S. Korea’s risk premium hits below 10-year low

South Korea’s credit default risk fell below its 10-year low, following trade talk progress between the US and China and the latest result of the British election, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday.The country’s credit default swap premium for foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity stood at 22.2 basis points as of Tuesday, marking the lowest since the 22.1 basis points observed on Oct. 15, 2007.While the United States and Japan respectively sa

EconomyDec. 19, 2019

Kia workers strike for higher wages

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. on Wednesday began a partial strike for higher wages after rejecting the company's proposals last week.Kia's union said they held a four-hour strike on Wednesday and plan to walk out for eight hours on Thursday.  On Friday, 56 percent of the union's 27,050 workers voted down the deal tentatively agreed between the company and the union on Dec. 10. Under the initial agreement, Kia offered to raise workers' basic monthly wage by 40,000 won (US$34) and pro

MobilityDec. 18, 2019

[Graphic News] 35 conglomerates earn W1.28tr in brand license fees

　Thirty-five conglomerates earned 1.28 trillion won ($1.07 billion) last year by selling brand licenses to their affiliates, South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said, amid concerns that such transactions may help owners of conglomerates pocket profits.　Brand commission fees earned by 35 conglomerates last year rose 11.5 percent on-year, the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement.　LG and SK topped the list by charging their affiliates 268.4 billion won and 233.2 billion won, respectively, l

BusinessDec. 18, 2019

LG recalls clothes dryers in S. Korea

LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday announced a voluntary recall of its clothes dryers sold in South Korea following customer complaints over a key component. "Although we couldn't find safety issues or defects regarding our dryers, we decided to voluntarily recall the products in order to serve our customers sincerely," LG said in a statement. The electronics maker said it will expand free services to repair the dryers. Previously, LG sent servicemen upon consumers' request, but now the

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Han Sung Motor sells artistic goods at Seoul Design Festival for donation

Han Sung Motor, an official local dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Korea, said it had sold artistic goods at its booth at the 2019 Seoul Design Festival to help children in need.The five-day annual event that kicked off on Dec. 4 involved rising artists and young designers as well as collaborative projects between art groups.  Han Sung Motor participated by arranging a collaboration project between its Dream Gream scholarship students and local design studio Maeum.Dream Gream is a schol

MobilityDec. 18, 2019

[Monitor] Property values of 5 major groups surge

As South Korea’s overheated real estate market continued to reel from the repercussions of the Moon Jae-in administration’s rigorous anti-real estate deal regulations announced earlier this week, a civic group released data showing that major businesses are responsible for the investment hype.According to the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, land owned by five major conglomerates -- Hyundai Motor, Lotte, Samsung, SK and LG -- saw their property value surge 61 trillion

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

[News Focus] Korean economy in dire straits as policies flounder

SEJONG -- As the 2010s is due to expire in two weeks, South Korea continues to face heightened economic uncertainties.The year 2000 was a new starting point for the fourth-largest economy in Asia. After overcoming the 1997-98 financial crisis, Korea posted 8.9 percent economic growth in the last year of the 20th century.The nation’s gross domestic product growth was robust in the early 2000s. Following a 7.7 percent rise in 2002, buoyed by the Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

S. Korea's risk premium hits more than ten-year low on US-China trade deal, British election

South Korea's credit default risk has plunged to a more than ten-year low on a much-awaited trade deal between the US and China and the outcome of the British election, which effectively green lights the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The credit default swap premium for South Korean foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity came to 22.2 basis points, marking the lowest since the 22.1 basis points recorded on Oct. 15, 2007.

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

Korea's R&D spending 5th largest among OECD members in 2018: ministry

South Korea's research and development spending was the fifth largest among OECD nations in 2018, the country's science ministry said Wednesday. South Korea spent 85.7 trillion won ($73.3 billion) on R&D activities last year, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. In terms of the proportion of R&D spending to gross domestic product, South Korea was the leading nation in the world, the ministry said, reaching 4.81 percent in 2018, up 0.26 percent

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

2020 to be big year for South Korean IPOs

With a healthy pipeline of companies seeking initial public offerings next year, industry watchers say the proceeds raised could exceed 10 trillion won ($.8.9 billion) for the first time since 2010. According to corporate announcements made so far, the first major IPO of 2020 is expected to be South Korean drug development firm SK Biopharmaceuticals. The drug unit of South Korea’s telecom-to-energy conglomerate SK Group submitted a preliminary application for an IPO to the Korea Exchange i

