Will supply side issue affect Galaxy S22 launch?

With Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Unpacked event just a week to go, all eyes are on whether the launch of flagship Galaxy S22 smartphones would be affected by the supply chain bottlenecks. Recent rumors suggested that the smartphones succeeding the S21 lineups -- Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra -- might be subject to supply side issues, which could delay shipments following the Unpacked event. The marketing materials distributed to mobile carriers in the United States for the S22 and

TechnologyFeb. 2, 2022

Convenience stores outrank supermarkets in market share

Korea’s convenience stores’ combined market share outgrew that of local supermarkets for the first time, amid the fast-growing trend to shop in less crowded places due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sales revenue of three convenience stores -- GS25, CU and 7-Eleven -- came to 30.7 percent last year, following three department stores -- Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai. The figure surpassed that of t

ConsumerFeb. 2, 2022

Samsung's metaverse service My House sees early success

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday its My House world map service, launched in collaboration with Naver‘s 3D avatar platform Zepeto, saw cumulative visits quickly surging to over 4 million in less than a month.  My House invites users to experience Samsung home appliances and furniture in a personalized virtual “home“ that users can decorate to their individual taste. The metaverse platform was unveiled on Jan. 5 at the annual tech show CES 2022. Since then, the cumulati

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

Vehicle registrations fall 9% in 2021

South Korea's new vehicle registrations fell 9 percent last year from a year earlier as chip shortages affected vehicle production and sales, the transport ministry said Wednesday. The number of newly registered vehicles declined 173,000 units to 17.43 million in 2021 from 19.16 million a year ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Of the annual total, registrations of locally produced passenger cars fell 11 percent to 14.29 million last year from 1.60 mil

EconomyFeb. 2, 2022

Why aren't there Korean-made vaccines yet?

Although it has been over two years since the coronavirus began spreading in Korea, the country has not seen a homemade vaccine developed yet. SK Bioscience is the company closest to delivering the first Korean-developed vaccine as the biopharmaceutical firm’s GBP510 is in the third and final phase of clinical trials. The government and company officials have voiced hope for a successful result and swift authorization as well as commercialization of GBP510 in the first half of this year,

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

Jeju golf courses log record visitors again in 2021

With cross-border travel restricted, golfers continued to flock to Jeju last year, pushing the resort island’s golf tourism records to all-time highs. According to the island province’s official data, a record 2.89 million people visited golf courses there in 2021, up 21.6 percent from a year earlier. It was the second year in a row that the tally rose to a new record. In 2020, some 2.38 million teed off in Jeju, logging an on-year growth of 14.7 percent. Of last year’s 2

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

Hyundai, Kia's own platform-based EV sales exceed 100,000 units

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday they sold more than 100,000 units of electric vehicles equipped with their own EV platform since April in global markets. Last year, Hyundai Motor launched the Hyundai IONIQ5 and the GV60 SUV under its independent Genesis brand, while Kia released the EV6 sedan mounted on the group's own electric-global modular platform (E-GMP).  The all-electric models' sales stood at 96,578 units from April to December. In the first three we

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

Hyundai, Kia's US sales rise 2.3% in January

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on strong demand for their SUV models. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 90,360 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market in January, up from 88,359 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's US sales climbed 10 percent to 47,872 units from 43,394 over the cited period, while Kia's declined 5.5 percent to

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

Stock funds' net assets suffer 1st shrink in 4 months in Jan. amid slump

The net asset value of stock funds in South Korea suffered a decline for the first time in four months in January, as the global stock market roiled amid major central banks' move to tighten policies, data showed Wednesday. The asset value of publicly placed stock funds stood at 82.7 trillion won ($68.4 billion) as of Thursday, down 8.37 trillion won, or 9.2 percent, from the previous month, according to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). The monthly net

MarketFeb. 2, 2022

Samsung C&T wins $510m plant deal from Vietnam

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it has obtained a $510 million plant deal from Vietnam. Samsung C&T received the order from Petro Vietnam Power Corp., an affiliate of Vietnam's state-run oil firm Petro Vietnam, to build the Southeast Asian country's first combined cycle power plant, the company said in a statement. Samsung C&T will form a consortium with local builder Lilama Corp. to build gas and steam turbines, heat recovery steam gener

IndustryFeb. 2, 2022

S. Korea faces reduced import curbs in 2021 amid pandemic

South Korea faced a reduced number of import curbs from trade partners last year for the first time in a decade amid the pandemic, a trade body said Wednesday. The country was subject to 206 import regulations from 28 countries as of end-December, down 22 from a year earlier amid a decline in global trade during the pandemic, according to a report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). It marks the first on-year decline from the largest-ever number of import restrictions tar

