much as 2 percentage points, according to a local business research center Wednesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed the impact of the growth rate of three countries -- the US, China and Japan -- on the growth rate of Korea based on data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It found that if the growth rate of the three cou

IndustryApril 8, 2020

Gold exports climb to 7-year high in Feb. on price hikes

South Korea's exports of gold surged to over a seven-year high in February as demand for safer assets increased amid a market rout triggered by the new coronavirus, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. Outbound shipments of gold for non-monetary use came to some $290 million in the month, the highest since $327 million posted in September 2012, according to the BOK. In terms of volume, outbound shipments of gold amounted to 5.8 tons in February, sharply up from 3.5 tons shipped the same mo

EconomyApril 8, 2020

Insurance fraud hits fresh high in 2019

Fraudulent insurance claims shot up more than 10 percent in 2019 from a year earlier to hit a new record, the financial watchdog said Wednesday. Insurance fraud scammers obtained 880 billion won ($720 million) through wrongful filings in 2019, compared with 798 billion won tallied a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The watchdog said it has detected 92,538 suspects last year, rising from 79,179 disclosed in 2018. The figures translate into 254 suspects fili

EconomyApril 8, 2020

Households' excess funds up sharply in 2019

Excess funds held by South Korean households jumped sharply from a year earlier in 2019, central bank data showed Wednesday, possibly due to government efforts to curb real estate speculation. Net financial funds held by households, including nonprofit organizations, came to 91.8 trillion won ($75.3 billion) as of end-2019, up from 52.7 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK did not offer any reasons for the increase, but it ea

EconomyApril 8, 2020

Old or young, most workers feel generation gap: survey

Six out of 10 South Korean workers experience a generation gap in their workplace with the older generation feeling wider disparity, a report showed Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce ＆Industry released a survey of the generation conflict in Korean companies among around 13,000 office workers from 30 large and midsized companies. The survey showed 63.9 percent of the respondents feel the generation gap. By age, 69.4 percent of those in their 40s and 67.3 percent of those in their 50

IndustryApril 8, 2020