The silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance deserves everyone’s attention

It happened back in 2014 when I was in Geneva, Switzerland, serving as a delegate of Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea. I had a skin rash so I visited a local hospital, where they tested my antimicrobial susceptibility before giving me any treatment. The hospital ran this test to see if there were any antibiotics that my body was resistant to. Little did I know before I got tested that there were not many effective antibiotics left for me. Fewer antibiotic options meant fewer treatm

TechnologyOct. 22, 2021

DLS sales in S. Korea plunge 51.2% in Q3

The issuance of derivatives-linked securities (DLS) in South Korea tumbled more than 50 percent on-year in the third quarter of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. The country's DLS sales stood at slightly over 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in the July-September period, down 51.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The amount was also down 27.7 percent from the previous quarter. DLS tracks the performance of in

IndustryOct. 22, 2021

PM says hard-hit businesses, low-risk facilities will be first to benefit from eased virus rules

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday hard-hit businesses and low-risk facilities will be the first to benefit from eased COVID-19 restrictions starting next month. Kim made the remark during a meeting of a government-civilian panel overseeing the transition to life after COVID-19. "The return to normal will proceed in stages and systematically," he said. "We will take drastic and active steps to ease the virus restrictions starting with businesses and neglected groups that ha

EconomyOct. 22, 2021

Korean Air partners with Boeing for UAV development

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it has partnered with Boeing to jointly develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in preparation for future mobility demand. Korean Air signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing's subsidiary Insitu for technical cooperation to develop a lightweight and modularized tactical vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV at the 2021 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX), the company said in a statement. "

IndustryOct. 22, 2021

S. Korea to temporarily cut fuel taxes amid rising oil prices

South Korea plans to temporarily cut fuel taxes in a bid to ease upward pressure on inflation amid surging oil prices, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon also said the government plans to additionally cut import tariffs on liquid natural gas (LNG), currently at 2 percent, as part of efforts to ease people's burdens on a hike in energy costs. "The government will unveil details about fuel tax cuts, including the timing and the scope, next wee

EconomyOct. 22, 2021

Seoul stocks open tad lower on China's Evergrande risk

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday amid concerns about a debt crisis of Evergrande Group, a leading Chinese property developer. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 3.11 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,004.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start amid the uncertainties surrounding Evergrande, largely as the firm has to pay some $80 million worth of bond coupons by Saturday. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.62

MarketOct. 22, 2021

Incheon int'l Airport reports sharp recovery in traveler flow in past 2 mths

Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, has seen a sharp recovery in the number of inbound and outbound travelers over the past two months amid the country's push for a "Living with COVID-19" plan. According to Incheon International Airport Corp., the state-run operator of the airport, the number of international travelers departing or landing via Incheon jumped 44 percent, compared with a year earlier, to some 338,000 in August. It was the first monthly figur

EconomyOct. 22, 2021

Hyundai Construction Equipment to sell industrial vehicle division

Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. said Thursday it has signed a deal with its holding company Hyundai Genuine Co. to sell its industrial vehicle division for 136 billion won ($115.8 million).  The deal set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, is intended to focus on the construction equipment sector by purchasing stakes in construction equipment affiliates in China and Brazil, Hyundai Construction Equipment said in a regulatory filing.  The industrial vehicles refer to forklifts and

IndustryOct. 21, 2021

Korea sees silver lining in Nuri launch

South Korea’s first homegrown satellite launch vehicle has failed to put its payload into the targeted orbit after what appeared to be a successful liftoff, the government said Thursday. The satellite launcher, dubbed the Nuri, or Korean Space Launch Vehicle-II, lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Thursday at 5 p.m. According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, it successfully traveled into a low orbit 700 kilometers above the Earth. The liqui

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021

KB Financial‘s Q3 profit hits record high

South Korea’s KB Financial Group said Thursday its net profit in the January-September period came to 3.7 trillion won ($3.14 billion), eclipsing last year’s annual net profit. KB’s net profit in the first nine months of the year jumped 31.1 percent on-year and surpassed last year’s annual net profit of 3.4 trillion won, hitting a record high for the cited period. Onlookers said that the banking group is likely to see a record high for fiscal 2021 as well, likely surpas

