Uncertainty growing over S. Korean exports despite recent upturn

Despite a recent recovery, uncertainty is growing over South Korea's exports down the road due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments grew 10 percent on-year in the first 20 days of March on brisk overseas demand for chips and automobiles, along with more working days, according to government data. The solid increase follows a 4.5 percent rise in February, the first rebound in 15 months. This month's improved export performan

EconomyMarch 24, 2020

Real estate trust firms' 2019 net down 5.5%

Real estate trust firms in South Korea saw their combined profit fall 5.5 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to increased operating costs, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of 14 real estate trusts stood at 480 billion won ($379 million) in 2019, compared with 507.9 billion won in 2018, according to the data released by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Real estate investment trusts are a type of security that invests in real estate to be traded on major exchanges and p

MarketMarch 24, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s exports of masks up 2,200% in Feb.

　South Korea’s exports of protective masks surged nearly 23-fold in February from a year earlier amid the global outbreak of the new coronavirus, data showed, although the volume is likely to plummet this month in line with the export ban. 　Outbound shipments of textile articles, which include masks, came to $157 million in February, up from $6.85 million a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. It also more than doubled from $70 mil

BusinessMarch 23, 2020

Casinos forgotten from government support despite annual tithe

Casinos have been left out from the government’s coronavirus relief loans despite their hefty contributions of 10 percent of sales every year. To support coronavirus-hit tourism and show business, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday last week had allocated 100 billion won ($79 million) for special loans from its Tourism Promotion Fund. Despite the casino industry being a majority donor for the funds and also suffering significantly from the virus spread, the loans

IndustryMarch 23, 2020

‘Experience from MERS made Korea’s COVID-19 test kits possible’

The outbreak and containment of the novel coronavirus in South Korea have drawn international attention to the country’s ready use of real-time polymerase chain reaction test kits. Korea has allowed for the emergency use of new RT-PCR kits, with which the nation is conducting around 10,000 tests daily at some 90 collaborating research labs, according to the Korean Society of Laboratory Medicine. In the month or so between Feb. 7 and March 10, over 350,000 tests were analyzed at private i

IndustryMarch 23, 2020

Celltrion promises production of trial coronavirus vaccine by end-July

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said Monday that the company will be ready to produce COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies by the end of July at the latest, at a capacity to cover 1 million people a month. The company’s researchers are currently working day and night without weekends, Seo said, saying that it may even be possible to begin human administration for clinical trials in mid-July. “It is our wish that Korea will become the first country to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine to th

IndustryMarch 23, 2020

[News Focus] Are foreign investors behind stock market drop?

Amid the accelerating volatility of South Korea’s stock market, discontent is brewing over foreign investors, accused of being responsible with their rampant short selling. Short sellers, either institutional investors or foreign investors here, place bets on stocks that they think would fall in value. They sell borrowed shares in companies, and later repurchase them at lower prices to profit, which is called short covering. Short selling is often criticized for causing excessive pric

MarketMarch 23, 2020

Hyundai heir apparent buys Hyundai Motor, Mobis stocks to boost prices

Hyundai Motor Group's heir apparent Chung Euisun on Monday bought 19 billion won ($15 million) worth of stocks in two key affiliates to prop up their declining prices. Hyundai Motor Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun purchased 139,000 shares of Hyundai Motor Co. and 72,552 shares of Hyundai Mobis Co. before the stock market closed on Monday, the companies said in separate regulatory filings. Chung bought the two companies' stocks for 19 billion won--Hyundai Motor stocks at 68,435 won per s

MarketMarch 23, 2020

[Monitor] Consumer sentiment plummets over coronavirus spread

Consumer sentiment in Seoul has plummeted in the first quarter this year over the prolonged COVID-19 spread, a survey by the Seoul Institute showed. The research center under the Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the consumer sentiment index dropped 10.5 points on-quarter to 82.8. It was a 11.3 percent drop from the fourth quarter last year. The index over 100 means consumers are optimistic, and below are pessimistic. It is the first time in three years for the index to reach 80. Th

IndustryMarch 23, 2020

S. Korea keeps keen watch on New York, London markets

South Korea on Monday said it was carefully monitoring the financial market situations in New York and London, lest the global spread of COVID-19 lead to system breakdown in major economies and spill over to the global financial market. It also vowed to immediately initiate an exclusive task force to keep round-the-clock tabs on the macroeconomic financial situation here, further tightening guard against the snowballing fallout.　 “The global real economy will contract more dramatically

