Air carriers face double whammy on stormy coronavirus turbulence

South Korean air carriers that have been hit hard by many flight cancellations over coronavirus face a double whammy with rising parking airport fees, according to industry sources Saturday. Airports charge companies for using their facilities as parking spaces. At Incheon International Airport, the parking fee is free for three hours upon arrival, with different amounts depending on the aircraft size, for every 30 minutes. According to flagship carrier Korean Air, it has been charged almost

MobilityMarch 14, 2020

[News in focus] Apps show mask inventory for nearby locations in real time

Five days into the South Korean government’s attempt to create a streamlined system by rationing masks to two per person and establishing designated purchasing days each week depending on the purchaser’s birth year, apps and websites are springing to life to provide real-time information on mask stocks at government-appointed outlets. Some of these services are the work of independent developers turned Good Samaritans, while others come from internet portal and telecom businesses.

IndustryMarch 13, 2020

Socar CEO steps down after Tada comes to an end

Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong said Friday that he was stepping down from the top position to take responsibility for the suspension of van-hailing service Tada. Socar is the parent company of Tada operator VCNC. His announcement comes a day after VCNC said it would “indefinitely terminate” the service April 10.  Lee “failed to secure Tada drivers’ employment, failed to keep the investors’ trust and (his) colleagues’ dream for innovation,” he wrote on F

MobilityMarch 13, 2020

S. Korea imposes 6-month ban on stock short-selling

South Korea’s financial authorities on Friday announced a six-month ban on short-selling in the local stock market, effective Monday, in an effort to reduce market volatility amid the spread of COVID-19. The hurried action came as the country’s stock market nose-dived earlier the same day, triggering a temporary trading halt in both the main bourse Kospi and the secondary Kosdaq. “Short-selling of all listed stocks on (the main bourse) Kospi and (secondary) Kosdaq and (ter

EconomyMarch 13, 2020

S. Korea temporarily bans stock short selling for 6 months

South Korea on Friday announced a temporary ban on stock short selling for six months amid a market rout triggered by the outbreak of the new coronavirus. The Financial Services Commission said the six-month ban will affect all listed firms, starting from Monday. FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo said the duration of the ban may be extended, or even shortened, depending on future conditions. "The ban on short selling may be lifted (before six months) when and if the market becomes stabilized,&

MarketMarch 13, 2020

Lotte to hold shareholders meeting, seek approval to reappoint CEO

Lotte Corp., the holding company for the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate, will hold a shareholders meeting March 27 and seek approval to reappoint current Chairman Shin Dong-bin as executive director, the company said Friday.  The executive director normally serves two years, according to the group. Shin currently serves as executive director for Lotte Corp. and other affiliates including Lotte Confectionery, Lotte Chemical, Lotte Chilsung, Canon Korea and FRL Korea.  Shi

IndustryMarch 13, 2020

Busan-based VC to control mask inventory app operator Carelabs

Busan-based venture capital Maple Investment Partners has been selected as the preferred bidder to become the largest stakeholder of Carelabs, a South Korean company listed on the development stock bourse Kosdaq, a regulatory filing showed Friday. Carelabs operates a mobile app Gooddoc, which allows users to track the nearest hospitals and drugstores. The app began to feature real-time face mask inventory tracking function earlier in March. Facing a mounting fallout of COVID-19 here and the c

MarketMarch 13, 2020

Virus impact on airline ratings depends on duration, severity: S&P

S&P Global Ratings said Friday the ultimate impact of the new coronavirus outbreak on its global airline ratings will depend on the duration and severity of the crisis. The spread of COVID-19 cases across the globe has caused air traffic demand to plunge in recent weeks. With the virus now present in more than 100 countries and territories, more flight cancellations are expected as lower travel demand, S&P said in a statement.  "We see significant downside potential to t

EconomyMarch 13, 2020

Air carriers fly more cargo planes than passenger planes after COVID-19 outbreak

As the aviation industry has been hit hard from the coronavirus outbreak, South Korean air carriers were flying more air cargo planes than flights carrying passengers, industry sources said Friday.  More countries have been announcing entry restrictions of South Koreans over virus concerns. The number has reached 123 as of Friday morning.  This has led to South Korea’s largest full-service air carrier Korean Air to operate only 18 flights per day, compared to 131 flights opera

MobilityMarch 13, 2020

Samsung Display workers exempted from Vietnam's mandatory quarantine: embassy

Vietnam has exempted Samsung Display engineers from South Korea from its mandatory quarantine, the South Korean Embassy in Hanoi said Friday, allowing them to swiftly do their jobs upon arrival. To stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, Vietnam has mandated a 14-day quarantine for all people travelling from South Korea. However, the South Korean Embassy said Samsung Display's workers will be exempted from this quarantine rule after the Vietnamese government accepted its request. Early

