Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from easing concerns about the omicron variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 25.72 points, or 0.86 percent, to trade at 3,017.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to a bullish start, backed by comments by Anthony Fauci, top medical adviser to the US president, that the symptoms of the omicron variant are most likely lighter than other var

Dec. 8, 2021

Housing prices have markedly stabilized: finance minister

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday housing prices have markedly stabilized on the back of housing supply measures, the central bank's rate hike and tougher rules on household loans. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said prices of apartments in some areas of Seoul have stabilized to a level before possible decline. "The government will make efforts to help housing prices further stabilize by increasing home supplies in a way that exceeds the market's expectations and by acti

Dec. 8, 2021

M&As by large companies jump this year

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by big South Korean firms rose sharply in the first nine months of this year as they revved up efforts to find new growth engines, data showed Wednesday. The country's top 500 companies spent a combined 28.8 trillion won ($24.4 billion) on M&As in the January-September period, more than double last year's spending of 12.6 trillion won, according to the data from corporate tracker CEO Score. The number of M&A cases came to 126 in the nine-mo

Dec. 8, 2021

Unionized Chanel cosmetics workers threaten strike

Cosmetic store workers of Chanel Korea said Tuesday they would walk off from their jobs for an indefinite period from Dec. 17 if the French luxury brand fails to pay overdue wages and take steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.  Union members representing 390 store workers at 85 cosmetics boutiques of Chanel held a press conference Tuesday in front of the firm’s office in Jung-gu, central Seoul.  The members are part of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, a

Dec. 7, 2021

LG Energy Solution submits registration for IPO

LG Energy Solution said Tuesday it has entered an official stage to go public in January, amid market expectation that the company will join the top five on the list with a valuation of a whopping 70.2 trillion won ($59.5 billion). According to South Korea’s leading battery firm, it submitted a registration statement to the Financial Services Commission to be listed on the nation’s main bourse Kospi. The company seeks to raise up to 12.75 trillion won by offering 42.5 million sh

Dec. 7, 2021

Mercedes-Benz dealer holds service skills contest

　Han Sung Motor, the official dealership of Mercedes-Benz Korea, last month held a biennial automotive service skills contest in a bid to foster technical specialists. 　Of some 760 applicants, 56 finalists who passed the preliminary round of the seventh Han Sung Skill Contest took the test based on standards proposed by the German carmaker. 　The top three scorers in seven fields, including system, body, paint and components, were awarded on Nov. 20 at the Seoul campus of the Korea Polytechnic

Dec. 7, 2021

Manufacturers see inventories surge: KDI

SEJONG -- The nation’s economy has faced downside risks in the wake of global industrial output and trade scaling back amid the ongoing pandemic, a state-funded research agency said Tuesday, casting concerns over a recent surge in manufacturers’ inventories. According to a report from the Korea Development Institute, the South Korean economy has been facing uncertainty with negative factors such as the spread of COVID-19 variants worldwide emerging despite a modest recovery earlier

Dec. 7, 2021

Can electric, hydrogen vehicles be charged at same time? Doosan says yes

Electric vehicle chargers can’t fuel hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen chargers can’t juice up electric vehicles. But what if there’s a solution to charge both at the same time? Che Hoo-seok, chief operating officer at Doosan Fuel Cell, the hydrogen business unit of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, says the infrastructure conundrum can be addressed with a breakthrough “triple” energy generation technology. “With natural gas, Doosan Fuel Cell’s

Dec. 7, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 5th session on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a fifth session Tuesday after choppy trading, led by advances in tech and auto shares. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 18.47 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 2,991.72 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 528 million shares worth some 9.9 trillion won ($8.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 586 to 268. Foreigners bought a net 207 billion won, whi

Dec. 7, 2021

Leaving Lee Jae-yong's position unchanged, Samsung Electronics replaces CEOs

Samsung Electronics has replaced all its CEOs and combined its mobile and home appliance business divisions in a surprise move, ditching the decade-old system that landed the South Korean tech giant in the top position in smartphones, TVs and semiconductors. In a year-end leadership reshuffle announced Tuesday, the company said it was reorganizing its operational structure, which will now consist of a consumer business unit called the SET division and a chip business unit called the device solu

