Hyundai suspends Ioniq 5 production on chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has suspended a domestic plant that produces the Ioniq 5 all-electric model due to a chip shortage. Hyundai said it will halt the operation of the No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which also produces the Kona subcompact SUV, due to lack of parts from April 7-14, a company spokesman said.  The weeklong suspension comes amid lack of semiconductor parts used in the Kona's front vehicle camera system and a problem in Hyundai Mobis

MobilityApril 7, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on hopes of global economic recovery

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on investor optimism for a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, backed by the latest forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.75 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,135.83 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The firm start comes after the IMF raised its global economic growth forecast for this year to 6 percent from its earlier estimate of 5.5 percent. Market kingp

MarketApril 7, 2021

Samsung, LG achieve Q1 earnings surprises on pent-up demand

In an earnings surprise, Samsung Electronics is believed to have recorded an operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in the first three months of 2021, according to early estimates released Wednesday. According to the company’s Q1 earnings guidance, its revenue is projected to reach 65 trillion won. Compared to the same quarter last year, revenue and operating profit would represent increases of 17.48 percent and 44.19 percent, respectively. The operating profit growth fa

TechnologyApril 7, 2021

Current account surplus widens in February

South Korea's current account surplus widened in February as exports showed signs of a gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said Wednesday. The current account surplus reached $8.03 billion last month, widening from a surplus of $7.06 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade,

EconomyApril 7, 2021

Credit unions' 2020 net up due to brisk non-banking biz

South Korea's credit unions, or member-owned financial cooperatives, saw their combined net profit edge up 0.2 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to higher sales of non-banking businesses, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of 2,225 credit unions, including the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation known as Nonghyup, stood at 2.2 trillion won ($1.95 billion) in 2020, up 4.5 billion won from 2019, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Nonghyup

EconomyApril 7, 2021

IMF maintains S. Korea’s 2021 economic growth outlook at 3.6%

South Korea’s economy is expected to grow 3.6 percent this year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but it will grow 2.8 percent in 2022 as the world economy recovers, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The figures have remained unchanged from its estimate released on March 26 in a report on the outcome of its annual consultation with South Korea held in January. Last month, it forecast Asia’s fourth-largest economy to grow 3.6 percent this year, up from its esti

EconomyApril 6, 2021

[Exclusive] LG’s overseas phone factories may face closure

Preparing to bid adieu to its 26-year-old mobile device business, LG Electronics is mulling over what to do with its overseas phone plants, with outright closure being considered as one possible option, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Closure could mean hundreds of employees losing their jobs within a few months. LG’s head office in Seoul, when announcing the handset business exit on Monday, said it planned to “convert” the overseas facilities and use them for o

TechnologyApril 6, 2021

South Korea’s total liabilities surpass GDP for first time

South Korea has seen the largest and fastest increase in total national liabilities last year, as it neared the 2,000 trillion won ($1.78 trillion) mark and exceeded the country’s gross domestic product for the first time, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. The total liabilities reached 1,985.3 trillion won ($1.76 trillion) in 2020, up 241.6 trillion won, or 13.8 percent, from a year earlier, according to the 2020 settlement of accounts endorsed by the Cabinet. The figure is a record hi

EconomyApril 6, 2021

Netmarble signs up star composer Joe Hisaishi for new game

From legendary Studio Ghibli composer to K-pop megastar Blackpink, South Korean game companies are recruiting big names to take things up a notch for their marketing schemes. On April 1, Korean game publisher Netmarble hired composer Joe Hisaishi as a spokesperson for the company’s new game Second Country: Cross Worlds, set for release on April 14. Often linked to “Star Wars” composer John Williams, Hisaishi is the artist behind the music for Japanese animation studio&rsq

IndustryApril 6, 2021

[Photo News] Korea sets yet another world record in perovskite solar cell

A researcher from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology holds out a perovskite solar cell, which it says boasts the world’s highest efficiency rate, Tuesday.  Co-developed by UNIST, the Korea Institute of Energy Research and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, the next-generation solar cell can convert solar energy into usable energy at a rate of 25.6 percent.  The previous record holder was the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, whi

