Lotte Group braces for changing retail landscape with massive exec reshuffle

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group carried out a sweeping executive reshuffle Thursday to respond to the changing retail business landscape, with Lotte Department CEO Kang Hee-tae being promoted as head of the retail business unit.In a drastic annual year-end reshuffle, led by Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, the group replaced a quarter of 608 senior executives, to brace for digital transformation amid the surge in e-commerce. It was the first executive reshuffle led

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

[Monitor] No. of Korean fathers taking paternity leave up 47%

The number of working South Koreans who used their parental leave reached nearly 100,000 in 2018. Among them, the number of men taking child care leave surged nearly 47 percent on-year, data from Statistics Korea showed.Last year, the number of workers who used parental leave marked 99,199, up 10.1 percent from the previous year. Of them, 82.2 percent were females, a jump of 4.4 percent on-year. Only 17.8 percent of the male workers used their paternity leave, but the figure soared 46.7 percent,

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

Hanwha Energy taps Vietnam’s energy market

Hanwha Energy said Thursday that it has joined hands with Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas) and Korea Southern Power (Kospo) to cooperate in infrastructure development projects for a gas plant and liquefied natural gas terminal in Vietnam.The affiliate of Hanwha Group plans to build a terminal for LNG imports and a power plant to produce electricity in Vietnam, where power supply and demand imbalance is a severe problem. In the case of Vietnam’s southern region, although half of the country’s

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Korean EV battery makers' market share up in Oct.

South Korea's major electric vehicle battery producers increased their market share in October, despite a slowdown in global EV battery use, industry data showed Thursday.Based on the global usage of their EV batteries, the combined market share of three South Korean EV battery makers -- LG Chem Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK Innovation Co. -- stood at 22.4 percent in October, compared with 12.3 percent from a year earlier, according to data from market tracker SNE Research.LG Chem was the third-b

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

‘SK Holdings, AstraZeneca’s partnership benefits 3 million diabetic patients’

SK Holdings and British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca on Thursday said their strategic partnership has so far produced medication for some 3 million diabetic patients and yielded annual revenue of $100 million. SK Holdings CEO Jang Dong-hyun and AstraZeneca Chairman Leif Johansson agreed to strengthen their collaborative efforts for mutual benefit during a meeting in Seoul, held as part of the Korea-Sweden summit talks.Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Trade Anna Hallberg, Yu Jeoung-

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

S. Korea’s GNI per capita surges 500-fold since Korean War: data

Since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea’s gross national income per capita had increased nearly 500-fold as of 2018, data provided by the nation’s central bank showed Thursday. The figure is part of the Bank of Korea’s latest data, as it changed its reference year from 2010 to 2015. According to the updated data, the nation’s GNI per capita stood at $33,434 in 2018, which was 503 times more than the corresponding figure in 1953 of $76. Before the BOK adopted

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

SsangYong Motor workers OK self-rescue measures amid sales slump

Workers at SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Thursday accepted a cut in bonuses and other cost-saving measures proposed by the company amid declining sales.SsangYong Motor workers have agreed to the company's proposals that require them to return some of their annual bonuses and performance-based pay, the company said in a statement. In September, SsangYong Motor proposed some cost-saving plans to its 5,046 employees. The plans include si

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Delivery Hero to conquer S. Korea's delivery app market: data

Germany-based online delivery service provider Delivery Hero is forecast to take control of South Korea's food delivery app market following its proposed megadeal to buy the country's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers Corp., industry data showed Thursday.On Friday, Delivery Hero announced that it will acquire an 87 percent stake in Woowa Brothers, the operator of delivery app Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, from existing investors such as Goldman Sachs and Singaporean fund GIC. The German

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Daewoong’s wrinkle-smoothening Nabota to enter UAE, Indonesia

Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s botulinum toxin Nabota has acquired the United Arab Emirates and Indonesian health authorities’ approvals for forehead wrinkle smoothening functions, the company said Thursday. This is the first time a Korean BTX has forayed into the two countries, characterized by their halal customs and the untapped, sizable markets. “Both UAE and Indonesia are posting continuous growth of their pharmaceuticals markets,” said Park Sung-soo, head of Daewoong&

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Foreign currency deposits slightly drop in Nov.

