S. Korea guarding against growing inflation risks: official

South Korea's vice finance minister on Friday warned of growing inflation risks in the face of rising oil prices and hopes for an economic recovery. But First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said inflation is not likely to sharply rise in the short term as recent price hikes were led by a supply shortage of farm products amid the pandemic. "Inflation risks linger as global liquidity has increased in the process of responding to the pandemic and inflation expectations have risen amid h

EconomyMarch 5, 2021

Hyundai Motor, LG Energy agree on EV battery replacement cost sharing

 Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it has reached an agreement with LG Energy Solutions on their respective cost burden for replacing the problematic LG-manufactured car batteries used in three of Hyundai’s electric-powered vehicles. The LG battery maker is to assume 70 percent of the total costs, while the carmaker will shoulder the remaining 30 percent, according to officials. The two companies did not specify the detailed amount, but respective amounts have been reflected in the t

IndustryMarch 5, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on inflation concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday on overnight Wall Street losses, as investors were disappointed by the absence of comments from the US Federal Reserve to help stave off inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 39.41 points, or 1.29 percent, to 3,004.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.11 percent as yields of the US benchmark 10-year Treasury surged above the 1.5-percent threshold. In Seoul, t

MarketMarch 5, 2021

[News Focus] Who will acquire eBay Korea?

Alongside Coupang’s imminent debut on the US stock market, the local e-commerce market is in for another major event -- the sale of eBay’s Korean unit which operates one of the biggest online marketplaces here, Gmarket. According to industry sources on Thursday, major local retail giants and IT firms may be considering participating in the race to acquire eBay Korea. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the two advisory firms for the auction, have sent information memorandums, or I

ConsumerMarch 4, 2021

SK Group expected to launch REIT this month

South Korean conglomerate SK Group will set up a company to run a real estate investment trust, or REIT, this month, according to reports Thursday. A REIT owns or finances real estate property to generate income, and allows investors to partially own valuable real estate and receive dividends. SK Holdings, the holding company of SK Group, is expected to obtain approval to establish the REIT later this month. After setting up a new subsidiary as early as this month, it will likely launch a RE

MarketMarch 4, 2021

Korea rises to 4th place in international patent filings

South Korea went up one spot to place fourth in terms of the number of international patent filings, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Thursday. The country’s applications for international patent rights to the World Intellectual Property Office increased 5.2 percent from 19,073 in 2019 to 20,060 in 2020, the patent body said. Korea, who placed fifth from 2010 to 2019, follows China, the United States and Japan. The growth in patent filings was made largely in

TechnologyMarch 4, 2021

S. Korea unveils W2tr new drug development program

South Korea plans to inject 2.17 trillion won ($1.9 billion) over the next 10 years to support development of new drugs, the government announced Thursday. Some 1.47 trillion of that money will come from state coffers, while private players will invest the remaining 701 billion won, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The goal is to debut new medicines that could generate annual sales of 1 trillion won, it added. This budget would be spent on supporting the overall development process of

TechnologyMarch 4, 2021

HK-based Affinity Equity Partners to acquire online recruiting platform

Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of South Korea’s online recruiting portal Jobkorea. According to sources Thursday, Affinity and Korean private equity house H&Q Korea will ink an agreement over the transaction of a 100 percent stake in the company roughly valued at nearly 900 billion won ($800 million). Affinity beat out private equity peers MBK Partners, CVC Capital Partners and TPG Capital As

MarketMarch 4, 2021

Green Cross LabCell launches pet health care company

South Korean biopharma firm Green Cross LabCell has established a pet health care unit, the company announced Thursday. 　 The new entity, Green Vet, plans to introduce health care solutions and products that address various issues regarding the overall life quality of companion animals in addition to the essential medical support, said Green Cross LabCell CEO Park Dae-woo. The technology and know-how of Green Cross LabCell, which specializes in cell curing agents and transportation of consig

TechnologyMarch 4, 2021

Kakaopay CEO urges adoption of fractional share investing

South Korea should adopt fractional share investing in order to enhance financial inclusiveness and diversify asset portfolios of real estate-reliant small investors, the head of a local fintech firm suggested on Thursday. By allowing investors to buy less than a full share, investors with a tight budget can have more chances to invest in blue-chip stocks that used to be out of their reach, Kakaopay CEO Ryu Young-joon said during a seminar held by Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the Democratic Party of

