KT&G seeks to generate half of sales from abroad by 2025

KT&G Corp., South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Wednesday it is aiming to earn half of its revenue from overseas by 2025 as it seeks to open more overseas subsidiaries and explore new markets. Currently, KT&G earns 40 percent of its tobacco sales from exports. The company operates sales subsidiaries in five countries -- Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, Taiwan and the United States. For the whole of 2020, its sales rose 6.8 percent to a record 5.3 trillion won ($4.68 billion) from 4

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

KT provides AI tech for opinion polls

KT Corp., a major South Korean mobile carrier, said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with pollster Gallup Korea to introduce the telecom company's artificial intelligence (AI) technology in opinion polls. Under the agreement, KT will apply its voice bot and AI call center technology in opinion polls conducted by Gallup Korea, according to a statement from the telecom operator. KT's AI call center solution incorporates speech recognition as well as personalized text-to-spee

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

LG shareholders OK EV parts spinoff for JV with Magna

Shareholders of LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday approved the company's plan to split off some of its electric vehicle (EV) components business to set up a joint venture (JV) with Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. The shareholders passed LG's proposal to carve out the EV powertrain business from its vehicle component solutions (VS) division to establish a new company with Magna. LG will hold a 51 percent stake in the newly created firm, tentatively named LG Magna e-Powertrai

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

Samsung to launch drone delivery service for Galaxy buyers in Ireland

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday said it will offer a drone delivery service to its Galaxy device buyers in Ireland under a partnership with Irish drone startup Manna. The service will be first available to customers in Oranmore, some 200 kilometers west of Dublin, but the two sides said they plan to expand the drone service nationwide in the future. "The new service, which is a first for Samsung globally, will facilitate an end-to-end contactless experience for Samsung customers from

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

LG Electronics to supply commercial ESS in Hawaii

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will supply a commercial energy storage system (ESS) in Hawaii as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand overseas sales of efficient power management solutions. A consortium of South Korean and United States entities, including LG, the University of Hawaii and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, recently inked a deal with the state government of Hawaii to develop and build an advanced microgrid using renewable energy, accor

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of health & beauty shops dips for 1st time in 2020 amid pandemic

　The number of big-name retailers’ beauty stores in South Korea declined for the first time in 2020, as more customers turned to online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The country’s three major health and beauty chains - Olive Young, Lalavla and LOHB’s - had a combined 1,484 outlets across the nation as of end-December last year, down 31 from a year earlier, according to data posted on the electronic disclosure system of the Financial Supervisory Serv

BusinessMarch 24, 2021

Preorders for new K8 highest among all Kia sedans

Kia Corp.'s new large sedan, the K8, received a strong response from the domestic market, with first-day preorders setting a record high among its sedan models, the nation's No. 2 carmaker said Wednesday. Kia started receiving orders for the K8, a direct follow-up to the K7, known as the Cadenza in the United States, on Monday ahead of the model's domestic launch slated for early April. Preorders for the K8 reached 18,015 units on the first day, outpacing the K5's preorders of 7,003 units in N

MobilityMarch 24, 2021

Low-cost carriers burdened by high debt on pandemic impact

South Korean low-cost carriers (LCCs) are struggling with high indebtedness stemming from huge deficits due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The debt-to-equity ratio of three major LCCs -- Jeju Air Co., Jin Air Co. and T'way Air Co. -- ranged from 430 percent to 517 percent as of the end of 2020, according to their business reports. A key barometer of financial soundness, the ratio is calculated by dividing a company's total liabilities by its stockholders' equity. Jeju Air

MobilityMarch 24, 2021

Samsung keeps 2nd spot in smartphone image sensor market in 2020: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained the status as the world's second-largest vendor of mobile image sensors last year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant strives to catch up to the industry leader Sony Corp. In terms of revenue, Samsung, which produces image sensors under the ISOCELL brand, had a share of 29 percent in the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor market in 2020, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. Samsung, also the world'

IndustryMarch 24, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation doubts

South Korean stocks fell below the 3,000-point mark Wednesday despite the overnight decline in the US Treasury yields, as doubts about a quick recovery from the pandemic continued to loom heavily on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30.63 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,974.11 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start amid foreign and institutional selling, largely affected by the 1.12 percent overnight loss on th

