[News Focus] SsangYong Motor back on the brink after Mahindra scraps investment plan

Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra has rejected a call for fresh funding for its cash-strapped Korean unit SsangYong Motor, leaving its future uncertain after 12 consecutive quarters of losses.  According to the board of directors of Mahindra, which has a 74.65 percent stake in Ssangyong, they held a special meeting in Mumbai on Friday and decided to reject SsangYong Motor’s request to invest 500 billion won ($404 million) over the next three years. Instead, it urged the Korean

MobilityApril 5, 2020

Casino operator GKL extends closure amid coronavirus spread

A South Korean casino operator said Sunday that it will extend its closure by two more weeks, joining a social distancing campaign here to help contain the new coronavirus outbreak. State-run casino operator Grand Korea Leisure Co. (GKL) said in late March that it had decided to close the establishments from Tuesday to April 6. But the casino operator said it will extend the closure by two more weeks. The company operates three foreigner-only casinos in Seoul and Busan under the brand name S

IndustryApril 5, 2020

Air passengers drop to record low in March amid virus woes

The number of air passengers in South Korea fell to a record low last month due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday, as countries around the globe impose lockdowns and restrict travel and people shun travel. The number of air passengers stood at 1.74 million in March, according to industry data, marking the first time that the figure has fallen below 2 million since the country started to record such statistics from 1997. The passenger number was 10.62 million in January bu

MobilityApril 5, 2020

[News Focus] Will Korea return to apartment deregulation for stimulus?

SEJONG -- Over the past one or two months, many online commenters have raised the possibility that COVID-19 would pull down apartment prices in Seoul, pointing out that the Moon Jae-in administration had failed to do so. Some likened the current situation to a decade ago, when the real estate market was hit by the 2008 global financial crisis after continuing to spiral in the mid-2000s. Recent trading data showed that Seoul apartment prices stopped their 10-month continuous increase in the fi

EconomyApril 5, 2020

Nexon wants employees to come back to office

Korean game company Nexon said Thursday it had decided to roll back its telecommuting, requiring all staff to report for duty starting next week. According to Nexon, all employees will have to come to work starting Monday, though exceptions will be made for those with special circumstances that need to be considered. “To ensure the safety of employees, Nexon will employ safety measures including placing thermal imaging cameras at the entries of its headquarters, installing cubicles a

IndustryApril 4, 2020

Antitrust watchdog approves HDC-Asiana Airlines merger

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has approved HDC Hyundai Development Company’s acquisition of shares of Asiana Airlines, officials said Friday. HDC signed a deal to acquire 61.5 percent of the airline’s shares on Dec. 27 and reported it to the Fair Trade Commission on Jan. 30. “There is no concern of restricting competition,” after reviewing the effect of the tie-up on competition in related markets, the FTC said. “(We) judged that the major sectors of

MobilityApril 3, 2020

JTI’s new HNB tobacco product enters e-commerce platforms

Japan Tobacco International Korea announced Friday that it has launched its odor-reduced tobacco vapor product Ploom Tech on local e-commerce platforms. The product and accessories are currently available on two platforms -- Naver’s Smart Store and Tmon -- at discounted prices. On Naver’s Smart Store, Ploom Tech Starter Kit, which contains a battery, a USB charger, and an adaptor, which is available for 17,500 won ($14.20), at a 50 percent discount from the retail price. On Tmo

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Part-timers in Korea experience pay cuts due to COVID-19

Five out of 10 part-timers in South Korea have experienced a loss of earnings due to the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak, according to a survey released by job information platform operator Albamon on Friday. Of 1,738 part-time workers who answered the survey, 50.5 percent said their incomes had declined after the viral outbreak. The part-time workers, who answered their incomes remained the same, accounted for 48 percent. Only 1.5 percent of part-time workers said their incomes had increased

IndustryApril 3, 2020

LIG Nex1 invests in Korean drone sensor company

Aerospace and defense firm LIG Nex1 said Friday it had acquired a 20 percent stake in Microinfinity, a domestic firm that makes navigation sensor chips for unmanned aerial vehicles. According to LIG Nex1’s business report, it converted loans made to Microinfinity into 5 million shares worth 2.5 billion won ($2 million), equal to a 20 percent stake in the company, at the end of last year. This is the first case of LIG Nex1’s equity participation in a drone-related company. A nav

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Kepco gets preliminary approval for opening own university

