Hyundai E&C to continue coal power project in Vietnam despite criticism

Climate activists on Friday blasted South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction for its decision to continue its 1,200-megawatt Quang Trach 1 coal power project along with Mitsubishi and Vietnam’s Construction Corp. Seoul-based not-for-profit organization Solutions for Our Climate said the failure to scrap what was proclaimed to be Hyundai E&C’s final coal project “directly contradicts the company’s own ESG vision” and neutralizes the impact of

MarketJuly 23, 2021

Thrasio-like Korean startup raises seed funding

NextChapter, a South Korean startup designed to acquire small online native brands active on ecommerce platforms including Coupang, has raised a seed round equity funding to scale up its business largely inspired by a success of US unicorn Thrasio. Joining the round were domestic venture capital houses Klim Ventures and Fast Ventures, as well as foreign VCs BlueRun Ventures and Goodwater Capital. The amount of equity funding remains to be undisclosed. NextChapter said the company will use the

MarketJuly 23, 2021

Tongyang Life sells entire stake in Woori Financial

Tongyang Life Insurance sold its entire stake in Woori Financial Group on Friday to secure more capital, in preparation for a stricter rule on local insurers’ fiscal soundness. According to a regulatory filing, the company had decided to sell all of its 3.74 percent stake (27.04 million shares) in the banking giant to some 60 domestic and foreign institutions, during its shareholders meeting held Thursday. The sale price was 301.5 billion won ($262 million), which accounts 9.7 percent

MarketJuly 23, 2021

Hyundai’s honorary chairman inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame

Hyundai Motor Group’s Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-Koo became the first Korean to be officially inducted into the international Automotive Hall of Fame, the automotive giant said Friday. His son, Chung Euisun, who is the incumbent chairman of the group, received the trophy and delivered a speech on behalf of his father at the ceremony for 2020 and 2021 inductees, held at the ICON Convention Center in Detroit, the United States on Thursday, the company said. “Honorary Chairman Ch

MobilityJuly 23, 2021

Samsung sees sales of air conditioners double amid heatwave

Samsung Electronics said Friday its sales of air conditioners have more than doubled so far this month, compared to a year ago, due to the sweltering heat. From July 1 to 22, the company saw its sales of air conditioners spike more than twice from the same period in 2020, the company said. Sales of Bespoke Wind-free Gallery, the company’s highest-end air conditioner, have jumped more than 95 percent in July compared to a year earlier. To further drive sales, Samsung is offering up to

TechnologyJuly 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] August critical month for Samsung and its leader

Expectations are high that Samsung Electronics, which for months deliberated on a new, $17 billion US investment plan, may finally be ready to make an official announcement in August. According to industry sources on Friday, Samsung is accelerating the internal process for concluding its plan to construct a new chip fabrication line for foundry in the US. Some news reports said Thursday that the City of Austin in Texas, where the South Korean firm already has a chip plant up and running, is

TechnologyJuly 23, 2021

LIG Nex1 launches ESG committee

South Korean aerospace and defense firm LIG Nex1 said Friday it had established a committee dedicated to overseeing the company’s operations and initiatives in environmental, social and governance fields. The committee will designate one of the outside directors as the chairman and hold regular semi-annual meetings and occasional meetings to set strategies and policies for the firm’s long-term ESG goals. Since 2009, LIG Nex1 has had a corporate social responsibility task force.

IndustryJuly 23, 2021

Summer appliance sales soaring amid scorching heat

Sales of summer appliances, including air conditioners and fans, are soaring in South Korea, industry sources said Friday, as the sweltering heat continues to scorch the country. With the daily temperature reaching as high as 38 C in some regions, demand for air conditioners and other cooling appliances is also going up with the stay-at-home trend remaining solid amid the fourth wave of the pandemic here, people in the electronics industry said. Samsung Electronics Co. said its domestic air co

IndustryJuly 23, 2021

Samsung offering special trade-in program in US for new foldable smartphones

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone maker, is running a special trade-in program in the United States for its upcoming new foldable smartphones, industry insiders said Friday, amid its push to expand its customer base of foldable handsets. Samsung's US unit recently opened a reservation page that allows people to exchange up to two of their old devices for a new foldable smartphone to be launched next month. The South Korean tech giant earlier this week confirmed that its n

IndustryJuly 23, 2021

Samsung introduces upgraded network solutions

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has released upgraded software-defined networking (SDN) solutions to help mobile operators and enterprises better manage their 5G networks. The South Korean tech giant said its new SDN solutions will support enterprises in various sectors, including education, retail and energy, introducing new 5G application, services and infrastructure. SDN is a network architecture approach that enables the network to be easily controlled via software solutions. It all

