Biz outlook edges up for June on hope for corporate earnings, domestic recovery

South Korea's business sentiment slightly improved for June amid expectations that earnings in key sectors and domestic demand may improve, a central bank poll showed Wednesday. Local companies' business sentiment index for June came to 76, up from 74 tallied for the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea. The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The rise appears t

May 24, 2023

S. Korea to launch homegrown space rocket with 8 satellites

South Korea was preparing Wednesday to launch its homegrown space rocket Nuri in a mission to put eight satellites into orbit. The 200-ton Nuri is set to blast off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at around 6:24 p.m., according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. In a meeting of Nuri's launch management committee Tuesday, the science ministry and KARI concluded Nuri's final technical inspection proceeded wi

May 24, 2023

W14tr pledged to boost parts industry for future mobility

The South Korean government and major carmakers will jointly invest more than 14.3 trillion won ($10.9 billion) to promote the transition of the conventional auto parts industry to gear up for a "speedy" and "flexible" transformation for future mobility, the Industry Ministry said Tuesday. In a roundtable meeting of private auto and automotive parts companies, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced a support measure under which the government and automakers will

May 23, 2023

Demand for cold medicines soar as seasonal flu persists

Demand for cold medicines has increased recently, as the seasonal flu has continued longer than usual. With the spurt in cold and flu cases, sales of cold medicines have increased while some pharmacies face shortages, according to data from the government and local pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday. “Demand for over-the-counter cold medicines seems to be higher than usual, and some prescription medications for cold and flu are difficult to get,” a pharmacist operating a pharmacy in

May 23, 2023

DSME rebranded as Hanwha Ocean

Hanwha Group, the new owner of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, took the first step toward a fresh start for the shipbuilder by rebranding it to Hanwha Ocean at a shareholders meeting on Tuesday. This is the second rebranding in the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilder’s history spanning 45 years. The previous name change occurred in 1978, when DSME was acquired by the now-defunct Daewoo Group. At the shareholders' meeting at Daewoo Marine Ocean Plaza in Geoje, South

May 23, 2023

ASM determined to expand investment in Korea: CEO

ASM, a global supplier of semiconductor wafer processing equipment, will break ground on its second headquarters in South Korea Wednesday, under expansion plans to boost research and production capacity of an advanced chip processing equipment solution it produces only in the country. Underscoring how South Korea already has the company’s third-biggest R&D and manufacturing facilities after the United States and Singapore, ASM President and CEO Benjamin Loh vowed to further invest to e

May 23, 2023

Samsung Health bets big on sleep-tracking

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it is working on advanced sleep-tracking technology as it seeks to boost its burgeoning health solutions business on its smartwatches. “Launched in 2012, Samsung Health has become a global health solution used by 64 million users around the world every month,” said Samsung Electronics Vice President Hon Pak, who oversees the digital health team at the mobile business division, to reporters in Seoul. “Our goal is to help people manage their overa

May 23, 2023

Kakao, Saudi Arabia agree to expand partnership

South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp. announced Tuesday that it held talks with officials from the Saudi Tourism Authority on building mobile infrastructure to revitalize tourism in Saudi Arabia at the Kakao headquarters in Pangyo. Top executives from both sides, including STA’s President of APAC Markets Alhasan Aldabbagh, and STA’s Chief Technology Officer Choon Quek attended the meeting. Saudi Arabia has selected Korea as one of its strategic partners by presenting the "Saud

May 23, 2023

Posco sweeps medals at Stainless Steel Awards

South Korean steel giant Posco said Tuesday it has won three medals for new stainless technologies at the Stainless Steel Industry Awards held by Worldstainless, a non-profit international association, earlier this month in Brussels. The company touted the latest feat as yet another recognition of its technical prowess following its gold medal win at the same awards last year. This year Posco was the only company to win all three medals -- gold, silver and bronze -- in the new stainless technolo

May 23, 2023

Nuri rocket set for 3rd launch

    South Korea’s homegrown Nuri rocket, also known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, has begun the process to be positioned on a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, a day ahead of its third launch into space. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Nuri arrived at the launch pad an hour after it was transported from KARI’s assembly building at 7:20 a.m. The rocket was being prepared to

May 23, 2023

[Photo News] Slide and swing

Hyundai Motor Group has developed a new technology that allows cargo trucks to have doors with both swing and slide mechanisms, the Korean auto giant said Tuesday. Based on consultations with courier drivers, the new technology will undergo durability and performance tests for potential mass production.

