Seoul stocks surge nearly 2% higher on eased Ukraine tensions

South Korean stocks rebounded nearly two percent Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as Ukraine tensions eased. The Korean won increased against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) surged 53.14 points, or 1.99 percent, to close at 2,729.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 415 million shares worth some 8.3 trillion won ($6.9 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 832 to 64 Foreign and retailer investors sold a net 43.1 billion won

Feb. 16, 2022

Shinsegae acquires Napa Valley winery for W299.6b

Shinsegae Property, the property development arm of Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it has acquired US winery Shafer Vineyards for 299.6 billion won ($250.3 million) to boost the group’s wine business. “With the acquisition, we plan to further expand the group’s wine business by creating synergy with its Shinsegae L&B that is in charge of the wholesale distribution of wine and liquor,” a Shinsegae Property official said. Industry sources say si

Feb. 16, 2022

Brother of Seoul envoy to Beijing suspended for misselling of funds

South Korea’s financial regulator on Wednesday decided to suspend Jang Ha-won, the chief executive of Discovery Asset Management from his duty, and fine the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea for misselling of funds with frozen assets amounting to 256.2 billion won ($214 million). Jang is the younger brother of South Korea’s incumbent ambassador to China, Jang Ha-sung. The Financial Services Commission upheld the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service’s earlier ruling to &l

Feb. 16, 2022

Korean chip industry to invest W56.7tr this year: lobby group

The South Korean semiconductor chip industry is poised to invest 56.7 trillion won ($47.4 billion) in 2022 to create jobs and strengthen a supply chain amid talent shortages and external uncertainties, according to a lobby group Wednesday. The figure for some 150 companies across the Korean chip supply chain is 10 percent higher than the domestic industry’s total spending in 2021 at 51.6 trillion won, according to the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association. The lobby group is currently

Feb. 16, 2022

Korean auto journalists name Genesis G90 car of the year

Korean journalists covering the auto industry on Tuesday chose Genesis G90 as the car of the year, saying the vehicle pioneers a new direction for luxury sedans. The fully revamped G90 launched in January scored 84.07 out of 100 for its sophisticated designs as well as its advanced driver-assistance technologies that add value to the driving experience, according to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association. The G90 was among 21 vehicles competing for the annual event that assessed 10 feat

Feb. 16, 2022

Korea Forest Service ready to restore forests in Central and South America

The Korea Forest Service is taking steps to help restore forests in Central and South America as it seeks to expand its global outreach. A team of Korea Forest Service officials led by Minister Choi Byeong-am visited El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru in late January, and agreed to cooperate more closely to restore forests in those countries, the KFS said. The KFS delegation’s visit comes as a follow-up to the summit talks between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden i

Feb. 16, 2022

[Contribution] Korea‘s forestry cooperation to expand to Central America

Central America is a biodiversity hotspot thanks to its vertically stretched land mass. Yet at the same time, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change, where it derives its label the “dry corridor.“ For this reason, countries in the region are collectively contending with the challenges of deforestation. Disasters like wildfires and forest pests are increasing, and humans are destroying forests in favor of logging and land clearing. On top of all this are the impacts of cl

Feb. 16, 2022

Growth in number of employed hits 21-year high

SEJONG -- The number of employed in South Korea surged by more than 1 million in January, compared to a year earlier, on the back of both a base effect and economic recovery, state data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed increased by 1.13 million in January on-year to 26.95 million. This marked the highest growth in more than 21 years since the tally shot up 1.21 million in March 2000. Women outnumbered men by about 24,000 -- 579,000 vs. 555,000 -- in the g

Feb. 16, 2022

GM to restart Bolt production in trust of LG Energy Solution

General Motors will resume the production of Chevrolet Bolt models and power them with LG Energy Solution batteries, signaling its restoration of trust with the South Korean battery giant. According to GM Wednesday, the production of Bolt electric vehicles will commence on April 4 after a months-long shutdown due to recall. GM in August recalled some 143,000 Bolts after defective LG Energy Solution batteries caused fires. Of the total recall cost of $1.8 billion, LG Electronics and LG Energy S

Feb. 16, 2022

SK hynix unveils new memory chips that are 16 times faster, 80% more efficient

SK hynix on Wednesday introduced a next-generation memory chip that processes data 16 times faster and consumes 80 percent less electricity. The process-in-memory or PIM chips developed by the South Korean chipmaker can both store and process data, while ordinary memory chips can only store data. As PIM chips can do two tasks at the same time and provide extra computing power, they have emerged as the key components in the artificial intelligence and big data sectors. “Computers mounte