EconomyFeb. 2, 2022

[Herald Interview] Cargo ships are floating coal plants and hydrogen is the answer

A giant container ship that was knocked off by strong winds and blocked Egypt’s Suez Canal in 2021 was mounted with an 85-megawatt engine. Powered by fossil fuels, the engine is a miniature coal power plant that generates massive energy to maneuver the 200,000-ton ship the length of four football fields. South Korea, the world‘s No. 1 shipbuilder, last year bagged 88 percent of global orders to build such huge container ships powered by internal combustion engines. Like it or not,

IndustryFeb. 1, 2022

South Korea suffers trade deficit 2 months straight in 14 years

South Korea witnessed a trade deficit for two consecutive months for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008, due to rising prices of energy and raw materials. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Asia’s No. 4 economy saw its exports increase 15.2 percent on-year to $55.3 billion in February, while its imports surged 35.5 percent to $60.2 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.8 billion. This is the first two-month trade deficit since the four

IndustryFeb. 1, 2022

[Newsmaker] How far have chips come to emulate human brain?

JEONGSEON, Gangwon Province -- New chip technologies could advance to the degree that chips in the future could emulate the human brain in terms of computing speed, density and efficiency, experts said during keynote speeches at the 29th Korean Conference on Semiconductors held in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province Tuesday. However, a technology breakthrough to break the mold is crucial, as achieving large processing capacity and energy efficiency simultaneously is becoming more elusive on the convent

TechnologyJan. 31, 2022

Number of full-time workers shrinks amid prolonged pandemic

　 The employment rate of the nation’s full-time employees working 40 hours a week has remained in the 50 percent rage for two consecutive years, raising concerns over deteriorating labor market amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a lawmaker said Monday.  The “full-time equivalent” employment rate for 2021 posted 58.8 percent, nearly unchanged from 58.6 percent estimated a year earlier, according to Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party, citing

EconomyJan. 31, 2022

Korean instant noodle exports hit new high in 2021

Exports of South Korean instant noodles hit a record high of over $670 million, the highest figure to date. Last year’s exports stood at $674.41 million, data from the Korea Customs Service and the food industry showed on Sunday. Exports of instant noodles, also known as “ramyeon” in Korea, have risen for seven consecutive years. When broken down by country, China was the biggest market for South Korean instant noodle makers, followed by the US, Japan and Taiwan. Instant no

ConsumerJan. 30, 2022

Kyobo Life asks US accounting oversight board to punish Deloitte Anjin accountants

South Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance has taken its battle with Deloitte Anjin to overseas, asking a US nonprofit audit watchdog to investigate and punish three accountants suspected of inflating the prices of a put option that one of its strategic investors exercised years earlier. One of the top life insurers here filed a complaint with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, requesting them to “take actions for a strong sanction” against the accountants, including the o

MarketJan. 28, 2022

[Test Drive] With the all-new Kia Niro, Kia steps closer to sustainable mobility

The design of the all-new Kia Niro did it all to captivate young drivers, not to mention its fuel efficiency and comfortable driving experience. Looking very much like Kia’s concept car HabaNiro, the all-new Kia Niro infused its ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy into the environmentally friendly SUV by making the body two-toned with a bold boomerang-shaped Aero C-Pillar at the rear that completes the futuristic design of the car. During its four-day long preorder, a total

MobilityJan. 28, 2022

Top financial regulator reassures investors over latest Kospi dip

South Korea’s top financial regulator attempted to calm local investors Friday over the latest dip in the Kospi following the US Federal Reserve’s March rate hike signal. “It is true that the Kospi dip has an excessive aspect to it,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said in a meeting on the financial market. “It would not be appropriate for investors to be overly dampened or concerned,” he added. The nation’s benchmark Kospi f

MarketJan. 28, 2022

Slowdown forecast after brisk 2021

SEJONG -- The nation’s growth in industrial output marked the highest in 11 years in 2021 on the back of both economic recovery and the base effect, or rapid bounce-back from sagging performance in the pandemic-hit 2020, Statistics Korea data showed Friday But indexes unveiled by the state-run agency suggest possible slowdown in the growth of production, retail sales and facilities investment for the coming months in 2022. Korea saw industrial output grow 4.8 percent on-year in 2021, the

EconomyJan. 28, 2022