Minister confirms frontloading of public spending

South Korea has allocated more than 60 percent of its state budget for the first half of the year, in a rush to revitalize the stalled economy through active fiscal spending, the finance minister said Wednesday.Though this latest figure was down from an earlier suggested target of 71 percent, the government said the front-loading policy was crucial to achieve an economic rebound. “(The government) will make all-out efforts to execute the economic revitalizing budget as swiftly as poss

EconomyJan. 8, 2020

Korean construction firms on alert following Iran’s missile attack against US

Following Iran’s latest attack against American military bases in Iraq, Korean construction companies operating projects in the Middle East are on high alert, according to industry sources Wednesday.Along with safety concerns, industry officials also worry that the security situation in Iraq and Iran would influence Korean construction companies that sought to secure more orders in the region. South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it is working with the Mi

IndustryJan. 8, 2020

SK hynix hits all-time high on improved market outlook

Shares in SK hynix Inc., the world's second-largest DRAM maker, traded at an all-time high on Wednesday on expectations that the chipmaking sector is set to improve this year after bottoming out in the fourth quarter of last year.SK hynix finished at 97,400 won ($83.18) on Wednesday, up 3.62 percent from the previous session's close, bucking a 1.11 percent dip in the benchmark KOSPI. The shares touched a record high of 99,500 won at 11:15 a.m., the highest-ever quotation. Investors bet that the

MarketJan. 8, 2020

[CES 2020] Chung Euisun leads aggressive mobility drive with global firms

Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun has been highlighting the conglomerate’s transformation into a mobility solution provider by partnering with global firms in the industry. South Korea’s top auto group said Wednesday that it sealed a partnership with Uber at Consumer Electronics Show 2020 in Las Vegas, to develop an urban air mobility business and create “the world’s top personal air vehicle.” “Based on the collaboration with Ube

MobilityJan. 8, 2020

[Exclusive] Neon, Bixby to complement each other: Samsung exec

LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics’ humanoid artificial intelligence chatbot Neon and its current platform Bixby will complement each other, said Chung Eui-suk, head of the mobile division’s software R&D on Tuesday in Las Vegas. Chung told The Korea Herald that unlike Bixby which is embedded as a software in devices, Neon makes virtual humans that act like real people.“The Neon platform will be complementary with Bixby, but goes beyond what Bixby does,” said the ex

TechnologyJan. 8, 2020

S. Korea strives to revive petrochemical sector

South Korea said Wednesday it will spare no efforts to revitalize the country's petrochemical industry facing a prolonged slump amid growing protectionism and competition.The country's exports of petrochemical products surrendered 14.8 percent in 2019 from a year earlier to $42.5 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Outbound shipments of petroleum goods also sank 12.3 percent over the cited period to $40 billion. The two segments each represented the fourth and fifth-

IndustryJan. 8, 2020

Tax revenue tallied at W276.6tr through Nov. last year

South Korea's state tax income reached 276.6 trillion won ($234.8 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, 3.3 trillion won less than the previous year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Tax revenue was tallied at 16.2 trillion won in November last year, 300 billion won less compared with a year earlier. Income tax revenue amounted to 10.9 trillion won in November last year, 1 trillion won more than a year earlier, due to a rise in wages. Dues collected by companies were unchanged at 1.5

EconomyJan. 8, 2020

[Exclusive] Samsung vice chairman says memory market is recovering

LAS VEGAS -- The memory chip market is starting to show signs of improving, leaving Samsung Electronics to deliberate carefully on the timing of the launch of its second memory chip plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, according to Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman of the tech giant’s semiconductor business on Tuesday. “There are signs that make us believe the market is recovering,” the vice chairman told The Korea Herald in Las Vegas at Consumer Electronics Show 2020. “Howeve

TechnologyJan. 8, 2020

Samsung beats Q4 earnings estimate, 2019 performance worst in 3 yrs on chip prices

Samsung Electronics Co. expected better fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday but suffered its worst performance in three years in 2019 due to a protracted slump in chip prices.The world's No. 1 memory chipmaker estimated its fourth-quarter operating income at 7.1 trillion won ($6.1 billion), down 34.26 percent from a year earlier, but the reading was well above the median market estimate of 6.5 trillion won, largely on the back of a slight recovery in chip prices and better-than-expected market res

IndustryJan. 8, 2020

Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch records over W2tr in annual sales

Shinsegae Department Store said Tuesday its Gangnam branch recorded annual sales of 2 trillion won ($1.71 billion) in 2019, becoming the first single store to do so in the retail industry in South Korea.According to Shinsegae, its Gangnam branch in Seoul saw annual turnover exceed 1 trillion won in 2010, hitting the milestone just 10 years after it opened.  With the 2019 record, the department store joins the “2-trillion club” to stand shoulder to shoulder with global department

