SKT, SK Broadband, GS Caltex, Hotel Lotte top user satisfaction in 2019: NCSI

Throughout 2019, customer satisfaction in overall industries improved to reach an all-time high despite economic hardships, according to an annual survey by the Korea Productivity Center.The KPC’s National Customer Satisfaction Index, or NCSI, for 2019 stood at 76.7 points, up 0.2 points from 2018 and the highest since the survey began in 1998. This means that despite grim economic conditions throughout last year, Korean businesses worked to enhance customer satisfaction. The survey was co

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

Tech firms’ earnings to rebound this year

The 2019 fourth quarter earnings by South Korea’s electronics firms will be disappointing but the figures would start to rebound in the first quarter this year, industry watchers said Sunday.Korean electronics firms will begin posting their final quarterly performance results from 2019 with Samsung and LG Electronics spearheading the announcements. The release of the quarterly reports around Wednesday is to coincide with their participation in the world’s biggest consumer electronics

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

[Trending in Pairs] Delicious or exotic? Koreans’ mala craze, black sugar hype continue

In a country where food trends come and go, stores selling black sugar milk tea and Mala xiang guo -- Sichuan-style spicy stir-fried vegetables and meat -- are widespread these days. Korea’s “sweet fever” peaked when Taiwanese boba milk tea franchise Tiger Sugar opened here in March last year, selling milk tea with dark brown sugar syrup called “heukdang” in Korean. In less than a year, Tiger Sugar has opened 16 additional stores in Korea.Coffee shops like Coffee Be

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

LG announces cooperation with Canada’s Element AI

LG Electronics said Sunday it will cooperate with Canada-based artificial intelligence startup Element AI for software development to be used in its electronic products and services. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding during a ceremony held in Las Vegas, US, which was attended by LG’s Chief Technology Officer Park Il-pyung and Element AI CEO Jean-Francois Gagne. Element AI was co-founded by CEO Gagne and professor Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal in 2016. Be

TechnologyJan. 5, 2020

What to expect from Korean tech leaders at CES 2020

Las Vegas -- Expectations were high on Sunday about what will be unveiled by tech giants from South Korea -- one of the most advanced IT powerhouses in the world -- with one day left for the kickoff of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, US. Given that the number of Korean tech firms and research institutes attending the show this year marks the largest of around 400 amongst 4,500 global participants, Korea is anticipated to boast a greater presence in the world’s biggest IT show w

TechnologyJan. 5, 2020

AI, eco-friendly, consumer needs to be key trends in 2020

Facing an increasingly competitive market, companies are ratcheting up their efforts to better meet consumer expectations, with artificial intelligence, eco-friendliness and customer needs expected to be the key trends in major industries like information and communications technologies, cars and retail, according to an analysis by state-run Korea Productivity Center. Last year, the nation’s three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- made efforts to innovate products and servi

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

Samsung to release Galaxy S20, Galaxy Fold 2 on Feb. 11

Samsung Electronics will release the sequel to the Galaxy S10 at an event next month. In an invitation sent to media on Sunday, the Korean tech giant said it “will unveil new, innovative devices that will shape the next decade of mobile experiences. The reveal will take place at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event in San Francisco at 11 a.m. on February 11.” Samsung is expected to unveil Galaxy S20, the next iteration in the Galaxy S series, and Galaxy Fold 2, the successor to the

TechnologyJan. 5, 2020

S. Korea allocates budget of W1.5tr to help SMEs develop technologies

South Korea has allocated a research budget of 1.5 trillion won ($1.28 billion) for this year to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop technologies, officials said Sunday. The annual budget rose by 414.4 billion won from last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. About 200 billion won will be spent to help SMEs develop technologies in sectors including non-memory semiconductor, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, the ministry said. Another 118.6 billion won

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

S. Korea starts universal super high-speed internet service for entire country

South Korea has started offering super high-speed internet service for the entire country that will allow universal, convenient access to online data, the government said Sunday."High-speed internet has been designated as a universal service that everyone is entitled to receive no matter where they are," the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The ministry said KT Corp., the country's top fixed-line operator has been tasked with providing the infrastructure in places that have not benefi

TechnologyJan. 5, 2020

S. Korean air, ocean monitoring satellite heads to French Guiana ahead of launch

A South Korean geostationary environmental monitoring satellite that can closely check the movement of fine dust and ocean conditions is being moved to French Guiana ahead of its launch, the government said Sunday.The 3.4-ton Chollian-2B, scheduled to be sent into orbit on Feb. 19, has been placed in a specially built non-vibration shipping container in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, where it was built by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Ministry of Science and ICT