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea dropped slightly from a month earlier in November, largely on local businesses taking advantage of favorable exchange rates, central bank data showed Thursday.The outstanding foreign currency deposits held by banks here came to $74.87 billion as of the end of last month, down $3.67 billion from a month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It marked the first on-month drop since July, when the amount slipped $700 million from

MarketDec. 19, 2019

Number of immigrants in S. Korea tops 1.3m in 2019

The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea topped 1.3 million as of May this year, government data showed Thursday. The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea has been rising steadily, reaching 1.32 million this year, up 1.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.However, the number of naturalized citizens fell 6.7 percent on year to 49,000 as of end-May, the data showed.  By nationality, Chines

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

Posco International completes solar power system in Myanmar

Posco International has completed a solar power system in Manaung Island, Myanmar, to provide electricity to around 1,000 households, the firm said Thursday. The photovoltaic system built by Posco International is a combination of 500 kilowatt power generation and 2,000 kilowatt-hours of energy storage system. It is capable of providing power to around 1,000 households in Manaung Island, Rakhine state situated on the western coast of the nation with about 60,000 inhabitants.  Through the pr

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

S. Korea all out to escape slow growth trap in 2020

Facing continuing external challenges and structural problems next year, South Korea vowed to add speed to innovation and investment, determined to edge its way out of prolonged slow growth.Pinning its hopes on a global economic uptrend, progress in US-China trade tensions and recovery of the chip business, the government forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will achieve 2.4 percent growth next year, while its inflation will recover to around 1 percent, despite market skepticism.&ld

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

ETFs' net asset value hits record high

The net asset value of exchange traded funds hit a record high on the back of the bullish run on the local stock market, fueled by eased uncertainties over the Sino-American trade tussle, data showed on Thursday.The net asset value of ETFs reached 48.83 trillion won ($41.89 billion) as of Wednesday, the highest on record since 2002, when the investment vehicle made a debut on the local stock market, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.An ETF refers to an investment fund traded o

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

Exports of farm goods up despite overall trade slump

South Korea's outbound shipments of agricultural products edged up in the January-November period from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, although other sectors faced an extended slump in outbound shipments.The country's exports of agricultural goods grew 0.8 percent to reach $6.41 billion in the first 11 months of the year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Outbound shipments of fresh goods especially shot up, rising 7 percent on-year to hit $1.23 billion, and expo

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

S. Korea eyes more FTAs with emerging countries in 2020

South Korea said Thursday it plans to expand its global network of free-trade agreements in 2020 by establishing deeper ties with emerging countries to ease its reliance on the world's top two economies and seek a balanced portfolio."We need to ease our export dependence on specific countries and diversify our basket," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during a meeting with related ministries held in Seoul. "Thus, we need to discover business opportunities that can benefit trading

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

Samsung heir, Swedish tycoon Wallenberg discuss AI, 5G network cooperation

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has met with the point man of Swedish business dynasty Wallenberg Group to discuss cooperation opportunities, company officials said Thursday.Lee, the de facto leader of Samsung Group, spoke with Marcus Wallenberg, a key member of the Wallenberg family who also heads financial group SEB AB, on Wednesday during a South Korea-Sweden business summit in Seoul, according to them.Wallenberg came to South Korea as part of a business delegation accompanying

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Samsung's policy shift toward allowing labor union in offing

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, known to stick with 'no-union' policy, has hinted at changing its unfriendly stance towards labor unions after key company executives were found guilty of union busting, industry observers said Thursday.A day after Samsung Electronics Co. board chairman Lee Sang-hoon was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sabotaging a labor union, Samsung issued a public apology and promised to make a "healthy labor-management relationship." Of the 32 ind

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Hyundai Mobis to unveil upgraded autonomous concept at CES

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Thursday it will unveil an upgraded autonomous concept car at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the world's biggest consumer technology-focused conference, in the United States next month.Hyundai Mobis plans to promote its fully autonomous M.Vision S concept and a hydrogen fuel cell electric system for hydrogen-powered vehicles at CES in Las Vegas, the company said in a statement.Hyundai Mobis has invested in overseas startups w

IndustryDec. 19, 2019

Lotte Group excluded from FSC watchlist upon disposal of financial arms

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group was excluded from supervision by financial authorities, in line with its disposal of financial subsidiaries earlier this year, the Financial Services Commission said Wednesday.With this, the number of those subject to financial supervision came to six -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, Hanwha, Kyobo Life Insurance, Mirae Asset Financial Group and DB Group.“The current regulations state that financial groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($

MarketDec. 19, 2019