Consumer sentiment ticks up in March amid eased virus curbs

South Korea's consumer sentiment ticked up in March, as the country eased social distancing curbs to bolster spending and help pandemic-hit small merchants, central bank data showed Tuesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came to 103.2 in March, up 0.1 point from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The index has been up and down in the last few months, affected by the severity of the spread of

March 29, 2022

IMF maintains 2022 growth outlook for S. Korean economy at 3%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday maintained its 2022 growth outlook for South Korea at 3 percent as exports and investment will likely remain robust despite heightened economic uncertainty. The IMF's latest projection is the same as its forecast made in January. It lowered its 2023 growth outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.8 percent from 2.9 percent. The Washington-based organization said South Korea's economic growth is projected to remain robust in 2022 and 2023 on

March 29, 2022

KEPCO decides to freeze unit fuel cost for electricity rate for Q2 amid high inflation

South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said Tuesday it will freeze the adjusted unit fuel cost, a key part of the country's electricity rates, in the second quarter despite high energy prices amid rising inflation. KEPCO said it has decided to set the adjusted unit fuel cost at zero won per kilowatt-hour for the April-June period of this year, the same as that three months earlier. The company proposed a 3 won ($0.002) increase in the adjusted unit fuel cost, citing soaring g

March 29, 2022

Yoon to reverse Moon’s housing policy

The Yoon Suk-yeol government will loosen key housing rules that the current Moon Jae-in government introduced two years ago, because they had all backfired, turning the country into one of the world’s hottest property market, Yoon’s transition team said Monday. “Our team was briefed by the Land Ministry and we’re clear on one thing: A rule change coming in stages,” said Won Il-hee, the team’s deputy spokesperson, referring to rules on “jeonse,” or

March 28, 2022

High energy prices weaken trade balance of Korea

SEJONG -- Spiraling international energy prices have been increasingly undermining the trade balance of South Korea, which posted deficit for the first 79 days of the year on a cumulative basis. According the Korea Customs Service, the nation’s imports of three major energy resources -- crude, gas and coal -- came to $38.4 billion during the period of Jan. 1 - March 20. This marked an 85.4 percent surge compared to the same period of 2021. A 69.8 percent increase was seen in imports of c

March 28, 2022

[Test Drive] Volkswagen’s new Arteon: Spacious, sporty, efficient

For those that have a lot to carry in their cars but do not want to give up on the sporty features, Volkswagen’s new Arteon could be your next pick. The fastback sedan’s exterior sports both sharp and wavy lines, giving an edge to the otherwise classic-style car. Adding to the stylish design are Volkswagen’s LED headlights that project the carmaker’s logo onto the ground when the driver starts the car engine at night. The interior of the new Arteon shows a mix of moder

March 28, 2022

Seoul stocks nearly flat amid Ukraine woes, hawkish Fed

South Korean stocks closed nearly unchanged Monday, as investors remained wary about the uncertainties related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the hawkish stance by the US Federal Reserve. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 0.42 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,729.56 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 755 million shares worth some 9.7 trillion won ($7.9 billion), with losers outn

March 28, 2022

Hankook Tire to launch tire brand for EVs

Hankook Tire and Technology said it would unveil the world’s first full lineup of tires s for electric vehicles in May. The world’s sixth-biggest tiremaker by sales said it will launch the iON tire brand for EVs in the European market first, and then in South Korea in August. The iON will come in six products from 18-inch to 22-inch summer, winter and all-season tires for both passenger cars and sport-utility vehicles. The iON was developed to target high-performance premium EVs f

March 28, 2022

Hyundai Heavy hits reset with new name, CEO

Embarking on changes ranging from management to business strategy, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group on Monday deployed a new corporate name and appointed a grandson of the founder as its new chief executive officer. In a widely anticipated move, Chung Ki-sun, grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, was appointed as CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group at the shareholders meeting, completing the generational shift in the leadership of Korea’s largest shipbuilder. Chung, who was

March 28, 2022

[Newsmaker] SsangYong Motor back on sale as Edison’s acquisition fails

South Korean mid-sized automaker Edison Motors’ proposed acquisition of SsangYong Motor has been cancelled due to payment failure, putting the debt-laden SUV maker’s journey to search for new owner back to starting line. 　 According to SsangYong Motor on Monday, its acquisition contract with a consortium led by Edison Motors was terminated after the buyer failed to pay 274.3 billion won ($223.7 million) by March 25, the deadline date designated by the Seoul Bankruptcy Court to pay

