US keeps S. Korea on monitoring list for currency practices

The United States said Friday that it is keeping South Korea on its list of countries to be monitored for currency practices.    The US Treasury Department named 11 other countries, including China and Japan, on the monitoring list in its semiannual report to Congress.    It, however, said none of the countries were found to have purposefully intervened in currency markets for unfair gains.    "Pursuant to the 2015 Act, Treasury has also established a Monito

MarketDec. 4, 2021

Seoul stocks likely to face volatility next week on omicron scare

South Korean stocks are likely to continue to face volatility next week as investors take to the sidelines amid the spreading omicron strain of the coronavirus.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,968.33 points Friday, up 1.09 percent from 2,936.44 points a week ago.    The KOSPI plunged Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the first confirmed cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in South Korea and other countries, fanning concerns majo

MarketDec. 4, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on foreign buying

South Korean stocks advanced for a third consecutive session Friday, backed by strong foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.06 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,968.33 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 478 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 807 to 95. Foreigners bought a net 157 billion won and institutions purchased 89 billion won, whi

MarketDec. 3, 2021

Korean testing kit makers confident they can detect omicron

Amid worries over the omicron variant of COVID-19, Korean testing kit makers showed confidence in their equipment’s ability to detect the new virus variant, pushing up their stock prices again. GreenCross Medical Science said Friday that the effectiveness of its COVID-19 testing kit has been confirmed for the new omicron variant as well. In order to assess the validity of the result from its testing equipment, GCMS conducted the ‘in-silico’ experiment, which refers to a typ

IndustryDec. 3, 2021

Travelers, airport tighten up their guard against omicron variant of COVID-19

Silence prevailed at the departure gates of Incheon Airport on Thursday, a day after the nation reported its first cases of COVID-19’s omicron variant. People waiting to check in for their flights were seated meters apart with masks on. Some were wearing plastic gloves and face shields for extra protection. Cafes at the terminal were open but practically empty. “I mean, it’s the airport. Even my parents think working here makes me vulnerable to omicron. So I understand that

IndustryDec. 3, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding wins W383b order for offshore facility

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Friday it has signed a 383 billion-won ($325 million) deal to build a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). Under the deal with Monaco's Eneti Inc., the vessel will be delivered by the first half of 2023, DSME said. The latest deal was made in accordance with the 370 billion-won contract with Eneti in May, under which it has an option to place an order for an additional WTIV. The two WTIVs, which are 148 meters long and 56 meters wi

IndustryDec. 3, 2021

IBK chief visits corporate clients, OECD headquarters in Europe

State-run Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Yoon Jong-won recently met with corporate clients and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development officials in Europe, while inspecting potential markets the bank is eyeing to enter, the firm said Friday. The meetings and site visits took place during his weeklong business trip to Poland, the United Kingdom and France from Nov. 23-30. In Poland, Yoon visited two factories and met with corporate clients to lend an ear to the troubles they ha

MarketDec. 3, 2021

Online shopping hits record high in Oct. amid COVID-19 pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in October on the back of solid demand for food delivery services and electronic goods amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.9 trillion won ($14.35 billion) in October, up 21.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statis

EconomyDec. 3, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on tightened virus curbs

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as health authorities strengthened virus curbs amid spiking cases and the potential spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) had fallen 15.16 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 2,930.11 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks got off to a lackluster start, as the government has decided to limit private gatherings to six people in the capital area and eight in other regions for fou

MarketDec. 3, 2021

S. Korea's foreign reserves down for 1st time in 5 months in November

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the first time in five months in November due to a decline in the dollar-converted value of assets denominated in other foreign currencies, central bank data showed Friday. The country's foreign reserves came to $463.91 billion as of end-November, down $5.3 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first time in five months that the foreign reserves have shrunk. The decline stemmed part

EconomyDec. 3, 2021

New home permits soar 24.4% in Jan.-Oct.

