Hyundai Motor chief quits executive role at steel affiliate

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun has resigned as an inside executive director of the group’s steel affiliate, Hyundai Steel, the company said Wednesday.  Chung aims to focus on the group’s core automotive business as the group seeks to transform itself into a smart mobility solutions provider, according to the company.  Chung served in his executive role at Hyundai Steel since 2012 but rarely made an appearance at its executive directors’ me

MobilityFeb. 26, 2020

Celltrion’s Remsima SC authorized to treat rheumatoid arthritis in Korea

Celltrion’s autoimmune disease treatment Remsima SC was approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis in South Korea, the company announced Wednesday. Remsima SC is a biobetter of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade (infliximab), and is the world’s first subcutaenously injectable form of infliximab that comes in a prefilled syringe called an autoinjector. However, while intravenous Remsima is authorized for treatment of psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis,

IndustryFeb. 26, 2020

Bidding for duty-free operation at Incheon Airport kicks off

Incheon International Airport Corp. began taking bids for existing airport duty-free operations on Wednesday, accepting proposals from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., industry sources said Wednesday. Eight duty-free operators including Shilla, Lotte, Shinsegae and midsized operators like SM which currently operate business over 11,645 square meters in the duty-free zone need to submit proposals including the bid price, if they wish to continue to operate. Their contracts end in August.  Beyond the bi

IndustryFeb. 26, 2020

S. Korea curbs exports of facial masks amid soaring virus cases

South Korea on Wednesday started to regulate the country's exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high here amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the measures, effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output here, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. While the country's daily production of masks reached 11 million units as of Tuesday, which doubled from two weeks earlier, South

EconomyFeb. 26, 2020

United Airlines extends window for changing S. Korea-bound flights without fee

WASHINGTON -- United Airlines on Tuesday extended its window for travelers wishing to change their South Korea-bound flights without paying a fee, as the number of coronavirus cases in the country continued to climb. The US airline said on its website that passengers originally booked on flights departing from Feb. 24 to June 30 can switch to another flight within the same window, and between the same cities, without paying the change fee or any difference in fare. On Monday the airline had s

MobilityFeb. 26, 2020

Korean manufacturers' sentiment worsens for March

The business sentiment of South Korean manufacturers sharply deteriorated for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak may undermine the country's already weak exports and economic recovery. The business sentiment index (BSI) for manufacturing businesses here came to 69 for March, down from 77 for this month. It marked the lowest since February 2019 when the index stood at 65, according to the data from the Bank

EconomyFeb. 26, 2020

Revenues of Korean IoT firms surpass W10tr in 2019

South Korea-based internet-of-things firms posted revenue of over 10 trillion won in 2019, up 16.2 percent on-year, according to the ICT Ministry on Tuesday. This is the first time for IoT companies have crossed the revenue milestone since the ministry began collecting relevant figures in 2014. Domestic sales accounted for 89 percent with 9.7 trillion won. Exports accounted for the remaining 1.2 trillion won. Exports have shown an average annual increase of 46.3 percent from 2015-19, the min

IndustryFeb. 26, 2020

Nexon gives W2b to Korean Red Cross to help fight COVID-19

Nexon Korea said Tuesday it has donated 2 billion won ($1.6 million) to Korean Red Cross for crisis management amid ongoing COVID-19 spread. Its subsidiary Neople has also joined the effort. The donation will be used to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 infections, through emergency medical and relief aid. Nexon allocated 500 million won from the donation for Jeju Island, where the Neople headquarters is located. KRC President Park Kyung-seo expressed his gratitude to Nexon and pledg

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Seoul stocks rebound as investors scoop up undervalued assets

South Korean shares rose more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors went bargain hunting, after COVID-19 fears led to the sharpest fall in 16 months in the previous session. The benchmark Kospi opened slightly low at 2,075.55 -- down 3.49 points, or 0.17 percent, from the previous session. The index fluctuated between losses and gains in the early morning, then moved upward throughout the day to close at 2,103.61. Institutional and individual investors scooped up undervalued shares, with net pu

MarketFeb. 25, 2020

Korea ramps up testing capacity for COVID-19

When dealing with an infectious disease with no available vaccine or treatment, the only containment strategy is testing and diagnosing suspected cases fast and isolating confirmed patients, according to Korean medical experts on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference, six medical societies developing, conducting and quality-controlling tests for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 said as many as 15,000 tests can be done in a day by around 12,000 specialists at 77 medical institutions across

