Job losses continue for 12th month in Feb. amid pandemic

South Korea reported job losses for the 12th straight month in February as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to deal a blow to the job market, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 26.3 million last month, 473,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country has reported job losses every month since March 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. It marked the longest streak of job losses since April 1999, when

EconomyMarch 17, 2021

[Photo News] Samsung's labor union protests against 2.5% rise in annual salaries

Unionized employees at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business protest against a 2.5 percent raise in annual salaries in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. (Blind)

TechnologyMarch 16, 2021

Kakao, SK Telecom, Lotte, Emart among preliminary bidders for eBay Korea

South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao, No. 1 mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. and others submitted preliminary bids on Tuesday to buy eBay Korea in a deal that could fetch some 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion) and bring a seismic change to the fiercely competitive e-commerce sector, industry sources said. Retail giant Lotte Group and Emart Inc., a discount store chain affiliated with Shinsegae Group, as well as private equity firm MBK Partners, joined the competition for the nation's No

BusinessMarch 16, 2021

Sanction likely to be delayed as NH CEO gets COVID-19

A sanction committee under the Financial Supervisory Service over the Optimus scandal will likely have to delay its upcoming meeting as one executive facing punitive measures has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to officials Tuesday. NH Investment & Securities’ chief executive Jeong Young-chae tested positive for the virus and is being placed under quarantine, according to the company. Jeong was to attend the third round of the sanction committee’s meeting on Mar

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Shinsegae, Naver ink stock swap deal to combine forces in retail industry

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group and information technology behemoth Naver are combining forces to gain an upper hand in the fast-changing e-commerce field, the two firms announced Tuesday. Chiefs of the two sides signed a stock swap deal worth 250 billion won ($221 million) and a strategic partnership agreement at JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul earlier in the day, they said. The ceremony was attended by E-mart CEO Kang Heui-seok and Shinsegae CEO Cha Jeong-ho, both from Shinsegae Grou

ConsumerMarch 16, 2021

Coupang founder divests $42m stake after NYSE debut

Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk has divested his stake in the South Korean e-commerce giant worth $42 million, a filing showed Tuesday. According to the disclosure, Kim converted his Class B stocks into 1.2 million Class A common shares and then on Monday sold all the shares of the same class for the offering price of $35 apiece, which was fixed last week. Coupang‘s Class B shares give Kim 29 times more voting rights than Class A shares. A prospectus filed to the US Securities and Exchange C

MarketMarch 16, 2021

S. Korea’s data industry grew 14% to W19tr in 2020

South Korea’s data industry grew 14 percent to 19 trillion won ($16.81 billion) last year, according to government data on Tuesday. According to a report from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency, the number of professionals in the data industry surpassed 100,000 for the first time. The report said the local data industry had expanded from 16.8 trillion won in 2019 to 19.2 trillion won last year. This figure takes local companies’ sales into account, as well

TechnologyMarch 16, 2021

Hyosung Advanced Materials to supply airbag for Amazon’s self-driving car

Hyosung Advanced Materials, the South Korea-based industrial materials producer, said Tuesday that the company would supply its airbags for an Amazon-backed self-driving car. According to Hyosung Advanced Materials, the company’s airbag development unit Global Safety Textiles signed a supply contract with Zoox, the robotaxi company acquired by Amazon for more than $1 billion earlier last year. Under the contract, GST will supply its one-piece woven airbag to Zoox, which is developing

TechnologyMarch 16, 2021

[News Focus] Homeowners angry over tax hikes stemming from rising house prices

For a 36-year-old Seoulite surnamed Kang, who owns her own home in the capital, following the trends in apartment transaction prices is far from a happy experience. Over the past year, the value of Kang’s apartment rose by more than twice her annual salary. She has no plans to cash out the property anytime soon. But she may have to pay more taxes than she did last year because her house is worth over 900 million won ($796,073), according to the government’s appraisal. “Som

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Samsung researcher named chair of global group on 6G

Choi Hyoung-jin, a researcher at Samsung Research, the research and development arm of Samsung Electronics, was named to head a global research body on the sixth-generation telecommunications network, the tech giant said Tuesday. Choi has been appointed as chair of Vision Group on IMT towards 2030 and beyond (6G) at the International Telecommunication Union -- Radiocommunication during an online assembly held from March 1-12. The 6G Vision Group was launched at the recent ITU-R meeting.

