Pandemic raises importance of restaurant hygiene, survey finds

Cleanliness has risen as a key factor in choosing where to eat out since the pandemic started, a survey showed Sunday. According to data from Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp, 92.1 percent of 1,341 respondents aged between 20 and 69 said they thought restaurants cleanliness was important when choosing where to eat, compared to just 22.7 percent in 2019. The figure was the second most-important factor, behind taste and food quality on 94.3 percent. In 2019, cleanliness ranked fourth, wh

Feb. 13, 2022

Emro’s profit soars 39.1% in 2021

South Korean supply chain management solution provider Emro said Sunday its net income surged 39.1 percent for 2021 compared to the previous year thanks to a high demand for its software. The company recorded 5.2 billion won ($4.3 million) in net profit, a consolidated preliminary financial statement showed. The company’s annual revenue came to 47 billion won, up 4.8 percent from a year prior, while its operating profit stood at 6.7 billion won, up 4.1 percent. Emro attributed the perf

Feb. 13, 2022

Banking giants set to deliver record dividends

South Korea’s four major bank holding firms are expected to hand out record-high dividends for their highest net profits made last year thanks to a pandemic recovery, officials said Sunday. Total dividends from the four companies -- KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Woori Financial Group -- are estimated to be 3.8 trillion won ($3.1 billion), about 26 percent of the combined net profit of 14.5 trillion won. “We have enough capital flowing in to c

Feb. 13, 2022

Top talents in Korean chipmakers offered later retirement

Engineers at South Korea’s semiconductor chipmakers are increasingly being offered the chance to put off retirement to a later date. This comes as the memory chip powerhouse, home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, experiences a talent shortage in the industry. The move will likely be welcome news to the government, which is struggling to find ways to deal with the economic impact of the country’s rapid demographic shift toward an aging population. Starting this year, Sa

Feb. 13, 2022

Celltrion’s Remsima records all-time high US sales

Korea’s pharmaceutical giant Celltrion’s Remsima, a biosimilar of autoimmune treatment drug Remicade, has set an all-time high record in sales revenue in the US market, taking a half of the original drug’s share, market insiders said Sunday. Remsima’s sales revenue in the US surged on-year by 13 percent to $385 million as of last year, according to industry sources. Samsung Securities said Remsima’s market shares have increased from 15 percent to 33.7 percent, whi

Feb. 13, 2022

Jeju Air to introduce cargo plane in first half amid prolonged pandemic

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Sunday it will bring in a cargo plane in the first half of this year to ride out the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Jeju Air signed a lease agreement to begin operating a cargo plane for the first time among local LCCs, the company said in a statement, amid efforts to offset a sharply reduced passenger travel demand amid the pandemic. "We plan to expand our business in cargo transportation to diversify our source of revenue," a

Feb. 13, 2022

ICT ministry to invest W130b in data projects this year

South Korea's ICT ministry said Sunday it plans to spend 129.8 billion won ($108.2 million) on ramping up data projects this year, including distributing "data vouchers" to support small and medium-sized businesses. The latest investment comes as part of efforts to utilize data collected from the so-called Data Dam project, an initiative that kicked off in 2020 to gather data generated through public and private networks to maximize data utilization. The ministry said it will allocate

Feb. 13, 2022

Google, Netflix and 3 other streaming platforms fined over unfair biz activity

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a fine of a combined 19.5 million won ($16,300) on Google, Netflix and three other video streaming services for their unfair business activity over paid subscription. Five over-the-top (OTT) media service providers -- Google, Netflix, KT, LG Uplus and Content Wavve -- hampered paid subscribers' move to end their membership, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). They provided falsified information or did not allow subs

Feb. 13, 2022

Seoul stocks likely to fluctuate next week on US price pressure concerns

South Korean stocks are likely to fluctuate in a broad range as investors digest the high-flying inflation rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,747.71 points Friday, little changed from 2,750.26 points a week ago. The key stock index on Friday snapped its three-day winning streak from corporate earnings hope due largely to the highest US inflation growth in four decades, released the previous night. Analysts said the h

Feb. 12, 2022

Debt rollover likely be offered to self-employed

SEJONG -- Economic and financial policymakers are considering allowing self-employed people to roll over their debt as part of efforts to minimize insolvency amid the ongoing pandemic. The action comes during the meeting of chiefs from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea on Friday. They will finalize their decision by next month whether to offer a debt rollover to the self-employed and microbusiness own

