S. Korea adopts stricter forex rules for brokerages, insurers

South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they plan to adopt stricter guidelines, regulations and monitoring for foreign exchange trading by local non-banking institutions such as brokerages and insurers. “Three types of new monitoring standards will be adopted to keep an eye on forex liquidity in non-banking financial institutions,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a press briefing. “We will improve the effectiveness of the monit

MarketJan. 20, 2021

Speculation over eBay’s sale of Korean unit grows amid appointment of new local CEO

EBay Korea appointed Chun Hang-il as its new chief executive officer on Wednesday, amid growing speculation that the US e-commerce firm is poised to sell its business interests in South Korea. Chun, who previously led the Japanese unit of eBay, will take over from outgoing CEO Byun Kwang-yun from Thursday. The leadership shakeup comes a day after the online retail giant announced it was looking at “alternatives for its Korea business” amid growing competition from the likes of Cou

ConsumerJan. 20, 2021

Mirae Asset picked as lead manager of pension fund investment pool

South Korean asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments is poised to become a lead manager of the state-supervised investment pool of 63 Korean pension funds, according to the government on Wednesday. The pension fund investment pool has been under the monitoring of the Ministry of Economy and Finance since it was established in December 2001 on the basis of the National Finance Act. Mirae Asset will take the place of one of the current lead managers, Korea Investment Management, wh

MarketJan. 20, 2021

Kwon Chil-seung nominated to be minister of SMEs and Startups

Two-term Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kwon Chil-seung was named President Moon Jae-in’s nominee for minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups on Wednesday. If confirmed, he will take over the role previously held by Park Young-sun since April 2019 and will oversee the organization to strengthen competitiveness and support innovation of SMEs and micro enterprises. Park resigned from her position early on Wednesday amid speculation that she will soon announce her bi

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

GC Pharma to apply for COVID-19 plasma therapy EUA in April

Drug maker GC Pharma will apply to expedite the use of its plasma-derived COVID-19 treatment in April in Korea, the company said on Wednesday. The plasma therapy, GC5131A, which uses donated blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, targets those infected who display serious symptoms. In the previous year, the company had said on multiple occasions that it anticipates to release the drug in the market within the first quarter of 2021. The company only wrapped up administration of the the

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

KB Asset closes W220b ESG bond fund

Seoul-based investment firm KB Asset Management said Wednesday it had closed a 220 billion won ($200 million) bond-investing private fund in order to embolden its focus on environmental, social and governance factors. The new private fund -- the largest of its kind in Korea -- will deploy at least 70 percent of its cash to certified South Korean green, social and sustainability bonds or issuers that received integrated ESG rating of “B+” or higher from evaluator Korea Corporate Gove

MarketJan. 20, 2021

LG Electronics to further expand smart factory scheme

LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday said it plans to promote its smart factory push as the home appliance maker targets improving its productivity. LG announced it will spend 50 billion won ($45 million) from February to set up a new home appliance product testing facility at its second factory in Changwon, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul. The new facility will integrate all existing testing labs at the factory, according to LG. The South Korean tech giant said the forthcoming facility will a

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

S. Korea to enhance monitoring of non-bank institutions' FX liquidity

South Korea plans to monitor foreign exchange liquidity conditions for non-banking institutions on a monthly basis in a bid to ease potential market jitters caused by their dollar crunch, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance unveiled a set of measures to reduce non-bank institutions' FX liquidity risks as a market rout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore their vulnerability to external shocks. "The government drew up measures to manage F

EconomyJan. 20, 2021

S. Korea to remove import duties on egg products amid supply shortage

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it plans to temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products to resolve a supply shortage sparked by the outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu here. The move, which is set to be finalized next week, would allow local companies to import up to a combined 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until the end of June, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This will mark a sha

EconomyJan. 20, 2021

Public sector's job additions largest-ever in 2019

Jobs offered by the government and state-run companies grew by the largest-ever in 2019 on the back of a state policy to increase hiring in the public sector, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2.6 million people were employed in 2019 by the public sector, up 151,000, or 6.1 percent, from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Jobs offered by the public sector are positions in central and provincial governments and state-run firms. The tally marked the largest on-year

