S. Korea strengthens crackdown on smuggling face masks out of country

South Korea has strengthened its crackdown on travelers' attempts to smuggle out face masks in bulk to fight the new coronavirus, officials said Saturday, with the customs office confiscating the protective goods and imposing fines when perpetrators are found. Since Thursday, people who seek to take face masks from the country for purposes beyond that of their own use are required to report to the customs office at airports and seaports. The strict rule is aimed at preventing travelers and me

EconomyFeb. 9, 2020

What doctors know, don’t know about new coronavirus

South Korea’s top infectious disease doctors say the outbreak of the novel coronavirus may just be the beginning, and that medical resources should be distributed with the possibility the epidemic may drag on for months. In a meeting with a group of reporters on Thursday evening, 10 specialists from the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases shared their understanding of the new virus with a group of reporters. Those present included the society’s president, Sungkyunkwan Medical Sc

TechnologyFeb. 7, 2020

LG decides to sell off twin buildings in Beijing

LG Electronics has decided to sell off its twin towers in Beijing to secure liquidity amid global uncertainties and to invest in future growth engines, the company said Friday. The company’s board of directors has agreed to sell its entire 49 percent stake in LG Holdings Hong Kong, which wholly owns LG Beijing Twin Towers, to RECO Changan Private, owned by Singaporean fund GIC. The price for the 49 percent stake is 668.8 billion won ($561.7 million), the company said. LG plans to s

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Cho Hyun-ah denounces Hanjin KAL board decision

Cho Hyun-ah, the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, released a statement on Friday afternoon to denounce the board decision made by Hanjin KAL in the morning. In a joint statement with local activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement and midsized builder Bando Engineering & Construction, she said the board decisions consisted of “improvised measures to obtain the votes of the shareholders just before the general shareholders’ meeting without s

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

FSS in hot water for failing to prevent derivatives disaster

South Korea’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service, has become the target of criticism for having failed to prevent the recent fiasco involving derivatives-linked funds. The state-run agency is also accused of trying to duck responsibility for the incident, which involved two of the largest banking groups here. The FSS on Monday decided to impose sanctions on the CEOs of major banking groups --  Woori Financial Group and Hana Financial Group -- which will have

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

Lime likely to release result of audit on its funds: FSC

Hedge fund operator Lime Asset Management will likely announce the amount of losses made by some of its troubled funds next week, according to the Financial Services Commission on Friday. The audit process on Lime’s now frozen funds, being conducted by audit firm Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, has reportedly completed and the result is scheduled to be sent to the fund operator today. “The audit seems to have taken more time than expected because necessary documents and data have

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

Hanjin KAL decides to give board of directors right to pick chairman

Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group, held a board meeting on Friday, to have the chairman of the board of directors be elected by the board to separate the position of its company president and the board chair. The board also decided to reorganize the hotel and leisure business that former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah -- who is engaged in a feud with her brother Cho Won-tae -- had been dedicated to. “The intention is to strengthen the role of the board of director

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Lotte Department Store's main outlet in Seoul to close temporarily over coronavirus fears

Lotte Department Store, one of the country's major department store chain operators, said Friday that one of its outlets in downtown Seoul will be temporarily closed starting late Friday for a cleanup following a recent visit there by a patient diagnosed with the new coronavirus. The store in the downtown Myeongdong area, the most bustling shopping district, will be shut down for sterilization, it said. The move follows confirmation that a female Chinese tourist from China's Wuhan, the epicen

ConsumerFeb. 7, 2020

LG Uplus 2019 profit down as investment, marketing costs rise

LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, said Friday its net profit fell 8.9 percent last year from a year earlier as it ramped up spending on its 5G network and marketing. In a regulatory filing, LG Uplus reported a net income of 438.8 billion won ($369.2 million) last year, down from 481.6 billion won in 2018, on a consolidated basis. The company said that operating profit for the year fell 7.4 percent on-year to 686.2 billion won, although its annual revenue rose 5.6 percent on

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

SsangYong suffers biggest operating loss in decade since 2009

SsangYong Motors’ balance sheet went from bad to worse in 2019, due to a sharp fall in exports. The automaker said Friday its operating losses skyrocketed to 281.9 billion won ($237.4 million), a whopping 339.3 percent increase from 64.2 billion won a year earlier, and taking its run of losses to 12 consecutive quarters. The figure is the worst since 2009, when the company saw a loss of 295 billion won in the aftermath of global financial crisis. Despite a minor 2.2 percent dip in r

