S. Korea logs trade surplus of over $60b with FTA partners in 2020

South Korea posted a trade surplus of more than $60 billion with its free trade agreement (FTA) partners last year amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The country's exports to FTA partners fell 3.9 percent on-year to $383.1 billion and imports declined 1.3 percent to $323 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. This resulted in a trade surplus of $60.3 billion last year, down 15.7 percent from a year earlier. In contrast, South Korea posted a trade deficit of

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

S. Korea to invest W28b in R&D projects for eco cars

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest nearly 28 billion won ($25.3 million) in research and development (R&D) projects for eco-friendly automobiles and self-driving technologies in line with the country's green energy drive. The country plans to allocate 13.4 billion won for research projects for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell cars, along with 14.5 billion won for self-driving systems, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget will be spent on a wide a

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Samsung Heavy wins W230b container carrier order

Major shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a 229 billion won ($208 million) deal with an Oceania company to build two container carriers. Under the deal with an unidentified customer, the vessels will be delivered by December 2022, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The container carrier can load up to 13,000 20-foot containers, the company said. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has clinched deals worth $400 million so far this year. (Yonhap)

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Flurry of IPOs on horizon to join stock rally

It will be another busy year for initial public offerings in South Korea as a slew of companies are rushing to debut on the local stock market amid a stock rally and strong appetite from retail investors, analysts said Tuesday. Companies ranging from bio, battery makers, fintech to games are set to go public in 2021, following a string of successful IPOs last year driven by ample liquidity. The IPO market in Asia's fourth-largest economy could raise a record amount of money this year, analysts

MarketJan. 26, 2021

LG releases new air conditioner with upgraded design, hygiene features

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, released a new air conditioner with upgraded design and hygiene features Tuesday as the company aims to increase sales amid the pandemic. The LG Whisen Tower comes with the company's new design for standing air conditioners that highlights minimal aesthetics after combining characteristics from its luxury brand LG SIGNATURE and its customizable home appliance line LG Objet Collection. It is LG's first standing air conditioner in

TechnologyJan. 26, 2021

S. Korea to remove import duties on eggs this week amid supply shortage

South Korea said Tuesday it will temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products this week in an effort to ease a supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. The Cabinet approved a revised regulation that will allow local firms to import a total of 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until June 30. The move will be effective starting Wednesday. Currently, duties of 8-30 percent are levied on imported egg products. The move came as t

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors sought to cash in profits after the key stock index hit its all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 12.9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,196.09 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics shed 1.01 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 2.59 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem fell 0.61 percent, while rechargeable battery maker Samsung SD

MarketJan. 26, 2021

Samsung Display develops low-power OLED panel for smartphones

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has developed a low-power consumption organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel for smartphones. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. said the latest OLED display reduces power consumption up to 16 percent compared with its previous smartphone panels. The new OLED panel is already being used in Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone unveiled earlier this month, it added. OLED displays do not require a separate light

TechnologyJan. 26, 2021

State power firms forecast to log big losses in 2021

South Korea's five state power companies are projected to post large losses this year due to a government push to reduce dependence on coal for electricity generation and low electricity prices, their internal documents showed Tuesday. The five firms -- Korea South-East Power Co., Korea Midland Power Co., Korea Western Power Co., Korea Southern Power Co. and Korea East-West Power Co. -- are predicted to register a combined loss of 1.3 trillion won ($1.18 billion) this year, according to their 2

IndustryJan. 26, 2021

Foreigners' property transactions hit new high in 2020

Foreigners' building transactions in South Korea reached an all-time high in 2020, with deals soaring in the Seoul metropolitan area, data showed Tuesday. Foreigners' transactions of housing and commercial buildings in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 21,048 last year, up 18.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Real Estate Board. It marked the first time that the number of foreign property transactions exceeded the 20,000 mark. It was also the largest annua

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

S. Korea's economy contracts 1% in 2020 amid pandemic, set to get back on growth track

The South Korean economy's performance was the worst in over two decades last year, bearing the brunt of the pandemic, but it appears to have gotten back on a growth track on the back of a mild recovery in exports, according to the central bank Tuesday. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 1 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, according to advance data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure marks the worst on-year growth since 1998, when the nation's economy contracted 5.1 perc

