Seoul stocks open steeply higher on US stock rallies

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from easing fears about the impact of the omicron variant on the global economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.95 points, or 0.64 percent, to trade at 2,993.98 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a bullish start, led by tech and auto advances. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 2.4 percent and the Dow Jones

Dec. 22, 2021

6 companies to recall over 34,000 vehicles over faulty parts

Hyundai Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz Korea and four other companies will voluntarily recall more than 34,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea due to problems with vehicle components. The six companies, including Hyundai's smaller affiliate Kia Corp., Toyota Motors Corp. and Stellantis Korea, are recalling a combined 34,639 units of 13 different models, the Ministry of Land, In

Dec. 22, 2021

Corporate direct financing rises 1.6% in November

Corporate direct financing by firms in South Korea grew 1.6 percent in November from a month earlier due to an increase in bond sales, data showed Wednesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.45 trillion won ($16.3 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 300.3 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other fi

Dec. 22, 2021

Posco International to invest W162b in Mexico EV parts factory

In a bid to penetrate the US electric vehicle market, Posco International said Tuesday it is opening a Mexico office to oversee the production plant of a core component. The component, the rotor motor core, is used to generate electricity in electric motors. The decision has been approved by the board, the trading arm of Korea’s leading steelmaker said. Some 52 billion won ($43.6 million) will be invested in building the facility, of which 80 percent will be funded by Posco Internat

Dec. 22, 2021

Hanwha to inject W338b for caustic soda production

Hanwha Solutions said Tuesday it will spend 338 billion won ($283.3 million) to add 270,000 tons of production capacity of caustic soda, a key raw material for electric vehicle batteries. According to the chemical and energy unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, the investment will allow the company to ramp up the annual production capacity of caustic soda at its petrochemical plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, to 1.11 million tons from the current 840,000 tons. “Hanwha

Dec. 21, 2021

4 in 5 foreign employees paid less than W3m

SEJONG -- Almost 4 in every 5 foreign salaried workers in South Korea were found to be earning less than 3 million won ($2,500) a month, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea and the Korea Immigration Service, around 811,000 foreigners were employed here this year, up 0.9 percentage point compared to the previous year. Of them, the portion of foreign employees whose monthly wage stayed under 3 million won reached 78.1 percent, or 633,000 people, this year. While 52.2 perce

Dec. 21, 2021

Incheon Airport forges W600b deal with Indonesian airport

Incheon International Airport Corp. has inked a 600 billion won ($503 million) deal to operate and develop Hang Nadim International Airport in Indonesia for 25 years starting next year, officials said Tuesday. It is the first overseas airport operation and development project Incheon International Airport Corp. has undertaken, they added. The deal was signed by Incheon International Airport Corp. and Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority to operate and develop the Indonesian airport in Batam, Ri

Dec. 21, 2021

Kyobo Life submits preliminary IPO application

Kyobo Life Insurance, the No. 3 life insurer in South Korea, has applied for a preliminary approval to list its shares on the country's main bourse, the stock market operator said Tuesday. Kyobo Life Insurance submitted the application with the Korea Exchange (KRX) for an initial public offering (IPO) and picked NH Investment and Securities Co. as the lead manager for the envisioned stock listing, according to the operator. Other details were not disclosed. In November, Kyobo Life Insurance s

Dec. 21, 2021

GS E&C completes New Selander Bridge project in Tanzania

South Korean builder GS E&C has completed its construction of New Selander Bridge in Tanzania, the largest development project funded by the South Korean government in Africa. New Selander Bridge is also the first bridge project GS E&C has worked on in Tanzania. It will officially open for use on Dec. 27. Located in Dar es Salaam, the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania, the New Selander Bridge is 670 meters long. It is a new type of bridge that has combined the characteristics

Dec. 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group raises global EV sales target to 1.7m in 2026: CEO

Hyundai Motor Group raised its global electric vehicle (EV) sales target for 2026 to 1.7 million units from 1 million units, its chief executive has said, underscoring the automaker's push to meet the growing EV demand. Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jae-hoon made the remark in an interview with the US-based Automotive News published on Tuesday, saying that the company will double the EV lineup to at least 13 models by 2026.  "That's very ambitious. Next year, we expect to sell about 220,

