[Feature] Will cosmetic refills take off in Korea?

Beauty products often come in extravagant packaging -- only to later end up in a landfill after a single use. Statistics show only 10 percent of cosmetics packaging is recyclable, due to the complex designs, colors and multilayer structures. Faced with growing criticism for its contribution to the global waste problem and in a bid to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, cosmetics companies are turning to refilling stations where consumers can bring empty bottles and buy what they

ConsumerSept. 17, 2021

Posco reaches 1 million ton in production capacity for high strength steel

Posco said Friday it has established a 1 million-ton production facility for giga steel, an ultrahigh-strength steel product used for cars. Amid the expanding global market for eco-friendly cars and rising demand for lightweight vehicles, Posco said it has invested about 500 billion won ($425 million) since 2017 to build and expand the production facility for the high-strength steel inside the Gwangyang steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. “Since its first production of steel

IndustrySept. 17, 2021

Eastar Jet submits restructuring plans to court

Eastar Jet Co., a debt-ridden South Korean budget carrier, said Friday it has submitted restructuring plans to a bankruptcy court to finalize an acquisition deal with a local property developer, aiming to resume flights next year. Eastar Jet submitted its debt repayment and other rehabilitation plans to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, three months after Sung Jung Co. signed a deal to buy an 80 percent stake in the low-cost carrier for 108.7 billion won ($97 million). Eastar is required to first

MobilitySept. 17, 2021

FSS to appeal against court decision favoring Woori chairman

The Financial Supervisory Service said Friday it plans to appeal a Seoul court decision last month that nullified the watchdog’s penalty on the current Woori Financial Group chairman, which held him accountable for the misselling of high-risk funds. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of Sohn Tae-seung, revoking the heavy “reprimand” imposed upon him by the FSS in January 2020. If the warning had been finalized by the policymaking Financial Services Commission, Sohn

MarketSept. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] More than 30 crypto exchanges expected to announce shutdown on Friday

Time ran out Friday for cryptocurrency exchanges to announce the closure of their services if they would not be operable after Sept. 24, marking a critical time that will decide the fate of many cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. More than 30 cryptocurrency exchanges were expected to give notice for a service shutdown by the end of Friday, as 24 exchanges have not applied for the Information Security Management System and 10 failed to acquire a certificate, according to industry source

MarketSept. 17, 2021

Shinhan acquires stake in ICT solutions provider for online corporate banking platform

Shinhan Bank said Friday that it has acquired a minority stake in a local information and communication technology solutions and services provider to bolster its partnership for development of a new corporate banking platform. Shinhan Bank acquired a 1.97 percent stake worth 72.3 billion won ($61.4 million) in Douzone Bizon for a strategic partnership, which would allow the lender to utilize the ICT solutions firm’s corporate accounting and e-commerce data. Shinhan and Douzone Bizon ha

MarketSept. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound ahead of Chuseok holiday

South Korean stocks closed higher Friday ahead of a three-day holiday as investors weighed the pace of the economic recovery from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.42 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,140.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 575 million shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 491 to 380. Foreigners bought a net 46 billion won, while

MarketSept. 17, 2021

Hyundai, Boston Dynamics unveil factory safety robot

Hyundai Motor Group has begun test operating a robot to inspect safety at its automotive plant, in collaboration with robotics startup Boston Dynamics, the group said Friday. Hyundai Motor Group, which operates two leading automotive companies Hyundai Motor and Kia, said it has deployed Spot, Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, to inspect safety at Kia AutoLand Gwangmyeong, Kia’s automotive plant facility in Gyeonggi Province. It is the first joint project between Hyundai and Bosto

MobilitySept. 17, 2021

SKC forges ties with Kuwait to expand eco-friendly plastic business

SKC, the chemical affiliate of SK Group, will cooperate with Kuwait’s state-operated petrochemical giant Petrochemical Industries Company to expand its environment-friendly plastic business in Kuwait, the company said on Friday. PIC is the world’s fifth petrochemical firm by production volume. SKC and PIC established the joint venture SK picglobal in March 2020. SKC said the company inked a memorandum of understanding with PIC and SK picglobal in Los Angeles on Thursday there to

