Parliament turns down revision proposal for online-only banks

The National Assembly on Thursday rejected a proposed bill to ease regulations for online-only banks, which will deal a heavy blow to K bank, one of South Korea’s two online banks that is struggling to raise additional funds due to regulatory hurdles. The bill was unexpectedly voted down 82:75 with 27 abstaining at the plenary session, although it received the green light from the legislation and judiciary committee a day before, raising anticipation it would boost the fintech industry

MarketMarch 5, 2020

Komipharm awaits approval for clinical trial design

Market observers are skeptical of Komipharm stocks, as it is still waiting to get approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its application to test the Panaphix drug on COVID-19 patients. On Feb. 26, Komipharm gave an official notice to its shareholders that it has applied to the ministry for a fast-track review of its proposal for clinical phase 2/3 trials of Panaphix, a cytokine storm inhibitor believed to treat pneumonia, for 100 COVID-19 patients. Its stocks hit the daily maxi

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

South Korean government takes full control of face mask supply, bans exports

The South Korean government said Thursday it will take full control of face masks distributed via public channels, and ban local companies from exporting them to cope with the severe supply shortage amid rising cases of coronavirus. “To distribute face masks swiftly and fairly to all citizens, the government has decided to fundamentally manage the entire process of production, logistics and distribution,” the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other agencies monitoring the COVID-

EconomyMarch 5, 2020

Foreign firms in Korea support Korea's fight over coronavirus

American and European companies with a presence in South Korea expressed concerns Thursday about the prolonged coronavirus outbreak affecting their businesses, but also expressed full support in the country‘s fight against the epidemic. The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said approximately 70 percent of its member companies had reported disruption of travel and a decline in revenue as COVID-19 infections have continued to surge. About 40 percent of the companies reported a disr

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

Korean Air to check all passengers’ temperatures before boarding

Korean Air said Thursday that it had begun checks on all passengers’ temperatures on international routes to check for the COVID-19, as part of the company’s preventive measures. The air carrier said it had secured eight thermal imaging cameras and handheld, non-contact infrared thermometers to check if a passenger’s temperature was below 37.5 Celsius degrees.  Passengers with body temperatures above 37.5 Celsius degrees will be refused boarding, Korean Air said. 

MobilityMarch 5, 2020

Stock-related funds lure investors despite virus spread

Despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the amount of funds floating around South Korea’s stock market hit an all-time high, market data showed Thursday. The amount of capital available for stock-related funds marked nearly 124.91 trillion won ($105.3 billion) as of end-February, up 8.77 trillion won from a month earlier, according to latest market data. The funds refer to equities looking for investment opportunities such as investor deposits at brokerage firms, repurchase agreement

MarketMarch 5, 2020

Starbucks’ remote ordering services surge amid coronavirus outbreak

Starbucks Korea’s remote services have spiked as customers try to minimize direct contact and staying time inside its cafes. The company said Thursday its on-the-go ordering service Siren Order, available on its app, surpassed 8 million orders in the January-February period, a 25 percent increase on year. Meanwhile, the coffee chain saw a 32 percent jump in drive thru users in the same period, 40 percent of them using My DT Pass service on the app. The automatic charging service allow

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

Samsung clinches 5G deal with New Zealand’s biggest mobile carrier

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has clinched a 5G network supply deal with New Zealand’s largest mobile carrier Spark. The South Korean tech giant said it will help establish Spark’s 5G network later this year with its latest new radio solutions -- including slim and lightweight massive multiple-input and multiple-output units. The equipment provides carriers with more flexible and scalable solutions that are simple and cost-effective to deploy, to accelerate commercial 5G

TechnologyMarch 5, 2020

S-Oil CEO donates W500m to help combat coronavirus outbreak

S-Oil said Thursday its chief executive has donated 500 million won ($421,440) to a local disaster relief organization to help people hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Hussain Al-Qahtani, who was appointed as the company’s new CEO last June, made the donation to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association. “As Koreans are facing difficult times due to the virus spread, S-Oil has decided to share the pain and participate in the national efforts to overcome the crisis,” he sa

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

Shinsegae to spend W900b to help small suppliers amid outbreak

Shinsegae Group is set to provide a total of 900 billion won ($758 million) to help small and medium-sized business partners that are struggling as a result of the new coronavirus outbreak. Shinsegae Department Store and E-Mart decided to pay about 800 billion won in advance to some 5,000 small and medium-sized suppliers to help them remain stable at a time of plunging sales. Shinsegae TV Shopping also plans to pay its smaller partner companies 25 billion won in advance. The department store