EconomyMarch 23, 2020

Standard Chartered Bank Korea donates face masks to virus-hit Daegu hospital

Standard Chartered Bank Korea, wholly owned by London-based Standard Chartered Bank, donated 5,000 face masks to a hospital in Daegu, which has become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus here since early last month, the bank said Monday. The masks were provided by Standard Chartered PLC via its Greater China and Northeast Asia headquarters in Hong Kong in a bid to help its Korean employees and clients, the firm said. SC Bank Korea donated the masks to Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Cen

MarketMarch 23, 2020

Foreign IBs face flak for short selling stocks in Korea

Despite a six-month ban on short selling, foreign investment banking houses remain dominant players betting on falling prices of South Korean shares, raising hackles due to stock market volatility. According to data compiled by bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX) on Monday, 6,662 cases of short sales worth more than 1 billion won ($790,330) occurred on the main bourse Kospi and tech-heavy Kosdaq from the beginning of this year to Wednesday. Morgan Stanley & Co. International’s dis

MarketMarch 23, 2020

Shinhan Financial asks unit CEOs to take digital leadership

Shinhan Financial Group said Monday that it has decided to adopt a new digital leadership system, assigning tasks of fostering different innovative technologies to the executive officers of its subsidiaries. The decision is based on Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung’s remarks during a management meeting held Wednesday, where he said “in order to achieve a successful digital transformation, harmony of strategy and culture and the digital leadership of CEOs are crucia

MarketMarch 23, 2020

Coronavirus wipes off IPO plans in March

The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing market volatility are disrupting listing plans of South Korean firms that could otherwise have raised at least 289.5 billion won ($227.8 million), filings showed Monday. Seven companies have withdrawn or put off their initial public offerings in March. They include stem cell therapy developer SCM Life Science, telemarketing service provider Metanet Mplatform, electric vehicle parts maker LS EV Korea, diabetes treatment developer NovMetaPharma and construct

MarketMarch 23, 2020

SsangYong Motor aims to leap ahead with self-rescue plan

Cash-strapped SsangYong Motor said Monday it is seeking to reengineer its business with a strengthened self-rescue plan to race back on the road to profitability. The South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra and Mahindra -- which held two rounds of negotiations with the labor union last year -- has been focusing on normalizing its business. To improve its fiscal health, the automaker’s employees have agreed to reduce or stop 22 welfare benefits -- such as support for medical cost a

MobilityMarch 23, 2020

Korean companies shut plants in India upon order over virus

As the Indian government has decided to close all nonessential services across the country until the end of March amid the coronavirus scare, South Korea’s largest companies will temporarily shut their plants operating in India, according to the firms on Monday. Samsung Electronics will halt the production of its smartphone production facility in Noida, about 25 kilometers southeast of New Delhi, from Monday through Wednesday in line with the Indian government’s order. The Samsu

TechnologyMarch 23, 2020

McDonald’s Korea donates burgers, pies to support Guro

McDonald’s Korea said Monday it will provide free burgers and pies to volunteers and those vulnerable in Seoul’s Guro-gu, where a cluster infection of COVID-19 recently emerged from a call center. According to the burger chain, it will deliver 2,000 McChicken sandwiches and 2,000 pie products, including corn and apple pies, via the Community Chest of Korea to Guro. The food will be offered to the district disinfection volunteers and 44 community centers, including dwelling faciliti

ConsumerMarch 23, 2020

One month with Galaxy Z Flip

With the Galaxy Z Flip, my past month was full of curiosity: how will the next-generation flip phone change my mobile life? In short, using Z Flip was exciting, although I am still unconvinced it is because it provided more practical convenience. First with trivial things, flipping the device back and forth with the right thumb, which made a “thud” sound, was truly satisfying, in a nostalgic sense. It reminded me of the plastic flip phones that I had used until the early 2000s.

TechnologyMarch 23, 2020

More EVs with LG, Samsung batteries to receive subsidies in China

The Chinese government has allowed subsidies for electric vehicles equipped with South Korean batteries, lowering the threshold for foreign battery makers.　 According to the Korean Embassy in Beijing on Friday, Tesla’s China-made Model 3 EV sedan and Chongqing Jinkang’s pure electric SUV -- equipped with LG Chem and Samsung SDI batteries -- have been included on a whitelist for new energy vehicle subsidies announced March 6 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of

IndustryMarch 23, 2020

KAI to lease trainer jets to US despite losing contract to Boeing

South Korean aircraft manufacturer KAI said Monday that the US Air Force is planning to rent a small number of KAI’s advanced T-50A trainer jets until new trainer jets arrive from Boeing, the winner of the T-X trainer contest. According to a notice posted online by the US General Services Administration in January, the US Air Combat Command plans to contract Hillwood Aviation to provide four to eight of KAI’s T-50A Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer aircraft to help its aviators de

IndustryMarch 23, 2020