LG Electronics’ 2021 sales to top W70tr without mobile biz

LG Electronics has topped 70 trillion won ($58.2 billion) in full-year sales for the first time in its history in an earnings surprise, in the same year that the company took down its mobile phone business, a preliminary filing showed Friday. The revenue of LG Electronics came to 74.72 trillion won through 2021, up 28.7 percent from the previous year, according to its preliminary consolidated financial report. This beat the earnings consensus estimate by South Korean analysts. According to mark

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

Internet-only bank K-Bank begins process of going public

K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, said Friday it has begun the process of an initial public offering (IPO) as part of efforts to raise funds to strengthen its foothold as a major digital financial platform. K-Bank sent a request for proposal to local and foreign securities firms earlier in the day, the first step of a company going public. It also plans to select a lead manager for an IPO by next month, according to company officials. "Details on IPO timelines will be determine

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

[CES 2022] SK Innovation rolls up its sleeves to tackle emissions across value chain

SK Innovation, a chemical arm of South Korea‘s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, said Friday its high-ranking officials including Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kim Jun agreed on a course of actions to achieve its net-zero goal before 2050, while at CES 2022 on Thursday morning local time. Under its Carbon to Green initiative, SK Innovation executives approved plans to tackle indirect emissions that occur in the company’s value chain, often described as Scope 3 emissi

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

Seoul shares end higher on tech gains

Seoul shares ended higher Friday spurred by gains in tech shares, though investors remain concerned about the Fed's looming tapering move. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 34.36 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 2,954.89 points. The KOSPI rebounded from a 2.3 percent drop in the previous two sessions. The decline was attributable to Fed meeting minutes that suggested the US central bank may raise interest rates s

MarketJan. 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] Woori Bank pulls back Osstem funds amid theft probe

Woori Bank, one of five major local banks, said Friday it had stopped selling funds involving Osstem Implant, whose shares were suspended from trading on the Kosdaq after an employee was arrested for having allegedly stolen funds equal to 91 percent of the company’s equity as of last year. “It’s a precautionary measure to protect our investors and we do not know at this point when we will begin selling the funds again,” a Woori Bank official said, adding five funds

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

[CES 2022] SK ecoplant unveils blueprint for circular economy

SK ecoplant, a construction unit of SK Group, unveiled a blueprint of what they call Zet Zero City, a circular economy system in line with the company’s focus on eco-friendly energy solutions, at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday. Debuting at CES, SK ecoplant said the purpose of Net Zero City is to solve environmental and energy problems by turning waste and air pollutant into resources and energy through high-technology. SK ecoplant, which has been transforming itself fr

BusinessJan. 7, 2022

[CES 2022] SK seeks data center chip development with Qualcomm

South Korea-based SK Group is in talks with US chip maker Qualcomm to develop a new hyper speed memory chip tailored to data centers, its communication technology arm SK Square said Friday. The new chips would run applications or computers for data center operation in order to meet soaring corporate demand amid the global chip shortages that could cause server delays, according to SK Square, the parent of memory chip maker SK hynix. The world‘s data center chip market could potentially gr

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

NFT of ‘Jirisan’ characters sells at record-low price

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit said Friday that nonfungible tokens featuring images of main lead characters from TV drama series “Jirisan” had sold at record-low prices. NFTs are digital tokens of physical or digital assets, mostly of music or art, that guarantee ownership through blockchain technology. According to the digital asset trading platform, the pixel art NFTs of the characters played by top Korean actors Gianna Jun and Ju Ji-hoon sold for 18,653 won ($15.50)

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

SPC Group acquires Shake Shack operation right in Malaysia

SPC Group said Friday that it has acquired the operation rights of US burger chain Shake Shack in Malaysia and will open the first store there in 2023. The Korean confectionery conglomerate owns the operating right of Shake Shack in Korea and Singapore. It has opened 20 stores in Korea and eight in Singapore since 2016 and 2019, respectively.  Michael Kark, chief global licensing officer of Shake Shack, said that the US burger chain and SPC will have more than 45 Shake Shacks across Korea

IndustryJan. 7, 2022

Korea ranks 2nd in property tax-to-GDP among OECD members

SEJONG -- South Korea ranked second among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the ratio of property tax to gross domestic product in 2020, with its on-year growth posting No. 1 and ranking in terms of the ratio climbing by four notches from a year earlier. According to a recent analysis by the Paris-based organization, Korea recorded 3.97 percent in the ratio of property tax -- in which the capital gains tax on trading of homes and land takes up a dominant po

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

[CES 2022] Hyundai, Unity to build factory linked to its digital twin on metaverse