MobilityFeb. 7, 2020

Korea to hold K-pop concert in Russia to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic ties

     The South Korean government will hold a large cultural event, including a K-pop concert and food exhibition in Russia to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, according to the nation’s fiscal policy chief on Friday. "The government will host KCON as well as a trade fair in Russia this year,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki during a meeting held to develop state-backed events for diplomatic ties. An official fro

EconomyFeb. 7, 2020

Coway rebrands under Netmarble

Woongjin Coway is now simply Coway after Netmarble’s acquisition of the company. Coway convened an interim shareholders meeting on Friday at its head office in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, where it voted on loosing Woongjin from its company name. Netmarble Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk was made a director, as well as Netmarble-Coway task force team leader Seo Jang-won and Coway CEO Lee Hae-sun. 　 Four newly appointed outside directors were Kim Jin-bae, professor at Korea University Bus

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo will be the first Korean to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the automaker said Thursday. The 2020 induction ceremony will be held in Detroit at the MGM Grand Ballroom on July 23. Established in 1939, the organization has honored some 800 business leaders around the world who have created, shaped and changed the mobility market. Past inductees include Ford founder Henry Ford, inventor Thomas Edison, founder of Mercedes-Benz Karl Be

MobilityFeb. 7, 2020

S. Korea to control supply of masks, hand sanitizers

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said on Friday that the ministry will implement measures to control the supply and distribution of masks and hand sanitizers next week, warning that the government would impose harsh penalties on those hoarding the products. “The government will take stricter measures to prevent illegal activities that could risk the public health and stoke concerns among the people,” said the finance minister, who chaired a meeting with officials at the ministry on t

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

SK Telecom's profit plunges in 2019 on equity losses, costs

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile phone operator, said Friday its net income plunged 72.5 percent last year from a year earlier due to reduced equity gains from its chip-making affiliate. In a regulatory filing, SK Telecom reported a net income of 861.9 billion won ($725.9 million) last year, down from 3.1 trillion won in 2018, on a consolidated basis. The company said that operating profit for the year fell 7.6 percent on-year to 1.11 trillion won, although its annual revenue increase

IndustryFeb. 7, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on virus woes

Seoul stocks opened lower Friday following a three-session winning streak as investors continue to assess the economic impact of the new coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.21 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,218.73 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Some investors turn to offload stocks on profit-taking following the market's solid rebound in the past three sessions from a 5.7 percent decline last week. Positive factors include China's decision to cut

MarketFeb. 7, 2020

Hyundai suspends all assembly lines over parts shortages

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Friday suspended all of its domestic car assembly plants due to a lack of parts from China amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak, with other local automakers set to halt production lines or considering doing so. Hyundai Motor plans to halt its assembly plants by Monday, while its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. is planning to bring all of its local assembly lines to a halt Monday.   Hyundai and Kia began to reduce output a

MobilityFeb. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] Coronavirus infection closes GS Home Shopping headquarters, live show suspended

  GS Home Shopping said Thursday it has decided to close its headquarters until Saturday morning as one of its employees was infected with the new coronavirus. “As an employee was confirmed to be infected by the new coronavirus, the company has closed the headquarters building in Seoul in case of emergency,” the company said. During the period, the firm said it would thoroughly disinfect the entire building. All of its home shopping broadcasts will be replaced by rebroadcas

IndustryFeb. 6, 2020

Seoul’s office vacancy hits 10-year low in Q4: JLL Korea

The vacancy rate of Grade A offices in Seoul reached a 10-year low last year as landmark buildings in central business districts welcomed new tenants, global real estate service provider Jones Lang LaSalle said Thursday. The latest quarterly report of JLL Korea showed that the vacancy rate for Grade A offices in the capital city came to 7.7 percent in October-December last year, down 1.9 percentage point on-quarter, marking the lowest since the third quarter in 2010. The key business district

MarketFeb. 6, 2020

Firms protest ministry’s battery defect blame for ESS fires

A joint panel of electric engineering experts at public and private institutions under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy concluded on Thursday that four out of five energy storage systems of Korean battery makers caught fire last year due to defects in the battery cells. The five ESS sites that caught fire last year involved the battery systems built by LG Chem and Samsung SDI across the country. Both companies refuted the ministry panel’s findings immediately. The panel conc

TechnologyFeb. 6, 2020