Automotive market faces inflation risks

Inflation concerns are growing in the automotive market, raising prices of both new and used cars here. According to a report by the Korea Automotive Technology Institute released Monday, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is adding to ongoing chip supply shortages and resulting in a continuous price surge in cars worldwide. The report predicted that the current inflation in the car industry could be prolonged, as carmakers are likely to face difficulty in securing semiconductors -- among ot

April 11, 2022

Samsung Biologics secures W3.2tr via new shares issued

Contract manufacturing giant Samsung Biologics has raised 3.2 trillion won ($2.6 billion) through issuing new shares, allowing the company to secure capital needed for the buyout of Samsung Bioepis’ stake and construction of its fourth plant, officials said Monday. According to the firm’s regulatory filing, some 2 trillion won out of the 3.2 trillion won will be used for buying out Biogen’s stake in Samsung Bioepis and cover expenses of building its fourth manufacturing plant

April 11, 2022

Fed’s rate hikes to weaken S. Korea’s exports: report

South Korea’s exports, which account for half of the nation’s economy, will likely weaken once the US Federal Reserve starts carrying out additional and steeper rate hikes, a think tank report showed Monday. The report came after minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting released last week indicated officials initially preferred a 50-basis-point rate hike, but instead settled on 25 points, considering the Ukraine crisis. The Fed raised the benchmark rate by 25 bas

April 11, 2022

Samsung hires governance specialist in renewed ESG push

Samsung Electronics has recently hired Daniel Oh, a corporate governance specialist who worked for Institutional Shareholder Services and BlackRock, as an executive vice president at its global investor relations team. According to the tech giant’s business report Monday, Oh, 48, started working at Samsung in February, becoming the No. 2 man on the investor relations team. Oh who studied economics at MIT has more than 19 years of experience in investor relations and corporate governance

April 11, 2022

Kumho Tire launches ultra-high performance tire MajestyX Solus

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said Monday that it has launched MajestyX Solus, a new ultra-high performance tire targeting the premium vehicle market. The latest tire is a luxury sequel to the existing Majesty Solus, and will be marketed as the tire maker’s flagship product lineup for luxury cars. 　 The tire maximizes brake performance and tread durability by utilizing precise high-dispersion silica compounds, according to the company. This technology minimizes abrasions and allows

April 11, 2022

Samsung resumes in-person gatherings, business trips as COVID rules eased

Samsung Electronics said Monday it has eased a set of coronavirus rules for its office in South Korea as COVID-19 infections are on a steady decline. Effective Monday, the tech titan, dedicated to smartphones, consumer electronic goods and semiconductor chips, will no longer be discouraging its staff from going on business trips at home and overseas, holding in-house gatherings and after-work dinners. The new rule will affect over 110,000 employees in Korea. Under the eased rules, up to 299

April 11, 2022

Sales of short-term corporate bonds swell 26.8% in Q1

Sales of corporate bonds with maturity of one year or below in South Korea grew 26.8 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Local companies issued 326.2 trillion won ($265.1 billion) worth of such debts, compared with 257.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). But the issuance decreased 5.1 percent from a quarter ago. Short-term bonds refer to those that come due within one year. Sales

April 11, 2022

Bond issuance in S. Korea gains in March

Bond issuance in South Korea rose solidly in March from the previous month thanks largely to increased state debt sale, industry data showed Monday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 71.3 trillion won ($58.1 billion) last month, up 4.7 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds jumped by 8.9 trillion won to 28.9 trillion won in March, with those of special bonds rising by 971 b

April 11, 2022

[Graphic News] National brand positively impacts foreign buyers‘ purchases of Korean goods: poll

　Nearly 7 in 10 foreign buyers think that South Korea’s national brand is having a positive impact on their purchases of products from Asia‘s fourth-largest economy, a poll showed. 　According to the survey of 213 foreign buyers, 72.9 percent of the respondents replied that their imports of South Korean goods have been affected positively by the country’s national brand. 　Slightly over 25.4 percent said South Korean products remind them of high quality, followed by reasonable

April 11, 2022

Exports up 3% in first 10 days of April

South Korea's exports rose 3 percent in the first 10 days of April from a year earlier on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.3 billion in the April 1-10 period, compared with $14.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports gained 12.8 percent on-year to $18.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.52 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By s

April 11, 2022

Retail, manufacturing giants turn to bio, health care as strategy for future growth