LAS VEGAS -- Hyundai Motor has partnered up with Unity, the world’s leading platform for real-time 3D content, to connect an actual factory with its digital twin operating on metaverse space, the companies said Thursday. The Meta-Factory project will enhance plant management and innovate manufacturing, Hyundai Motor said, adding that it plans to first apply the concept to the Hyundai Motor Global Innovation Center in Singapore. The facility is due to be completed this year. ”Hyunda

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

S. Korea to boost domestic reserves of economic security-related items

South Korea plans to announce measures to boost the domestic reserves of key items related to economic security in the first quarter in a bid to cope with risks from strains on the global supply chain, a senior government official said Friday. In a related move, the country plans to boost the stockpile of rare metals to 100 days of use from the current 57 days and raise the reserves of some rare metals to a maximum of 180 days of use in case their supply faces instability, according to First Vi

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

Posco breaks ground for galvanized steel plant in China

POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Friday that it has started the construction of a plant in China that will produce galvanized steel sheets to be used in making cars. The plant in Tangshan in northern China's Hebei Province, whose construction is to be completed by 2023, will have a production capacity of 900,000 tons, according to POSCO. In June last year, POSCO signed a deal with HBIS Group, China's second-biggest steelmaker, to set up a $600 million joint venture i

IndustryJan. 7, 2022

S. Korea-Britain trade volume grows 33% on bilateral FTA

Trade volume between South Korea and Britain grew 33 percent for about one year after the implementation of a bilateral free trade deal, the industry ministry said Friday. Seoul and London clinched the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in August 2019, and the pact went into effect in January 2021 following Britain's departure from the European Union. During the first 11 months of last year, their trade volume came to $10.6 billion, up 33 percent from the same period a year earlier, accordin

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

S. Korea to boost supply of foodstuff ahead of Lunar New Year

South Korea plans to increase the supply of key foodstuff needed to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday starting next week in a bid to help tame inflationary pressure, a senior government official said Friday. The government will begin to supply a record amount of 204,000 tons of holiday-related foodstuff, such as napa cabbages, beef and pork, on Monday for three weeks in the runup to the traditional holiday set for Jan. 31-Feb. 2, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. Dema

EconomyJan. 7, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on tech gains

Seoul shares opened higher Friday as tech stocks advanced despite losses on Wall Street, but investors remain concerned about the US' looming tapering move. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.23 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,946.76 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index rebounded from a 2.3 percent drop in the past two sessions. The decline was attributable to Fed meeting minutes that suggested the US central bank may raise interest rates sooner

MarketJan. 7, 2022

Samsung’s 2021 profit soars on robust chips, smartphones business

Samsung Electronics logged an operating income of 51.57 trillion won ($42.89 billion) for 2021, up 43.3 percent from a year prior, as its businesses ranging from semiconductor chips to smartphones and home appliances have seen a surge in global demand, its preliminary filing showed Friday. It was the company‘s largest annual profit since it posted 58.89 trillion won in 2018. It is also the third-largest annual profit it recorded in history. During the fourth quarter alone, the South Kor

TechnologyJan. 7, 2022

K Auction to make stock debut this month

K Auction, South Korea’s second-largest auction house by revenue, said Thursday that it plans to go public on Jan. 24, in what its chief said will be the first step to take on its bigger rival Seoul Auction. “A transparent platform that will maximize the positive impact of art and outcompete our rival, that’s what we have in mind,” K Auction CEO Do Hyun-soon said at an online conference. Seoul Auction began trading on the junior Kosdaq exchange in 2008. K Auction, whic

EconomyJan. 6, 2022

P&G’s new detergent cleans both laundry, washing machine

Procter & Gamble has released a detergent with degerming power for customers concerned with laundry that still smells after washing. Humidity is the typical culprit behind musty clothes, but in the winter it could be the machine itself that is to blame, according to the company. The inner tub of the washing machine, which holds the clothes, could be teeming with bacteria that cause a lingering unpleasant odor even after drying, it added. Downy Degerming Power Liquid Detergent offers a p

BusinessJan. 6, 2022

Investors seek suit over Osstem theft case

Individual investors are seeking legal action for damages caused by an employee at Osstem Implant who was arrested Wednesday for having allegedly stolen 188 billion won ($156 million) from the Kosdaq-listed company. The stolen money accounted for 91 percent of the company’s equity as of last year. The shares of the implant maker, worth a little over 2 trillion won in market value, were suspended from trading Monday after the company reported the massive theft to police. “There is

EconomyJan. 6, 2022