TechnologyFeb. 25, 2020

Market eyes fixed on BOK’s imminent growth rate adjustment

Anxiety is mounting that South Korea, reeling under the prolonged impact of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, may have no choice but to lower its already modest growth prospects for 2020. While speculations burgeoned that the central bank may cut its outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent, several global investing institutions set their estimation in the 1 percent range, some going as low as the zero percent range. The Bank of Korea’s upcoming Monetary Policy Board, slated

EconomyFeb. 25, 2020

[Monitor] Coronavirus depresses consumer sentiment index

Consumer sentiment in South Korea has dropped noticeably since the outbreak of COVID-19, according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday. The index, however, was calculated before the rapid increase in the number of infections here, meaning sentiment has probably fallen lower since then. The consumer composite sentiment index totaled 96.9 in February, down 7.3 points from a month ago. A similar drop was seen in June 2015, when Middle East respiratory syndrome was in the news. The s

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Kakao Bank expands partnerships for brokerage services

Kakao Bank, an online-only bank in South Korea, said Tuesday that stock trading services of brokerage firm NH Investment & Securities are now available on its mobile application. Since users’ personal data is already registered on the online bank’s mobile platform, Kakao Bank users can open a securities account on the mobile banking platform more easily than with other services via stock traders’ home trading systems or brick-and-mortar branches, according the banking f

MarketFeb. 25, 2020

Korean companies raise bar on coronavirus test kits

Korean companies specializing in infection test kits are exporting their new real-time PCR COVID-19 assay kits to overseas destinations. They include KogeneBiotech, Seegene and PCL. With vaccine development for COVID-19 anticipated to take at least a year, the most realistic containment measure currently is to make a speedy diagnosis and follow up with effective quarantine, experts opine. While the numbers of confirmed cases have shot up in Korea -- 977 as of Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. -- the coun

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

Banks initiate emergency response plans against coronavirus

As the number of coronavirus cases continued to surge in Korea on Tuesday, all major banks here launched emergency response plans to protect their core networks. Commercial banks -- including Woori, Hana, KB Kookmin and Shinhan -- have temporarily shut down around a combined 20 brick-and-mortar branches across the nation, as of Tuesday afternoon. They have been following basic quarantine procedures, such as ordering employees at branches that came in contact with coronavirus patients into se

MarketFeb. 25, 2020

Airlines extend flght suspensions, halt more amid virus fears

South Korean airlines said Tuesday they will extend flight suspensions to China and halt more flights on international routes due to the growing impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. With no end in sight for the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest airline by sales, on Tuesday extended flight suspensions to China by one month through April 25. Korean Air served 204 flights per week on 30 routes to China before the new coronavirus hit the

MobilityFeb. 25, 2020

BTS’ management agency gears up for IPO

Big Hit Entertainment, the South Korean entertainment management agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, has selected underwriters for its initial public offering in the country’s stock market. Lead underwriters include NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and JP Morgan, while Mirae Asset Daewoo will also participate in the process. An IPO underwriter is responsible for offering privately held or newly issued stocks to public investors, while protecting investors

MarketFeb. 25, 2020

KCGI opposes Delta Air Lines' Hanjin stake purchase

Activist private equity firm Korea Corporate Governance Improvement on Tuesday objected to Delta Air Lines decision to hike its stake in Hanjin KAL -- holding firm of Korean Air -- amid the escalating proxy battle that will determine the fate of its owner family. Its disapproval comes amid reports that the US carrier might act as a “white knight” to vote in favor of the Hanjin Group’s controlling family, given its ongoing partnership with Korean Air through a joint venture. K

MarketFeb. 25, 2020

Coronavirus changes South Korean workplace landscape

The new coronavirus outbreak has led to drastic changes in South Korea’s workplace culture, albeit temporarily. Many major companies are letting their employees work from home or have flexible working hours after the government raised the alert level to “serious” and the number of cases here surged. As of Tuesday afternoon, the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients stood at 977, up 84 from 10 a.m., while the death toll stood at 10. The nation’s largest conglomerat

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020

PMK appoints former Google director as new chief

Phillip Morris Korea said Tuesday that it had appointed Paik Young-jay, formerly global director of Google Korea, as its new managing director. Paik, who has a doctorate in cultural anthropology from Yale University, has worked in various industrial sectors over the past 20 years, according to the company. He started his career at McKinsey & Company Korea in 2000 and joined South Korea’s CJ Group in 2003. He also led Blizzard Entertainment Korea as country managing director from 2011

IndustryFeb. 25, 2020