IndustrySept. 17, 2021

KT creates investment arm for digital transformation

KT, one of South Korea’s leading telecom companies, said Friday it has created an organization dedicated to new investments and external partnerships in a bid to speed up the firm’s transformation into a digital platform business. The new organization is called “Group Transformation” and has been established under the CEO’s office. KT has appointed Yoon Kyung-lim, who had led KT’s media, future convergence and global businesses, as president of the new

TechnologySept. 17, 2021

S. Korea has larger classes, lower employment rates among college graduates than OECD averages: education ministry

South Korea has larger class sizes and lower employment rates among the highly educated than Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) averages, the education ministry said Friday. According to the latest edition of the OECD's "Education at a Glance," released by the Ministry of Education, elementary and middle school classes had an average of 23 and 26.1 students, respectively, in 2019. The figures were lower than 23.1 and 26.7 from 2018 but still higher than the OE

EconomySept. 17, 2021

BOK provides less money ahead of Chuseok

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday it has injected a smaller amount of bank notes into circulation this year than a year earlier ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday as private consumption has slumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The BOK provided a net 4.8 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of bills to financial institutions during the 10 working days before the holiday, down 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year. This year's Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiv

MarketSept. 17, 2021

Stock trading soars 70.5% in 2020 amid investment craze

Stock transactions in South Korea spiked more than 70 percent in 2020 amid an investment craze among retail investors, data showed Friday. The value of stock trading in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 35,397.3 trillion won ($30.2 trillion) last year, up 70.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The on-year growth rate is much higher than the 6 percent increase recorded the previous year. In the first six months of the year alone, stock

MarketSept. 17, 2021

Chip, display sectors among primary victims of technology theft

More than 110 trade secrets from South Korean businesses and institutions have been leaked to overseas rivals over the past five years, data showed Friday, with the semiconductor and display industries being the primary targets. The number of trade secrets stolen from South Korean firms from January 2016 to August this year came to 112, according to the data released by Rep. Kim Kyung-man of the ruling Democratic Party, compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. By sector, those lin

IndustrySept. 17, 2021

Hyundai Motor deploys Boston Dynamics' Spot robot at factory

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group said Friday it has launched a pilot project to deploy a robot to inspect safety at its factory, the first collaboration with US-based startup Boston Dynamics. The automotive group said the factory safety service robot based on Boston Dynamic's four-legged robot Spot went into pilot operation at its subsidiary Kia Corp.'s plant in Gwangmyeong, southwest of Seoul. It is the first project launched between the two companies after the automotive group in Jun

IndustrySept. 17, 2021

Uncertainty lingers over private spending recovery: ministry

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

EconomySept. 17, 2021

Gmarket‘s global shop sales jump during Chuseok promotion

Gmarket said on Thursday its global shop sales during this year’s Chuseok promotion, which ended on Tuesday, increased compared to last year’s thanks to a wider selection of items on sale and more discount coupons. Gmarket’s global shop, which sells to about 80 countries through its English and Chinese websites, said its sales of household items jumped 110 percent from the previous Mega G-Festival, and sales of books and records climbed more than 30 percent. Sales of beauty p

ConsumerSept. 17, 2021

LG Energy Solution invests W35b in Chinese battery material supplier

South Korea’s leading battery maker LG Energy Solution will acquire a 4.8 percent stake in a Chinese battery material supplier for 35 billion won ($29.7 million), the company said Friday. The subsidiary of LG Chem said it has signed a deal with China’s Greatpower Nickel & Cobalt Materials for a stable supply of battery materials. Shanghai-based Greatpower has been building a plant in China for nickel sulfate, a major ingredient for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehi

TechnologySept. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower as investors test waters

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday ahead of the holiday as investors weigh the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 14.08 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,116.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as investors took to the sidelines to digest mixed US economic indicators, such as weak price and strong retail sales in August, and their impact on the global economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

MarketSept. 17, 2021

OK Savings Bank’s ‘Pak Se-ri tournament’ to kick-off Friday

Female golfers will gather Friday to play in a Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament hosted by OK Savings Bank, which returned this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The KLPGA’s OK Savings Bank Pak Se-ri Invitational – which takes its name after the legendary South Korean golfer – is scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Sejong Silkriver Country Club & Gallery in the city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Some 120 playe

MarketSept. 16, 2021