Ship carrying Chinese urea set to arrive in S. Korea

A first shipment of urea is set to arrive in South Korea from China later Tuesday, which is expected to help address a supply crunch of urea solution, a key fluid needed in diesel cars to cut emissions. A ship carrying 300 tons of urea will arrive in the southeastern city of Ulsan around 9 p.m. Tuesday after leaving from the Chinese eastern city of Tianjin on Saturday, officials said. The government said it plans to accelerate necessary procedures to enable the urea to be used to produce urea

Nov. 23, 2021

[Graphic News] Carmakers’ sales fall 22% amid chip shortages

  South Korean carmakers’ sales fell 22 percent last month from a year earlier as an extended global chip shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on vehicle production and sales, industry data showed. The country’s five carmakers - Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor - sold a combined 548,192 vehicles in October, down from 705,047 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales declined 21 percent

Nov. 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors attempted to lock in gains from the recent tech rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.54 points, or 0.22 percent, to 3.006.71 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start amid losses in most large caps. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.26 percent amid lingering inflation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.05 percent Top cap Samsung

Nov. 23, 2021

S. Korea to draw up additional W12.7tr scheme for merchants, vulnerable people

South Korea plans to chart out around 12.7 trillion won ($10.7 billion) worth of support measures for pandemic-hit small merchants and vulnerable people with excess tax revenue and the state budget, the country's finance minister said Tuesday. The government will unveil a package of measures to support small merchants, including low interest rate loans and cuts in electricity bills, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. The measures will also include ways to stabilize inflation and back qu

Nov. 23, 2021

Large S. Korean firms cut jobs amid coronavirus pandemic

Large South Korean companies have cut their combined workforce by more than 1 percent over the past two years amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The number of workers hired by 313 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales came to 1.24 million as of end-September this year, down 1.02 percent, or around 12,800, from two years earlier, according to the Leaders Index. These companies removed some 18,200 regular jobs over the cited period, while increasing the number

Nov. 23, 2021

EU resumes antitrust probe into Hyundai-Daewoo combination

The European Union antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has resumed its investigation into the proposed combination of two major South Korean shipbuilders 16 months after it suspended the probe. The European Commission plans to finalize the probe by Jan. 20, it said on its website. "The probe was able to be resumed as we fully answered questions by the EU antitrust regulator," said an official at Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE). KSOE is the subholding compan

Nov. 23, 2021

Biz sentiment deteriorates for Dec. amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's business sentiment deteriorated for December due to raw materials and parts supply disruptions from China in the manufacturing sector, a local think tank said Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales fell to 100.3 for next month, down from 100.6 for November, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. The business outlook stayed above 100 for a fourth straight month. The actual BSI stood at 102.2 in November, up

Nov. 23, 2021

Corporate direct financing down in Oct. as bond sales decline

South Korea's corporate direct financing shrank in October from a month earlier due to a reduction in bond sales, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 19.15 trillion won ($16.2 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 473.6 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 financial institutions.

Nov. 23, 2021

US' restriction on SK hynix plan in China 'legitimate': US trade chief

The United States' recent restriction on South Korean chipmaker SK hynix's plan to bring advanced equipment to a Chinese factory was made out of "legitimate concerns," and more such moves could be possible, Washington's top trade official has said.    US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai made the remarks in her recent radio interview with CBS, a Seoul-based broadcaster, which aired on Monday. She visited South Korea for a four-day run from Thursday.    &q

Nov. 22, 2021

[ESG Talk] Aftermath of COP26: Do you have a net zero strategy?

For the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference -- or COP26 -- world leaders gathered for two weeks in Glasgow to check the progress of the nationally determined contributions and reaffirm their commitments for climate change transition. Although there are equivocal attitudes to its outcome and some unsatisfied groups, the global leaders in public and private sectors have made leaping progress if we recall how Kyoto Protocol rolled out in the end. The COP26 will be remembered as the most i

Nov. 22, 2021

Renault Samsung says QM6 offers convenient winter drive

Renault Samsung Motors’ sport utility vehicle QM6 is becoming a popular choice for winter travel, as it offers a silent and convenient driving experience to drivers and leaves less of a carbon footprint, the company said Monday. The SUV, powered by gasoline or liquefied petroleum gas, has been the bestselling vehicle in its category. The gasoline-powered QM6 model first introduced in 2017 recorded top sales among midsized gasoline SUVs after just a year. Gas-powered SUVs were previously