New home permits in South Korea surged more than 24 percent in the first 10 months of the year amid high housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 405,704 units in the January-October period, up 24.4 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 54.7 percent to 70,578 over the cited period. New home permits issued

EconomyDec. 3, 2021

Drug Ministry cancels approval of 6 botulinum products

The licenses of six botulinum drugs will be revoked on Dec. 13, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Thursday. The Drug Ministry said the drugs were being sold in the country without obtaining the state approval to sell them in the domestic market. The drugs are four of Hugel’s Botulax units and two of Pharma Research Bio’s ReNTox units. The Drug Ministry will also shut down Pharma Research Bio’s production for six months, citing that the biopharmaceutical firm&

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

SK Group retains CEOs, delays decision on chairman’s brother

SK Group, the nation’s third-largest conglomerate, seems to be opting for stability rather than drastic changes in its year-end executive reshuffle, retaining all the CEOs at its key affiliates. While maintaining the top brass, 133 new executives are receiving promotions, the largest class in the past three years, in an apparent move to add weight to its new growth engine businesses that are still in their nascent phases with the potential to lead the group’s future. “Almos

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Incheon Airport’s debt ratio nears 70% over plunging travel demand

Incheon Airport on Thursday forecast its debt ratio to spike to nearly 70 percent this year due to a plunge in flight operations and travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport operator said in a press conference that flight operations are likely to have dropped 19 percent from last year, and travelers by 70 percent on-year. The downturn has hurt revenue, as the airport’s sales stood at 490.5 billion won ($416 million), a 55 percent drop from last year. The airport sought to respo

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

'Political blessing' needed to launch EARC

The biggest obstacles in implementing the East Asia Railway Community are stalled inter-Korean relations and geopolitical confrontation between China and the US, a former presidential adviser told a Transport Ministry forum Thursday. “The EARC is needed to overcome the continental-maritime divide along the Korean Peninsula, which is the old relic of the Cold War system, to open a new horizon of prosperity by tapping into the northern frontier to facilitate functional spillover effects on

MobilityDec. 2, 2021

NIPA holds IoT Korea Online Business Meeting

The 2021 IoT Korea Online Business Meeting held by National IT Industry Promotion Agency from Nov. 2-4 wrapped up with several agreements reached by participating firms. Nearly 370 business meetings were arranged over the three days at the Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley Corporate Support Hubs. Small and medium-sized IoT companies in Korea have been seeking routes into overseas markets and have been doing so at large global trade shows every year. However, due to the pandemic, online export confere

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

New book offers tips for businesses on metaverse

Business leaders who planned and built a metaverse platform have written a book on the subject of the metaverse -- a virtual world that incorporates augmented reality and avatars, among other things, in parallel to the physical world. Choi Jin-young, CEO of The Korea Herald; Ryu Seong-taek, CEO of Hyundai Futurenet, an affiliate of Hyundai Department Store; and Song Min-jae and Choo Sun-woo, CEOs of Meta Factory, co-authored “The Metaverse Management,” based on their discussions as

IndustryDec. 2, 2021

Consumer price growth hits decade high

SEJONG -- The growth in consumer prices posted the highest in almost a decade last month with prices of daily necessities such as diesel and agricultural products surging, sparking concerns over its impact on households. Statistics Korea said Thursday that consumer prices climbed 3.7 percent on-year in November, which marked the highest increase since the 4.2 percent growth in December 2011. Consumer prices increased over 3 percent for the second consecutive month, following a 3.2 percent gro

EconomyDec. 2, 2021

SK hynix sets up new US business unit

SK hynix, the chip-making affiliate of SK Group, said Thursday that it has set up a new business unit solely dedicated to the US market where the memory chip giant has made a renewed push to secure a firm footing and expand partnership with local tech firms. The new unit, called American Business Team, is one of the three new units established under the direct influence of CEO Lee Seok-hee, as part of the company’s year-end executive reshuffle and organizational overhaul. The other two u

TechnologyDec. 2, 2021

[Herald Interview] Do you have a best friend at office? Human connection crucial for work efficiency, says behavioral scientist

After COVID-19 forced many aspects of our lives to become more isolated, the world is making a gradual move to return to how we used to be. Commuting to work has resumed and team lunches have been revived, although people still wear their masks and transparent acrylic panels have been erected between people at the tables.  Although South Korea kicked off its “living with COVID-19” scheme with eased social distancing rules on Nov. 1, still today many are suffering from soc

IndustryDec. 2, 2021