Coinone wins approval, but Bithumb’s application still pending

South Korean crypto exchange Coinone has passed the high bar for official registration while the case of its bigger rival Bithumb remains pending, the country’s top financial regulator said Friday. The Financial Intelligence Unit, an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services Commission, approved Coinone’s application to register its virtual asset business but is holding off on a decision about Bithumb. Market insiders suggested that the delay might have something to

Nov. 12, 2021

FSS warns KakaoBank to strengthen anti-money laundering measures

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Friday warned online-only lender KakaoBank to improve its monitoring system that protects against money laundering. Financial Supervisory Service concluded that KakaoBank’s anti-money-laundering team lacks a monitoring process, relying only on receiving tips from other teams. As a result of weak monitoring, the online lender failed to ring the alarm on several cases that involved suspicious money transfers overseas, the FSS said. For instance,

Nov. 12, 2021

Finance Ministry forecasts rosy outlook for domestic demand

South Korea’s domestic demand is on its track for a recovery in line with the rebound in exports and the adoption of the “Living with COVID-19” scheme, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly report. “The Korean economy is recovering amid an ongoing improvement in exports and the job market,” the ministry said in a monthly report. “Domestic demand is likely to gradually rebound as the in-person service sector recovers due to eased quarantin

Nov. 12, 2021

Krafton, Kakao Games to join MSCI Korea Index

Morgan Stanley Capital International said Friday that it has added six South Korean stocks, including local gaming giants Kakao Games and Krafton, to its regional emerging market index via November’s quarterly review. According to the capital market indexes provider, the rest of the list includes L&F, a battery materials manufacturer, fashion company F&F, diagnostics company SD Biosensor and Iljin Materials, an electronics components manufacturer. At the same time, it took thre

Nov. 12, 2021

Lee Jae-yong’s 2014 meeting with Goldman Sachs exec draws attention

A 2014 meeting between Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Gene Sykes of Goldman Sachs is drawing attention, sources said Friday, in connection with Lee’s alleged plans to inherit his father’s leadership role at Samsung. During a court hearing on Thursday, an email written by Sykes, then-head of mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs, was disclosed by Samsung’s lawyers as evidence for the defense. They say it counters prosecutors’ claims that Lee discus

Nov. 12, 2021

Seoul stocks spike 1.5% on bargain hunting

South Korean stocks surged by 1.5 percent Friday as investors scooped up oversold stocks after the recent slide. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 43.88 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 2,968.8 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 655 million shares worth some 12.3 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 766 to 118. Foreigners bought a net 430 billion won, while retail investors sold 1

Nov. 12, 2021

Samsung to overhaul job ranking system for first time in 5 years

Samsung Electronics will overhaul its job ranking system for the first time in five years, Samsung Electronics said Friday. The move is seen as part of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s plan to create a new Samsung one year after his father’s death. According to the company, the tech giant posted an internal message saying it would revise its evaluation and promotion system. “The change will be completed within this month and an official announcement will be made,” a comp

Nov. 12, 2021

Posco to cut emissions by 320,000 tons with carbon capture, utilization tech

South Korean steel giant Posco said Friday that it would test the feasibility of a carbon capture and utilization technology that could potentially eliminate 320,000 tons of carbon emissions from steel production. According to the world’s No. 6 steelmaker, the technology, once fully developed, will be applied to coke ovens installed inside its two steel mills -- one in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and one in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. Each of the coke ovens emits 30,000-50,0

Nov. 12, 2021

GM Korea to launch 10 new EVs by 2025

General Motors Korea will be launching 10 new electric vehicles for the South Korean market by 2025, General Motors International President Steven Kiefer said Friday. The vehicles will range from entry-level to high-performance models, he said. Kiefer, who is also a senior vice president at GM, said competitiveness and profitability are key to sustaining business in Korea and stressed the importance of the Korean market for the global automotive company, during the GM Future Growth Virtual Pre

Nov. 12, 2021

Katech partners with Horiba Mira for early commercialization of autonomous vehicles

The Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech, has agreed to work together with the UK-based automotive consultancy firm Horiba Mira on the early commercialization of autonomous vehicles, the agency said Friday. Katech Director Heo Nam-yong and Horiba Mira’s Chief Commercial Officer Roisin Hopkins agreed to pursue joint research and development on future vehicle technologies, signing a partnership agreement at the Horiba Mira headquarters in Nuneaton, England, Thursday (Greenwich