EconomyJan. 26, 2021

Doosan Heavy clinches W780b desalination plant deal

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., a major South Korean plant builder, said Monday it has clinched a 780 billion-won ($707.8 million) deal to build a seawater desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. Doosan Heavy has inked a deal to build the Yanbu-4 facility with a consortium of French energy company Engie SA and Saudi Arabian firms Mowah and Nesma, the company said in a statement. The facility will be built in Alrayyis, some 260 kilometers north of the western port city of Jeddah, w

IndustryJan. 25, 2021

Kakao merges two arms to launch Kakao Entertainment

Kakao, the company behind Korea’s most popular messaging app KakaoTalk, announced Monday the launch of Kakao Entertainment following the merger of its two subsidiaries Kakao M and Kakao Page. The process of binding mobile-based web comic platform Kakao Page and entertainment firm Kakao M is set to be completed by March 1. The largest scale reorganization at Kakao, the deal is subject to a final approval at a board meeting on Tuesday. Kakao Page currently holds intellectual property ri

TechnologyJan. 25, 2021

Once the nation’s retail giant, Lotte Group in urgent need of transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with the yearslong slow growth trend, has weighed upon most businesses but the burden was especially heavy for those that failed to grow out of conventional operating models. An example among South Korea’s top businesses was the country’s retail giant Lotte Group which apparently is struggling to cope with the fast-changing market trend. According to the nation’s bourse operator Korea Exchange, none of the Lotte affiliates were included in Kospi&

IndustryJan. 25, 2021

Korea begins reviewing Pfizer vaccine

Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Monday that it has started the 40-day expedited review process for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer applied for the emergency use approval of its vaccine Monday, the Drug Ministry said. If it passes the fast-track review, the vaccine could be available in Korea no later than mid-March. The mRNA vaccine will be produced in Belgium, according to Pfizer. It is the second COVID-19 vaccine seeking local use permit. AstraZeneca on Jan.

IndustryJan. 25, 2021

For some survivors, COVID-19 won’t go away

Almost a year into the pandemic, former COVID-19 patients are reporting symptoms that persist well beyond the course of their recovery -- a phenomenon also known as “long COVID.” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook said over the weekend that pulmonary fibrosis, or lung scarring, had been observed in seven people within a group of 40 recovered COVID-19 patients. All of them were in their 40s or older. “Decline in lung function, breathles

TechnologyJan. 25, 2021

Golden Blue to become first Korean whiskey to be exported to US

South Korean whiskey company Golden Blue said Monday that its Golden Blue Sappirus will hit the US market in February. Having been shipped Saturday, the blue-bottled whiskey will become the country’s first locally produced whiskey to be exported to the US, the largest market in the world, the company said. “Entering the US market is moving one step closer to the globalization of K-alcohol drinks,” said CEO Kim Dong-wook. Kim added that he’s certain that three years of

ConsumerJan. 25, 2021

Moon calls for institutionalized financial support for self-employed

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for his administration to seek institutionalized measures that could financially aid small businesses and the self-employed hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I hope the government and the ruling Democratic Party will jointly discuss measures to institutionalize compensation for the losses of small business owners and the self-employed within a range that the state budget can afford,” he said to pool reporters in a meeting tied to briefings from l

EconomyJan. 25, 2021

Demand for homes in greater Seoul hits record high

Despite the South Korean government’s relentless efforts to curb soaring apartment prices, there seems to be no sign of demand letting up in Seoul and its surrounding cities, according to the Korea Appraisal Board on Monday. The state-run property appraisal agency’s recent report showed the home-buying sentiment stood at 117.2, a record high since the relevant data started compilation in July 2012. The index, based on a survey of the organization’s member realtors and analysi

EconomyJan. 25, 2021

Seoul stocks surpass 3,200 to hit all-time high

South Korean stocks surpassed the 3,200-point threshold to finish at an all-time high Monday, with a flurry of big-name firms set to report their fourth-quarter earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 68.36 points, or 2.18 percent, to close at 3,208.99 points. The index hit an intraday high of 3,212.22 points. Trading volume was high at about 1 billion shares worth some 20.8 trillion won ($18.9 billion), with gainers o

MarketJan. 25, 2021