Seoul to install walking deck on Han River

The Seoul city government will create a walking deck floating above water on the Han River by the end of next year to offer new attractions, officials said Wednesday. The 192-meter-long deck, comprising a walking trail on the first floor and an observatory deck on the second floor, will be connected to the small river island of Seonyu in western Seoul, officials said. An 80-meter-wide water screen will be set up with a fountain falling from the second floor, about 15 meters above the ground, t

Jan. 26, 2022

[Korea Chips Act] New law to fuel chipmakers’ race to acquire 12th graders

This is the second installment of a two-part series on Korea‘s Chips Act and controversies surrounding a law meant to support the local chip industry amid heated competition around the world. -- Ed. To tackle a chronic workforce shortage in the domestic chips industry, Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been ramping up efforts to acquire talents even before they become an adult. Under a new law, a Korean equivalent to the CHIPS for America Act, chipmakers

Jan. 26, 2022

[Herald Interview] Royal Salute heritage reinterpreted with Richard Quinn's design

Pernod Ricard’s Royal Salute 21 Year Old is British to the core. Created to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Salute’s every detail from its tasting note to the bottle design is dedicated to being British.  In that context, Royal Salute’s latest collaboration with London-based fashion designer Richard Quinn is more than just a collaboration between the two British icons.  Quinn captivated the British fashion scene after becoming the first recipient

Jan. 26, 2022

Growth of S. Korean exports forecast to slow in Q1

South Korea's exports will likely lose some growth momentum in the first quarter of the year due to a string of unfavorable external factors, a state bank said Wednesday. Overseas shipments by Asia's fourth-largest economy are expected to climb 15-16 percent on-year to $169 billion in the January-March period, according to the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank). "South Korea's exports are likely to keep expanding in the first quarter, but their growth pace may lose some steam,"

Jan. 26, 2022

Scientists develop biosensor to detect COVID-19 variants within 30 min.

A group of South Korean scientists developed a screening biosensor that can detect COVID-19 variants within 30 minutes, whose test results are as accurate as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, a state-run science institute said Wednesday. The team led by Lee Kwan-hyi of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) developed the highly sensitive and portable biosensor to screen variants through angiotensin-converting enzyme called ACE2. ACE2 is a virus receptor shared by all known C

Jan. 26, 2022

Daily FX turnover hits record high in 2021 amid brisk exports, stock investment

The daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea hit a record high in 2021 amid increased demand from strong exports, imports and foreigners' investment in local financial markets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $58.31 billion last year, up 10.3 percent from $52.84 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The amount marked the largest since 2008, when relevant statistics started to be compil

Jan. 26, 2022

Samsung's chipmaking plant in Xi'an begins normal operation as China lifts lockdown

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its chipmaking facility in the Chinese city of Xi'an has returned to normal as the city has lifted a lockdown. The world's largest memory chip maker had temporarily adjusted operations at its NAND flash chips manufacturing base late last month following the lockdown in the city. The draconian restrictions imposed on Dec. 22 banned the city's 13 million citizens from venturing out and doing nonessential activities to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Th

Jan. 26, 2022

Samsung to unveil Galaxy S22 at Unpacked event next month

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it will hold its Unpacked 2022 event next month to showcase the latest Galaxy smartphone with improved chips and boosted camera performance and capabilities. The tech company will show off the Galaxy S22 smartphone at the Feb. 10 event, saying it will "set an epic new standard for smartphones with the most noteworthy S series ever created." The event will begin at 12 a.m. on that day (10 a.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 9). A YouTube video that was un

Jan. 26, 2022

Kakao Games invests $20m in US game developer Frost Giant Studios

South Korean game developer Kakao Games Corp. said Wednesday it has invested $20 million in US-based independent game developer Frost Giant Studios in line with its efforts to increase its global profile. The game affiliate under Kakao Corp., which operates South Korea's most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said it made the investment through its European corporate, Kakao Games Europe B.V. The investment is part of $25 million in a Series A funding round participated in by other investors, su

Jan. 26, 2022

Hyundai Mobis Q4 net up 0.4% amid chip shortages

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net profit edged up 0.4 percent from a year earlier amid global chip shortage. Net profit for the three months ended in December climbed to 553.98 billion won ($463 million) from 551.97 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "Increased sales of high-end parts for electric vehicles and SUVs helped offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and semiconducto

