SK Inc. to launch ‘turquoise hydrogen’ joint venture with Monolith

SK Inc., the holdings firm of SK Group, said Wednesday it will form a joint venture in South Korea with Monolith, the world’s first company to have successfully mass-produced “turquoise hydrogen.” According to the strategic investment arm of the country’s third-largest conglomerate, the joint venture will produce hydrogen and carbon black products. The US hydrogen maker will provide necessary technology while SK Inc. will be in charge of production, sales and distributi

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

Posco's Q3 operating income at record high on robust demand

Posco, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Wednesday its third-quarter operating income more than quadrupled to a record high on robust demand amid the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating income for the three months that ended in September reached 3.11 trillion won ($2.6 billion) on a consolidated basis, sharply up from an operating profit of 670 billion won, the company said in a regulatory filing. The third-quarter operating income marks the highes

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

Koreans blame short sellers for bear market

South Korean day traders are expressing frustration over the bearish domestic stock market in early October, in the belief that short selling by institutional investors is adding fuel to the market volatility. As of Wednesday, a public petition calling for a complete ban on short selling activities in Korea’s stock market had gained nearly 49,000 endorsements within a week, in another major collective action unfolding on presidential office Cheong Wa Dae’s website. The unnamed pe

MarketOct. 13, 2021

S. Korea to continue expansionary fiscal policy next year: finance minister

South Korea's top economic policymaker has said the government plans to maintain expansionary fiscal policy next year in a bid to prop up the economic recovery, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting. Hong said South Korea's central bank

EconomyOct. 13, 2021

S. Korea's cartoon exports surge 40.9% in 2020

South Korea's cartoon exports jumped more than 40 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the growing global popularity of Korean pop culture, a report said Wednesday. Outbound shipments of cartoons, including webtoons, stood at $64.82 million last year, up 40.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The growth rate far exceeds the 6.2 percent on-year increase in exports of the country's overall cultural content. In particu

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

Banks' household loan growth accelerates in Sept.

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a faster pace in September from a month earlier despite the government's toughened controls on lending, central bank data showed Wednesday. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,052.7 trillion won ($877.9 billion) as of the end of September, up 6.5 trillion won from the previous month. The figure is higher than a 6.1 trillion-won increase registered in August, the data showed. The reading also marked the

MarketOct. 13, 2021

S. Korean shipbuilders outstripped by China in Sept. orders

South Korean shipbuilders lagged sharply behind their Chinese rivals in terms of new orders in September, losing the top position that they had maintained for the last four months. Local shipbuilders led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. grabbed a combined 910,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders last month, accounting for 28 percent of 3.28 million CGTs of global orders, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. Chinese shipbuilders far outpace

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

LG units to repay GM W1.4t for Bolt EV battery recall costs

LG Electronics Inc. and LG Energy Solution said Wednesday that they will repay General Motors Co. about 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in costs for the recalls of Bolt electric vehicles due to battery defects. The two flagship units of South Korea's LG Group have reached an agreement with GM on how to cover the expenses for the recalls on some 143,000 Bolt vehicles over battery fire risks. The two LG units said they will set aside 480 billion won and 620 billion won in costs in the third qu

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

ICT exports hit fresh monthly high in September

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products reached an all-time high in September on the back of solid global demand for chips and displays, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $21.34 billion last month, up 21.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The September figure marked an all-time high since the government began compiling the data in 1996, and the largest for

EconomyOct. 13, 2021

S. Korea holds inaugural exhibition on carbon neutrality

The industry ministry launched an exhibition on carbon neutrality Wednesday to promote various zero-emission products and technologies, and to explore future policy directions for the goal, officials said. The inaugural Carbon Neutrality Expo began its three-day run at KINTEX convention center in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, bringing together some 300 local companies, provincial governments and state-run institutions, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The firms presented

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

SK signs MOU with US hydrogen firm Monolith to set up joint venture in S. Korea

SK Inc., the holding company of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has signed an initial deal with a US hydrogen maker to set up a joint venture as part of efforts to bolster its clean energy business. The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed with Monolith Materials Inc., aims to create a joint venture to produce green hydrogen and carbon black products in South Korea, the company said in a release. Monolith will provide the technology and training, and SK will oversee

