GS Entec enters offshore wind power business

GS Entec -- South Korean equipment and facilities manufacturer of chemical and energy plants -- has signed a strategic partnership with Sif Netherlands BV to enter the offshore wind power business, the company said Sunday. GS Entec will introduce the Dutch firm’s monopile manufacturing technology under the partnership, according to the company. A monopile is a steel tube foundation that serves as a supporting pillar in the water. Monopiles are most commonly used for offshore wind turbi

IndustryJuly 31, 2022

Over 1% of cars in S. Korea are EVs: report

The accumulated number of electric vehicles in South Korea appears to have surpassed the 300,000-mark in July, taking 1.2 percent of the total number of registered vehicles in country, according to a report published by the Transport Ministry on Sunday. The report said South Korea had 298,633 EV registrations as of June. Industry insiders expect this number to have exceeded 300,000 last month. Nearly 70,000 EVs were sold in just the first half of this year, a 73.5 percent rise in sales compar

MobilityJuly 31, 2022

Apartment transactions plunge in H1 on lending curbs, rate hikes

Apartment transactions in South Korea fell more than 50 percent on-year in the first half of 2022 due mainly to the government's tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Sunday. The number of apartments traded nationwide stood at 184,134 units in the January-June period, down 50.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Real Estate Board. It is the lowest level since the agency began compiling the related data in 2006 and marked nearly a 60 percent

EconomyJuly 31, 2022

Foreign investors turn net buyers of South Korean stocks in July

Foreign investors were net buyers of South Korean stocks in July, reversing their selling spree for the last six months over recession worries and looking to step in and buy on the cheap amid signs of a market bottom. According to the Korea Exchange on Sunday, foreigners purchased net 2.3 trillion won ($1.7 billion) worth of shares on the benchmark Kospi, the highest monthly volume since a 3.3 trillion-won inflow in December last year. The main board rose to 2,451.50 Friday, up 5.1 percent from

MarketJuly 31, 2022

[Test Drive] Facelifted Seltos upgrades compact SUV standards

Design-wise, the new Seltos is not much different from the old version but in terms of performance, Kia’s facelifted compact SUV has changed so remarkably that it almost seems like a complete reworking. From the front, it is hard to tell the difference between the new Seltos and the previous version launched in 2019, while the rear has an updated bumper and new tail lightening. The car’s signature Starmap lighting has been applied across the width of the car and combined with an LE

MobilityJuly 31, 2022

Hanwha revamps defense business, with aim to create ‘Korea Lockheed Martin’

South Korean defense-to-energy giant Hanwha Group said Friday that it is revamping its business structure to maximize synergy among defense units with an aim to mimic the success of Lockheed Martin, the US-based aerospace and defense company.  Under the scheme, Hanwha Aerospace, its largest defense arm that mainly produces aircraft engines, will take over the defense unit of Hanwha Corp., a de facto holding company of the group, and absorb its wholly owned subsidiary Hanwha Defense. 

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Skepticism grows over Yoon’s war against illegal stock short selling

South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration has declared war on the nation’s “deep-rooted” practice of illegal short selling, but retail investors and onlookers are expressing skepticism on whether the practice could really be uprooted. On Thursday, financial authorities and top prosecutors warned that all profit and hidden money from illegal short selling will be confiscated if the prosecution’s recently revived Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Te

MarketJuly 29, 2022

New visa program aims to attract more tech talent

The South Korean government will introduce a new visa category called E-7-S in October to attract more global professionals into the nation’s high-tech industries. The current E-7 visa is an employment visa for foreign nationals in white collar industries, but complaints have grown because only workers in 92 specified occupations were eligible for the visa. The new E-7-S visa will be issued regardless of job type, as long as the applicants are evaluated as professionals working in high

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Krafton’s popular battle-royale game banned in India

South Korean gaming giant Krafton’s popular battle-royale format game Battleground Mobile India, the Indian version of its global smash hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, has been slapped with a download ban in India, its Seoul headquarters confirmed Friday. Both Google and Apple removed the gaming app from their respective app stores on Thursday, citing the Indian government’s ban order. “We are still checking on the situation with the local authorities,” a Kr

TechnologyJuly 29, 2022

Seoul shares extend winning streak to 5th day on hope for Fed's less aggressive rake hikes

South Korean stocks advanced for the fifth consecutive session Friday as investors speculated that a second consecutive quarterly contraction in the US economy may prod the US Federal Reserve to take rate hikes that are less aggressive than previously expected. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 16.23 points, or 0.67 percent, from the previous session to close at 2,451.5 points. The figure is up 2.44 percent from a week ago. T