EconomyJan. 20, 2021

Number of registered vehicles gains 2.9% in 2020

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, with that of green cars exceeding the 800,000 mark, government data showed Wednesday. The total number of car registrations came to 24,365,979 units at the end of last year, up 2.9 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number translates into one vehicle for every 2.13 people living in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Las

EconomyJan. 20, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding teams up with Kepco E&C for offshore substation

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with power plant builder Kepco Engineering & Construction Co. to develop offshore substations. The two South Korean companies plan to make inroads into the overseas offshore substation market, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. An offshore substation refers to equipment that transfers electricity generated at offshore wind farms to land. The government is pushing ahead with its plan to be one of the world's f

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

Samsung's chip R&D spending 2nd-largest in 2020: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the industry's second-largest spender on semiconductor research and development (R&D) last year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the non-memory sector. Samsung, the world's top memory chipmaker, spent $5.6 billion on chip-related R&D in 2020, up 19 percent from a year earlier, according to the McClean Report released by industry tracker IC Insights. Samsung's sharp increase in chip R&D spending w

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

Naver to acquire storytelling platform for W653.3b

South Korea's internet conglomerate Naver Corp. said Wednesday that it will acquire Canadian entertainment platform operator Wattpad Corp. in a stock transaction valued at 653.3 billion won ($593.6 million). The Toronto-based storytelling platform provides stories through its flagship app. It is a community of more than 90 million people globally who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Naver said the acquisition is aimed at "strengthening its North American

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

Doosan Infracore wins large-scale excavator order from French firm

Top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday that it has won an order for 221 excavators from French construction equipment rental company Beaulock. Doosan Infracore will provide 12 kinds of excavators, including a 22-ton one, it said, but the company did not reveal the amount of the order. The latest order will help Doosan Infracore expand its presence in the European construction equipment market, the company said. Beaulock bought a total of 250 excavators from Doosa

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as auto and tech stocks continued to rebound. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.11 points, or 1.07 percent, to 3,125.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI traded bullish after the key index rallied 2.61 percent the previous session. Investor sentiment also lifted on overnight comments by US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen backing a large-scale fiscal relief package to reinvigorate the world's largest economy

MarketJan. 20, 2021

Samsung Electro-Mechanics develops slim 3-socket MLCC for 5G smartphones

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a major electronic components maker in South Korea, said Wednesday it has developed an ultra-slim multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) with a three-socket structure that can be used in 5G smartphones as the company targets to increase sales from global smartphone makers. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it began to supply the 0.65-millimeter slim three-socket MLCC, which is 18 percent thinner than its previous products, to smartphone manufacturers. MLCC is a core co

IndustryJan. 20, 2021

S. Korea wins top ESG rating by Moody’s

South Korea received a top rating in an environment, social and governance assessment conducted by US credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday. Moody’s has recently announced a list of 144 countries assessing their capabilities in handling ESG issues, with five classifications, including “positive” at the top and “very highly negative” at the bottom. Korea was one of 11 nations who rated &ldq

MarketJan. 19, 2021

Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb unloads stake in Shinyoung Securities

US-based investment adviser Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb has unloaded a 5.5 percent stake in Korea‘s brokerage house Shinyoung Securities, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday. The New York-based firm’s sales proceeds came to 30.4 billion won ($27.6 million) following decades of transactions involving its mutual funds, according to the filing. Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb’s ownership was reduced to 2.11 percent as of December 2020, making it no longer obliged to disclose itse

MarketJan. 19, 2021

AmCham expresses regret over Samsung chief’s jailing

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea expressed its discomfort over the recent detention of Lee Jae-yong, the chief of the country’s top conglomerate, Samsung Group. While respecting the court’s decision to put Lee behind bars for bribery, the business association cited the case as an example of a “Korea-unique” business hurdle for global business entities here. “Samsung is an important company with significant global leadership, which was why we were sad

IndustryJan. 19, 2021