More South Korean conglomerates relying heavily on manufacturing and retail networks for growth are turning to the bio and health care industries to secure future growth engines and expand areas of business. Retail and confectionary giant Lotte Group officially announced that bio and health care businesses will be its new growth engine at the shareholders’ meeting last month. Lee Dong-woo, CEO of Lotte Holdings, said the firm plans to directly invest in the bio and healthcare businesse

April 10, 2022

Yoon’s pick for fiscal chief vows to back extra budget despite runaway inflation

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s finance minister nominee said Sunday that he will seek parliamentary approval of an extra budget to support the self-employed and small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, despite runaway inflation eating into many household budgets. Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, currently a two-term lawmaker of Yoon’s People Power Party, said inflation cannot be the reason to avoid increasing spending. “How we can manage to benefit from the extra budget while shielding

April 10, 2022

Trade minister nominee vows regulatory reform

Lee Chang-yang, a professor of economics and public policy at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, vowed regulatory reforms to boost the corporate sector as he was introduced by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol as the trade minister nominee on Sunday. The 60-year-old bureaucrat-turned-professor is likely to be tasked with discontinuing the Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear power phase-out policy and handling the rise of protectionism in the global trade landscape, as well

April 10, 2022

Ex-Jeju governor tapped to spearhead Yoon’s supply-centered real estate policy

Won Hee-ryong, the former governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province who coordinated President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign, was named as the nominee for minister of land, infrastructure and transport Sunday. “The nominee has a high understanding of land policies which is one of the key sectors the new administration would have to work on to stabilize the real estate market, promote balanced regional growth, and come up with a systematic public transportation in metropolitan

April 10, 2022

[Newsmaker] Eating out more expensive due to rising costs, demand

Eating-out costs in South Korea saw the sharpest on-year surge in 23 years in March with a 6.6 percent on-year increase, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service on Sunday. Of the 39 types of foods that people normally eat while dining out, including hamburgers, jajangmyeon (noodle with black soybean sauce), and gimbap, all saw a price increase. Galbitang (beef soup) showed the highest spike in price last month compared to the same month last year with an 11.7 percent increase,

April 10, 2022

Renowned chip expert nominated as science minister

Science Minister Nominee Lee Jong-ho is a chip engineering scholar who supported, as an adviser, South Korea’s policy endeavor in building its strength in semiconductor industry for years. “I have experienced the semiconductor industry for a long time and I believe it has a great importance. I will try to advance it,” said Lee at the nominee selection announcement Sunday. “But our country has more than just semiconductors. I will look at all industries and listen to va

April 10, 2022

Eland Retail, its parent firm fined over unfair biz practice

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a combined 4.08 billion won ($3.33 million) in fines on Eland Retail Ltd., an operator of outlet malls, and its parent company Eland World for unfair business activity. Fashion company Eland World, the de facto holding company of Eland Group, unduly received financial support from its affiliate Eland Retail between 2013 and 2017, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). At that time, Eland World suffered from a liquidity

April 10, 2022

Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomes opening of new store in Myeong-dong

Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomed the opening of a new Apple Store in the shopping district of Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on Saturday, “Apple Myeongdong opened its doors as our newest store in the heart of Korea. We‘re thrilled to further support our Korean customers in a space as unique and vibrant as the community it serves,” Cook tweeted Saturday. In another tweet Sunday, he congratulated K-pop group Seventeen’s appearance on Today at Apple -- a creative initiative offere

April 10, 2022

Samsung Electronics remains favorite pick among retail stock investors

Despite the recent bearish price movement, South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics remained a favorite pick among retail stock investors in hopes of a price rebound of the market bellwether. From January until Friday, retail investors purchased 20.9 trillion won ($17 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics common shares on the stock market, meaning nearly one in four retail stock investment went to the single company, the Korea Exchange data showed Sunday. The volume of Samsung stock purcha

April 10, 2022

Eco-friendly cars make up over 20% of Hyundai, Kia domestic sales this year: data

Over 1 in 5 vehicles sold by Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. so far this year have been eco-friendly cars, backed by their growing popularity, industry data showed Sunday. The two South Korean automakers sold a combined 64,417 hybrid and electric vehicles in the January-March period, accounting for 23.5 percent of the entire domestic sales of 273,762 vehicles, according to the companies' earnings reports. It marks the first time the proportion of eco-friendly car sales has

April 10, 2022