Feb. 11, 2022

Renault Samsung names new CEO

Renault Samsung Motors said Friday that Renault Group has named Stephane Deblaise, the former vehicle program director at the French headquarters, as a new chief to lead the Korean business.  The 49-year-old who served Renault’s advanced project and cross-car line program director until recently will assume the new role from March 1.  Deblaise is joining the Korean unit as the first CEO with an engineering background. He also served as Renault’s chief engineer to oversee

Feb. 11, 2022

Big 4 banking groups post record earnings on lending growth

South Korea’s top four major banking groups -- KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori -- saw their combined earnings last year hit a record high, largely buoyed by robust interest and commission income. According to their separate regulatory filings, the total net profit of the firms soared 34.5 percent on-year to 14.5 trillion ($12 billion) last year, eclipsing the previous record of 10.8 trillion won in 2020. KB Financial Group outpaced rivals in terms of net profit. Its net increased 27.6 perc

Feb. 11, 2022

McDonald’s Korea to raise prices on inflation fears

McDonald’s Korea announced Thursday it will raise prices of some 30 food items by an average of 2.8 percent starting from Feb. 17, in line with other fast food chains that have carried out price hikes recently. Under the new scheme, the price of the Bulgogi Burger will increase from 2,200 won to 2,300 won ($1.84 to $1.92), while a small Americano coffee will be priced at 1,900 won, up from 1,700 won. Other popular combo meals are also expected to see increases of 200 won to 300 won. 

Feb. 11, 2022

Kia tops JD Power’s reliability study

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday Kia Motors has topped JD Power’s reliability study for the first time, outpacing all rivals in the mass-market and premium segments.  Kia ranked first in JD Power’s 2022 US Vehicle Dependability Study, while its bigger sister Hyundai Motor came third. Genesis, which has become an independent luxury brand, ranked fourth overall, topping the premium segment.  The second place was taken by GM’s Buick brand.  This year’s JD P

Feb. 11, 2022

Kakao leaders desperate to win back investor trust

Kakao leaders are struggling to restore the platform giant’s brand image and win back the trust of investors after the company’s friendly reputation took a huge hit over a series of mishaps. “Looking back on the path that Kakao has walked on over the past four years, Kakao has achieved rapid growth with the support of the entire nation. But in the process, we have suffered growing pains and lost the society’s trust so I feel heavily responsible for it,” Yeo Min-so

Feb. 11, 2022

Harman acquires German auto tech startup Apostera

Samsung Electronics said Friday its subsidiary Harman, the US automotive solutions maker, has acquired German auto tech startup Apostera to bolster its leadership in the burgeoning connected car technology market. With the latest deal, Harman aims to further diversity its automotive product offerings using Apostera’s specialty in augmented reality and mixed reality software solutions. Established in 2017, the Munich-based Apostera supplies AR solutions for automotive head-up displays a

Feb. 11, 2022

[Obituary] LS Group chairman dies at age 75

Koo Ja-hong, the chairman of LS Nikko Copper, died Friday at the age of 75. The tycoon served as South Korean conglomerate LS Group’s first chairman for nine years from 2004 to 2012 and then handed over the post to his cousin Koo Ja-yeol. After the sudden death of the cousin in 2014, Koo Ja-hong returned to the management as the chairman of LS Nikko Copper. The mogul is credited with the successful independent management of LS Group after it split off from LG Group in 2004. Also, Koo

Feb. 11, 2022

S. Korean botox maker Hugel to enter US market this year

South Korea's leading botox maker Hugel Inc. said Friday that it will make inroads into the United States, the world's largest botulinum toxin market, this year. Earlier, the company sought a marketing authorization of its botulinum toxin product, Letybo, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of frown lines in adult patients. Hugel said it expects to receive the FDA approval sometime around the middle of this year. "There is much more opportunity in the US where t

Feb. 11, 2022

KDIC sells 2.2% stake in Woori Financial Holdings

South Korea's state deposit insurer said Friday it sold 2.2 percent of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings Co. for some 239 billion won ($199 million). The Korea Depository Insurance Corp. (KDIC) said that the pre-market sale of 15.86 million shares came in line with a decision by the country's public funds oversight committee, which handles state asset sales. Following the block deal, the KDIC has a 3.6 percent interest in Woori Financial, one of the four major financial holding firms in Asia

Feb. 11, 2022

Ex-US envoy to join Samsung as PR chief of North America

Mark Lippert, former US ambassador to South Korea who is currently working as public policy chief at YouTube Asia-Pacific, is joining Samsung Electronics as the head of corprate and government affairs in North America, industry sources said Friday. The former diplomat will begin working for the tech giant starting next month as the executive vice president of Samsung Electronics America and oversee its external relations in the region. Lippert is reportedly in the final stages of signing the

Feb. 11, 2022