MarketMarch 24, 2021

Instant noodle makers see 2020 sales jump amid pandemic

Sales of South Korea's top instant noodle makers posted strong sales in 2020 thanks to brisk demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Nongshim Co. said its sales of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to 2.09 trillion won ($1.85 billion) last year, up 16.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. It marks the first time for Nongshim's ramyeon sales to top the 2 trillion-won mark and the amount accounte

EconomyMarch 24, 2021

BOK chief sees faster-than-expected economic recovery in 2021

South Korea's economy is expected to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic at a faster pace than expected this year as the US economic recovery gathers steam, the head of the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, however, said the central bank has no plan to normalize its monetary policy earlier than anticipated, even though the nation's economy is predicted to grow at a faster pace in 2021. His remarks came as US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion aid package is expected to

EconomyMarch 24, 2021

Asset managers' 2020 profits surge on stock rally

The combined net profit of asset management companies in South Korea surged 62.4 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to a strong gain in commission fees amid a bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of 326 asset management firms came to 1.33 trillion won ($1.17 billion) last year, up 511.8 billion won from a year ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Analysts attributed the jump in their earnings to the bullish run of the South Korean stoc

MarketMarch 24, 2021

Producer prices up for 4th month in February

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.8 percent on-month in February on a modest rise in oil prices, extending their monthly gains for the fourth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 105.85 in February, compared with 105.05 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index gained 2 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods gained 5.1 percent on-

EconomyMarch 24, 2021

S. Korea to spend W1.1tr for Level 4 self-driving technology

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to spend 1.1 trillion won ($974 million) by 2027 to speed up the development of Level 4 self-driving vehicles and boost related technologies. At Level 4, one stage before full autonomy, the vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and does not require human intervention. Under the plan, South Korea will support 84 projects to develop vehicle convergence, information and communication and road traffic technologies, as well as self-driving services an

TechnologyMarch 24, 2021

Kumho Tire to sell rubber processing plant in Vietnam

Kumho Tire said Tuesday it will sell its natural rubber processing plant in Vietnam to focus on its core business. The second-largest tire maker in South Korea said it has struck a deal with a joint venture between Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and Thanh Cong Group of Vietnam to sell its rubber factory. It plans to finalize the deal by May. The company opened the $4 million factory in southeastern Vietnam in 2007, which can supply rubber for 6 million tires a year.  The tire maker has b

MobilityMarch 23, 2021

SsangYong Motor's 2020 financial report rejected by auditor

SsangYong Motor's annual financial report was rejected by its external auditor due to its heavy debt, the cash-strapped automaker said Tuesday. SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, said in a regulatory briefing that Samjong KPMG gave a disclaimer of opinion for its 2020 financial report, questioning its ability to continue its business. The SUV-focused automaker logged 449.4 billion won ($398 million) in operating losses last year, increasing

MobilityMarch 23, 2021

S. Korea to ‘flexibly’ intervene in bond market if necessary: vice minister

Nodding toward the latest global market jitters caused by a sudden spike in US bond yields, South Korea’s vice finance minister vowed Tuesday to “flexibly intervene” if market volatility increases. “Recently a dampened investor sentiment and increased volatility have been observed in the Treasury bond market,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a macroeconomics meeting. “We will make our best effort to stabilize the market, including making an adju

EconomyMarch 23, 2021

LG Chem launches door-to-door plastic retrieval service

LG Chem said Tuesday it is working with a local start-up to launch a door-to-door plastic retrieval service. South Korea’s leading petrochemical company signed an agreement with zero-waste packaging provider Innerbottle to start a service where residents can simply put plastic waste inside a bag outside their doors and let a worker pick them up. “For example, if a customer orders a cosmetic product from a brand that uses Innerbottle’s plastic container, an eco-bag will be s

IndustryMarch 23, 2021

KT aims to produce 100 blockbuster dramas by 2023

KT, South Korea’s second-biggest mobile carrier by subscribers, will invest big in content to seek growth beyond the platform business, its chief executive said Tuesday. In a press conference held virtually, CEO Ku Hyun-mo said the telecom firm had taken its first major step in January already, setting up KT Studio Genie, which will serve as the control tower of all media and content related businesses within KT. “Media platform is an important business for KT, which can bring ta

TechnologyMarch 23, 2021