TechnologyJan. 5, 2020

Gold prices rise on Middle East tensions

Escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran have caused gold prices to rise in South Korea and led to a surge in trade of the precious metal, according to the local exchange on Sunday.According to the Korea Exchange, a gram of gold changed hands at 57,850 won ($49.50) on Friday, up 1.74 percent from a day earlier. The bourse operator also said the value of daily gold trading jumped 60.1 percent on-day to 3.64 billion won on Friday.  In contrast, the benchmark Korea C

MarketJan. 5, 2020

Level 3 autonomous car to be sold in S. Korea from July

South Korea will allow carmakers to sell a vehicle with basic Level 3 self-driving technology in the domestic market from July, the transport ministry said Sunday, claiming that the country is the first to adopt safety standards for the limited self-driving vehicle.The government has adopted a set of safety standards required for the Level 3 autonomous vehicle, with the lane keeping assist function to run on a highway or motorway, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

Major banks up ante for W2tr Prudential Life bid

Major banking groups in South Korea are revealing their appetite for what could become the largest acquisition deal in the nation’s financial industry this year: a 100 percent stake in Prudential Life Insurance of Korea valued at some 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion).The latest to express an interest was Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung on Friday. He told reporters at a New Year gathering event of financial circles in Korea that he is “willing to do an M&A” of Pru

MarketJan. 5, 2020

Smartphones beat personal computers in stock trading for 1st time

Smartphones overtook personal computers as the top stock-trading platform in South Korea last year, data showed Sunday. Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 40.66 percent of daily trading on the main KOSPI market last year, according to the data by the nation's bourse operator. In comparison, stock trading via personal computers accounted for 38.89 percent of daily trading on the KOSPI market last year.  It was the first time that more stock trading took place on smartphon

MarketJan. 5, 2020

Debt of households, self-employed estimated to exceed W2,000tr

Debt incurred by households and self-employed businesses in South Korea is estimated to surpass 2,000 trillion won ($1,713 billion) as of September last year, according to central bank data on Sunday. Outstanding household loans came to 1,481 trillion won at the end of last September, up 13.6 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea data showed. Debt incurred by self-employed businesses reached 670 trillion won at the end of last September, up 16.3 trillion won from three months

EconomyJan. 5, 2020

Korean snacks enjoy growing popularity overseas

South Korean snacks are increasingly gaining huge popularity in the global market as more consumers are addicted to new flavors and opted to pick up more Korean products in line with the Korean Wave, industry officials said Sunday.Exports of local snack products were tallied at $43.14 million in 2018, up from $41.6 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Agricultural Trade Information. Last year's tally was not available at the moment, but the figure is surely to

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

Beauty goods exports to Japan up nearly 30% despite trade row

South Korea's exports of beauty products to Japan advanced nearly 30 percent in the first 11 months of last year, data showed Sunday, despite the ongoing bilateral trade row stemming from their shared history.Asia's No. 4 economy shipped $370 million worth of beauty products to Japan in the January-November period of 2019, according to the report released by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, which cited the latest data available from IHS Markit.The country's overall exports to Japan,

IndustryJan. 5, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding targets over $6.8b in deals for 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the world‘s second-largest shipbuilder by order backlog, is seeking to secure deals worth more than $6.88 billion this year, an official said Saturday.In 2019, Daewoo Shipbuilding won orders worth $6.88 billion to build 39 vessels, achieving 82 percent of its annual order target of $8.37 billion, according to the company official.On Friday, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Group said its three shipbuilding units are seeking to s

IndustryJan. 4, 2020

Kakao Bank to push for IPO in second half of this year

Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, is pushing for a listing on the country's stock market by the end of this year, a top executive said Friday.Lee Yong-woo, co-CEO at Kakao Bank, gave the time frame for an initial public offering (IPO) during a meeting with reporters at a Seoul hotel. It marked the first time that a top bank executive mentioned a specific time frame.Still, another Kakao Bank official said Lee's comments mean that the bank will make preparations in the second h

MarketJan. 3, 2020

Airlines to expand number of flights ahead of Seollal

The country’s airlines are expanding their numbers of flights ahead of Seollal and throughout the holiday, industry sources said Friday. Seollal, the Lunar new year, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. This year’s Seollal falls on Jan. 25, with the holiday running from 24th until 27th.  Korean Air said it would add a total of 26 more domestic flights connecting Gimpo to Jeju, Cheongju to Jeju and Gimpo to Busan, from 23rd to 27th.Asiana Airlines said it will add 12 mor

MobilityJan. 3, 2020