Jan. 26, 2022

[Graphic News] S. Korea‘s kimchi exports hit new high in 2021

　South Korea’s exports of kimchi hit an all-time high last year thanks to its growing popularity, data showed. 　Outbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish came to a record $159.9 million in 2021, resulting in a trade surplus of $19.2 million in the sector, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　It is the first time in 12 years that South Korea registered a surplus in the kimchi trade. 　Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish

Jan. 26, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on technical rebound

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the recent stock plunge. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 18.01 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,738.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Tuesday, the key stock index closed at an almost 14-month low amid lingering uncertainties about the ongoing US Federal Reserve meeting. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite plunged 2.58 percent amid expectations of the Fed's hawki

Jan. 26, 2022

Biz sentiment for Feb. stays below par for 2nd month: poll

South Korea's business sentiment edged up for February but remained below par for the second consecutive month amid high raw material prices and global supply chain disruptions, a poll showed Wednesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 99.7 for next month, up 3.2 points from January, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said. Yet February represents the second month in a row that the monthly yardstick of business sentiment has been below

Jan. 26, 2022

Consumer sentiment up in January amid toughened virus curbs

South Korea's consumer sentiment improved in January as health authorities' tough antivirus rules mitigated worries over the spread of the coronavirus, the central bank said Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came to 104.4 in January, up 0.6 point from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The rise followed a 3.8 point on-month decline tallied in December. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The rise is ascribed to health aut

Jan. 26, 2022

S. Korea remains committed to nuclear phaseout scheme: energy minister

South Korea remains committed to its policy of phasing out nuclear power plants as part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, the country‘s energy minister said Tuesday. 　Moon Sung-wook, minister of trade, industry and energy, reaffirmed there will be no change in the Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear phaseout policy hours after main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said he will scrap the plan if elected and seek to increase nuclear power generation. 　“The

Jan. 25, 2022

Hyundai Motor to reenter Japan with green cars

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor is set to return to Japan’s passenger car market within the first half of the year, according to industry sources and reports Tuesday.　 Hyundai’s reentry to Japan comes 13 years after its withdrawal from the market dominated by domestic carmakers. With its enhanced eco-friendly technology, Hyundai believes that it has achieved a competitive edge to tap into the neighboring country. The carmaker will return with its electronic car lineup, includ

Jan. 25, 2022

Minor domestic carmakers to face fines over lack of green car sales

Domestic carmakers that lack green car models such as Renault Samsung, SsangYong and GM Korea are expected to face heavier pressure from the government to increase supply of more sustainable cars this year. According to the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday, it will impose fines on automakers that have not been able to fulfill a certain percentage of car sales with more environmentally friendly cars, including electric and hydrogen vehicles, this year. Carmakers that have sold an annual avera

Jan. 25, 2022

Hyosung bets W1tr for green hydrogen

Hyosung said Wednesday it will invest 1 trillion won ($834.5 million) to invest in green hydrogen in South Jeolla Province. According to the South Korean conglomerate, the investments will produce 200,000 metric tons of green hydrogen per year in the region, which will create 300,000 jobs. To accomplish the goal, Hyosung will this year break ground on a 10-megawatt facility that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. Once completed, it will be the biggest one in Korea, according to the comp

Jan. 25, 2022

KRX chief vows investor protection over Kakao stock options row

The Korea Exchange will work to bring about a transparent market that affords retail investors better protection from market abusers and helps companies find the support they need to go public and compete with global peers, the bourse operator’s chief said Monday. “We see rebuilding market trust as key to that mission. This is an unprecedented time in that we have so much attention drawn to us,” Chairman and CEO Sohn Byung-doo said at a press conference, referring to recent ro

Jan. 25, 2022

SK to open mega R&D center ‘SK Green Techno Campus’

SK Group said Tuesday it will establish a giant research and development center dedicated to green technologies. According to the third-largest South Korean conglomerate, the R&D facility, tentatively named “SK Green Techno Campus,” will break ground in 2025 in Bucheon, adjacent to Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, and reach completion in 2027. The facility, on a 198,000-square-meter site, will house some 3,000 R&D personnel from the group’s seven affiliates -- SK Energy, S

Jan. 25, 2022