Dec. 7, 2021

Krafton to lead W13b investment in Middle East mobile game publisher

South Korea’s Krafton, the company behind megahit video game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, said Tuesday it would help secure investment of 13 billion won ($11 million) for Tamatem, a leading mobile game publisher in the Middle East and North Africa. The Korean game developer, which has already invested 7 billion won in the Jordan-based publisher, will work with investors like Venture Souq and Endeavor Catalyst to deliver the funding. Tamatem is one of the three major publishers in

Dec. 7, 2021

[Herald Interview] 'Korea has potential to play key role in global bio market'

Led by major biopharmaceutical companies in Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, South Korea is poised to make a bigger impact on the global market, according to German science and technology group Merck. “Executives at Merck headquarters think the Korean government’s vision to turn the country into a global vaccine hub by 2025 is impressive. There were suggestions to actively cooperate with the Korean government and support its strategic efforts to foster the bio industry,” said

Dec. 7, 2021

Trade Week provides export chances for Seoul SMEs

Trade Week 2021 -- the Seoul Business Agency’s global trade conference, established to offer export opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in Seoul -- began its four-day run Tuesday. The SBA, a city-run agency that supports SMEs in the capital, said a total of 300 companies will participate in more than 1,200 online export consultations with 500 foreign buyers from more than 20 countries. The participating companies work mainly in the categories of beauty, lifestyle, food,

Dec. 7, 2021

Woori Bank opens Hungary office

South Korea’s Woori Bank opened its first representative office in Budapest, Hungary, after financial authorities there last week granted the license to operate, the firm said Tuesday. Woori said it plans to finance both Korean businesses that have entered the market and Hungarian businesses through the new office. Hungary has grown as a key destination for Korean businesses seeking to launch electric vehicle battery plants or auto parts manufacturing factories in recent years. Woori&r

Dec. 7, 2021

Ministry announces guideline on stable online services by Netflix, Google

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Tuesday unveiled a guideline on a revised law requiring Netflix and other tech giants to improve their online service quality. Last December, South Korea passed a law revision holding online content service providers accountable if they fail to maintain stable services amid growing complaints against streaming giants Netflix and Google after their services experienced a number of outages. The revised law, informally dubbed the "Netflix law" in the c

Dec. 7, 2021

S. Korea secures stable urea supply from Indonesia for next 3 years

South Korea will be able to import around 120,000 tons of urea per year from Indonesia over the next three years, a move expected to help prevent a supply crunch of the key industry material here, Seoul's industry ministry said Tuesday. The agreement was made as Seoul's Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook and Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) meant to boost bilateral cooperation in the urea supply earlier in the day. South Korea h

Dec. 7, 2021

Over 2 million jobs disappeared while 710,000 created last year: data

Some 2.63 million jobs have disappeared in the last year, while only 710,000 new jobs have been added, government data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, over 2 million jobs have been destroyed due to companies downsizing their workforce or shutting down businesses due to the pandemic.  In the same period, some 710,000 jobs were created. More than half, or 53.5 percent, of them were for people aged 60 or above, followed by those in their 50s and 40s with 3.2 percent and 1.6

Dec. 7, 2021

Samsung Electronics CFO tapped to lead Samsung’s battery arm

Choi Yoon-ho, the chief financial officer of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics widely known to be close to its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong, was named Tuesday as the new chief executive officer of Samsung SDI, a Samsung affiliate dedicated to manufacturing batteries and display panel parts. The 58-year-old currently heads Samsung Electronics’ corporate management office, which encompasses its corporate finance, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate communications, globa

Dec. 7, 2021

LG CNS launches service for corporate migration to metaverse

South Korean information technology service firm LG CNS said Tuesday that it had launched a virtual office service by teaming up with Japanese firm oVice, a move to capitalize on metaverse technology to address demand for pandemic-friendly remote work environments. LG CNS will play a role in migrating corporate clients’ work environment online, allowing the clients’ employees to do everyday tasks such as exchanging emails and receiving notifications or checking schedules. Employees

Dec. 7, 2021

Moody's to closely monitor S. Korean non-banking sector's asset soundness: analyst

Moody's Investors Service will closely monitor the asset soundness of non-banking financial institutions in South Korea amid worries that they could face risks from snowballing corporate and household debt and rising interest rates, an analyst of the global credit appraiser said Tuesday. In a virtual media briefing, Ok Tae-jong, a senior analyst at Moodys' Investors also said that a continued increase in household debt and asset prices could negatively affect the evaluation of the overall banki

Dec. 7, 2021