March 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 5 ranks top in Auto Bild’s EV test

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that its flagship electric vehicle Ioniq 5 has ranked top in German automotive magazine Auto Bild’s EV test, beating other European rivals such as Audi Q4 e-tron and Polestar 2. In the latest edition of Auto Bild, the vehicles were tested and evaluated based on seven categories including performance of powertrain, driving comfort, connectivity, eco-friendliness and price competitiveness.  Ioniq 5 ranked top in four categories with a total of 573

March 28, 2022

SK Square unveils W2tr bet on chips, blockchain

SK Square, an investment arm of South Korea‘s third-largest conglomerate, said Monday it plans to spend at least 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) over the next three years in the field of semiconductor chips and blockchain technology. It is the first time SK Square unveiled its investment roadmap since November, when it spun off from telecommunication affiliate SK Telecom. Under the plan, announced during its shareholder meeting held Monday, SK Square will target chip companies in the Uni

March 28, 2022

SKT to mount 5G MEC solutions on Dell’s servers

US tech giant Dell Technologies and South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom said Monday they would forge a multi-access edge computing alliance to expand its global 5G footprint targeting enterprise and government clients. Under the plan, SK Telecom’s 5G MEC solutions -- ranging from network virtualization to MEC application for operation and user experience optimization -- will be mounted on Dell‘s servers to meet the global demand for 5G private network infrastructure. Moreover,

March 28, 2022

First-quarter outlook upbeat for Samsung, SK hynix

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s top two memory chip makers, are projected to post record first-quarter earnings this year over rising chip prices and robust demand, Yonhap Infomax, a local financial data tracker, said Monday. According to earnings consensus among securities firms here, Samsung, the No. 1 producer of memory chips, is forecast to record 75.21 trillion won ($61.34 billion) in sales and 13.89 trillion won in operating profits in the three months of this year, u

March 28, 2022

Banks raise loan limits as household debt growth curbs

South Korean banks have started raising the maximum amount consumers can borrow under a loan to the level before financial regulators intervened to curb the nation’s household debt growth. The move comes as the nation’s household debt growth has recently shown signs of slowing down. As of Monday, the top four banks here – KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori – have either started raising the limits for its overdraft accounts or its most popular loans for customers who a

March 28, 2022

Samsung Heavy bags W804b order for 5 container carriers in Asia

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's No. 3 shipbuilder by order backlog, said Monday it has clinched a 804 billion-won ($656 million) order to build five large container ships in Asia. Samsung Heavy said it has obtained the order to build the 13,100 twenty-foot equivalent unit container carriers from an unidentified Asian shipper by 2024, the company said in a statement. The container vessels will have such top-of-the-line equipment as the selective catalytic reduction and ballast water tre

March 28, 2022

[Graphic News] Internet banking use jumps 18% in 2021 amid pandemic

　South Koreans’ use of internet banking services soared 18 percent on-year in 2021 as customers preferred contactless services amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed. 　The daily use of online banking services, including mobile banking, reached 17.32 million cases last year, up from 14.68 million a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. 　Mobile banking use came to 14.36 million instances per day, up 22.9 percent from a year earlier and accounting for

March 28, 2022

Seoul stocks open lower amid Ukraine woes, hawkish Fed

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors remained cautious about the uncertainties related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the hawkish stance by the US Federal Reserve. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 16.51 points, or 0.6 percent, to trade at 2,713.47 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks came off to a lackluster start as the Ukraine-Russian tensions continue to stoke concerns about high commodity prices and inflation growth. Most large caps traded lower in

March 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group's cumulative US sales of green cars top 500,000

Hyundai Motor Group's cumulative sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the United States surpassed the 500,000-unit mark in February, 11 years after its entry into the American market, the group said Monday. The group's two flagships -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- sold a combined 15,218 environmentally friendly vehicles in the US last month, bringing their cumulative sales to 508,599 units. Last year alone, combined sales of green vehicles by Hyundai Motor and Kia spiked 183.5 percent on-year

March 28, 2022

S. Korea's energy imports soar 85% this year

SEJONG -- South Korea's energy imports spiked more than 85 percent this year on soaring international prices, government data showed Monday, burdening the country's trade balance and consumer inflation. The country's imports of oil, natural gas and coal came to $38.49 billion from Jan. 1-March 20, up 85.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Crude oil imports soared nearly 70 percent over the cited period, with those of natural gas and coal shooting

March 28, 2022