Nov. 12, 2021

Samsung Fire Q3 net surges 42% on decreased loss rate

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., the non-life insurance arm of Samsung Group, reported a 42.2 percent rise in its third-quarter earnings amid a fall in accident-linked insurance payments amid tightened social distancing rules. Net income came to 278.15 billion won ($235.5 million) during the January-September period, compared with a net profit of 195.56 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The improved bottom line is attributable to a fall in loss ratio

Nov. 12, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 antibody treatment wins EU drug agency's recommendation

The European Union's drug agency has recommended the approval of a COVID-19 antibody treatment by Celltrion Inc., paving the way for its sales in the region, the South Korean pharmaceutical giant said Friday. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) under the European Medicines Agency recommended the application of Rekirona in adult patients aged 18 and older. The European Commission, which is authorized to approve medicines in the region, is expected to issue its decision wit

Nov. 12, 2021

Domestic demand to gradually recover amid eased virus restrictions: ministry

South Korea's domestic demand is expected to gradually recover as in-person service segments will likely rebound amid the country's eased virus restrictions, the finance ministry said Friday. But Asia's fourth-largest economy still faces external economic downside risks, including global inflation risks and supply chain disruptions, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called Green Book. "The Korean economy is recovering amid robust exports and an improvement in th

Nov. 12, 2021

Disney+ lands in S. Korea amid competition in video streaming market

Disney+, the flagship streaming service of US media giant Walt Disney Co., landed in South Korea on Friday, heating up competition in the country's video streaming market. The streaming service is now available on its website or in Apple's App Store for iPhones and Google's Play Store for Android devices. The service distributes various films and TV series from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star, showing their original content hits, like "Loki" and "T

Nov. 12, 2021

[Graphic News] Online shopping hits record high in September

　Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in September, led by solid demand for food delivery services and electronic goods amid the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, data showed. 　The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion) in September, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　The September reading marked an all-time high since the agency began to compile related data in 2001. 　The value of online shopp

Nov. 12, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, largely backed by gains in tech, auto and bio shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.29 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,947.21 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 0.52 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.4 percent, and pharmaceutical giant Samsung Biologics added 0.37 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, moved up 1.22 percent, and elect

Nov. 12, 2021

S. Korea temporarily cuts fuel taxes to tackle soaring oil prices

South Korea temporarily lowered fuel taxes Friday in an effort to ease the impact of surging oil prices on the country's consumer inflation and people's lives. Government officials said the 20 percent reduction in taxes on gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will remain in place for six months until the end of April next year. Under the move, the fuel tax on gasoline drops to 656 won ($0.55) per liter from 820 won, with that on diesel falling to 466 won from 582 won. Taxes accou

Nov. 12, 2021

Kia to sell only EVs in Europe from 2035

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday it will sell only electric vehicles in Europe from 2035 and in other major markets from 2040 as it seeks to gradually phase out internal combustion-engine cars in global markets.    Kia announced the 2045 carbon neutrality strategy as governments around the globe are adopting more aggressive policies to fight climate change and carmakers are stepping up efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.    Under th

Nov. 11, 2021

Korean tech giants sweep CES 2022 Innovation Awards

Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics swept the CES 2022 Innovation Awards, ahead of the year’s biggest tech event to be held in Las Vegas in January. Samsung Electronics received 43 CES 2022 Innovation Award honors, including four Best of Innovations accolades. The Consumer Technology Association, which organizes the annual convention, announced Wednesday the products and technologies across 27 sectors that received the CES 2022 Innovation Award. Samsung swept the v

Nov. 11, 2021

SK invests $340m in Crown X, strengthens partnership with Vietnam’s Masan Group

SK Group announced Thursday that it will invest $340 million in Crown X, a consumer retail platform within Vietnam’s Masan Group, in an effort to expand its strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia. SK Group recently bought a 9.5 percent stake in the Vietnamese consumer goods company, in line with its Global Story initiative to discover new market opportunities through direct foreign investment. Crown X is a subsidiary of Masan Group and owns Masan Consumer Holdings, a food and bevera

Nov. 11, 2021