ELS sales in S. Korea gain 12.8% in H1

Sales of equity-linked securities (ELS) in South Korea swelled nearly 13 percent in the first half of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of ELS issues stood at 35.6 trillion won ($30.9 billion) in the January-June period, up 12.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The figure, however, was down 5.1 percent from the 37.5 trillion won floated during the second half of last year. ELS refers to hybrid de

EconomyJuly 14, 2021

Hyundai launches Avante N high-performance model

Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday launched the Avante N high-performance model as it strives to strengthen its high-end product lineup. The Avante N is the first sedan of the carmaker's high-performance N brand. The sporty sedan comes with a 2.0-liter turbo flat power engine that can reach 100 kilometers in 5.3 seconds and an eight-speed wet double-clutch transmission (DCT), the company said in a statement. It is also equipped with side skirts, which minimize the amount of air that goes under th

IndustryJuly 14, 2021

SK Telecom launches metaverse platform

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday it has launched a new metaverse platform in a move to capture growing demand for the technology as more users shift their daily activities to digital spaces amid the pandemic. The metaverse refers to a shared virtual space where users interact with each other through digital avatars. The technology has gained popularity over the past year as the pandemic limits in-person contact. SK Telecom said the mobile app-based platfor

TechnologyJuly 14, 2021

S. Korea ranks 2nd in monthly capacity of 200mm wafers in 2020: report

South Korea had the second-largest monthly capacity of 200-millimeter-equivalent wafers last year behind Taiwan, a report showed Wednesday. The country, home to major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., had a capacity of 4.25 million wafers per month, accounting for 20.4 percent of global wafer capacity as of December 2020, according to market researcher IC Insights. Taiwan was the capacity leader at 200mm or 8-inch wafers, taking 21.4 percent of the global capacity. The

IndustryJuly 14, 2021

Job growth extended to 4th month in June amid economic recovery

South Korea reported job additions for the fourth straight month in June, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign the job market has improved amid an economic recovery. The number of employed people reached 27.6 million last month, 582,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The June additions were lower than an on-year increase of 619,000 the previous month. The country has reported job additions since March when 314,000 jobs were added on-year, th

EconomyJuly 14, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on increasing price pressure

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking US stock losses from increasing price pressure that fueled concerns of faster-than-expected inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 16.5 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,254.88 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start as an estimate-beating 0.9 percent on-year increase in US consumer prices in June fanned market worries that the world's largest economy may hasten the timeframe for

MarketJuly 14, 2021

Market volatility growing, but to have limited impact: vice finance minister

The government will strengthen its monitoring of financial markets as volatility increases due to a recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases here, First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Tuesday. “As uncertainty related to virus variants persist, the possibility of increased volatility in the financial market in the future cannot be ruled out,” he said during a meeting on macroeconomic policies and financial affairs. With the quick spread of the more contagious delta variant lo

EconomyJuly 13, 2021

Celltrion says COVID-19 drug cuts risk of severe disease by 70%

Results of the final, phase 3 clinical trial of Regkirona, an antibody COVID-19 treatment developed by South Korean firm Celltrion, were presented at a conference in Europe, the company said Tuesday. According to the presentation made by Oana Sandulescu, an associate professor at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, at the 31st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Regkirona, or CT-P59, has significantly reduced the rate of progression for severe sym

TechnologyJuly 13, 2021

Mamamoo’s agency to go public this year

Rainbow Bridge World, the entertainment agency behind South Korean pop music group Mamamoo, announced plans to go public on the nation’s secondary bourse, the Kosdaq. It hopes to follow in the footsteps of Hybe, which became a corporate giant after its market debut. The agency has submitted an application for an initial public offering. If approved, it may enter the stock market within this year, according to publicists representing the agency. According to the plan, Rainbow Bridge Worl

MarketJuly 13, 2021

Hashed invests in membership-based financial service provider Hi

Hashed, a South Korean venture capital company specialized in investing in blockchain technology, on Tuesday said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Hi, a membership-powered financial service for crypto and fiat currencies. Hi was co-founded by Sean Rach, the former chief marketing officer at Crypto.com and Stefan Rust, who served as CEO at Bitcoin.com. “Hi aims to provide a global wallet service that can provide various financial and payment services using cryptocurrency. We e