Feb. 16, 2022

Orion Choco Pie logs W500b in global sales

Global sales of Orion’s signature snack Choco Pie reached 500 billion won ($417 million) in 2021, logging an 8.8 percent growth year-on-year, according to the Korean confectionery maker on Wednesday. This means around 3,400 million individual packets of Choco Pie were sold worldwide, which would cover more than five laps around the Earth when lined up, said the company. Choco Pie’s success overseas is thanks to the company’s efforts to tailor the product to suit each specifi

Feb. 16, 2022

Samsung Electronics labor union threatens to stage first-ever walkout

Labor unions of South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics said they could go on strike for the first time in over 50 years, after their demands for a pay raise and special summer leave in a first-ever wage negotiation fell on deaf ears. Protesters representing four labor unions comprising over 5,000 employees said Wednesday they will work to salvage its wage negotiation with Samsung’s management, with a walkout -- possibly with other trade unions under Samsung affiliates -- being their

Feb. 16, 2022

Hana signals start of HQ transfer to Incheon

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group marked the transfer of its headquarters from Seoul to Incheon with a groundbreaking ceremony, the firm said Wednesday. The groundbreaking ceremony for the planned 22-level building with seven underground floors was held Tuesday at Cheongna International City, which is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Hana Financial and five of its affiliates –- flagship commercial bank Hana Bank, brokerage Hana Financial Investment, credit card issuer Hana

Feb. 16, 2022

Philip Morris Korea’s new parental leave policy 'respects all forms of families'

Philip Morris Korea has implemented a new parental leave policy to support all forms of families raising children including adoptive parents and legal guardians, the company said Wednesday. Under the company’s parental policy, which became effective last month, employees can take up to 126 days of paid parental leave if they are primary caregivers. The company allows up to 56 days of paid parental leave for secondary caregivers. According to the company, a primary caregiver is the perso

Feb. 16, 2022

[Feature] A boom with a view: Prices of riverside apartments soar

Nicknamed “celebrity town,” Seoul Forest Trimage is a luxurious apartment complex in eastern Seoul’s Seongsu-dong, known to be the home of K-pop stars, actors, athletes and other public figures. With a four-room unit measuring 152 square meters last quoted at 5.5 billion won ($4.59 million), the housing complex built in 2017 near Seoul Forest consists of two 47-story buildings that overlook the Han River, which bisects the capital. High-rise apartments with views of Seoul la

Feb. 16, 2022

Posco’s business principle introduced at Stanford MBA course

Posco Group’s business principle “Corporate Citizenship” has been introduced as a case study example for a course in Stanford University’s MBA program, according to the Korean steelmaker on Wednesday.  Four years ago, Posco Group declared its management philosophy “Corporate Citizenship: Building a Better Future Together” as a guiding business principle, vowing to strengthen its commitments to environment, social, and governance issues. Such a concept,

Feb. 16, 2022

Corporate donations exceed W40b for Korean athletes at Beijing Olympics: FKI

Corporate donations made for Korean athletes competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics have exceeded 40 billion won ($33.4 million) over the past four years, according to industry data collected by the Federation of Korean Industries Wednesday. A total of 91 companies have donated cash and goods worth 41.75 billion won between 2018 and 2021 to support Korean national athletes preparing for this year’s Olympics, the data found. Donations were made mostly through related sports associatio

Feb. 16, 2022

Blockchain experts band together

An organization of some 5,000 people in the digital asset and blockchain industry and academia has been launched. The idea is to present the government with industrial roadmaps in a systematic manner, as it has been difficult to do so with a number of blockchain-related groups springing up. The Korea Blockchain Enterprise Promotion Association (KBEPA) and the Korea Blockchain Association Organization Federation held a ceremony to launch a “blockchain (digital asset) industry committee&r

Feb. 16, 2022

Celltrion 2021 net soars 20% on robust overseas sales

Celltrion Inc., a major South Korean biopharmaceutical firm, said Wednesday that its net profit jumped 20.1 percent on-year last year on the back of robust sales of its biosimilar products in overseas markets. Net profit came to 623.7 billion won ($521.1 million) last year on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 519.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Celltrion said its operating profit reached a record high of 753.9 billion won last year, up 5.9 per

Feb. 16, 2022

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance set to cut car insurance premiums in April

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., South Korea's top non-life insurer, said Wednesday it will cut its auto insurance premiums by an average 1.2 percent in April on falling loss rates. It will mark Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's first premium reduction since 2020, when its car insurance premium increased more than 3 percent amid soaring deficits. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the non-life insurance arm of top conglomerate Samsung Group, said it has made the decision as its aut

Feb. 16, 2022