MarketJuly 29, 2022

Posco secures $1b through overseas debt sale

Posco said Friday that it has raised $1 billion by selling debts overseas, the largest corporate bond issuance by a South Korean company this year.  According to the South Korean steel giant, the two-tranche debt consists of three-year bonds worth $700 million and five-year bonds worth $300 million.  The decision was made a day after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage point for the second consecutive time to fight inflation fears.  It

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Yoon to slash payroll at public firms in 2023

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration on Friday unveiled a policy scaling back payrolls at 350 public firms nationwide next year, as part of its effort to raise overall productivity and eradicate negligent management of some state-run agencies. It also plans to revamp the wage payment structure for workers in the public agency sector, by slashing taxpayer funding injected from the central government for operation of their businesses. This marks the first time that the government has cut p

EconomyJuly 29, 2022

S. Korea seeks to overhaul public firms to prevent lax management

South Korea on Friday unveiled guidelines to overhaul operations of public firms in a bid to improve their productivity and prevent lax management amid a sharp rise in personnel and debt. The guidelines called for a total of 350 public firms to reduce their non-core business and lower the maximum number of employees for 2023, according to the finance ministry. Public firms should also sell non-essential assets and cut business costs by more than 10 percent in the second half. Large welfare benef

EconomyJuly 29, 2022

Hyundai Motor names new CEO for US operations

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Friday it has named a new chief executive for its US operations amid the prolonged chip shortage. Hyundai has promoted Randy Parker to be CEO of Hyundai Motor America effective Aug. 1. He will be in charge of Hyundai's commercial automotive operations in the US market, the company said in a statement. Parker will report to Jose Munoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America, it said. "Randy is the perfect person to continu

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

POSCO raises $1b via overseas debt sale

POSCO, South Korea's top steelmaker, said Friday that it has raised $1 billion by selling debts overseas. The two-tranche debt comprises three-year bonds worth $700 million and five-year bonds worth $300 million, according to the steelmaker. POSCO said the proceeds from the debt sale will help beef up its cash flows down the road amid rising market rates. (Yonhap)

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Card spending climbs 15% in Q2 on eased COVID-19 curbs

Credit card spending in South Korea jumped in the second quarter, buoyed by eased antivirus measures, data showed Friday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards came to 280.7 trillion won ($216.2 billion) in the April-June period, up 14.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA). During the cited period, the number of approved card settlements climbed 11.4 percent on-year to 6.61 billion cases. "The eased COVID-19 cur

EconomyJuly 29, 2022

Samsung SDI logs best-ever results in Q2 on robust EV battery sales

Samsung SDI Co. said Friday it posted record high operating income and sales in the second quarter, driven by strong sales of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Operating income reached 429 billion won ($330.4 million) in the April-June period, up 45.3 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales came to 4.74 trillion won, also up 42.2 percent from the previous year. The figures are the highest ever for the South Korean battery maker. Its net income also soared 42 pe

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Tax revenue up W36.5tr in H1 amid economic recovery

South Korea's tax revenue increased 36.5 trillion won ($28 billion) in the first half from a year earlier as the economic recovery boosted the collection of corporate and income taxes, the finance ministry said Friday. Tax revenue amounted to 218.3 trillion won in the January-June period, compared with 181.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the ministry. In June alone, tax revenue rose 1.7 trillion won on-year to 21.7 trillion won. South Korea has continued to post a surplus of

EconomyJuly 29, 2022

Korean Air to resume routes to Rome and Barcelona in Sept.

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it will resume flights to Rome and Barcelona next month as travel demand grows amid eased virus curbs. It will operate three flights a week on the Incheon-Rome route starting Sept. 1 and three weekly flights on the Incheon-Barcelona route from Sept. 2, the statement said. Korean Air suspended flights from Incheon to the two European cities in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The national flag carrier resumed flights to

IndustryJuly 29, 2022

Exports of passenger cars rise 2.5% in H1

Exports of South Korean-made passenger cars expanded 2.5 percent in the first half of the year, thanks mainly to brisk overseas demand for green cars, data showed Friday. Local carmakers shipped passenger cars worth a combined $22.3 billion during the January-June period, up from $21.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The number of exported units, however, decreased 2.7 percent on-year to 1.07 million. South Korea's imports of passen

EconomyJuly 29, 2022