Krafton invests $9m in Indian streaming platform

Krafton Inc., a South Korean gaming giant behind the global smash hit "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG), said Monday that it has invested $9 million in India-based streaming platform Loco. The funding includes other investors, such as Lumikai, India's first gaming and interactive media fund, as well as Hashed, Hiro Capital, North Base Media, Axilor Ventures and 3one4 Capital, it said. Krafton said Loco, which was spun off as a separate entity from parent company Pocket Aces, has

TechnologyJune 28, 2021

Presidential hopefuls woo retail investors, vow to help Kospi reach 5,000 points

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea chose the Korea Exchange as a rare location to make a political announcement Monday, saying they will open up a new era of the nation’s benchmark Kospi, and help it reach 5,000 points -- about 50 percent higher than the current index. In an apparent gesture to woo retail investors, Chung Sye-kyun, formerly prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae visited the stock trading

MarketJune 28, 2021

Kakao Bank seeks to raise as much as W2tr via IPO

Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, said Monday that it plans to raise 2 trillion won ($1.76 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO). The company plans to sell 65.45 million shares and has set its IPO price range between 33,000 won to 39,000 won per share, according to a regulatory filing. Kakao Bank's value is estimated to be as much as 18.5 trillion won following its IPO scheduled for early August. Kakao Bank, led by Kakao Corp., the operator of the country's dom

IndustryJune 28, 2021

Crypto exchanges with ‘too many’ coins likely to be denied real-name accounts

Cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea considered to have “too many” coins on their trading platforms are apparently at risk of being denied access to personal bank accounts here, a report showed Monday. In a document acquired by a lawmaker here, a risk assessment guideline to be used by commercial lenders here classifies exchanges with “a high number and frequency of virtual money transactions” as high risk. The guideline was drawn up in April by the Korea Federation

MarketJune 28, 2021

Seoul citizens' economic sentiment rebounds to pre-COVID-19 level in Q2: report

Seoul citizens' economic sentiment rebounded to near pre-COVID-19 levels in the second quarter, a report showed Monday. According to the report by the Seoul Institute, a city-run think tank, a survey of 1,200 households in the capital found that the consumer sentiment index (CSI) rose 3.9 points from the previous quarter to 92.9. This marks the first time Seoul's CSI, which reflects consumers' economic sentiment, surpassed the 90-point threshold since the fourth quarter of 2019, just before th

EconomyJune 28, 2021

More than half of Koreans unaware of inflation impact on home prices

More than half of adults in South Korea tend not to review the effects of inflation on real estate prices when making housing transactions, a phenomenon known as the “money illusion,” according to a report from the Bank of Korea. Money illusion is a term coined by the American economist Irving Fisher in the late 1920s to describe people’s tendency to view their wealth and income in nominal dollar terms, wrongly believing that they have a fixed value, rather than recognize thei

MarketJune 28, 2021

Yanolja announces plans to increase R&D investment

Global leisure platform Yanolja said Monday it will hire some 300 personnel for research and development during the second half of this year. Under the “Tech All-In” vision, the company, which offers various holiday bookings including for hotels and trains, plans to increase its R&D staff by a total of 1,000. The move comes as Yanolja seeks to solidify its position as a leading global tech company. It currently offers business-to-business solutions to hotels in over 170 countri

ConsumerJune 28, 2021

Fashion brand Ami taps K-pop group Enhypen as global ambassador

French designer brand Ami has tapped K-pop group Enhypen as its first global ambassadors. The septet, with previous hit singles including “Fever” and “Drunk-Dazed,” will help the brand expand its presence at home and abroad, Samsung C&T said Monday. Founder and creative director Alexandre Mattiussi said the energy, authenticity and message of inclusivity from the group resembles that of Ami, as he welcomed the decision. Famous for its signature logo featuring the l

ConsumerJune 28, 2021

S. Korea's exports forecast to grow 17.4% this year

South Korea's exports are expected to surge more than 17 percent on-year to surpass the $600 billion mark in 2021 on the back of the global economic recovery, a report said Monday. The country's overseas shipments are likely to come to $601.7 billion this year, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). It will mark the second time after 2018 that exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy will exceed $600 billion per year.

