Celltrion to develop mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Wednesday that the company will develop a messenger RNA vaccine that can protect against COVID-19 variants, under a partnership with US-based biotech firm TriLink BioTechnologies. TriLink is a San Diego-based contract development and manufacturing organization for synthesis of nucleic acids and mRNA capping analogs. “Under the partnership with TriLink, (Celltrion) will develop a mRNA vaccine platform, through which the company could

TechnologyAug. 4, 2021

[News Focus] Unions stop Korean automakers from joining global trend to online sales

The way people buy cars is changing. As people become more familiar with shopping online amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentimental barrier against purchasing high-value items, and even cars, online is lowering. Seeing the changing trend, global automotive companies are moving fast to market their vehicles online, setting up online stores and coming up with online transaction systems. The latest to do so was Peugeot, which announced Wednesday it is offering a limited number of 100 e-2008s,

MobilityAug. 4, 2021

Seoul stocks spike over 1% on tech gains

South Korean stocks rallied by more than 1 percent Wednesday, mostly led by strong tech gains. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 43.24 points, or 1.34 percent, to close at 3,280.38 points. The figure marks the largest daily gain since May 10. Trading volume was moderate at about 621 million shares worth some 12.2 trillion won (US$10.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 713 to 149. Foreigners bought a net 908 billion

MarketAug. 4, 2021

Streaming services and food delivery apps catch on with older generations during pandemic: report

In a further sign of growing popularity of online services, South Koreans in their 50s and 60s are increasingly using streaming services and food delivery apps during this pandemic, a new report has revealed. The findings come after Hana Institute of Finance, a research institution under Hana Bank, analyzed online credit card payment data between 2019 and 2020 to study generational differences in online consumption behavior. Though the use of video streaming services such as Netflix used to

ConsumerAug. 4, 2021

SK Innovation to split off battery biz in Oct.

SK Innovation will split off its battery and oil businesses as wholly owned subsidiaries to further propel their growth, the company announced Wednesday. The new entities, tentatively named SK Battery and SK E&P, will officially launch on Oct. 1, following the approval of general shareholders at a meeting slated for next month. The announcement came as the firm reported a return to the black in the second quarter, with a net profit of 415.9 billion won ($362.2 million) and an operating p

IndustryAug. 4, 2021

Hyundai Motor chief logs huge gains from bargain share buys in pandemic

Among South Korean CEOs taking advantage of low share prices in the initial phase of the pandemic, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun was the most active purchaser, and also generated the largest gains, data showed Wednesday. Of 852 former and incumbent CEOs of the country’s top 500 listed companies in terms of market capitalization, 144 purchased shares in their companies between January last year and July 30 this year, according to local corporate tracker CEO Score. The CEOs bo

MarketAug. 4, 2021

Dutch pension fund urges Seoul to scrap domestic coal power projects

Amsterdam-based APG Asset Management, a subsidiary of Dutch pension fund administrator APG, warned in a letter to the South Korean government that its failure to scrap a plan to build coal-fired power plants here will constitute a “significant risk factor” to its investment in Korea. The letter, disclosed by Seoul-based nonprofit Solutions for Our Climate Wednesday, involves three plants with a combined power capacity of 6.3 gigawatts under construction in Gangwon Province. The pri

MarketAug. 4, 2021

NH NongHyup asks Bithumb, Coinone to halt deposit, withdrawal services

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank, which issues real-name accounts for two major cryptocurrency exchanges here – Bithumb and Coinone – asked them to halt deposit and withdrawal services until they adopt stronger money laundering regulations, reports said Wednesday. The commercial lender has reportedly requested the two exchanges to quicken its pace in adopting the “travel rule,” a global standard that requires virtual asset service providers to share the identities of

MarketAug. 4, 2021

BOK likely to conduct 2 rate hikes this year: JP Morgan

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to conduct two rate increases this year as its policymakers have turned more hawkish on an economic rebound, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. In a revised forecast on the BOK's rate policy, JP Morgan forecast the country's central bank could start its rate increase at this month's policy-setting meeting slated for Aug. 26. The BOK is also likely to raise the country's benchmark interest rate once during the fourth quarter of the year with ano

