Producer prices rise 0.1% in December on higher agriculture goods, gas costs

South Korea's producer prices moved up 0.1% on-month in December due to the higher cost of agricultural products and gas, the central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, came to 121.19 last month, up from 121.02 tallied in November, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. It marked the first rebound in three months, as the index fell 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent on-month in October and November, respectively. From a year earlier, it gai

EconomyJan. 23, 2024

Seoul court delays ruling on Samsung chief in 2015 merger case

A Seoul district court has postponed its decision on Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong in a case involving a controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates where, if convicted as indicted, the Samsung chief may face a five-year prison term. The Seoul Central District Court was originally set to make its final decision Friday, but has pushed back its final trial date to Feb. 5, according to informed sources. The delay reportedly comes as both Lee and the prosecution submitted addition

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

JungKwanJang opens first drugstore

JungKwanJang, South Korea’s leading red ginseng brand under Korea Ginseng Corp., said Monday that it has opened its first drugstore, Jung Mall Euljiro Store, in central Seoul. The new store sells not only JungKwanJang's own products, but more than 90 different products from other companies as well, the company said. JungKwanJang's physical stores previously dealt in only the company's own ginseng extract products. The products available at the Jung Mall Euljiro Store include

CompaniesJan. 22, 2024

Merck Korea launches infertility support program for employees

German chemicals giant Merck has launched a fertility benefit program for all employees working at its Korean unit to help address the nation’s severely low birth rate, the company said Monday. Earlier this month, the Korean unit became the tenth to join the program, established in October of last year and designed to to help Merck employees having difficulties in conceiving a pregnancy. The scheme was first applied in eight countries, including Germany, the UK, Switzerland, China and Taiw

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

S. Korea to abolish mandated holiday breaks for large supermarkets

The South Korean government said on Monday that it has decided to abolish a policy mandating twice-a-month breaks for large discount stores, citing the change as one intended for the convenience of the people. The Office for Government Policy Coordination held a civic-government discussion in Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul, where it narrowed down a number of potential changes to be made. These included allowing large supermarkets to take their two monthly obligatory breaks on weekdays and allowing them

EconomyJan. 22, 2024

Samsung Bioepis gets Korean approval for Soliris biosimilar

Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilar developer under Samsung Group, said Monday that the company's rare blood disease treatment, Epysqli, has won marketing authorization from South Korea's medicine authorities. Epysqli, a biosimilar close to AstraZeneca's Soliris (eculizumab), is a treatment for patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare disease where red blood cells prematurely break apart. Samsung Bioepis expects that the domestic launch of the biosimilar will impr

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

One in 10 Korean nationals work in large companies

More people work at large companies in South Korea, with the number of people employed by conglomerates reaching a record high last year. According to recent data from the Korean Statistical Information Service, the number of people working at companies with over 300 employees reached an all-time high of 3,087,000 last year. This is the first time that the figure reached the 3 million milestone since the statistics agency started compiling such data in 2004. The ratio of people working at large

EconomyJan. 22, 2024

Seoul shares close lower ahead of earnings season

South Korean stocks lost ground on Monday as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of the release of fourth-quarter earnings reports. The Korean won edged up against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 8.39 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,464.35. Trading volume was low at 376 million shares worth 8.25 trillion won ($6.1 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 575 to 295. Foreigners bought shares worth 295.3 billion won, while retail investors offloaded a net 244 bill

MarketJan. 22, 2024

Koramco eyes global assets of W5tr, propels expansion

Koramco Asset Management, the nation's largest real estate investment firm, saw its overseas assets under management reach nearly 5 trillion won ($3.73 billion) in 2023, having garnered new investment funds worth 400 billion won amid a sluggish global real estate market. The asset management firm announced Monday that it raised 400 billion won last year, bringing the volume of the foreign assets it manages on behalf of clients to more than 4.8 trillion won. This accounts for nearly 30 per

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

OpenAI CEO mulls visiting Seoul to seek chip partner

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is reportedly arranging a meeting with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on his trip to Korea this week, as he seeks to meet a growing need for semiconductors while reducing reliance on the US artificial intelligence chip leader, Nvidia. Altman’s upcoming visit will mark his first in seven months since he was in Seoul at the invitation of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in June 2023. The OpenAI chief previously showed a strong willingness to explore joint chip

