[Interactive] S. Korean exports of kimchi up 13.8% in Jan.-Aug.

South Korea’s exports of kimchi climbed nearly 14 percent in the first eight months of 2021 on growing overseas demand for healthier food amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed. Outbound shipments of kimchi reached $111.5 million in the January-August period, up 13.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the food industry. In contrast, imports of kimchi shrank 9.7 percent on-year to $86.1 million over the cited period, resulting in

Dec. 28, 2021

S. Korea to cut tariff rates on 90 products in 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea will lower tariff rates on a total of 90 products next year to strengthen competitiveness of small businesses and stabilize prices of key materials, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The number is higher than the 83 items subject to temporary tariff cuts under a tariff quota system this year, according to the ministry. Those products include crude oil, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, sugar, corn, chicken eggs and materials needed to produce batteries, the

Dec. 28, 2021

Seoul shares open lower despite US gains

South Korean shares opened lower Tuesday, bucking the overnight advance on Wall Street amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 5.20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,994.35 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. US shares advanced on optimism that the global economy can ride out the COVID-19 pandemic and tightening monetary policy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98 percent to 36,302.38 and the tech

Dec. 28, 2021

Consumer sentiment worsens in December amid virus resurgence

South Korea's consumer sentiment index dropped for the first time in four months in December due to concerns over the resurgence of the coronavirus, central bank data showed Tuesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came to 103.9 in December, down 3.7 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the first decline since August when the index fell to 102.5 from the previous month's 103.2. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pe

Dec. 28, 2021

Electricity demand hits new wintertime high

South Korea‘s electricity demand set a new wintertime high Monday, as the country was gripped by the coldest weather so far this season, the Energy Ministry said.　 Peak power demand had reached 90,708 megawatts as of 5 p.m., as lower-than-normal temperatures led to increased electricity use for heating, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This season’s first cold wave warning was issued in Greater Seoul and many other parts of the country over the weekend, wi

Dec. 27, 2021

60% of locals say K-fried chicken ‘not Korean’: survey

Six out of 10 Koreans do not think fried chicken is Korean food, or hansik, according to a survey from a public institution released Monday. The results come from a survey conducted by the Korea Food Promotion Institution in October on 1,500 Korean nationals aged between 19 to 69. Respondents were shown 30 dishes commonly enjoyed by locals and asked whether they thought the dish was “Korean” or not. Only 36.1 percent of respondents answered Korean style fried chicken -- without

Dec. 27, 2021

S. Korea to sell W13tr worth of state bonds in Jan.

South Korea plans to sell 13 trillion won ($11 billion) in government bonds in January, the finance ministry said Monday. The ministry will issue 900 billion won in Treasurys with a two-year maturity, 2.5 trillion won with a maturity of three years, 2.5 trillion won in five-year government bonds and 2.6 trillion won with a maturity of 10 years, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Sales of longer-dated bonds will include 3.3 trillion won in 30-year Treasury notes and 400 billion w

Dec. 27, 2021

EVs not future car anymore -- registration grow 200%

Registrations for electric vehicles jumped to 91,575 units, up 202.8 percent from the same period a year prior by November this year, data showed Monday, suggesting the quick expansion of their presence in the market. Riding on the sustainability bandwagon, more than 100,000 electric vehicles were sold in South Korea and more than 150,000 domestic electric vehicles were exported as of this month, according to Carisyou Data Lab. The Trade Ministry expects registrations to surpass 100,000 when D

Dec. 27, 2021

Online-only banks not accessible for non-Koreans

  For Hiram Piskitel, a 49-year-old American IT project manager at an international company in Seoul, the launch of South Korea’s third internet-only lender Toss Bank in October signaled a change in his personal finance routine. The online bank, operated by Viva Republica, had vowed to offer non-face-to-face banking services to foreign residents. If realized, it would be the first accessible online bank for the roughly 2 million non-Koreans residing in Korea. Hiram’s hopes, h

Dec. 27, 2021

Yongsan Park to include former DAPA, military apartment land

Yongsan Park, now a vacant area set to become a public park by 2027 will be expanded to hold a total of 3 million square meters of land by absorbing nearby sites that have been used by the military. According to the revised plan for establishment of Yongsan Park released by the Land Ministry on Monday, the site for Yongsan Park has expanded by 570,000 square meters, or 23.5 percent, compared to the 2014 plan. The plan to turn the USFK’s Yongsan Garrison into a national park was first