Nov. 22, 2021

Food prices rise from pandemic, set to hit lower earners hard

Prices are rising for ramyeon, milk, and other everyday foods and drinks, as the pandemic has disrupted supply chains and pushed up the prices of agricultural goods. According to data from the Bank of Korea released Monday, consumer prices in the third quarter rose 2.6 percent from the same period last year. It was the steepest on-year increase in nine years, the institution said. First to feel the impact was South Korea’s No. 1 fried chicken franchise, Kyochon F&B. The company on

Nov. 22, 2021

Trade minister urges US to begin talks on steel import restrictions

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said on Monday that he called on the US to begin talks on revising restrictions on steel imports from South Korea during last week‘s meeting with his US counterpart. “As the US has recently reached an agreement on or has begun negotiations with the European Union and Japan, we strongly conveyed (to the US) that they should begin talks with South Korea, their ally which is competing with the EU and Japan in the US market,” Yeo said in a press briefing

Nov. 22, 2021

Seoul stocks soar 1.5% on Samsung, SK hynix

South Korean stocks rallied by some 1.5 percent Monday as a surge in chip heavyweights, such as Samsung Electronics, led the market gain. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 42.23 points, or 1.42 percent, to close at 3,013.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 524 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 490 to 372. Foreigners bought a net 796 billion won and in

Nov. 22, 2021

KITA to bolster monitoring on key materials

The Korea International Trade Association said Monday that it will bolster the monitoring of supply chains for key materials in close cooperation with government agencies and the trading units of conglomerates, amid the protracted urea solution supply crunch. According to a recent study by the trade lobby, South Korea is heavily dependent on single countries for its supplies of 3,911 materials, with China making up almost half the total. Over the past 10 months, Korea relied on imports from

Nov. 22, 2021

Chip shares surge on recovery signs of memory chip, metaverse wave

Shares of South Korean semiconductor firms rose sharply Monday over market prospects on recovery of memory chip price on intensifying global race to adopt metaverse technology. Memory chips are a critical component in the metaverse, in which users interact with each other in digital worlds, which could offset the bearish forecast for memory chip prices.　 Samsung Electronics -- the tech giant with interests in semiconductors, electronic devices and handsets -- surged 5.2 percent Monday. Another

Nov. 22, 2021

Tough backlash expected over real estate tax burden

SEJONG -- The government’s move to levy comprehensive real estate taxes on a certain portion of homeowners is likely to face severe backlash, amid the growing tax burden of households in proportion to high growth in apartment prices. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, those subject to the comprehensive real estate tax are people owning two homes or more -- whose collective property value, assessed by the Land Ministry, surpasses 600 million won ($506,000). Homeowners will

Nov. 22, 2021

Samsung Life, Korea Post launch W400b investment fund

Samsung Life Insurance said Monday that it will launch a joint fund with Korea Post to invest 400 billion won ($336 million) in foreign blue chip companies over the next 10 years, expanding cooperation in alternative investments like private equity and real estate. The country’s top insurer and the state-owned postal insurance will make investments under the recommendations of an asset management firm. A Samsung Life Insurance official declined to reveal details about the asset manager.

Nov. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Woori Financial Group fully privatized after 23 years: FSC

Woori Financial Group’s decadeslong journey toward privatization neared its final stage Monday, as financial authorities said the banking group is now “technically fully privatized,” greenlighting five investors in acquiring most of the remaining stake in the firm owned by the government. The Public Fund Oversight Committee under the Financial Services Commission sold a combined 9.3 percent stake in Woori Financial of the 15.13 percent owned by the state-run Korea Deposit Ins

Nov. 22, 2021

Hyundai Motor vows 46,000 jobs for youth in next 3 years

Hyundai Motor Group, the country’s second-largest group by assets, on Monday pledged to hire 46,000 youths over the next three years. “It is our group’s duty to expand our business to create more jobs so the young people can make use of their talent,” said Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun during a meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. “We will put a lot more effort to allow youths to execute their capabilities through collaborative projects involving

Nov. 22, 2021