May 23, 2023

Natl. pension reports worst returns in 2022 amid global jitters: data

South Korea's state pension operator saw its returns fall to a record low level in 2022, data showed Tuesday, due to the instability in the global financial market amid monetary tightening moves. The National Pension Service logged negative returns of 8.28 percent in 2022, marking the lowest level since it was launched in 1988, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "(The negative returns) were affected by the jitters in the global financial market sparked by the US rate hik

May 23, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on tech gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the back of gains in big-cap tech and chemical shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.37 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,556.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares ended mixed as investors were awaiting the development regarding talks on a debt ceiling deal to avert a federal default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.42 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5 percent. US House Speaker

May 23, 2023

Inflation expectations at 1-year low in May

South Korea's inflation expectations fell to the lowest in a year in May on a slide in prices of petrochemical goods, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people expected consumer prices to rise 3.7 percent for the year ahead, down 0.2 percentage point from what was surveyed a month earlier, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea. The reading marks the lowest since May last year, when the comparable figure was 3.3 percent, the central bank said. The downturn came as

May 23, 2023

Gov’t to enhance public energy firms’ financial status by raising rates next year: minister

South Korea’s finance minister said Monday the government will improve the financial status of debt-laden public energy companies by raising rates to an acceptable level next year. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remarks at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee. “It will take time for public energy companies to retrieve accounts receivable and make a turnaround. Experts expect Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to swing to an operating pr

May 22, 2023

Outpaced by Coupang, E-mart faces gloomy outlook

The nation’s largest discount store chain E-mart, owned by retail giant Shinsegae Group, suffered dismal sales in the first quarter this year, outpaced by its smaller rival Coupang for the first time, with a gloomy outlook for the rest of the year, according to local brokerage firms Monday. In the first three months of the year, E-mart posted 13.7 billion won ($10.3 million) in operating profits, a 60.2 percent fall from a year ago. Net profit also plunged more than 90 percent to 2.7 billi

May 22, 2023

Celltrion's Remsima SC makes Brazil debut

Celltrion Healthcare, Celltrion’s overseas sales and marketing unit, announced Monday that the company has launched its Remsima SC in Brazil, the largest pharmaceutical market in South America. Remsima SC is Celltrion’s under-the-skin injection of infliximab biosimilar. In Brazil, the infliximab biosimilar received sales approval from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency in November. Celltrion Healthcare will be in charge of direct sales of the infliximab biosimilar in Brazil thr

May 22, 2023

Seoul shares up for 6th day on hopes for US debt ceiling deal

South Korean stocks ended markedly higher Monday to extend their winning streak to a sixth session as investors were optimistic about a deal on the United States' debt ceiling to avoid a federal default. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 19.29 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 2,557.08. Trading volume was a bit slim at 583.13 million shares worth 8.04 trillion won ($6.09 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 634 to 2

May 22, 2023

Energy bills soar 30% in Q1, most since 1998 financial crisis

The inflation index of utility bills for households -- including electricity and gas -- spiked by more than 30 percent in the first three months of 2023, marking the highest on-year increase since the 1998 financial crisis. The increase in utility prices for electricity, gas and other fuels converted into the inflation index logged 135.49 points in the first quarter of 2023, up 30.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Statistical Information Service on Monday. This mar

May 22, 2023

[KH explains] Will Kakao Pay become Korea’s answer to Robinhood?

In a recent media event, Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun unveiled the company’s ambitious goal of becoming a Korean version of Robinhood in its recent push for global expansion in partnership with Siebert Financial, the US brokerage firm. “We are considering making a solution that combines Siebert's stock trading solution with Kakao Pay Securities' mobile trading service,” CEO Shin said. “We believe we can become the next Robinhood with it." Robinhood is the re

May 22, 2023