EconomyJune 28, 2021

Investment advisory firms return to black in 2020 on stock rally

Investment advisory firms in South Korea bounced back to a profit in fiscal 2020 as the local stock market remained bullish, data showed Monday. The 228 investment advisers reported a combined net profit of 242.6 billion won ($215 million) in the fiscal year of 2020, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It marks a sharp turnaround from a total net loss of 37.7 billion won recorded the previous year. The financial watchdog attributed the stellar performance to in

EconomyJune 28, 2021

Korean Air to resume flights to Guam amid vaccination drive

Korean Air Co., South Korea's biggest airline, will resume flights to Guam in August as it expects pent-up demand for the tourism spot that welcomes inoculated travelers without a quarantine, company officials said Monday. Korean Air will provide one flight a week on the Incheon-Guam route beginning Aug. 5 following permission from the transport ministry, a company spokesperson said. "The flight schedule can be adjusted depending on the number of vaccinated people and travel demand,"

IndustryJune 28, 2021

Samsung joins hands with KEPCO to develop home energy solutions

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday said it has signed a partnership with the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to develop home energy solutions that can help users reduce electricity costs. Under the deal with the state-run utility firm, Samsung will use KEPCO's electricity data to upgrade its SmartThings Energy service. SmartThings Energy, introduced in May 2019, monitors energy use of Samsung's home appliances connected with its Internet of Things (IoT) platform and analyzes consumers' use p

IndustryJune 28, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 3,304.29 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi finished the previous session at a record high of 3,302.84 points, fueled by a massive infrastructure package in the United States. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.12

MarketJune 28, 2021

S. Korean exports to jump 35.8% in June on global economic recovery: poll

South Korea's exports are forecast to soar 35.8 percent on-year in June on brisk demand for chips and automobiles from major economies, a poll showed Monday. Outbound shipments are estimated at $53.2 billion this month, according to the survey of eight brokerage houses by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Imports are projected to swell 34.7 percent from a year earlier to $48.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5 billion. The country's exports rose 29.5 perc

EconomyJune 28, 2021

[Herald Interview] South Korean startup AweXomeRay develops next-generation X-ray technology for fresh, healthy air

For decades, X-rays have been mostly used for medical purposes such as checking for bone fractures, pneumonia and breast cancer. South Korean entrepreneur Gihm Se Hoon, however, uses the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) for air purification and sterilization, which has become an important technology amid worries over particulate pollution, and of course, floating bacteria and viruses, such as the coronavirus. The founder and CEO of aweXome Ray and his fellow scientists have commercialized

IndustryJune 28, 2021

[News Focus] Krafton’s valuation questioned ahead of IPO

Krafton, a South Korean game maker seeking an initial public offering in the country’s main stock market, faces delay in its listing plan amid ongoing scrutiny from both regulators and the market over its ‘overrated’ valuation. On Friday, the Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s financial regulator, ordered the game developer to correct its registration statement. The move is likely to delay the firm’s debut on the Kospi bourse, initially set for July

IndustryJune 27, 2021

S. Korean firms donate to Vietnam’s vaccine fund

South Korean firms operating large-scale factories in Vietnam have forked out tens of billions of won for the Southeast Asian country’s COVID-19 vaccines procurement plan, Korean media outlets reported said Sunday. To date, Samsung Electronics has offered 2 billion won ($1.7 million) to Vietnam’s central government and 770 million won to local governments. The amount is the largest donation made by a multinational company operating in Vietnam to the country’s vaccine supply

IndustryJune 27, 2021

Big manufacturers to give Moderna shots to workers from July

South Korean conglomerates that operate large manufacturing facilities will start vaccinating their workers in line with the government’s efforts to boost the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive. Samsung Electronics will start the administration of Moderna‘s COVID-19 vaccine to its workers at its in-house clinics from July 27, according to industry sources Sunday. The firm notified its employees of the plan Friday, asking employees aged 18 to 59 at its plants and research faci

IndustryJune 27, 2021

KakaoBank to join first-ever credit rating agency specialized for mom-and-pop stores

KaKakaoBank, South Korea’s leading mobile-only bank, said Sunday that it would join forces with industry partners to launch a credit scoring service specialized in mom-and-pop stores as a means to expand loans for low credit holders. The lender will be a major shareholder in a new credit-scoring company, with a 33 percent stake. Korea Credit Data -- provider of Cash Note, business management software for small and medium-sized businesses that has 800,000 users -- will own 43 percent.

MarketJune 27, 2021

US auto brands rank No. 2 in imported car sales in S. Korea in 2020: data

US automakers overtook Japanese brands to take the No. 2 spot in the imported car market in South Korea last year, a report showed Sunday, taking advantage of local consumers' boycott of Japanese products over trade and wartime legacy disputes. A total of 46,000 cars from US automakers were sold in South Korea last year, accounting for 15.2 percent of the overall imported car sales, according to data by the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA). German brands topped the ranking w

IndustryJune 27, 2021