IndustryMarch 13, 2020

Earlier-than-expected rate cut grows plausible amid coronavirus

Weighed by the escalating impact of COVID-19, South Korea’s central bank hinted Friday that it may lean toward an earlier-than-expected policy rate cut as early as within this month. “Members of the Monetary Policy Board are currently contemplating the necessity to hold an extraordinary panel meeting,” the Bank of Korea said in a release. The monetary policy institution’s latest move came as Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its stock market nosedive amid inve

EconomyMarch 13, 2020

Biz groups postpone H1 hiring over new coronavirus

South Korea's major conglomerates pushed back their hiring schedules due to the novel coronavirus, industry officials said Friday, amid concerns that they may scale down their employment plans in the first half of the year. Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, said it is very likely to postpone its first-half hiring event that usually takes place in March. Industry officials said they expect Samsung's recruitment process to be delayed a month. Samsung and other big employers in

IndustryMarch 13, 2020

Coupang named one of most innovative firms in world

Coupang, South Korea’s leading delivery service provider, has been named one of the world’s most innovative companies by a US market researcher in recognition of the firm’s e-commerce technology and logistics service.  According to an announcement by US-based business media brand Fast Company on Tuesday, Coupang was ranked second on its list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2020 for the Asia Pacific region. Korea’s biggest tech firm Samsung Elec

TechnologyMarch 13, 2020

Auto exports down for 7th month on virus-hit disruptions

South Korea's automobile exports sank 25 percent in February from a year earlier to extend their on-year drop to the seventh month in a row as the operation of local car factories was partially disrupted amid the global outbreak of the new coronavirus, data showed Friday. South Korean carmakers shipped 123,022 units of cars overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports also moved down 16.6 percent over the p

EconomyMarch 13, 2020

KRX activates ‘circuit breaker’ on Kospi, Kosdaq markets

South Korea’s stock market dived more than 8 percent during Friday morning trading, triggering the stock exchange to temporarily halt trading on both the country’s main bourse Kospi and tech-heavy Kosdaq market. It is the first time in Seoul stock market to activate circuit breakers in both Kospi and Kosdaq market in one trading session. The Korea Exchange activated the circuit breaker to suspend the Kospi’s operation for 20 minutes around 10:43 a.m., as the index plumm

MarketMarch 13, 2020

BOK vows market stabilization measures

The Bank of Korea said Friday that it will take active steps to help stabilize the local market, noting the volatility in the country's financial markets may seem excessive. "The Bank of Korea plans to actively use its policy measures to stabilize the financial market as the volatility in the local financial and foreign exchange markets is expanding due to the impact from the spread of COVID-19," the central bank said after an emergency meeting. The meeting, chaired by BOK Dep. Gov.

EconomyMarch 13, 2020

Asian stocks nosedive, extending global rout on recession fears

TOKYO (AFP) -- Asian markets opened in freefall on Friday, extending a global rout that saw bourses experience their worst day in decades on fears of a recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index nosedived more than seven percent shortly after the open, with markets around the region plummeting after a historically bad trading day in the US and Europe. The Nikkei 225 index dropped 7.12 percent or 1,322.15 points to 17,237.48 in early trade, while the broader T

MarketMarch 13, 2020

Seoul stock market crashes 6% as virus panic deepens

South Korea's stock market trading was halted Friday minutes after the opening bell due to sharp falls as panic sell-offs sparked by an overnight plunge on Wall Street amid growing concerns over the new coronavirus' economic fallout around the globe. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surrendered 107.82 points, or 5.87 percent, to 1,726.51 as of 9:30 a.m. The local stock market trading was halted after the sharp plunge. The benchmark index dipped by more than 8 percent to as low

MarketMarch 13, 2020

S. Korea orders filter producer to offload inventory amid mask shortage

South Korea said Friday it has ordered one of the filter producers here to release its inventory as the country struggles to keep up the supply of protective masks amid the spread of the new coronavirus. The order will add 4.4 tons of melt-blown nonwoven fabric filters into the market, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The collected filters will be supplied to nine mask producers, which were on the verge of suspending their operations due to the shortage of materials. T

IndustryMarch 13, 2020

Institutions go long on stocks amid market havoc

South Korean institutional investors have been loading up on stocks this month despite a virus-induced market crash, data showed Friday. The country's state pension fund and other institutions remained in net buying mode between March 2 and Thursday, purchasing stocks worth nearly 1.1 trillion won ($910 million), according to the data from the Korea Exchange. The figure represents a drastic increase from their February net buying tallied at 348 billion won. Institutions' net buying stood at

EconomyMarch 13, 2020