KakaoBank launches task force to beef up lending

Online-only KakaoBank has launched a task force to expand its lending services for customers with low and midrange credit scores, the company said Thursday. The bank is planning to roll out various loan services this year, lower interest rates for credit loans and increase credit lines, offering up to 70 million won ($62,927) for customers with low and midrange credit scores. In addition, its new credit rating model will factor in both financial and nonfinancial information, such as data on

MarketJune 3, 2021

[Herald Interview] German direct selling for readies Asia foray --- from Korea

Germany’s leading multi-level marketing and direct sales firm LR Health & Beauty is building its business presence here, in hopes of expanding beyond Korea into the Asia region, its chief executive said. “It is great to see how LR has developed over the last few years. We have reached decisive milestones,” Andreas Friesch, who has led the company since 2018, said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “The expansion to South Korea is one of them,” he added.

IndustryJune 3, 2021

AI bankers foreshow the future of retail banking

An image of a neatly dressed man welcomes visitors and answers questions on finance services on a monitor at KB Kookmin Bank in Yeouido, western Seoul. The male character, powered by artificial intelligence and modelled on TV personality Kim Hyun-wook, explains the difference between a debit and a credit card in a tone and manner identical to a real human staffer. He is a prototype of the AI bankers set to work alongside human bank staff in the near future.  KB plans to test the AI ba

MarketJune 3, 2021

Tesla Y top-selling foreign car in May

Tesla’s Model Y dethroned longtime favorite the Mercedes-Benz E-Class to become the top-selling imported car in South Korea in May, industry data showed Thursday. According to market tracker CarIsYou, 3,461 Y vehicles were newly registered with local authorities that month, compared with 2,387 E-Class vehicles. Sales of the Y, the all-electric compact sport utility vehicle and the latest release from the American electric car brand, began in earnest here last month. From January thro

MobilityJune 3, 2021

S. Korea’s labor laws too strict: think tank

South Korea’s penalties for violating labor regulations are exceptionally strict compared with those in other major economies, think tank data showed Thursday. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Industries, employers in Asia’s fourth-largest economy face jail terms of up to two years or fines of up to 20 million won ($17,976) if they violate the law that sets a maximum number of working hours. The United States has no san

IndustryJune 3, 2021

Lime Korea offers 40% discount for monthly membership Lime Prime

Lime Korea said Thursday it has cut the price of the company’s monthly subscription plan Lime Prime to 7,500 won ($6.70) from 12,500 won to make its service more accessible to daily commuters. Lime Korea currently charges a fixed rate of 1,200 won to unlock an e-scooter and then a per-minute fee from 160 won to 230 won to ride. For 7,500 won a month, the company waives the initial fee for Lime Prime subscribers. Also, Lime Prime members can reserve a vehicle up to 30 minutes at no cost

IndustryJune 3, 2021

SK invests in world’s 1st ‘turquoise hydrogen’ producer Monolith

SK Inc., the holdings firm of SK Group, said Thursday that it has acquired a stake in Monolith, the world’s first company to have successfully mass-produced “turquoise hydrogen.” The strategic investment was made by a consortium led by SK Inc., of which NextEra, a leading clean energy company in the US, was also a participant. SK did not disclose the investment amount, but industry sources said it would likely be in the range of tens of millions of dollars. Although hydro

IndustryJune 3, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 5th day on easing inflation jitters

South Korean stocks advanced for a fifth straight session Thursday, backed by the US Federal Reserve's economic diagnosis that partially eased market jitters over early post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.2 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 3,247.43 points, just shy of its all-time high close of 3,249.3 points on May 10. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 16.7 tri

MarketJune 3, 2021

[Newsmaker] Backed by loyal fans, mint chocolate boom sweeps Korea

Fueled by support from loyal fans of its fresh and sweet flavor, mint chocolate is going mainstream in Korea. Snack firm Orion said Thursday it has released the Mint Choco Pie -- a minty take on its internationally popular snack. The limited edition of the snack, which is made of cacao biscuits covered in mint syrup and mint chocolate will be sold only this summer. Vanilla cream was added to Choco Pie’s signature layer of marshmallow to increase the sense of mintiness, the firm said. &l

ConsumerJune 3, 2021

Porsche Korea launches Taycan Turbo in S. Korea

Porsche Korea has launched Taycan Turbo, a high-performance model of the brand’s first electric vehicle, the company said Thursday. Taycan Turbo is the third Taycan variant to be launched here in Korea, and stands in between Taycan Turbo S and Taycan 4S, performance-wise. Like the Taycan Turbo S -- the higher-performing variant -- it is equipped with a Performance Battery Plus, with a gross capacity of 93.4 kilowatt hours as standard. Using launch control, the vehicle can exert up to 68