MarketJuly 13, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on speculations of strong quarterly earnings

South Korean stocks advanced for a second consecutive session Tuesday, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying that stemmed from optimism for strong corporate earnings and economic indicators for the second quarter. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.91 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,217.38 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth around 13.2 trillion won ($11.5 billion), wit

MarketJuly 13, 2021

Hyundai to resume production at Brazil plant this week

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Tuesday it will resume operations of its plant in Brazil this week following a 10-day suspension amid a global chip shortage. Early this month, Hyundai said it will halt the Piracicaba, Sao Paulo plant from July 5-14 due to lack of semiconductor parts.     "The plant will partially resume production on July 15 with one shift despite the parts shortage (after reducing output by one-third late last month).

MobilityJuly 13, 2021

Overseas cryptocurrency exchanges using Korean currency must register with anti-money laundering body: regulator

Cryptocurrency exchanges that are based outside South Korea must register with the nation's anti-money laundering body if they use the Korean currency, a top financial regulator said Tuesday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks when asked by a lawmaker whether Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, should comply with a revised law from September. If a cryptocurrency exchange serves local customers with the won-currency settlement, it must regis

EconomyJuly 13, 2021

Vine Group expands business, social outreach

South Korean education service provider Vine Group has been expanding its businesses beyond teaching, entering into areas such as food and beverage, asset management and IT services, with continued investment in people and commitment to social responsibility. Behind its expansion has been the “100 Project,” an in-house venture program founded three years ago to promote diversity and creativity among company employees. The ultimate goal of the program, according to the company, is

IndustryJuly 13, 2021

KRX to expand Korean won contract on Eurex

South Korea’s sole bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, and the Eurex Exchange will expand their tradable product range through the Korean won contract starting July 26, officials said Tuesday. Regular trading hours will be set between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. here. Incomplete contracts from the night session will be transferred to the local bourse operator’s regular derivative market, they said. The new forex future contract will complement the Kospi 200 options, the Mini-Kospi futures a

MarketJuly 13, 2021

First-generation e-commerce platform Interpark up for sale

South Korea’s first-generation e-commerce platform Interpark, which gained popularity as an online book store and a ticket sales platform, is now up for sale. The company has confirmed reports that it had tapped security firm NH Investment & Securities to oversee the sale though no final decisions have been made. Multiple reports have said the firm is seeking to sell 28.41 percent of its shares, currently owned by CEO Lee Ki-hyung and affiliated persons. With its market capitalizati

ConsumerJuly 13, 2021

Child birth, rearing still key cause for women's career breaks: data

It takes 20 years for the female employment rate to reach the same figure of female workers in their first year of marriage, suggesting that child births and rearing are still the main obstacles they face in continuing their careers, a report showed Tuesday. A survey conducted by the Korea Labor Institute, the employment rate among married women in the first year of marriage was 68.1 percent but the figure plunged to 40.5 percent when they reached the fifth year. The job rate of married women

MarketJuly 13, 2021

Logistics investment continues as e-commerce war wages on

More e-commerce platforms are rushing to offer early morning delivery outside of Seoul to win the nation-wide grocery delivery war that has been sparked by Market Kurly and Coupang. Shinsegae Group’s online retail channel SSG.com began expanding dawn delivery in several major cities in North and South Chungcheong Province this week, including Cheongju, Cheonan and Sejoing City. The company has said it plans to expand the service to the rest of the country in the future. Entering the regi

TechnologyJuly 13, 2021

Samsung makes push into automotive image sensor market

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced the launch of a new image sensor for automobiles, taking aim at a market segment controlled by Japanese rival Sony. The new Isocell Auto 4AC will be supplied to a global car brand this year, it said. “Starting with the Isocell Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor lineup to areas such as camera monitor systems, autonomous driving and in-cabin monitoring,” said Chang Duck-hyun, the executive vice president of Samsung’s s

TechnologyJuly 13, 2021

S. Korea launches test bed for 5G devices

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it has opened a testing facility for products that run on 5G networks in a move to support small and mid-sized companies. The country has earmarked a total of 19.8 billion won ($13.8 million) from 2019 to 2023 to develop the testing center in Gumi, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The facility aims to support local companies in checking whether their connected devices work properly on local and global

TechnologyJuly 13, 2021