Year-end spending on e-commerce platforms to increase this year: survey

Consumers are expected to spend more money during the year-end season this year amid growing excitement over the government’s gradual plan to live with COVID-19, a new survey has found. The survey, conducted on e-commerce platforms Gmarket and Auction earlier this month, showed consumers are willing to spend some 641,000 won ($546) on average during the platforms’ annual shopping event “Big Smile Day” – up nearly 200,000 won from one year ago. Among the respondent

ConsumerOct. 25, 2021

Mercedes-Benz seeks to grow together with community

As part of efforts to grow together with the local community, Mercedes-Benz Korea has continued to invest in research and development, training automotive experts and supporting startups, in addition to expanding its network of service centers. The German automaker runs 60 official showrooms, 75 service centers, four of which opened this year, with more than 1,250 work bays, the largest network for an import car brand in Korea. Mercedes-Benz opened its training academy in Korea in 2015, its t

MobilityOct. 25, 2021

S. Korea to hold K-Food Fair next month

South Korea plans to hold a food fair next month to promote the country's agricultural and other food products, and to help local companies' advance into the global market, the agriculture ministry said Monday. During the four-day K-Food Fair set to kick off Nov. 8 at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul, some 200 local companies will present major export items, such as kimchi, pears and ginseng, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. One-on-one onl

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

SolidEnergy Systems to unveil world’s largest lithium-metal cell for EVs

SolidEnergy Systems will unveil next-generation lithium-metal battery cells big enough to power electric vehicles next month, the Singapore-based battery firm said Monday.  Large-size prototypes of the cells, not small samples made inside labs, will be presented at the inaugural Battery World, an event the company organizes to showcase its latest products. It will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 4, Seoul time, and SolidEnergy Systems CEO Dr. Qichao Hu will appear. “It took us 10 ye

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Posco Chemical to supply key EV battery materials to Norway's Morrow Batteries

Posco Chemical will supply cathodes and anodes, two crucial components of electric vehicle batteries, to Norwegian battery manufacturer Morrow Batteries, accelerating its push to expand its footprint in the European market. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, the cathodes and anodes will go inside the batteries to be mass-produced by Morrow Batteries starting 2024, as part of an agreement signed by the two firms on Thursday. Morr

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding grabs W383b order for 4 chemical carriers

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday it has obtained a 383 billion-won ($325 million) deal to build four LNG-propelled petrochemical carriers. The 4,000-ton vessels to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a subsidiary of KSOE, will be delivered to a shipper in the Middle East by the first half of 2024, the company said in an emailed statement. KSOE said it has bagged 60 percent of the global orders for 61 LNG-powered petrochemicals so far this year. &qu

BusinessOct. 25, 2021

KT suffers major network outage nationwide

South Korean telecommunications operator KT suffered a nationwide network outage on Monday, causing widespread disruptions to daily tasks requiring connectivity. Virtual classrooms were down, food delivery orders were lost, and clinics couldn’t access patient data.  The network outage, which began around 11 a.m. and lasted for nearly an hour, was initially said to have been caused by a cyberattack. A local police station dispatched a team of cybercrime investigators to KT’s he

BusinessOct. 25, 2021

Posco Q3 net profit up 415.7% to W2.63tr

POSCO on Monday reported its third-quarter net profit of 2.63 trillion won ($2.2 billion), up 415.7 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 3.12 trillion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 670 billion won a year ago. Revenue rose 44.7 percent to 20.64 trillion won. The operating profit was 9.7 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The est

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Celltrion's coronavirus self-test kit gets FDA emergency approval

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its self-diagnostic kit for the novel coronavirus has won emergency approval from US drug authorities. Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test, co-developed by local healthcare business Humasis, received the US Food and Drug Administration's Emergency Use Authorization approval. The product uses an antibody that specifically binds to the COVID-19 virus and detects infection within 15 minutes, Celltrion said. It is most sui

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Citibank Korea to close retail banking 'in phases'

Citibank Korea Inc., the Korean unit of US banking giant Citigroup, said Monday that it will close its retail banking services "in phases" in line with a global business reorganization drive. Citibank Korea held a board meeting on Friday and made the decision to pull out from consumer banking in South Korea. In April, Citigroup said that it will exit consumer banking operations in 13 markets, including South Korea, as part of its global business reorganization. Citibank Korea's board

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Samsung Heavy bags W971b order for 4 LNG carriers

