Online shopping up nearly 12% in Jan. amid COVID-19 pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea rose 11.5 percent in January from a year earlier, with the proportion of transactions via mobile devices reaching a record high, amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.54 trillion won ($13.74 billion) in January, compared with 14.84 trillion won recorded a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. But the figure marked a 7.1 percent fall from the previous month when the figu

EconomyMarch 3, 2022

Bank mortgage rates hit near 10-year high in Jan.

South Korean banks' mortgage rates hit the highest level in about 10 years in January amid rising borrowing costs, central bank data showed Thursday. Banks' mortgage loan rate averaged 3.85 percent per year in January, 0.22 percentage point higher from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It also marked the eighth consecutive month of on-month increase and the highest since April 2013. Mortgage rates have been on the rise as the BOK has hiked its policy rate in re

EconomyMarch 3, 2022

SK Telecom's AI service for visually impaired wins award at MWC 2022

South Korean telecom giant SK Telecom Co. said Thursday its artificial intelligence service designed to help the visually impaired has won an award at the world's largest mobile show in Barcelona. The wireless carrier said the AI-based virtual service co-developed with local social venture group Tuat has received an award for Best Use of Mobile for Accessibility & Inclusion at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022. The Sullivan Plus X NUGU applies both voice and visual-assistance AI to allow

TechnologyMarch 3, 2022

Samsung's presence in smartphone chipset market drops in Q4: report

Samsung Electronics Co.'s share in the smartphone chipset market dropped in the fourth quarter, research showed Thursday, amid efforts to restructure the company's smartphone portfolio strategy. The South Korean tech giant, which makes Exynos chipsets, accounted for four percent of the global shipments of smartphone application processor (AP) and system-on-chip (SoC) in the October-December period, down three percent from a year ago, according to a report from industry tracker Counterpoint Resea

IndustryMarch 3, 2022

Korea Shipbuilding wins W1.56tr ship orders

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday it has received 1.56 trillion won ($1.29 billion) worth of ship orders in Europe and Latin America. Korea Shipbuilding obtained orders to build three liquefied natural gas carriers by 2025 for a European shipper and to build six container ships by 2024 for a Latin American shipper, the company said in a statement. Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings has KSOE as a subholding company under its wing. KSOE has three affiliates -- H

IndustryMarch 3, 2022

KT signs MOU with Turkish telecom operator on 5G, AI services

KT Corp., a South Korean major wireless carrier, said Thursday it has signed a pact with a leading Turkish telecom operator for cooperation in 5G and artificial intelligence services. At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 in Barcelona, the South Korean operator signed a memorandum of understanding with Turk Telekom to expand cooperation in robots, smart cities and self-driving cars based on 5G, big data and cloud services, the company said. "We plan to cooperate with Turk Telecom to devel

IndustryMarch 3, 2022

7 in 10 S. Koreans suffered income reduction amid pandemic: survey

Nearly seven in 10 South Koreans saw their income fall in the wake of COVID-19, a survey showed Thursday. In the online survey of 2,016 people aged 18 or above by the Korea Institute of Public Administration from Nov. 15-22, 68 percent said their average monthly income was lower in 2021 than in 2019 before the pandemic struck. Only 30 percent said their income rose, while the remaining 2 percent said it remains unchanged. Those who earned less lost 1.25 million won ($1,038) per month on average,

EconomyMarch 3, 2022

S. Korea says mobile phones, other consumer goods not under US' export curbs on Russia

Mobile phones, cars and other consumer goods are not subject to the United States' sweeping restrictions on exports to Russia, South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday. Last week, the US government announced the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) for "all of Russia" as part of its export controls to block Russia's access to global high-tech products and other major items, such as semiconductors, over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measure calls on companies to receive a license

EconomyMarch 3, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on Fed chair's comment

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday, as US Federal Reserve chairman signaled a rate hike within market expectations amid soaring global commodity prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 25.41 points, or 0.94 percent, to trade at 2,728.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rose after the overnight Wall Street stock rallies, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said rates would likely be hiked by only 25 basis points this month, although he

MarketMarch 3, 2022

BOK maintains 4% growth estimate for 2021, inches up Q4 estimate to 1.2%

South Korea's central bank maintained its earlier 2021 economic growth estimate Thursday but slightly increased its estimate for the fourth quarter, citing larger-than-expected exports. South Korea's economy grew 4 percent in 2021 after expanding 1.2 percent in the October-December period, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The 2021 growth rate remained unchanged from the BOK's earlier estimate on Jan. 25, but the fourth quarter figure was slightly higher than a projec