TechnologyMarch 16, 2021

Samsung Display supplies OLED display for Asus gaming phone

Samsung Display said Tuesday that it has supplied for the first time its organic light-emitting diode displays for Asus’ newest gaming smartphone ROG Phone 5. The Taiwanese computer hardware company’s latest ROG Phone 5 sports the Korean panel maker‘s 6.78-inch OLED screen, which is designed to support seamless streaming of fast-rate high-resolution gaming content. Samsung’s mobile display that supports over a 120 Hz refresh rate has been certified as a Seamless Dis

TechnologyMarch 16, 2021

Korea toughens rules on cryptocurrency amid market frenzy

The government is scurrying to implement new rules on users and operators of digital coins to effectively oversee the industry, which has been growing at a fast pace on the back of increasing appetite for risky assets. Starting from March 25, new penalty standards for cryptocurrency exchanges that infringe anti-money laundering rules will be implemented, according to the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. Fines will be imposed on virtual asset service providers that fail to report s

MarketMarch 16, 2021

State-run companies set for regular recruitment for this year

South Korea’s major public corporations in the energy and transportation sectors are to kick off a large-scale open recruitment process for this year, industry officials said Monday. The move is expected to offer rare employment opportunities in an ever-tightening job market, especially as major business groups in the private sector have turned to demand-based recruiting. But one company that shelved its recruitment plan for an indefinite period was the Land & Housing Corp., which i

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

BOK board members see growing worries over inflation: minutes

Members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board saw growing worries over inflation, but they said it was too early to discuss normalization of monetary policy, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Feb. 25, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the minutes, some board members suggested that the BOK needs

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

Korea’s warring battery makers stung by VW’s battery move

While South Korea’s two battery makers continue to war over battery technology patents, a key, common client has decided to migrate to a new type of electric vehicle battery, in an apparent flight to a more stable supply market. Volkswagen, the world’s No. 1 automaker, announced Monday plans to power up to 80 percent of its electric vehicles with prismatic batteries from 2023, signaling a farewell from the pouch-type ones it currently sources from LG Energy Solution and SK I

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Seoul stocks up on hopes for economic rebound

South Korean stocks finished higher Tuesday on optimism for a quick economic recovery in major economies. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.46 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 3,067.17 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 558 to 279. Foreigners sold a net 28 billion won while institutions purchased a net 250 billi

MarketMarch 16, 2021

Korea mulls introduction of multiple voting rights for startups

South Korea is mulling whether to introduce multiple voting rights for shareholders as a way to help local startups attract large-scale investment and maintain stable management, according to public officials and politicians on Tuesday. Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Kang Sung-cheon said the government was working on ways to legalize differential voting rights, which are popular among countries with many unicorn startups. A unicorn startup refers to a fledgling company valued at over $1

EconomyMarch 16, 2021

Drive-thru, delivery push up sales at McDonald's Korea

Despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald’s Korea witnessed a 7 percent growth in sales last year, driven by strong drive-thru and delivery orders, the company said Tuesday. In a pre-recorded video, McDonald’s Korea Managing Director Antoni Martinez revealed that overall sales for McDonald’s and its franchises here topped 980 billion won ($866 million) in 2020, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Excluding franchise outlets, the revenue for stores directl

ConsumerMarch 16, 2021

Tracing the beginning of SK Innovation’s battery business

This is the second installment of a three-part series looking into SK Innovation’s struggles to rise to the global leadership of lithium ion batteries, which have become a key enabler for a global shift toward sustainable mobility. The articles are sponsored by SK Innovation. - Ed.  SK Innovation’s journey into the battery business dates back to 1982, when SK Group acquired Korea Oil Corp. and changed its name to Yukong. After the acquisition, Yukong chose future businesses

IndustryMarch 16, 2021

Banks under pressure over tougher loan measures triggered by LH scandal

The intensifying scandal involving employees of the state housing developer Korea Land and Housing Corp. is likely to put banks under renewed pressure, as the nation’s financial authorities are mulling strengthening control over non-mortgage lending activities in all banking sectors. The scandal centers on LH officials who allegedly took out huge land-secured loans for speculative property purchases, sparking public criticism over the integrity of the state-run institution that contradi

EconomyMarch 16, 2021