[News Focus] Why automakers are affected most from cascade of factory closures in China

The prolonged outbreak of novel coronavirus has taken a toll on South Korean companies, especially automakers, due to their high dependence on various types of irreplaceable auto parts manufactured in China, according to industry insiders Wednesday. Four of the country’s five major carmakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, SsangYong Motor and Renault Samsung Motors -- have decided to temporarily suspend operations at their plants here due to the shortage of a crucial auto part called wirin

MobilityFeb. 5, 2020

LG Electronics not joining MWC 2020 over coronavirus fears

LG Electronics said Wednesday that the company was canceling its exhibition at Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, amid growing concerns over the new coronavirus that recently emerged in Wuhan, China. The company said it had decided to withdraw from MWC 2020 out of concern for the safety of its employees and the public. This is the first time LG Electronics will not have a presence at the mobile trade show, which takes place every February in Barcelona. LG is the first South Kore

IndustryFeb. 5, 2020

Hahn & Co. to buy SK Chemicals’ biofuel operation for W382.5b

Seoul-based private equity house Hahn & Co. agreed to buy SK Chemicals’ biofuel operation for 382.5 billion won ($322.2 million) in cash on Wednesday. The proposed acquisition of South Korea’s No. 1 biodiesel producer marks the first deal to be announced since Hahn & Co. closed a new Korea-focused fund worth $3.2 billion in October last year, a Hahn & Co. official said. As of end-2018, SK Chemicals took up one-third of market share here by biodiesel production. This c

MarketFeb. 5, 2020

K-Growth to earmark W5.4tr risk capital for 2020

South Korea’s state-led fund of funds manager Korea Growth Investment (K-Growth) said Wednesday it plans to earmark a combined 5.4 trillion won ($4.5 billion) risk capital to spur venture investments across the nation in 2020. The company said it aims to raise at least 1 trillion won for its portfolio, adding to the 1.6 trillion won from its flagship fund of funds. The majority of the funds worth 3.3 trillion won will be used to nurture startups for later-stage funding rounds, K-Growth

MarketFeb. 5, 2020

FTC fines Shinsegae for ‘nonrefundable stickers’ terming it unfair

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday fined retailers Shinsegae and Woori Home Shopping 2.5 million won ($2,100) each for violating e-commerce laws. The Fair Trade Commission said the two firms were fined for their “nonrefundable stickers” that restricted the right of consumers to return a purchase and get a full refund if they open the package. The agency noted that Shinsegae posted a sticker on products -- sold on online shopping platform 11th Avenue from April

IndustryFeb. 5, 2020

Call me ‘Bae Ha-jun’: OB CEO from Belgium gets Korean name

Ben Verhaert, CEO of the South Korea-based Oriental Brewery, has chosen a new Korean name to foster friendly communication with his Korean employees and customers, the company said Wednesday. The Belgian national now goes by Bae Ha-jun. The CEO took up his current post in November last year. Belgian brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired OB in 2014. The name Ha-jun consists of the Chinese characters “ha,” referring to water, and “jun,” meaning height, the company

ConsumerFeb. 5, 2020

Samsung Electronics still No. 1 in US home appliances market

Samsung Electronics set a record in 2019 by commanding 20.5 percent of the home appliances market in the United States, whose $25.8 billion electronics market is the world’s biggest, according to data from Reed Electronics. The Korean tech giant has maintained the top spot for four consecutive years, said US market researcher TraQline. Next on the list were Whirlpool and LG Electronics. Samsung recorded its highest quarterly market share figure ever, 21.6 percent, in the fourth quarter

IndustryFeb. 5, 2020

NPS exercises shareholder rights more often since adopting stewardship code

The National Pension Service has exercised its shareholder rights more actively since it adopted the stewardship code in 2018, said a local corporate tracker. On Wednesday, CEO Score released the results of a survey of 577 companies in which the NPS held shares and exercised its voting rights at shareholders meetings last year. It found that the NPS voted against initiatives proposed by companies 16.48 percent of the time, up from 11.85 percent a year earlier. The rate at which it approved

IndustryFeb. 5, 2020

Coronavirus outbreak to push up prices of chips, display panels

The spread of coronavirus in China is likely to push up prices of semiconductors and display panels, analysts said Wednesday, amid possible supply chain disruptions of key industrial materials. China, where the outbreak originated, is home to manufacturing facilities of many of South Korea's major tech firms, including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. The companies said they are trying to keep their plants in China running amid the spread of the deadly coronavirus, while setting up c

IndustryFeb. 5, 2020

Renault Samsung Motors seeks competitiveness in customer service

Renault Samsung Motors is bolstering its customer service capabilities to up its game in the Korean auto market despite aggravated market conditions. The carmaker said Wednesday it has become the first among domestic brands to have recently introduced the “RSM Service Menu,” a customer service program where customers can learn about a total expense prior to service. Based on that information, customers can decide which service to receive without having to worry about bills later.