State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. said Friday it has received first-stage government approval for launching an energy-focused university, with plans to open in March 2022. The Ministry of Education’s deliberation committee granted preliminary approval to establish a corporation for its university Kepco Tech on Friday. The session was held via video conference due to the coronavirus outbreak. The approval comes 106 days after the review, with a total of three hearings held s

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Korean stocks close nearly flat, won sinks

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Friday as a recovery in global oil prices boosted investor sentiment against the new coronavirus pandemic. The local currency dropped against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.58 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,725.44. Trading volume was high at some 986 million shares worth a little over 1 trillion won ($811 million), with gainers outnumbering losers 506 to 328. The index got off to

MarketApril 3, 2020

Korea’s FX reserves sharply drop in March

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves last month posted the sharpest drop in over a decade due to the government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market and the strengthened US dollar value, the central bank said Friday. As of the end of March, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $400.21 billion, down $8.96 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It fell by the largest margin since November in 2008 when the global financial crisis wa

MarketApril 3, 2020

S. Korea to dole out relief cash fund based on health insurance

The government decided Friday to make emergency cash payments to households in the bottom 70 percent income bracket, financially hit by the novel coronavirus, by using March health insurance premiums as key standard. The temporary, yet controversial scheme will provide 1 million won ($814) each to four-person households with salaried workers that paid March premiums below 237,000 won, according to the government. Though the households’ March insurance payments stand as a common standar

EconomyApril 3, 2020

EU suspends HHI-DSME merger screening amid coronavirus pandemic

The European Commission has recently suspended the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering amid the coronavirus pandemic. The commission site showed the “deadline” of the screening was “suspended” without specifying the reason. The EU recently notified on its website that due to the complexities and disruptions caused by the coronavirus, companies were encouraged to delay merger notifications original

IndustryApril 3, 2020

CJ donates dumpling to Korean community in New York

CJ Group plans to donate dumplings to Korean residents in New York who are suffering from the coronavirus outbreak, the firm said Friday. The dumplings -- enough for 1,600 servings -- will be given to the Korean Community Service in New York through the Korean American Association. “The donation was made with the aim of adding some support to the Korean community suffering from the impact of coronavirus in New York,” the group said. CJ plans to deliver the food produced at its

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Samsung shutters washing machine factory in US over coronavirus

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has temporarily shuttered a washing machine factory in the United States after reporting virus-infected workers there. Samsung decided to suspend operation of its home appliance plant in Newberry County, South Carolina, after two workers tested positive for COVID-19. The company said the plant will reopen on Monday after disinfecting facilities. Samsung's plant in South Carolina started operation in January 2018 and produces 1 million washing machines a y

IndustryApril 3, 2020

Airlines call for immediate govt. support on bigger virus impact

South Korean airlines pressed the government Friday to take immediate action to help the financially troubled airline industry stay afloat amid the growing coronavirus impact. The Korea Civil Aviation Association (KCA) asked the government to offer massive low-rate loans, payment guarantees for airlines' corporate bonds and steep tax cuts to airlines as the airlines' self-rescue measures won't be of a big help in the unprecedented crisis. "The airline industry is collapsing, with 840,000

MobilityApril 3, 2020

Hana Bank, Woowa Brothers to create rating model based on online food orders

Restaurants available on delivery app Baedal Minjok will have a broader access to loans from a commercial bank, if they show proof that they were winning more online food delivery orders. This will be part of commitments in a memorandum of understanding by Korea’s mobile food delivery unicorn Woowa Brothers and commercial lender Hana Bank, Woowa Brothers said Friday. Under the MOU, the door-to-door food delivery company and the bank pledged to create a credit rating model that uses the

MarketApril 3, 2020

Samsung to post relatively solid Q1 earnings despite coronavirus pandemic: analysts

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to post relatively solid earnings in the first quarter of the year despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, analysts here said Friday, as its chip business is likely to offset losses in the smartphone and consumer electronics sectors. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor, was expected to log 55.31 trillion won ($44.9 billion) in sales in the first three months of 2020, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was est

IndustryApril 3, 2020

ADB trims S. Korea's growth outlook for 2020 amid virus pandemic

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday slashed its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for 2020 by 1 percentage point to 1.3 percent amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The ADB's latest downward revision hovers far below the 2020 growth outlook suggested by the Bank of Korea, which expects Asia's No. 4 economy to expand 2.1 percent this year, with a possibility of a further cut. The Manila-based lender had slashed South Korea's growth outlook by 0.1 percentage point in December. The

EconomyApril 3, 2020