Samsung heir visits R&D center to better prepare for post-pandemic era

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, on Wednesday visited the company's research and development (R&D) hub to check its future technologies for the post-pandemic era. Lee discussed Samsung's long-term strategy with senior executives at Samsung Research and was briefed on the company's latest projects on next-generation telecommunication technologies, server and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, according

IndustryJan. 6, 2021

S. Korea, NASA start building space telescope

South Korea's science ministry said Wednesday it has started manufacturing a space telescope in a joint project with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Ministry of Science and ICT said NASA has approved the preliminary design for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), paving the way for its construction. The space telescope was first planned and

TechnologyJan. 6, 2021

S. Korea to provide most of pandemic emergency handouts by Lunar New Year's holiday

South Korea plans to provide a huge chunk of its emergency handouts to smaller merchants hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak by the Lunar New Year's holiday in early February, the finance minister said Wednesday. The country plans to provide 9.3 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in relief funds to small businesses stung by state-imposed shutdowns over virus cases and the self-employed reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic. "The government will start to provide the emergency han

EconomyJan. 6, 2021

S. Korea, Pakistan seek to broaden ties in economy, energy

South Korea and Pakistan agreed Wednesday to expand their bilateral economic ties in on-going energy projects in the South Asian nation. The two nations held the third round of the Korea-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee virtually, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, Seoul requested that Islamabad consider using South Korean consortiums in the planned construction of two hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 470 megawatts (MW) and 215 MW, respectiv

EconomyJan. 6, 2021

Key shareholders unload additional stake in Doosan Fuel Cell

Nine shareholders of Doosan Fuel Cell Co. sold their combined 8.13 percent stake in the fuel cell maker via a block deal, the company said Wednesday. "The stake sale was a part of Doosan Group's self-rescue plan," a company official said by phone. The shareholders were reported to have raised around 274.5 billion won ($252.7 million) via the block deal. The shareholders include Park Jeong-won, chairman of cash-squeezed Doosan Group. After the sale, the combined stake in Doosan Fuel

MarketJan. 6, 2021

Imported car sales rise 4.5% in Dec. despite pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 4.5 percent last December from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 31,419 units last month from 30,072 a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. For the whole of 2020, foreign carmakers sold 274,859 autos, up 12 percent from 244,780 in the

EconomyJan. 6, 2021

Kospi touches 3,000 points with retail investors’ buying binge

South Korean retail investors, who have been on a buying spree in recent months, brought benchmark indexes to fresh highs during intraday trading Wednesday. The Kospi touched 3,000 points for the first time in the market’s 38-year history in the early morning session, stretching to as high as 3,027.16 points. But the Kospi pulled back to close at 2,968.21 points, down 22.36 points, or 0.8 percent, shy of the previous session‘s close. The Kospi had maintained a record run for six c

MarketJan. 6, 2021

GC Pharma completes phase 2 trial of COVID-19 plasma therapy treatment

South Korean biotech company GC Pharma said Wednesday it has completed phase two clinical trials of its plasma therapy treatment for the novel coronavirus. The plasma therapy, known as GC5131A, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. GC Pharma wrapped up the phase two clinical study on Dec. 31 and plans to file for a conditional approval to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety during the first quarter of thi

IndustryJan. 6, 2021

More than 200 million people used Samsung's fitness app in 2020

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its fitness tracking app was used by more than 200 million people around the globe in 2020 as the South Korean tech giant tries to further expand usability of its health platform. Samsung Health, which was first launched in 2012, offers various health-related features from virtual exercises to tacking of sleep patterns, heart rate and blood pressure. "In the past year alone, Samsung Health users burned around 3 billion calories and took around 78 tri

IndustryJan. 6, 2021

SK Innovation to issue 'green bond' worth $1b for US battery plant

SK Innovation Co., a South Korean refinery-to-battery company, plans to issue a green bond worth 1.09 trillion won ($1 billion) to expand its electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing capacity in the United States, officials said Wednesday. SK battery America Inc., the Korean firm's US subsidiary, will issue the green bond, a type of financing for eco-friendly projects, later this month to build its second EV battery plant in Georgia, a company spokesperson said. The new fund will be an exte