EconomyAug. 4, 2021

S. Korea ups cyber threat warning as attacks increase

South Korea's ICT ministry said Wednesday it raised the country's cyber threat warning level by one notch higher from the lowest level to respond to growing cyberattacks and threats related to the country's COVID-19 relief funds. The government has a five-tier cybersecurity alert system, which is set at the second-lowest level as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Under the higher alert level, the Korea Internet & Security Agency will expand monitoring o

TechnologyAug. 4, 2021

Number of multi-level marketing companies falls in 2020 amid pandemic

SEJONG -- The number of multi-level marketing (MLM) firms operating in South Korea dropped in 2020 from a year earlier in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday. There were 122 MLMs in Asia's fourth-largest economy as of end-December, down eight from a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Last year's drop represents a turnaround from the uptrend in the number of MLMs in the country, which started in 2017. The FTC said the 2020 decrea

EconomyAug. 4, 2021

Online shopping hits record high in Q2 amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid a contactless trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 46.9 trillion won ($40.8 billion) in the April-June period, up 25.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Amid an economic recovery and a non-contact consumption trend, online purchases of goods and services gained gro

EconomyAug. 4, 2021

LG Chem exports first shipment of eco-friendly SAP

LG Chem said Wednesday it has exported the first shipment of its “bio-balanced” superabsorbent polymer to Jordanian diaper company Baby Life. The eco-friendly SAP, which can absorb water 200 times its weight, was manufactured at its plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, using plant-based materials such as waste cooking oil, the chemical firm said. “LG Chem’s bio-balanced SAP is the world’s first SAP product that obtained the International Sustainability and Ca

IndustryAug. 4, 2021

Korean carmakers ask EU to be considerate with new carbon policy

South Korean carmakers called on the European Union to be considerate in adopting stricter regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions due to a possible impact on the automobile industry and consumers' rights, a local industry association said Wednesday. Last month, the European Commission released its "Fit for 55" legislation package aimed at cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, higher than the previously set 40-percent target. The EU aims to ban the sale of

MobilityAug. 4, 2021

Imported car sales up 23% in July amid pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 23 percent in July from a year earlier despite the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 24,389 units last month from 19,778 a year ago on strong sales of German vehicles, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 250 sedan and E220d 4MATIC sedan and

EconomyAug. 4, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street over optimism for strong corporate earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.51 points, or 0.2 percent, to trade at 3,243.65 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a strong start on foreign buying, led by tech gains. The S&P 500 gained 0.82 percent to close at a record high, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite

MarketAug. 4, 2021

SK Innovation swings to black in Q2, to hive off battery biz

SK Innovation Co. said Wednesday it turned to the black in the second quarter from a year earlier on robust lube oil and battery sales, and decided to spin off its battery business to further propel its growth. The energy and chemical subsidiary of the nation's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group said it booked 415.9 billion won ($362.2 million) of net profit in the April-June period, shifting from a loss of 345.8 billion won a year earlier. SK Innovation also swung to an operating income of 506.5 bil

IndustryAug. 4, 2021

Samsung slips to 2nd spot in European smartphone market in Q2: report

Samsung Electronics Co. dropped to second place in the European smartphone market in the second quarter, a report showed Wednesday, as China's Xiaomi Corp. rose to the top spot. Samsung made up a market share of 24 percent in the April-June period after shipping 12 million smartphones to Europe, down 7 percent from a year earlier, according to a report from market researcher Strategy Analytics. The South Korean tech giant was the only player among the top five smartphone suppliers in Europe to

IndustryAug. 4, 2021

Hyundai, Kia US sales up 26% in July

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their sales jumped 26 percent in the United States last month from a year earlier on strong demand for SUVs. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a total of 138,599 vehicles in the US last month, up from 110,156 units a year ago, the companies' sales data showed . SUV and eco-friendly models drove July sales as consumers responded to Hyundai's diversified lineup to find a vehicle that meets their transportation needs, Senior Vice President Ran

MobilityAug. 4, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves hit record high in July on weaker dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to an all-time high in July as a weaker US dollar raised the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $458.7 billion as of end-July, up $4.58 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The BOK sai

EconomyAug. 4, 2021