MarketOct. 21, 2021

Blackstone-backed Simone Acc Collection pulls IPO plan

Blackstone-backed handbag maker Simone Acc Collection said Thursday it has dropped its plan to go public, dashing hopes for the New York-based private fund investor’s exit from its South Korean portfolio firm. According to the filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, Simone has canceled the upcoming plans for an IPO and listing on the Korea Exchange. Its lead underwriters were Samsung Securities and Mirae Asset Securities. The news came after its two-day book building targeting in

MarketOct. 21, 2021

LG CNS completes Korean Air’s digital transformation

LG CNS said Thursday the company has completed the transformation of Korean Air’s corporate information technology system into a public cloud service. The LG affiliate embarked on the project three years ago in partnership with Amazon Web Service. Turning a company’s IT system into a public cloud is a newly growing business for IT solution providers like LG CNS as companies start to accelerate their digital transformations. Korean Air’s cloud project marked a first in the

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021

LG pledges to create 39,000 jobs for young people

LG Group, the fourth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, on Thursday pledged to create a total of 39,000 new jobs over the next three years. The group’s Chairman and CEO Koo Kwang-mo unveiled the plan during a meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum at LG Science Park in Magok, western Seoul. The meeting was attended by the top brass of LG Group, including Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo and President Lee Bang-soo. The meeting was part of the Korean government’s youth employment p

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021

Bitcoin inches closer to record high amid ETF launches

The world’s largest and best-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin hit 80 million won ($67,900) on Thursday in Korea, inching closer to a historical high, following the much-anticipated listing of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the US.  Bitcoin briefly touched 81.2 million won at around midnight, according to the largest crypto exchange Upbit on Thursday. On April 14, Bitcoin’s price reached its record high of 81.48 million won. As of 1:50 p.m, Bitcoin was trading at 79 million won

MarketOct. 21, 2021

Nuri rocket blasts off

Nuri, South Korea’s first domestically made satellite launch vehicle, lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 5 p.m. Thursday. The launch vehicle, weighing 200 metric tons, is now on its maiden flight to put a 1.5-ton dummy into low orbit some 600-800 kilometers above the Earth. Korea Aerospace Research Institute says it will know if the launch is a success around 30 minutes after liftoff. Designed and built entirely using Korean technology and

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021

Samsung, world's global brand value ranks 5th two years in a row

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s leading maker of smartphones and memory chips, was ranked fifth among the world’s top 100 corporate brands for the second year in a row, according to a consulting firm Thursday. The brand value of South Korea’s IT giant was estimated at $74.6 billion this year, increasing 20 percent from $62.3 billion last year, according to the list of 100 Best Global Brands announced by US-based Interbrand. This is the highest gain observed since 2013 an

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021

Lawmaker questions official housing price projection

Despite policymakers’ assurance of home prices having reached their peak, the government appears to have set tax revenue on a scenario of housing values rising further next year. Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party on Thursday, quoting a state-funded study, said that the government’s tax revenue next year has been drafted based on its own estimation of housing prices in Seoul and the surrounding area growing 5.1 percent, According to the study conducted

EconomyOct. 21, 2021

KB Financial Group Q3 net profit up 9.3% to W1.3tr

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported its third-quarter net profit of 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion), up 9.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that it posted 1.78 trillion won in operating profit for the quarter, compared with 1.41 trillion won a year ago. Sales rose 56.4 percent to 16.47 trillion won. The operating profit was 7.1 percent higher than the average estimate, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap New

EconomyOct. 21, 2021

Samsung SDI begins test run of cathode factory in S. Korea

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. said Thursday it has began its test run of a cathode-producing factory, jointly set up with a local cathode manufacturer. The EcoPro EM factory, located in Pohang, 374 kilometers southeast of Seoul, will conduct the test run until the end of this year before starting the mass-production of cathode from the first half of next year. Cathode is a key component that determines the capacity and average voltage of a lithium-ion battery. Samsung SDI and E

IndustryOct. 21, 2021

Merck’s M Lab Collaboration Center marks 5th year anniversary

Merck, the German science and technology group, on Thursday celebrated the fifth anniversary of its M Lab Collaboration Center in Songdo, Incheon. The M Lab Collaboration Center is a research facility established to support local pharmaceutical and bio industry experts with hands-on and virtual training. “Since its establishment in 2016, our Songdo M Lab Collaboration Center has supported more than 100 biopharmaceutical and biotech customers including Samsung Biologics, Celltrion and SK

TechnologyOct. 21, 2021