IndustryJan. 6, 2021

Hyundai, Kia suffer 7.3% drop in US vehicle sales in 2020

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Wednesday their US vehicle sales fell 7.3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai and Kia, South Korea's two biggest carmakers, sold a combined 1,208,374 vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last year, down from 1,304,109 units the previous year, the companies said in separate statements. Hyundai's US sales fell 9.7 percent to 622,269 units last year from 688,771 a year ago, while

MobilityJan. 6, 2021

Exports of kimchi hit all-time high through Oct. amid pandemic

South Korea's exports of kimchi reached an all-time high in the first 10 months of 2020, data showed Wednesday, on the back of growing global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of kimchi over the January-October period of last year came to $119 million, rising 36.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). The export volume also set a fresh high of 32,000 tons during the ci

EconomyJan. 6, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves up for 9th straight month in December

South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the ninth straight month in December last year, supported by an increase in investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to a record high of $443.1 billion as of end-December, up $6.72 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights a

EconomyJan. 6, 2021

NPS to oppose Korean Air’s capital increase scheme

South Korea’s public pension fund the National Pension Service said Tuesday it would vote against Korean Air’s plan to issue new common shares, which is deemed pivotal to the planned takeover of debt-ridden rival Asiana Airlines. NPS, which was holding a 6.96 percent stake in Korean Air as of September, said in a statement the flag carrier’s move to issue new shares is detrimental to its shareholder value. The red flags range from Korean Air‘s hasty decision to acquire

MarketJan. 5, 2021

‘CMO’ a rising keyword in biologics, vaccine industry

If South Korea has not yet earned itself the moniker of the world’s biologics and vaccine factory, it appears committed to winning the title. As of Tuesday, rumors abound that the country’s Hanmi Pharmaceutical is being weighed as a potential contract manufacturer of the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19. Hanmi’s Plant No. 2 in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, can put out an annual volume of 100 million doses of DNA vaccine and 1 billion doses of messenger RNA vaccine. The plant was

IndustryJan. 5, 2021

Stocks extend record rally for 6 trading days

South Korea’s stock market rallied Tuesday as investor appetite for equities in one of the world’s fastest-growing bourses continued to gain momentum.  The Korea Exchange’s main board Kospi jumped 1.6 percent to end at 2,990.57 points Tuesday. While off to a muted start in the morning, the index shot up approximately 30 minutes before the market close. The 916 constituents’ combined market cap approached 2,060 trillion won ($1.9 trillion). The Kospi, as a result,

MarketJan. 5, 2021

Korean Air to change articles of association for Asiana takeover

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Tuesday it will change its articles of association to help finance its planned acquisition of smaller rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air will hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on Wednesday to amend its articles of association ahead of its 2.5 trillion-won ($2.3 billion) rights issue plan for March to sell more stocks aimed at funding the acquisition, a company spokeswoman said over the phone. The national flag carrier plans

MobilityJan. 5, 2021

S. Korea’s chip exports to surpass $100b this year

South Korea’s chip exports are expected to grow 10.2 percent and surpass $100 billion this year, which would be the nation’s second-best performance since 2018, according to the Trade Ministry on Tuesday. Korea will again become the world’s second-largest semiconductor provider this year, following the US, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s first-ever market report focusing solely on semiconductors. The report said Korea’s shipments of chip

IndustryJan. 5, 2021

Telcos eye more 5G users with cheap pay plans

South Korean mobile carriers are launching cheap payment plans to woo more 5G subscribers amid accelerating user migration to their high-speed 5G networks. LG Uplus Corp. said Tuesday it will release a new monthly data plan, offering 6 gigabytes of data at 5G speeds for 47,000 won ($43), following rival carrier KT Corp., which also launched late last year a monthly 5G plan at 45,000 won for 5 gigabytes of data. The new data plans are relatively more affordable than most existing 5G data plans

TechnologyJan. 5, 2021

Korean employers’ anxiety grows as industrial accident bill nears vote

Rival political parties on Tuesday reached an agreement to put the bill on industrial accident to a full parliamentary vote this week, seeking to approve the enhanced regulations for employers as early as within the week. With the apparently accelerated legislative timeline, business groups -- especially those speaking for large-size employers -- reiterated their concerns that the bill is set to exert excessive pressure on business operators. Reps. Kim Tae-nyeon and Joo Ho-young, the respecti

IndustryJan. 5, 2021