IndustryOct. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, as investors seek to buy oversold stocks after a sharp plunge the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.57 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,929.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted as most tech large caps bounced back. Investor sentiment also improved on strong jobs data in September, which jumped by the largest in seven years. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. edged up 0.14 percent

MarketOct. 13, 2021

Job additions largest in over 7 years in Sept. despite 4th wave of pandemic

South Korea reported the largest job growth in more than seven years in September in the latest sign that the country's job recovery has continued despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.68 million last month, 671,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest job additions since March 2014, when the number of employed people grew 726,000. It also was the seventh straight m

EconomyOct. 13, 2021

State industrial complexes fare better in H1 than pre-pandemic era

Output and exports of South Korea's state industrial complexes rose in the first half of the year from the pre-pandemic period, but their employment shrank, data showed Wednesday. Combined production of the 44 industrial parks came to 258 trillion won ($216 billion) in the January-June period, up 6.6 percent from the same period in 2019, months before the COVID-19 outbreak hit the country, according to an analysis by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). Their total exports also swelled 1

EconomyOct. 13, 2021

IMF keeps S. Korea’s 2021 growth outlook at 4.3%, trims global economic forecast

The International Monetary Fund maintained its forecast for South Korea’s economic growth for this year at 4.3 percent, while revising down its projection for the global economy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday. The IMF’s latest outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy remained unchanged from the earlier figure suggested in July. It is well above the growth estimates made by the government and the Bank of Korea -- 4.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.&

EconomyOct. 12, 2021

Celltrion seeks sales approval for anticancer biosimilar in Europe

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion said Tuesday that the company has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency for approval of the sale of its anti-cancer biosimilar candidate CT-P16. CT-P16 is a biosimilar of Roche’s Avastin, an anti-cancer treatment that kills cancer cells by preventing the growth of blood vessels. Avastin, which can treat numerous cancers, including metastatic colorectal cancer, has been Roche’s bestselling cancer drug. The patents on Avastin, h

TechnologyOct. 12, 2021

Samsung chief Lee pledges no repeat of drug use

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday pledged not to use drugs for any reason at a Seoul court, where he was tried for illegal drug use. He made the promise while attending the court hearing of his trial at Seoul Central District Court. He is accused of having illegally used propofol, a short-acting medication that results in a decreased level of consciousness. During Tuesday’s session, public prosecutors requested the court issue a fine of 70 million won ($58,400)

IndustryOct. 12, 2021

JTI Korea launches ‘MEVIUS Sky Blue Longs’

JTI Korea has released a new cigarette from its global tobacco brand MEVIUS, as part of efforts to expand its product lineup and provide more options for consumers. The new MEVIUS Sky Blue Longs has the same thickness as the existing MEVIUS Sky Blue, but comes with a 15-millimeter increase in length. The new product is designed for consumers who want a longer experience with MEVIUS‘ “unique soft taste” and “high product quality,” the company said Tuesday. The mov

ConsumerOct. 12, 2021

Apartment buildings need power upgrade for EV rollout: report

For the proliferation of electric vehicles in South Korea, it is key to upgrade power systems installed at apartment buildings, the predominant type of housing in urban areas here, according to a recent study. Without significant improvement in residential buildings’ electricity capacity, the rush to install chargers at home parking spaces will entail blackout risks, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute said in its report published Tuesday. In August, the government said it would

MobilityOct. 12, 2021

Samsung Electronics starts mass production of 14-nano EUV DDR5 DRAM

Samsung Electronics started its mass production of the industry’s smallest 14-nano DRAM based on extreme ultraviolet technology. The South Korean tech giant announced Tuesday that the 5-layer memory product was made with the world’s most advanced technology currently in use. Samsung shipped the first samples of EUV DRAM modules to customers in March last year. The manufacturing process has increased wafer productivity by approximately 20 percent and reduced power consumption by

IndustryOct. 12, 2021