MobilityFeb. 5, 2020

S. Korea eyes further economic cooperation with Russia, Azerbaijan

South Korea said Wednesday it will hold a series of meetings with counterparts in Russia and Azerbaijan this week as part of the country's drive to forge deeper ties with emerging countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. A South Korean delegation of trade officials plans to discuss ways to promote exchanges of goods and services, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. South Korea has been seeking to expand cooperation with Russia, especially in materials, parts, and eq

EconomyFeb. 5, 2020

Concerns grow over S. Korean exports amid coronavirus crisis

Concerns are escalating over South Korea's export performance down the road amid the new coronavirus crisis, but officials say no serious fallout has been reported yet. It is widely feared that the outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, will dampen China's economic growth in the first quarter. China is South Korea's leading export market, with slightly over 25 percent of its overseas shipments going to the world's secon

EconomyFeb. 5, 2020

Big firms sharply cut performance pay, dividends on dismal earnings

Major South Korean companies sharply cut payments of performance-based pay and dividends for 2019 due to abysmal earnings, industry sources said Wednesday. Top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. recently decided to lower the maximum amount of performance pay for workers at its semiconductor division to 29 percent of their annual salary from 50 percent in 2018. Samsung's operating income tumbled 53 percent on-year to 27.7 trillion won ($23.4 billion) last year due mainly to a protracted slump in chip

EconomyFeb. 5, 2020

S. Korean airlines halt 57% of China routes on coronavirus

A deadly new coronavirus has prompted South Korean airlines to suspend more than half of their flight services to China, industry sources said Tuesday. As of Tuesday, industry leader Korean Air Lines Co. and seven other carriers have temporarily suspended 57 out of their 100 routes to the neighboring country due to the coronavirus scare. The airlines have also decided to reduce flights on 24 routes to Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing. Korean Air, the country‘s national fla

MobilityFeb. 4, 2020

Samsung launches powerful memory chip for AI, supercomputing systems

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has launched a new memory chip suited to high-performance computing (HPC) systems and artificial intelligence-powered data analytics. Samsung said the Flashbolt is the industry‘s first third-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) 2E memory chip and will deliver twice the capacity of its previous-generation Aquabolt. “The new 16-gigabyte HBM2E is uniquely suited to maximize high-performance computing systems and help system manufacturers to

TechnologyFeb. 4, 2020

Nexon Korea tentatively agrees on 6.8% salary hike

Nexon Korea set a precedent in the domestic gaming industry Monday by revealing the average 6.8 percent wage hike it agreed upon with the labor union, saying the disclosure would prompt a “constructive future.” The company’s labor union, Starting Point, said it had reached a tentative agreement with the management last week to raise the average wage for 2020. This is the first time a South Korean game company has made public its wage hike rate. Its subsidiary Nexon GT&rsquo

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020

BOK board members see slow but clear signs of improvement: minutes

A majority of South Korea's monetary policy board members apparently see gradual but definite signs of improvements in economic conditions surrounding the country, minutes from their latest rate-setting meeting showed Tuesday, possibly indicating the board may stand pat on rate cuts for some time. "The local economy continues to face an overall slump but is showing signs of improvement in certain sectors," one of the board's seven members told the meeting held Jan. 17, according to t

EconomyFeb. 4, 2020

Patent applications for masks rise amid health concerns

Patent applications for masks have increased notably in recent years, according to South Korea’s patent administrator, reflecting growing concerns about microfine dust and epidemics, such as the new coronavirus outbreak. The number of patent applications here for antibacterial face masks came to an annual average of 68 during the 2014-2018 period, almost double the figure for the previous five years, the Korean Intellectual Property Office said Tuesday in a release. The individual ann

MarketFeb. 4, 2020

Hanjin family sides with son in sibling power struggle

As the power struggle between two siblings of Hanjin Group’s controlling family continues ahead of the upcoming shareholders meeting, their mother and sister, who are major stakeholders, said they backed the brother of the two. In a statement Tuesday, Lee Myung-hee, the mother of the siblings and their youngest sister Hyun-min expressed support for Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae over his sister Cho Hyun-ah, the former vice president of the airline. “Lee Myung-hee and Cho Hyun-m

MobilityFeb. 4, 2020

[Photo News] 7-Eleven opens stores for foodies

Customers visit Food Dream, a food store launched by convenience store chain 7-Eleven in July 2019.  Compared with conventional stores, Food Dream has recorded double the sales in the food category since its launch, 7-Eleven said Tuesday. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryFeb. 4, 2020