IndustryApril 6, 2021

LG Innotek introduces AI patent analysis solution

South Korean electronics components maker LG Innotek said Tuesday it has launched an artificial intelligence-based patent search and analysis system that can handle a task 900 times faster than human. According to the affiliate of LG Group, the system can process 50,000 pieces of patent data in four hours, which would otherwise require five workers to work eight hours a day for 100 days. “This is possible thanks to the AI-powered automatic sentence recognition model co-developed with

IndustryApril 6, 2021

[News Focus] Mobile carriers speed up business transitions

South Korean telecommunications companies, which in 2019 made Korea the world’s first country to launch a commercial 5G network, are ditching their “telco” identity. No longer content to stay within the traditional boundaries of the telecommunications business, they are seeking business opportunities in areas where growth might come from in future. For KT Corp., the industry’s No. 2, the new direction entails producing its own original cultural content, such as drama

TechnologyApril 6, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 4th day on global economic recovery hopes

South Korean stocks rose for the fourth straight session Tuesday as investors pinned their hopes on a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, backed by strong US economic data. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.25 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 3,127.08 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.26 billion shares worth some 13.5 trillion won ($12.06 billion), with losers outnumbering g

MarketApril 6, 2021

Starbucks Korea to do away with single-use cups by 2025

Starbucks Korea has vowed to stop the use of disposable cups by 2025. As part of its long-term sustainability “Better Together” project, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday it will roll out reusable cups at all stores across the country and replace single-use cups completely in the next four years. The new eco-friendly cups will be rolled out first at a select few shops during the second half of this year. The reusable cups come with a deposit that will be returned to customers when

ConsumerApril 6, 2021

Creditor, authorities make last-minute efforts to revive SsangYong Motor

Market anticipations faded out on SsangYong Motor’s business restoration as its sole likely investor remained indecisive over acquiring the stake in the cash-strapped carmaker. While the carmaker struggles to stay afloat and financial authorities tilted toward allowing more time, eyes have turned to main creditor Korea Development Bank, which is likely to be the linchpin in the volatile scenario. State-run lender KDB is set to send its written statement to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court

IndustryApril 6, 2021

Posco unit may sever its biz ties with Myanmar's military conglomerate

POSCO C&C, an affiliate of South Korea's steel giant POSCO Group, said Tuesday it is studying various options to reconsider its business ties with Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL), one of Myanmar's two largest military holding companies. The move by the maker of surface-treatment steel sheets came amid mounting international outcry against Myanmar's military over its bloody crackdown on citizens following a coup in February. POSCO owns a 70 percent stake in Myanmar PO

IndustryApril 6, 2021

[Photo News] Music for everyone

S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani (left) delivers 100 million won ($89,129) to Heart-to-Heart Foundation Chairman Oh Ji-chul at S-Oil’s headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Tuesday.  The money will be used to support the foundation’s orchestra, made up of youngsters with developmental disabilities. (S-Oil) (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryApril 6, 2021

Tougher penalties come into force for naked short selling

Investors engaged in naked short selling will be fined up to 100 percent of their order amount, the nation’s top financial regulator said Tuesday.  According to the policymaking Financial Services Commission, the revised Capital Markets Act, which imposes tougher penalties for naked short selling, has taken effect on the same day.  Short selling is a trading tactic where investors immediately sell borrowed stocks on a bet that share prices will fall, allowing them to later re

MarketApril 6, 2021

Banking groups signal hope of launching internet-only banks

South Korean banking groups have approached the financial authorities in hopes of launching their own internet-only lenders, industry insiders said Tuesday, amid the growing popularity of platforms such as Kakao Bank. The Korea Federation of Banks, a body that represents commercial lenders here, recently received a joint message from the banking groups, including the five major ones -- KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH -- conveying their plans to foray into the internet-only banking business, if

MarketApril 6, 2021

KCGS downgrades ESG scores of Samsung, SKT, and LGD

The Korea Corporate Governance Service, a nonprofit organization that offers environmental, social and governance evaluations for companies, said Tuesday that it had downgraded the ESG ratings of nine companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom and LG Display. Samsung was given an overall rating of B+, down from the previous score of A. The company scored a B in the governance category after Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong received a 30-month jail sentence in January for bribery a

MarketApril 6, 2021