After quiet flu season, experts fear Korea might be in for rebound

With fall just around the corner, concerns are once again rising of a possible “twindemic” -- a COVID-19 pandemic coupled with flu endemic -- which never materialized last year. In Korea and across the Northern Hemisphere, the last flu season, which would have taken off around November and run through spring, was almost non-existent.  Widespread behavioral changes such as crowd avoidance, hand hygiene and masking put in place to keep COVID-19 at bay seem to have stifled othe

TechnologyAug. 31, 2021

Netmarble launches Metaverse Entertainment to explore virtual idols

Netmarble on Tuesday announced the launch of Metaverse Entertainment to explore business opportunities with virtual idols. According to South Korean game company, the new entity is wholly owned by Netmarble F&C, Netmarble’s development arm. F&C co-head Seo Woo-won will double as the inaugural CEO of the entertainment unit. Metaverse Entertainment will develop a virtual reality platform and offer game-related metaverse content, such as managing virtual idols, on it. Netmar

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

SK Global Chemical rebrands as plastic recycling firm SK Geo Centric

SK Global Chemical on Tuesday rebranded as SK Geo Centric to transform into an urban plastic recycling company with plans to invest 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) by 2025. During a press conference Tuesday, CEO Na Kyung-soo presented a new direction for the firm, which has engaged in the petrochemicals business since opening the country’s first naphtha-cracking plant in 1972. Utilizing three key technologies -- solvent extraction, depolymerization and pyrolysis -- the company will turn

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

Korea proposes largest-ever budget to speed up recovery of virus-hit economy

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) budget for 2022, stressing the need for an expansionary fiscal policy to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget, endorsed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, represents an 8.3 percent hike from this year, less than the 8.9 percent increase for 2021 and 9.1 percent for 2020, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The Moon Jae-in government’s final budget draft, however, has come under

EconomyAug. 31, 2021

3 crypto exchanges launch ‘travel rule’ joint venture

South Korea’s three top cryptocurrency exchanges -- Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- launched a joint venture to co-develop solutions for a “travel rule” system, the companies said Tuesday. They invested 300 million won ($258,115) each in the new joint venture, COnnect Digital Exchanges or CODE, to satisfy the mandate before the deadline set by the government and an international anti-money laundering body. The travel rule is a global standard imposed by the Financial Actio

MarketAug. 31, 2021

Tougher measures in store to rein in household debt: top regulator

Financial authorities will unveil additional measures to rein in household debts, the new head of the financial regulator said Tuesday. Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the Financial Service Commission (FSC), said that curbing household debts is his top priority. "I will mobilize all available policy means to reduce risks of surging household debts," Koh said, but stopped short of saying when the FSC will unveil additional measures. The FSC will make a decision on whether to ex

EconomyAug. 31, 2021

Seoul stocks rise for 3rd day on tech gains

South Korean stocks rose for the third straight session Tuesday as foreign investors scooped up tech shares after an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 55.08 points, or 1.75 percent, to close at 3,199.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 647.3 million shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 495 to 333. Foreigners purchased a net 1.1

MarketAug. 31, 2021

Renault Samsung to develop eco-friendly car with Lynk & Co

Renault Group set up a joint venture with China’s Geely Automobile Holdings earlier this month and plans to unveil a Renault brand hybrid passenger car in China and have Renault Samsung Motors develop an eco-friendly vehicle. For the new eco-friendly car, Renault Group said it will share technologies with Lynk & Co, a Chinese-Swedish automobile brand owned by Geely. The research and development team of Renault Samsung is expected to work on an eco-friendly car tailored to Korean cust

MobilityAug. 31, 2021

Hyundai Steel sets insourcing precedent, launches three new units

Hyundai Steel is launching three new subsidiary companies as part of an insourcing drive aimed at enhancing its competitiveness and the well-being of around 7,000 affiliated workers, the firm said Tuesday.  It is the first major manufacturer in the country making the move to directly hire workers from partner companies and provide them with the same benefits, the steelmaker said. The new entities are established at the locations of the firm’s major production bases -- Incheon, Poh