Dec. 21, 2021

Virtual model Lucy set to debut as Lotte Shopping show host

Virtual humans are everywhere: They promote products on social media, appear on billboard ads and now host infomercial shows. Lotte Home Shopping said Tuesday its virtual model Lucy will make her television debut as a show host on Wednesday for a special Christmas broadcast. Lucy is scheduled to appear in a teaser clip of the program and will introduce products offered on sale. This will be the first time the public gets to hear her voice, the infomercial channel said. Boasting 70,000 fol

Dec. 21, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on investors' bottom-fishing

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday, as investors sought to buy oversold stocks after the key index's recent plunge. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.03 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,975.03 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 396 million shares worth some 8.6 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 428 to 415. Institutions bought a net 601 billion won and foreigners purchased 3

Dec. 21, 2021

Is chip party coming to an end?

COVID-19 has been a perfect Christmas gift for major chipmakers this year, as the pandemic brought an unprecedented chip demand across the spectrum, from smartphones, laptops and PCs to data centers. To meet the surging demand, foundry giants -- TSMC, Samsung Electronics and Intel -- together have pledged to spend hundreds of billions of dollars throughout the next few years to expand their production capacities. But market watchers warn caution over the aggressive expansion, citing that t

Dec. 21, 2021

Korea to provide 10 times faster Wi-Fi in subways for free

Starting next year, subway passengers in South Korea will be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi services that are 10 times faster, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday. According to the ministry, subway commuters will be able to use Wi-Fi 6E that has a more reliable internet connection, and is 10 times faster than the current Wi-Fi speed. The upgraded Wi-Fi speed will be on par with that of private telecoms networks. Previously, the ministry had limited the transmitted signal power level in su

Dec. 21, 2021

BOK faces dilemma over inflation, growth

The Bank of Korea appears to be facing a dilemma ahead of its rate decision in January, as producer and consumer prices soar in defiance of anemic growth. Producer prices in November hit a record high, up 0.5 percent on-month and 9.6 percent on-year. The prices have been on a steady rise since November 2020, the longest since May 2011, when they ended a 19-month rally. “The base effect makes the (price) rises look worse than what they actually are. In November last year, oil and raw mate

Dec. 21, 2021

Polestar debuts in Korea, targets premium EV market

Polestar, the former Volvo company that spun off to become its own brand, announced its launch in South Korea on Tuesday. Aiming to become the game changer of the local EV market that is seeing a growing demand for the green vehicles, the EV company will introduce its first model Polestar 2 on Jan. 18. Polestar 2 is a five-door fastback equipped with a 78 kWh battery and two electric motors that can produce 408 horsepower. “We will be introducing Polestar 2 to our Korean customers at

Dec. 21, 2021

Final testing of Korean COVID-19 vaccine begins

Health authorities started the last stage of testing for SK Bioscience’s coronavirus vaccine GBP510 this week, the National Institute of Health said Tuesday. As a home-grown COVID-19 vaccine closest to becoming the country’s first vaccine to be authorized, GBP510 is currently in the third and last phase of its clinical trial. “The last and most important step for the commercialization of the first Korea-made COVID-19 vaccine has begun,” said Kwon Jun-wook, director of

Dec. 21, 2021

FSS chief warns of action if loan-deposit margin widens beyond 'reasonable' levels

South Korea's chief financial regulator said Tuesday that his agency will take "necessary" action if the spread between interest rates on loans and deposits widens beyond "reasonable" levels. Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks during an online press conference amid criticism that banks and other financial firms are quicker to increase their loan rates than raise rates on deposits. The rate hikes are in line with the central bank

Dec. 21, 2021

Samsung holds global strategy meeting for next year

Samsung Electronics Co. began a two-day companywide global strategy meeting, industry sources said Tuesday, the first since it appointed new CEOs in its first major reshuffle in three years and streamlined its structure after 10 years earlier this month. The biannual meeting used to take place in-person with attendance of hundreds of senior executives from at-home and abroad to discuss the company's global strategy and other core business issues. But it has moved online since last year amid the

Dec. 21, 2021

LG’s wireless StanbyME TV to hit Asia

LG Electronics announced Tuesday it plans to release its wireless StanbyME televisions in the Asian market starting this month and heightened its production capacity by threefold to meet demand overseas. Hong Kong will be the first Asian market for LG to set its sights on, according to the electronics arm of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate. Sales of the movable 27-inch TVs, powered by built-in batteries that last for three hours on a single charge, will begin within December

Dec. 21, 2021