EconomyMarch 3, 2022

[MWC 2022] Huawei says its 5G tech ‘game changer’ in Korea with new safety law

BARCELONA, Spain -- The 5G network solutions by Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies could be a game changer in South Korea as its companies are now left vulnerable to a controversial workplace safety law that came into effect in January. At the Mobile World Congress 2022 held in Barcelona, Spain, Huawei’s exhibition at Hall 1 presented 5G solutions that enable automated disaster prevention, currently deployed across China. One of the solutions exhibited is a mining site run by unmann

TechnologyMarch 3, 2022

Hana Bank offers facial verification service round the clock

Hana Bank said on Wednesday it has begun offering its facial verification service round the clock, allowing customers to open accounts any time day or night. Using artificial intelligence and big data, the facial recognition solution verifies users by comparing their faces to their ID photos within one second. It was chosen as an innovative financial service by the Financial Services Commission in April last year. Previously, customers opening their first accounts at Hana Bank online were req

IndustryMarch 2, 2022

Jungheung chairman vows to nurture Daewoo E&C into top builder

Jungheung Group Chairman Jung Chang-sun vowed Wednesday he would nurture Daewoo Engineering & Construction to become a top builder, as the acquisition process has recently been successfully completed. “We finalized the M&A process on Feb. 28 and this day will become a historic day for Daewoo E&C to start anew,” Jung said in his message to employees. “Now, as a family of Jungheung Group, we will take another big leap forward together.” In December last year,

IndustryMarch 2, 2022

Korea strives to placate US after ‘belated’ sanction

SEJONG -- South Korea is struggling to avoid the current unfavorable situation, in which its tech-oriented companies should receive endorsement from the US before they export products to Russia. Though Korea has dispatched senior officials to the US to overcome the situation, critics are saying it is too late. The situation comes as the Korean government took a relatively passive stance in February, compared to other countries, in terms conducting economic and financial sanctions against Russi

EconomyMarch 2, 2022

Seoul stocks up for 3rd session on optimism about Ukraine uncertainties

South Korean stocks advanced for a third consecutive session Wednesday amid continued military tensions in Ukraine and hopes a full-scale war may be avoided. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 4.34 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 2,703.52 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 519 million shares worth some 10.8 trillion won ($8.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 645 to 228. Foreigners offloaded a net

MarketMarch 2, 2022

Hyundai's Feb. sales rise 1.4% despite chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Wednesday its sales rose 1.4 percent last month from a year earlier despite global chip shortages. Hyundai Motor sold 304,613 vehicles in February, up from 300,514 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales climbed 1.7 percent to 53,010 units from 52,102 during the period, while overseas sales were also up 1.3 percent to 251,603 from 248,412, the statement said. From January to February, sales fell 5.5 percent to

IndustryMarch 2, 2022

Startup Space Star to send mountaineer’s DNA to space

Korean space tech startup Space Star said Wednesday it will send the DNA of famous mountaineer Um Hong-gil to space, honoring his world record to have climbed the 16 highest peaks on Earth. After swabbing Um’s DNA from his mouth, the company plans to seal it in a capsule and send it to space by the end of this year. “Along with other world renowned celebrities, Um will be the first Korean celebrity to have his DNA sent to space. It is meaningful in the sense that their DNA will pe

TechnologyMarch 2, 2022

SsangYong's Feb. sales more than double on exports

SsangYong Motor Co. said Wednesday its sales more than doubled last month from a year earlier on sharply increased exports of its SUV models. SsangYong Motor sold 7,052 vehicles in February, up from 2,789 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales jumped 70 percent to 4,540 units last month from 2,673 a year ago, while exports soared to 2,542 units from 116 during the same period, it said. SsangYong's lineup consists of the Tivoli, Korando, and Rexton and Rexton Sports

IndustryMarch 2, 2022

Oriental Brewery to raise beer prices over rising costs

The Korean beer maker Oriental Brewery said Wednesday it would lift prices of its beer products by an average annual rate of 7.7 percent starting from March 8.　 The price hike comes as the company seeks to offset higher raw material and packaging costs fueled by COVID-induced supply disruptions. The beer manufacturer said it has seen the global price of barley, the primary ingredient of beer, climb by 33 percent since pre-pandemic levels. The price of aluminum, the core material for packagi

IndustryMarch 2, 2022

Korea joins IEA to release 60m barrels as oil prices soar

To stabilize soaring global oil prices amid the heightening crisis between Russia and Ukraine, South Korea on Wednesday decided to join the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels to the market. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Wednesday, the 31 members of the IEA held an online meeting on Tuesday and agreed to inject some 60 million barrels of emergency reserves to alleviate concerns over an oil supply crunch as the result of Russia’s ongoing inva

IndustryMarch 2, 2022