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has signed a 971.3 billion-won ($825.2 million) deal to construct four LNG carriers. Under the deal with a shipper in Bermuda, Samsung Heavy will deliver the vessels by December 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. The price per LNG carrier in the latest deal came to $206 million, the highest since 2015, Samsung Heavy Industries said. With the latest deal, the shipbuilder has won orders worth $11.2 billion so far this year, already surpa

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday amid concerns about the rising inflation pressure and oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 20.1 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,986.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks fell amid foreign and institutional sell-offs, largely in the wake of the Fed's signal that the present high-price pressure may not subside soon. Investor wariness grew as oil prices remained at a record-high level. Most stocks traded l

MarketOct. 25, 2021

S. Korea to unveil measures to enhance efficacy of lending rules based on repayment capacity

South Korea will unveil measures to curb household debt in a way that "strikes a balance" between toughening lending rules based on borrowers' repayment capability and protecting those in actual need of loans for home rentals, the head of the country's financial regulator said Monday. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is expected to announce a set of measures to tame soaring household debt this week, likely to focus on speeding up implementation of stricter rules on lending base

EconomyOct. 25, 2021

Kakao Pay begins 2-day IPO subscription

Kakao Pay, the mobile payment service arm of Kakao Corp., South Korea's top messenger app, on Monday kicked off a two-day public subscription for its initial public offering (IPO), seen as this year's last high-profile share sale. Kakao Pay has allowed retail investors to subscribe to 4.25 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO slated for Nov. 3, or 25 percent of the total share sale. Kakao Pay has set the IPO price at 90,000 won ($76.5) per share, which will enable the company to

IndustryOct. 25, 2021

[ESG Talk] Overseeing ESG risks in supply chain: procurement with a purpose

In 2022, an area that is likely to strain companies’ transition toward a resilient, sustainable economy is the ESG risks in the supply chain. Companies must now closely monitor issues stemming from climate change, labor rights and health and safety throughout the procurement process. Supply chain due diligence Until recently, the management team’s focus on supply chain and procurement has been primarily on technical quality, cost-effectiveness, speed of delivery and reliability. H

EconomyOct. 24, 2021

[News Focus] Samsung still lost a year after Lee Kun-hee’s death

Monday marks the first anniversary of the death of Lee Kun-hee, the chief of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung and its flagship unit Samsung Electronics. But the world’s No. 1 producer of smartphone and memory chips still seems to lack a clear direction, with the charismatic leader gone. Amid news about a global “chip war,” or aggressive bets by chipmakers in the US, Taiwan and elsewhere to alter market dynamics for their strategic interest, Samsung is seen to

TechnologyOct. 24, 2021

[Market Eye] Record-breaking year expected for banking groups; financial stocks, maybe

Bank stocks in South Korea have long been regarded as an unappealing option for investors, but analysts say it may be their time to shine as the economy makes progress toward normalization and interest rates are no longer at record lows. The country’s big four banking groups -- KB Financial, Hana Financial, Shinhan Financial and Woori Financial -- are expected to see their combined profits grow by double digits in the quarter that ended in September, according to FnGuide, a financial inf

MarketOct. 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Authorities to begin looking into data to explain why Nuri launch failed

South Korea’s Science Ministry said Sunday that researchers will begin looking into why the country’s first domestically-built rocket Nuri, or Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit in its maiden flight last week.  The Korea Aerospace Research Institute that led the Nuri project will form a task force to examine data from the Oct. 21 test to determine what caused the shorter-than-programmed burning of the rocket’s third engine. 

IndustryOct. 24, 2021

[Battery+] Tesla’s battery shift highlights K-battery’s uncertain future

To take initiative in the premium electric vehicle market, where longer driving ranges serve as the barometer of competitiveness, the South Korean battery trio -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On -- in recent years focused on developing more powerful lithium-ion batteries, pushing the limits of nickel ratio to the extreme. However, their unwavering faith in lithium-ion technology is being tested, after market leader Tesla announced on Wednesday that it will use a cheaper, safer alterna

IndustryOct. 24, 2021

Coal briquette consumption projected to hit record low this year

South Korea’s coal briquette consumption is likely to drop below 500,000 tons for the first time this year on lower demand and higher coal prices. According to the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. on Sunday, domestic coal briquette consumption fell to 508,000 tons last year, a 21 percent drop on-year. The consumption of coal briquettes has been continuously falling since 2014. The number dropped from 1.9 million tons in 2013 to 1.6 million tons in 2014. The biggest

ConsumerOct. 24, 2021