TechnologyJan. 22, 2024

Hyundai Glovis secures recycling technology for used batteries

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that it has decided to invest in Korean battery recycling firm ER to take the lead in the global market as the worldwide demand for electric vehicles is expected to increase. According to the announcement, the two firms signed a share subscription agreement but did not disclose the investment amount or details of the contract. Hyundai Glovis has secured the rights to ER’s preprocessing technology and relevant facilit

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

[Photo News] Citi-Kyung Hee sharing day

Citibank Korea CEO Yoo Myung-soon (11th from left, second row) and employees pose with some 65 students joining the 18th Citi-Kyung Hee University NGO Internship in Seoul on Friday. Since the internship’s launch in 2006, Citibank employees and student interns together have taken part in diverse activities to give back to society. This year, they made art supply kits consisting of brushes, paint and recycled canvases made from waste paper and cardboard to be used for art classes at local ch

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

Korean EV, battery makers seek leniency on IRA rules

Hyundai Motor Group and Korean battery manufacturers called for leniency in the US electric vehicle tax credit rules blocking battery sourcing from foreign adversaries including China, according to the Federal Register. In public comments submitted to the open-access website for US federal government documents on Thursday, Hyundai said, “It is unlikely that other countries will be able to replace China in the short term,” underscoring the global market’s dependence on the No. 1

MobilityJan. 22, 2024

Korea's global bond index inclusion likely this year: Standard Chartered

South Korea’s sovereign bond market is likely to be included among the top grade of global market indices, as abating inflation revives investors’ appetite for government bonds, according to economists from Standard Chartered Group on Friday. At the 2024 Global Research Briefing conference hosted by the Korean unit in Seoul, Arup Ghosh, Standard Chartered Bank's co-head of Asia rates research, predicted that Korean treasury bonds will take a positive turn this year due to the tr

MarketJan. 22, 2024

Corning glass-backed Galaxy S24 boasts enhanced durability

SAN JOSE, California -- Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S24 Ultra can withstand a drop on a concrete surface thanks to an exclusive high-strength glass known as Corning Gorilla Armor, which was developed with Corning for greater durability and visual clarity, according to the global glass maker. With live demonstrations of the new screen glass, John Bayne, the senior vice president and general manager in charge of mobile consumer electronics at Corning, presented the Corning Gorilla Armor, whic

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

IFC Mall sales soar to record, benefiting from rival's success

The IFC Mall, a shopping complex in Seoul’s financial district of Yeouido, is enjoying a sales boom, benefiting from a surge in visitors following the high-profile opening of a new neighbor – The Hyundai Seoul, the nation’s largest department store. According to the mall on Monday, sales and visitors increased 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, last year compared to 2022, when the mall saw a 60 percent jump in on-year sales. Sales also surged to a record high but the exact

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

Mirae Asset's Canadian ETF unit surpasses W30tr in AUM

Mirae Asset Global Investments' Canadian subsidiary Horizons ETFs saw its assets under management surpass 30 trillion won ($22.8 billion) this month, marking ninefold growth in over 10 years. Horizons ETFs has become the fourth-largest ETF operator in Canada with its AUM standing at $22.8 billion as of Jan. 10, from $2.2 billion when Mirae Asset Global Investments had acquired the unit in 2011, according to the Korean firm on Friday. The latest figure translates to roughly $30 billion Can

IndustryJan. 22, 2024

Seoul shares open slightly higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Monday on the back of gains from technology shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.81 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,477.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics moved up 0.67 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 2.41 percent. Naver, which operates the country's top online portal, shot up 2.32 percent, with Kakao also advancing 1.74 percent. Pharmaceutical shares wer

MarketJan. 22, 2024

Exports fall 1% in Jan. 1-20 due to fewer working days

South Korea's exports fell 1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January due to a smaller number of working days, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $33.3 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $33.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports fell 18.2 percent on-year to $35.9 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.6 billion. The number of working days came to 15.5 over the period, compared wit

EconomyJan. 22, 2024

ELS crisis deepens as Hong Kong index sags further

Losses inflicted on Korean investors from derivatives tracking the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index are swelling even faster than expected, as the notorious Hong Kong index has dipped further recently. The HSCEI, which had remained at around 5,500 points since late 2023, has dropped dramatically in the last week or so, sinking by 11.12 percent just this year to close at around 5,127 on Friday. The plunge means a larger toll on investors here, as South Korea braces for the maturation of some 10.

IndustryJan. 21, 2024