EconomyMarch 4, 2021

McKinsey hires former Oliver Wyman Korea head

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company on Wednesday said they have hired Park Joong-ho, former head manager of Oliver Wyman’s Korea office, as a new partner here. Park worked at Oliver Wyman, a consulting firm specialized in financial services companies, for 15 years and led the company for more than three years until December 2020.  At Oliver Wyman, he provided consulting services to financial institutions and governmental organizations in areas such as digital transformation, glo

MarketMarch 4, 2021

Seoul stocks snap 2-day winning streak on increasing US Treasury yields

South Korean stocks snapped its two-day winning streak Thursday as investor sentiment weakened over concerns of increasing US Treasury yields. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 39.5 points, or 1.28 percent, to close at 3,043.49 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.8 trillion won ($14.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 505 to 358. Foreigners sold a net 928 billion won, w

MarketMarch 4, 2021

Korean Air set to sell Songhyeon-dong plot to Seoul City

Korean Air reached a tentative agreement with the city of Seoul to sell a plot of land in central Seoul, according to industry sources Thursday. The airline is expected to secure about 450 billion won to 550 billion won ($399 million to $488 million) in cash from the deal. Industry officials said Seoul and the flag carrier are close to finalizing contract terms for the property sale located in Songhyeon-dong, in the central district of Jongno, as early as next week. As part of its efforts to

MobilityMarch 4, 2021

Korea partners with UAE for hydrogen economy

South Korea signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to cooperate on the hydrogen economy, further expanding their partnership currently focused on nuclear energy, oil and gas. During the Korea-UAE Industry and Energy Cooperation Forum held online, South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Al Jaber inked a memorandum of understanding to share hydrogen trade regulations and policies and establish a

IndustryMarch 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] FSS head faces ire over staff picks

Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun, whose three-year term ends in two months, is facing intense backlash from the related labor union, which holds him responsible for the watchdog‘s alleged failure in personnel management.　 Last month, the market watchdog reportedly promoted two officials who had received heavy sanctions due to their involvement in hiring irregularities, immediately prompting fierce criticism from union members. “The FSS’ latest decision to pr

MarketMarch 4, 2021

Government tightens grip on LH land speculation scandal

A new interagency task force on Thursday launched a high-profile investigation looking into allegations that employees of the state-run Land & Housing Corp. used confidential information to make speculative land purchases in residential development zones. The Moon Jae-in administration’s stern response was seen as a move to minimize the negative impact on its real estate policies and also an attempt to dial down escalating political debates that have dragged in incumbent Land Ministe

IndustryMarch 4, 2021

South Korea’s per capita GNI income falls for second year

South Korea’s per capita gross national income dropped for the second consecutive year in 2020, central bank data showed Thursday, deflating anticipations of further growth after the figure surpassed the $30,000-mark for the first time in 2018. The nation’s GNI per capita as of end-December last year shed 1.1 percent on-year to $31,755, in terms of dollars, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first time the figure dropped for two years in a row sin

EconomyMarch 4, 2021

Digital therapeutics developer LifeSemantics eyes March IPO

South Korean digital health platform developer LifeSemantics said Thursday it is looking to raise up to 12.5 billion won ($11.11 million) worth of fresh funds by going public. The firm plans to make a market debut on the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq market at the end of this month. Founded in 2012, LifeSemantics has focused its business on health information and technology, and artificial intelligence-powered programs. Its main platform “LifeRecord” provides MyData, digital ther

MarketMarch 4, 2021

US to review impact of LG-SK battery battle on Biden’s green policies

The US Transportation Department will brief President Joe Biden on how a recent court decision to impose a 10-year import ban on SK Innovation will impact his green transportation goals. During a hearing held Wednesday, freshman Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, asked Polly Trottenberg, nominee for deputy secretary of the transportation department, whether she would provide the president an analysis of the ruling’s expected effect on his green transportation goals.

IndustryMarch 4, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding to work on safety design regulation for hydrogen-fueled ships

The Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday it has inked a deal with the Korean Register of Shipping (KR), a South Korean ship quality assurance and risk management company, to jointly come up with safety design regulation for hydrogen-fueled ships. The safety design regulation to be created for the first time in the world will be submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) by 2022, Korea Shipbuilding said. Ships are usually required to be built

IndustryMarch 4, 2021