Dec. 27, 2021

Seoul shares end lower amid omicron woes

Seoul shares closed lower Monday on profit taking amid lingering concerns over the spread of the omicron variant. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 12.88 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,999.55 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 462.9 million shares worth some 8.13 trillion won ($6.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 446 to 405. Individuals sold a net 523 billion won worth of stocks, exceeding instituti

Dec. 27, 2021

Stable recovery forecast for Korea in 2022

South Korea is projected to see stable economic growth in 2022, driven by strong memory chips and electronic devices exports, despite lingering omicron and COVID-19 woes, experts in the US, UK and South Korea said.  “We believe that sufficient vaccine supply and South Korea’s capacity to quickly rollout booster jabs will ensure a recovery in private consumption and business investment spending,” Fei Xue, an Asia analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit told The Korea He

Dec. 27, 2021

Chip, renewable energy sectors set for growth: report

The chip, renewable energy and entertainment industries are set to grow next year, auditing firm Samjong KPMG said Monday in its annual industry forecast report for 24 industries. The supply of system chips will improve as production expands while sales of memory chips next year will not be as strong as this year, because of oversupply, the report said, noting that the South Korean government should work with local chipmakers like Samsung Electronics to localize parts for chip independence. Sa

Dec. 27, 2021

[CES 2022] LG’s rollable obsession extends to curved TV chair

In 2019, LG unveiled its jaw-dropping rollable TV, then followed that up in 2021 with a rollable phone. In 2022, LG will return to Las Vegas with a rather puzzling piece of innovation called Media Chair, a chimera device that combines a curved OLED TV with a recliner chair. While the product may not be familiar to those in the West, for those living in Asia, particularly South Koreans, the Media Chair is a revolution. The Media Chair will be mounted with not just an ordinary recliner chair

Dec. 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon calls for Samsung, Hyundai to collaborate on auto chips

South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun to “collaborate more closely” on automotive chips during a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-me, President Moon congratulated the Hyundai Motor chief for the automaker’s advancement in the European electric vehicle market and said, “I wish for Samsung and Hyundai to collaborate more closely

Dec. 27, 2021

SK Square invests W35b in agricultural tech startup Green Labs

SK Square, an information and communication technology arm of SK Group, has added South Korean agricultural startup Green Labs to its range of portfolio companies with a 35 billion won ($29.5 million) investment as a sole investor, it said Monday. The startup operates a smart farming platform called “Farm Morning,” dedicated to optimizing the supply chain of crop harvesting and distribution, as well as providing data-driven consulting services to farmers. The deal puts the curren

Dec. 27, 2021

Exports to New Southern, Northern regions to hit new records in 2021

South Korea's exports to the so-called New Southern and Northern regions are likely to touch all-time highs in 2021 on Seoul's efforts to deepen economic ties with those regions, the trade ministry said Monday. Seoul's overseas shipments to the New Southern Region -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India -- reached $111.9 billion in the first 11 months of this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In light of that, exports to the region are proje

Dec. 27, 2021

Number of franchise outlets up 9.5% in 2020 despite pandemic

The number of franchise outlets in South Korea rose more than 9 percent in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, but their sales dropped for the first time since 2013, data showed Monday. Franchise stores numbered 235,709 as of end-December last year, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Food and beverage franchise outlets expanded at double-digit numbers as demand for home delivery services grew sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Dec. 27, 2021

[CES 2022] LG teases transparent OLED display concepts at CES 2022

LG Display on Monday unveiled four new concepts using its transparent panel solutions to be premiered at its hybrid CES 2022 exhibitions in January. The new concepts feature screens that look like normal transparent glass windows, allowing users to see objects on the other side. But the screens can display images or deliver information while remaining transparent at the same time. These concepts aim to achieve spatial innovation at home, the office and commercial facilities including department

Dec. 27, 2021

Founder of Kakao accused by civic group of massive tax evasion

Kim Beom-su, the founder of South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp., and members of his family were accused by a civic group Monday of a massive tax evasion in a past corporate merger process. Spec Watch Korea lodged the accusation against Kim and his family members, including his brother-in-law, with the National Police Agency, alleging they evaded a total of 886.3 billion won ($747.6 million) of taxes in the process of Kakao's merger with internet portal Daum Communications Corp. in 2014. Th

Dec. 27, 2021