MobilityJune 3, 2021

Kumho Tire supplies Ecsta HS51 for Renault Samsung’s Arkana

Kumho Tire is exclusively supplying its best-selling tire Ecsta HS51 for Renault Samsung Motors’ compact sports utility vehicle Arkana -- known as the XM3 in South Korea -- distributed in Europe, the company said Thursday. According to the South Korean tire manufacturer, Ecsta HS51 is their best-selling tire in Europe, using rubber and high grip resin for enhanced braking function. The model is noted for a variety of technologies and devices, such as Virtual Product Development simulat

MobilityJune 3, 2021

Samsung to roll out Galaxy Book Go laptops under $350

Revving up for the affordable laptop market amid a pandemic-driven boom in PC sales, Samsung Electronics will introduce new models priced under $350 as early as this month, the company said Thursday. The Galaxy Book Go and the Galaxy Book Go 5G are the newest additions to the tech giant’s notebook lineup powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon compute platforms. The latest Galaxy Book Go 5G features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G platform, while the LTE version adopts the Qualc

TechnologyJune 3, 2021

Man Truck and Bus Korea designated as regional hub for Austral-Asia region

Man Truck and Bus Korea has been designated as the German truck maker’s regional headquarters, managing 12 countries in the Austral and Asia region, an executive board member from the German headquarters said on Thursday. Participating in a press conference held in Seoul, Goran Nyberg, an executive board member for sales and marketing at Man Truck and Bus, said the Korean branch will be playing a bigger role in the group’s business operations. He also spoke of complaints raised by

MobilityJune 3, 2021

Hana launches foundation for youth welfare, suicide prevention

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group said Thursday that it established a foundation focused on helping the nation’s youth overcome their social and financial issues. The Stump Foundation for Youth will have three primary areas of focus: education and support for youth shelter residents, helping children and teens receive the welfare support they need and suicide prevention programs. For children and teens in youth shelters, the foundation plans to help them become financially indep

MarketJune 3, 2021

Hyundai Motor, BTS hold campaign to promote hydrogen

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Thursday released the trailer of its upcoming documentary featuring K-pop supergroup BTS, to promote the value of hydrogen as sustainable fuel. The teaser was uploaded on the company’s global YouTube and Instagram pages, while the main documentary, titled “For Tomorrow We Won’t Wait,” is set to be fully unveiled at noon, Korean time, on June 5. The day marks World Environment Day, as designated by the United Nations G

IndustryJune 3, 2021

Regulator rejects Samsung's proposed remedy over alleged unfair biz activity

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it has not approved a proposal by major affiliates of Samsung Group to address their alleged unfair business practice over in-house cafeteria business. Since 2018, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been investigating Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung Display and two other Samsung units over allegations that they have unfairly supported Samsung Welstory Inc., the group's food service affiliate, by allowing it to run their in-house cafeteria

IndustryJune 3, 2021

Corporate sales fall, profit margin grows in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korean companies saw their profitability continue their growth in 2020, but their sales declined amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The ratio of operating profit to sales of non-financial firms in the country reached 5.1 percent last year, up from 4.8 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 4.3 percent from 4.1 percent. But their sale

EconomyJune 3, 2021

Brokerages' Q1 profit more than doubles on stock rally

South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profit surge 113.2 percent on quarter in the first quarter, thanks to a stock rally that helped them earn higher commission fees, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of 57 brokerages stood at 2.98 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in the first quarter, compared with a profit of 1.58 trillion won a quarter ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The combined brokerage fees stood at 4.54 trillion won in the first

EconomyJune 3, 2021

Online shopping up 25% in April amid contactless trend

Online shopping in South Korea increased 25.2 percent in April from a year earlier as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid a non-contact consumption trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in April, up from 12.1 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The April reading slightly fell from a 15.9 trillion-won on-year gain in March, but the use of on

EconomyJune 3, 2021

LG allows others to use its open source software management tool

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday said its open source software management tool is now available to outside developers as the South Korean tech giant eyes to bolster its presence in the software community. LG said the FOSSLight (Free and Open Source Software Light) system, which it has been using since 2014, can now be downloaded for free at its website. Open source software is distributed with its original source code and allows programmers to freely use or modify work. But at the same time,

TechnologyJune 3, 2021