ConsumerJan. 8, 2020

Lime Asset’s fund fiasco weighs on local banks

More than one-third of local fund operator Lime Asset Management’s now-frozen private equity fund was sold via Korean commercial banks last year, the financial watchdog said Tuesday, further igniting trust issues involving lenders already facing criticism for misselling risky financial products.　As of late July, domestic banks, including Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and KEB Hana Bank, had sold a combined 2 trillion won ($1.72 billion) of the fund on behalf of Lime Asset, according to an ongoin

MarketJan. 7, 2020

Mideast tension to have limited impact on S. Korea: ministry

Dispelling concerns about the economic ramifications of the latest US-Iran conflict, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that the geopolitical tensions would have limited impact on domestic oil supplies.Acknowledging the increased level of volatility, however, it said it would consider the release of the country’s strategic oil reserves if necessary. “So far, there have been no setbacks in trade and shipments of Middle Eastern crude oil (for South Korea),” sai

EconomyJan. 7, 2020

Trademark for ‘Pengsoo’ still available to EBS

The Korean Intellectual Property Office on Tuesday released a statement to dispel the latest concerns that the trademark for “Pengsoo,” a YouTube celebrity penguin character, may be acquired by an irrelevant third party.“An increasing number of third parties have been submitting trademark applications (ahead of the original content creators), seeking to make profits,” the IP office said.“Following news reports related to the Pengsoo trademark issue, we felt the need

MarketJan. 7, 2020

[CES 2020] SK hynix boasts advanced memory solutions

SK hynix said Tuesday it will showcase its latest memory chip solutions at the world’s largest annual tech show in Las Vegas. The memory product lineup of SK hynix at the Consumer Electronics Show this year includes its next-generation DRAM products, as well as other memory solutions related to future businesses that utilize artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, automotive, internet of things, big data and 5G.The company, whose business profile heavily relies on

TechnologyJan. 7, 2020

[CES 2020] Samsung unveils life companion bot Ballie

LAS VEGAS -- A small spherical yellow robot, called Ballie, stole the show during a keynote speech by Samsung Electronics’ CEO in Las Vegas on Monday. The South Korean tech giant unveiled its brand new personal care robot, declaring artificial intelligence to be the future of personalized care. Kim Hyun-suk, chief executive officer of Samsung’s consumer electronics division, shared the stage with the ball-shaped bot that rolled around the stage during his keynote speech at the Consum

TechnologyJan. 7, 2020

Foreigners subject to tightened mortgage rules: regulator

South Korea said Tuesday that foreigners are also subject to tightened mortgage rules in a move to plug any possible loopholes in its efforts to stabilize home prices.The Financial Supervisory Service said the tightened mortgage rules are being applied to both South Koreans and foreigners.Under last year's measures, mortgage loans will be banned when buying a house worth over 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) in "speculative and overheated speculative" areas, and the loan-to-value ratio f

EconomyJan. 7, 2020

[CES 2020] Hyundai foresees personal air vehicle by 2028

Hyundai Motor envisions a future of mobility where people can hop on a personal air vehicle and transfer to a specialized vehicle that doubles as a restaurant or even a clinic, its chief said Monday.Speaking at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun unveiled a smart mobility vision for hubs that link aerial vehicles with specialized ground transportation. “We have thought deeply about what is significant when it come

MobilityJan. 7, 2020

Moon’s shareholder engagement push to empower pension funds

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the swift revision of laws to allow institutional investors to ramp up shareholder engagement in the domestic market. This, he stressed, would prevent abuses of power in the business world. In his New Year’s speech, Moon urged the government to amend the Capital Markets Act and the Commercial Act, saying the proposed changes were critical to ensure fairness in the domestic market.“Fairness is the backbone of innovation and incl

MarketJan. 7, 2020

S. Korea’s current account surplus grows to $6b in Nov.

South Korea’s current account surplus came to $5.97 billion in November, marking a surplus for the seventh consecutive month, amid sluggish exports, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday.The central bank’s preliminary data showed that the nation’s current account surplus in November grew $840 million. It recorded a surplus in May 2019 after posting a deficit in the previous month. The surplus in November marks the first on-year surplus growth in nine months.  The grow

EconomyJan. 7, 2020

Science Ministry to invest W420b in original bio tech

The Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday it will invest 420 billion won ($360 million) in 2020 in the development of original technologies in the biologics field.The budget is 10 percent higher than the 380 billion won allocated last year, and above the 349 billion won in 2018. This year, the Science Ministry will give more support to the domestic bio industry, to gain competitiveness in research and development for novel drugs, medical devices and precision medicine such as neuroscience. It

IndustryJan. 7, 2020