MarketDec. 18, 2019

Korean investment in European office market jumps 152%

South Korean investments in the European office market increased 152 percent as of November on-year, buoyed by a currency-swap premium, but is projected to decline and diversify next year, commercial real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield said Wednesday. “Around 18 trillion won ($16.5 billion) was invested in the overseas office building market so far this year and European properties accounted for 86 percent of the total volume,” Philip Jin, head of research at the Kor

MarketDec. 18, 2019

S. Korea formally launches ‘open banking’ service

South Korea formally launched an open banking service Wednesday to increase convenience and lower transaction costs for bank customers. The new system enables bank customers to access nearly all banking services offered by any bank through a single smartphone application, including withdrawals and transfers, according to the Financial Services Commission.Previously, 10 commercial banks, including KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank, joined a preliminary service that began

MarketDec. 18, 2019

Samsung apologizes for union busting

Samsung Electronics and its de facto holding company Samsung C&T on Wednesday released a statement that included a public apology for the conglomerate’s efforts to disrupt the formation of trade unions at some of its affiliates. The apology was made one day after a Seoul court handed down jail terms to key executives of the electronics unit, including Lee Sang-hoon, Samsung Electronics’ chairman of board, and Chung Keum-yong, CEO of Samsung C&T. “The company acknowledge

TechnologyDec. 18, 2019

Samsung to churn out 14-nm AI chips for China’s Baidu

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it will start churning out artificial intelligence accelerators for China’s leading internet engine operator Baidu early next year. The South Korean tech giant and Baidu have worked together to develop the cloud-to-edge AI accelerator, dubbed as Baidu Kunlun, built on the Chinese firm’s neural processor architecture as well as Samsung’s 14-nanometer process technology with its proprietary Interposer-Cube package solution. Known as I-Cube techn

TechnologyDec. 18, 2019

Jeju Air to acquire budget airline Eastar Jet at W69.5b

Jeju Air, the country’s largest low-cost carrier by sales, said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to acquire 51 percent stakes in Eastar Holdings, the largest shareholder of a budget carrier Eastar Jet, in an apparent move to broaden its market share by absorbing an ailing air carrier.  Earlier this year, cosmetics-to-airline conglomerate Aekyung Group, which owns a 56.9 percent stake in Jeju Air, failed to takeover debt-ridden Asiana Airlines after the HDC Hyundai Development-Mirae

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Asiana introduces mobile service to check baggage loading status

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it has introduced a mobile service for passengers to check whether their baggage is safely loaded.Those who fly with Asiana can check the status and the location of the baggage real-time via the carrier’s mobile application.The service will enhance passenger convenience and minimize the departure delay as location of luggage can be tracked during emergencies and baggage can be easily removed when the passenger gets off the plane, the company said.While the se

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

McDonald’s Korea manager touches heart with story of helping disabled customer

McDonald’s Korea Managing Director Melanie Cho visited a store on Jeju Island to express her appreciation to a store manager there for helping a young customer who was terminally ill and offering him an unforgettable restaurant experience, the company said Wednesday. According to McDonald’s Korea, Lee Sung-min, a 20-year-old store manager of Nohyung branch in Jeju, helped a family with a child suffering from polio in May. He moved the family’s seat to a more comfortable ch

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Listed firms' cash-generating capability worsens

The amount of cash generated by major listed firms via business operation declined in the first three quarters of the year, portending a decline in their dividend payments and capital spending going forward, an industry tracker said Wednesday.According to CEO Score, the combined free cash flow of 258 out of the top-500 listed companies in the January-September period reached a combined 12.05 trillion won ($10.33 billion), down 58 percent, or 16.6 trillion won, from last year's 28.7 trillion won.

EconomyDec. 18, 2019

Noul‘s innovative Malaria diagnosis solution acknowledged at Grand Challenges Meeting

Blood cell diagnosis startup Noul was acknowledged at the 2019 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting for its innovative Malaria diagnosis solution, miLab, the company said Wednesday. The Grand Challenges Meeting is an annual gathering of global organizations promoting global health care. This year’s event held in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, was co-hosted by the African Union, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International D

IndustryDec. 18, 2019

Chips, cars, biomedicines to lead 3% export growth next year: KOTRA

South Korea’s exports are forecast to rise by 3 percent in 2020 to exceed $550 billion, led by key industries including chips, automobiles and biomedicines, according to a state-run trade agency on Wednesday. This year’s exports are expected to total $540 billion, down 10.7 percent from last year, the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency said. This is a bit lower than the Korea International Trade Association’s prediction of $543 billion, which represented a 10.2 percent on-

IndustryDec. 18, 2019