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

Hyundai unveils images of next-generation G80

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday unveiled images of its luxury brand Genesis’ third-generation G80. The new G80 comes back in seven years. It is Genesis’ flagship model since 2008 when it was launched. An accumulated 210,000 units of G80 have been sold in the local market as of 2019.  Genesis Design Center chief Lee Sang-yub said that the latest G80 has been designed under the concept “athletic elegance,” putting its representative design features such as quad lamp

MobilityMarch 5, 2020

Big firms join 'social-distancing' drive amid virus crisis

Big businesses in South Korea are introducing more "social-distancing" measures to help contain the disruptive coronavirus outbreak, sources said Thursday. It comes as the government has proposed a social-distancing drive to slow the fast spread of the pneumonia-causing disease, seeing the next couple of weeks as a turning point for containing it. Social distancing refers to a series of tactics designed to keep people from gathering in large crowds, including working from home, can

IndustryMarch 5, 2020

Korea's current account surplus narrows sharply in Jan.

  South Korea's current account surplus narrowed sharply in January on shrinking exports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's current account surplus came to $1.01 billion in the month, compared with a surplus of $4.33 billion the previous month and a $3.3 billion surplus the same month last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The drop was largely attributed to a dip in South Korea's goods account surplus, which shrank to $1.93 billion in January from $5

EconomyMarch 5, 2020

Property transactions between parents-children grow

An increasing number of multiple homeowners in South Korea are choosing to give real estate to their children instead of selling it, data showed Wednesday. The number of apartments transferred from parents to children stood at 1,632 in January -- an increase of 305 from December and the third-highest jump since the compilation of relevant data began in 2006, the Korea Appraisal Board said. Meanwhile, separate data released by the Seoul City government showed that apartment transactions in

MarketMarch 5, 2020

Hanjin KAL recommends heir apparent as director ahead of vote showdown

Hanjin KAL Corp., the holding company of logistics-centered Hanjin Group, recommended the group's heir apparent as a member of its boardroom ahead of a vote showdown this month amid a family feud over the throne of the group. Hanjin KAL Corp., which owns shares in Korean Air Lines Co., said its board members have suggested Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and Korean Air Chief Financial Officer Ha Eun-yong as executive directors at the holding firm, the company said in a statement. "The

MobilityMarch 4, 2020

[Graphic News] Samsung’s Q4 smartphone share rises in Europe: data

　Samsung Electronics’ share in European smartphone market advanced slightly in the fourth quarter last year, benefiting from rival Huawei Technologies’ struggle with a US trade ban, data showed. 　The South Korean tech giant had a 27 percent market share, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. 　The world’s largest smartphone maker apparently enlarged its presence after Huawei was barred from installing Google ser

BusinessMarch 4, 2020

Kakao chairman donates stocks worth W2b to help fight coronavirus

Kakao founder and Chairman Kim Beom-su has pledged to donate his stocks worth 2 billion won to help combat the nationwide spread of COVID-19, the firm said Wednesday. The company will also separately match the amount. Kim has decided to give 1,100 stocks, based on the day’s closing price, amounting to around 1.97 billion won. Details of where and how the donations will be delivered are yet to be announced. South Korea’s leading online company has been encouraging relief activit

IndustryMarch 4, 2020

Samsung’s chip division creates own AI center

Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division has launched its own artificial intelligence research center and is scouting global talent, according to industry sources Wednesday. The new unit under the Device Solutions division has been named Data & Information Technology Center, and is headed by Shim Eun-soo, senior vice president who led AI software research at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. The purpose of the new research body is related to applying AI technologies to

TechnologyMarch 4, 2020

Samsung SDS, Credorax ink blockchain-based financial services partnership

Samsung SDS has signed a memorandum of understanding with Credorax, an Israel-based fintech and smart payments provider to nations in the European Union and European Economic Area, according to the company on Wednesday. The two companies will cooperate on Samsung SDS’ Nexledger Universal platform to develop a blockchain-based finance solution for bank and merchants so they can automatically reconcile payments, remittances and invoices with their bank records. The partners also aim to d

TechnologyMarch 4, 2020

Samsung Biologics, STCube to develop novel anti-cancer drug

Samsung Biologics announced Wednesday that it has signed a partnership deal with STCube for the development and manufacturing of STT-003, an anti-cancer immunotherapy candidate. STT-003, developed by STCube’s research center in Maryland, is a novel immune checkpoint inhibitor whose anti-cancer effects are anticipated to be more effective than the conventional PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. The US-based company is planning to submit an investigational new drug submission of the STT-003 antibody i

IndustryMarch 4, 2020