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

HDC Hyundai Development Company creates ‘sustainable’ urban projects

HDC Hyundai Development Company recently announced a number of projects to build “sustainable urban platforms” that combine residential, business, shopping and cultural facilities. The company said it aims to break ground next year to turn the Kwangwoon University Station area in Seoul’s Nowon-gu into such a space that presents “a living culture of the future.” HDC expects the residential, business, shopping and cultural facilities, where contactless payments wi

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

Amazon Global Store launches in Korea

Global online retailer Amazon and South Korean e-commerce platform 11st launched the Amazon Global Store on 11st on Tuesday. The move has made it easier to buy tens of millions of products available on Amazon’s US website, ranging from PCs, toys and fashion to electronics, with free shipping on orders over 28,000 won ($24). Though the service has been in operation in 12 other countries, it marks the first time Amazon is working with a local company for the launch. It also makes 11st the

ConsumerAug. 31, 2021

Number of restaurant, hotel workers drops in July as pandemic lingers

The number of people working at restaurants and hotels dropped 64,000 on-year in July as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh down on the sectors, the government said Tuesday. The total number of workers in the restaurant and hotel industry stood at 1.09 million last month, down 64,000, or 5.5 percent, from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The sectors have shed workers for 18 straight months since the pandemic first exploded

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

Fed’s tapering talk has limited impact on Korean market ‘for now’

The reports surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s plan to trim bond purchases over an extended period have had limited impact on the Korean market “for now,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said Tuesday. The remark follows some volatility observed in the nation’s main bourse in the events leading up to and after US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering last week. The central bank may begin withdrawing some of i

MarketAug. 31, 2021

Hyundai Heavy develops offshore carbon dioxide storage platform

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has developed an offshore platform to store carbon dioxide under the ocean floor with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the group said Tuesday. The group's two affiliates-- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and KSOE's subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- have won approval in principle (AIP) for the offshore platform from DNV, a Norwegian ship quality assurance and risk management company, it said. AIP for the platform mea

TechnologyAug. 31, 2021

Blackstone seeks up to W320b in exit from handbag maker IPO

New York-based private equity firm Blackstone is attempting to cash in on its holdings in Simone Acc Collection for up to 320.7 billion won ($275.3 million) in a partial exit involving an initial public offering, a prospectus showed Tuesday. The IPO of luxury handbag maker Simone, which could fetch up to 400.9 billion won before its proposed October listing on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, will allow the world’s largest private equity investor to carry out an immediate exi

MarketAug. 31, 2021

Institutions' investment in foreign securities up 5.1% in Q2

South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Tuesday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $381.1 billion as of end-June, up $18.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denomi

EconomyAug. 31, 2021

Banks' bad loans fall 11.5% in Q2

Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Tuesday. Nonperforming loans came to 12.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) at the end of June, down 1.6 trillion won from the end of March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 10.5 trillion won at the end of June, down 1.4 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the data sho

EconomyAug. 31, 2021

Moon stresses need to keep expansionary fiscal policy in 2022

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday emphasized the importance of maintaining an aggressive fiscal policy next year, as the government has proposed an 8.3 percent hike in the state budget. "(We) are facing a very important time for the nation in the midst of the world's order of upheaval and great transformation. The fiscal role is more important than ever," he said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting. Main agenda items included the budget plan for fiscal 2022. In its final annual b

EconomyAug. 31, 2021

HMM's land-based workers at HMM vote to strike for pay increase

Unionized land-based workers at HMM Co. have voted for a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the management over a pay raise, the union said Tuesday, triggering concerns over potential disruption at the country's top shipper. In a vote held Monday, 98 percent of its 755 members supported the strike if the negotiations go nowhere, according to the union. A week earlier, unionized sailors and other sea-based workers at the company also voted in favor of a strike to solve wage disput

IndustryAug. 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea proposes record W604tr budget for 2022 amid pandemic

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record high budget of 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) for next year as it plans to maintain expansionary fiscal spending to cement the economic recovery and narrow social gaps caused by the pandemic. The proposed budget, endorsed by the Cabinet, marks an 8.3 percent on-year rise from this year's 558 trillion-won budget, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The increase is lower than the 8.9 percent increase for this year. The government plans to

EconomyAug. 31, 2021