IndustryJuly 23, 2021

S. Korea to launch pilot operation of mobile driver's license in Jan.

South Korea plans to begin a pilot operation of a mobile driver's license in January next year in a bid to help people verify their identities more conveniently, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said if introduced, mobile driver's licenses will be easily used at offline and online settings. To ease concerns about a possible infringement on privacy, the government plans to use blockchain technology to strengthen the protection of personal inform

EconomyJuly 23, 2021

S. Korea maintaining stable power supply amid scorching summer heat

South Korea's state energy bourse said Friday the country is expected to maintain a stable supply of electricity despite the sweltering summer heat, although growing demand from the industry sector may lead to lower power reserves. "On Friday, South Korea's peak energy demand is expected to reach around 90.3 gigawatts (GW)," the Korea Power Exchange said in a statement. "The power reserve ratio is expected to stand at 10.1 percent, maintaining the stable supply of energy."

EconomyJuly 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open flat amid COVID-19 resurgence

South Korean stocks opened flat Friday as the country extended the toughest curbs for the greater Seoul area amid the resurgence of COVID-19. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 0.1 point to 3,250.11 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as the fourth wave of the new coronavirus weakened investor sentiment, while strong earnings provided some relief. Earlier in the morning, the South Korean government extended the toughest virus restrictions in t

MarketJuly 23, 2021

GS E&C invests W500b in renewable energy projects

GS Engineering & Construction is partnering with the city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, to invest in green energy, the company announced Wednesday. The construction company said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pohang city government to build solar energy and hydrogen fuel cell energy production plants set to run in the Yeongilman 4th General Industrial Complex. The partnership is in line with Pohang’s commitment to turn the area into a carbon-neutral zone b

IndustryJuly 23, 2021

[News Focus] Korea’s gasoline prices climb to 32-month high

SEJONG -- Gasoline prices in South Korea reached the highest level in 32 months amid a spike in international crude prices this year. According to the Korea National Oil Corp., gasoline prices climbed to 1,638.05 won ($1.41) per liter as of Wednesday, which marked the highest since Nov. 7, 2018 when it was 1,640.7 won. In a year, gas prices grew 20.3 percent compared to July 21, 2020. This is due to the fast bounce-back in international crude prices over the past few months after a plunge in

EconomyJuly 23, 2021

GM Korea, labor union reach tentative wage deal

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., and its labor union reached a tentative wage deal on Thursday, one day after its unionized workers went on partial strike for higher pay. The deal includes an increase of 30,000 won ($26) in monthly base pay and a one-off bonus of 4.5 million won. The wage agreement is subject to a vote by union members. Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. launched a partial strike Wednesday to demand higher wages amid the protracted pandemic. The uni

MobilityJuly 22, 2021

Central bank digital currencies, crypto will coexist: experts

Government-backed coins and private cryptocurrencies will coexist for a while, despite rising regulatory walls set by the government to counter virtual coins, experts at a global webinar session said Thursday.　 Noting that cryptocurrencies and digital currencies by governments are “two different animals,” they will coexist for now partly because current cryptocurrencies are not actually solving payment problems. “How many of them (cryptocurrencies) are solving actual paym

EconomyJuly 22, 2021

Hyundai, Kia achieve record Q2 sales from recovering demand

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors under Hyundai Motor Group posted all-time high sales in the second quarter this year amid rapidly recovering demand for cars after the COVID-19 outbreak. In a regulatory filing, Hyundai Motor said it raked in 30.3 trillion won ($26.36 billion) in sales in the second quarter of this year, a 38.7 percent jump from the same period last year. The operating profit reached 1.88 trillion won, increasing 219.5 percent on-year, according to the automaker. It is the first

MobilityJuly 22, 2021

Naver posts all-time high quarterly earnings in Q2

South Korea‘s top internet portal operator Naver reached all-time highs in the second quarter this year, backed by improved performances of the company’s new businesses. According to Naver, the company’s sales in the April-June period reached 1.66 trillion won ($1.44 billion), increasing 30.4 percent from 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier. In the second quarter last year, Naver’s sales totaled around 1.9 trillion won, but 680 billion won of the total sales was from

TechnologyJuly 22, 2021

KakaoBank’s blockbuster IPO draws record-breaking bid

KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest internet-only bank, set a record Thursday in the initial public offering market history here, having attracted keen attention from investors both at home and abroad ahead of its market debut on the country’s main board Kospi next month. The banking arm of mobile giant Kakao wrapped up its book-building process Wednesday. While institutional investors placed their bids to obtain new shares for the IPO, a total of 1,667 domestic and offshore instituti

MarketJuly 22, 2021