Hashed invests in membership-based financial service provider Hi

Hashed, a South Korean venture capital company specialized in investing in blockchain technology, on Tuesday said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Hi, a membership-powered financial service for crypto and fiat currencies. Hi was co-founded by Sean Rach, the former chief marketing officer at Crypto.com and Stefan Rust, who served as CEO at Bitcoin.com. “Hi aims to provide a global wallet service that can provide various financial and payment services using cryptocurrency. We e

July 13, 2021

Seoul stocks up for 2nd day on speculations of strong quarterly earnings

South Korean stocks advanced for a second consecutive session Tuesday, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying that stemmed from optimism for strong corporate earnings and economic indicators for the second quarter. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 24.91 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,217.38 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth around 13.2 trillion won ($11.5 billion), wit

July 13, 2021

Hyundai to resume production at Brazil plant this week

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Tuesday it will resume operations of its plant in Brazil this week following a 10-day suspension amid a global chip shortage. Early this month, Hyundai said it will halt the Piracicaba, Sao Paulo plant from July 5-14 due to lack of semiconductor parts.     "The plant will partially resume production on July 15 with one shift despite the parts shortage (after reducing output by one-third late last month).

July 13, 2021

Overseas cryptocurrency exchanges using Korean currency must register with anti-money laundering body: regulator

Cryptocurrency exchanges that are based outside South Korea must register with the nation's anti-money laundering body if they use the Korean currency, a top financial regulator said Tuesday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks when asked by a lawmaker whether Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, should comply with a revised law from September. If a cryptocurrency exchange serves local customers with the won-currency settlement, it must regis

July 13, 2021

Vine Group expands business, social outreach

South Korean education service provider Vine Group has been expanding its businesses beyond teaching, entering into areas such as food and beverage, asset management and IT services, with continued investment in people and commitment to social responsibility. Behind its expansion has been the “100 Project,” an in-house venture program founded three years ago to promote diversity and creativity among company employees. The ultimate goal of the program, according to the company, is

July 13, 2021

KRX to expand Korean won contract on Eurex

South Korea’s sole bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, and the Eurex Exchange will expand their tradable product range through the Korean won contract starting July 26, officials said Tuesday. Regular trading hours will be set between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. here. Incomplete contracts from the night session will be transferred to the local bourse operator’s regular derivative market, they said. The new forex future contract will complement the Kospi 200 options, the Mini-Kospi futures a

July 13, 2021

First-generation e-commerce platform Interpark up for sale

South Korea’s first-generation e-commerce platform Interpark, which gained popularity as an online book store and a ticket sales platform, is now up for sale. The company has confirmed reports that it had tapped security firm NH Investment & Securities to oversee the sale though no final decisions have been made. Multiple reports have said the firm is seeking to sell 28.41 percent of its shares, currently owned by CEO Lee Ki-hyung and affiliated persons. With its market capitalizati

July 13, 2021

Child birth, rearing still key cause for women's career breaks: data

It takes 20 years for the female employment rate to reach the same figure of female workers in their first year of marriage, suggesting that child births and rearing are still the main obstacles they face in continuing their careers, a report showed Tuesday. A survey conducted by the Korea Labor Institute, the employment rate among married women in the first year of marriage was 68.1 percent but the figure plunged to 40.5 percent when they reached the fifth year. The job rate of married women

July 13, 2021

Logistics investment continues as e-commerce war wages on

More e-commerce platforms are rushing to offer early morning delivery outside of Seoul to win the nation-wide grocery delivery war that has been sparked by Market Kurly and Coupang. Shinsegae Group’s online retail channel SSG.com began expanding dawn delivery in several major cities in North and South Chungcheong Province this week, including Cheongju, Cheonan and Sejoing City. The company has said it plans to expand the service to the rest of the country in the future. Entering the regi

July 13, 2021

Samsung makes push into automotive image sensor market

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced the launch of a new image sensor for automobiles, taking aim at a market segment controlled by Japanese rival Sony. The new Isocell Auto 4AC will be supplied to a global car brand this year, it said. “Starting with the Isocell Auto 4AC, we plan to expand our automotive sensor lineup to areas such as camera monitor systems, autonomous driving and in-cabin monitoring,” said Chang Duck-hyun, the executive vice president of Samsung’s s

July 13, 2021

S. Korea launches test bed for 5G devices

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it has opened a testing facility for products that run on 5G networks in a move to support small and mid-sized companies. The country has earmarked a total of 19.8 billion won ($13.8 million) from 2019 to 2023 to develop the testing center in Gumi, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The facility aims to support local companies in checking whether their connected devices work properly on local and global

July 13, 2021

[Herald Interview] Scaling legal service with tech touch

More industries are being disrupted by technology, and more companies in South Korea are operating across multiple jurisdictions, often leading to complexities in international legal disputes. This is reshaping the way Korean law firms deliver legal services to domestic clients, by exploring new industrial trends, organizing its lawyers and creating new legal services for clients in response to the trends, a top attorney of a Korean full-service law firm said. “Corporate clients increa

July 13, 2021

Finance chief reaffirms opposition to universal COVID-19 relief cash handouts

South Korea's top economic policymaker on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to the idea of providing universal COVID-19 relief handouts to all people with another extra budget currently under review at parliament. On Monday, the heads of the ruling and main opposition parties shared the view about the need to provide cash handouts to all people with this year's second extra budget. In late June, the government proposed an extra budget of 33 trillion won ($28.9 billion) to finance the fifth rou

July 13, 2021

Construction equipment makers enjoying brisk overseas sales

South Korean construction equipment manufacturers are basking in robust overseas sales despite the resurgence of new coronavirus infections, industry data showed Tuesday. South Korea's top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said its European subsidiary sold 543 units of excavators and other construction equipment in June, a new monthly high. Its previous monthly record was set in April 2019, when the European subsidiary shipped 504 units. Brisk sales in Britain and Italy led th

July 13, 2021

Chubb names new head for Korea's general insurance business

Property and casualty insurance firm Chubb said Tuesday it has appointed Edward Kopp as the new country president for its general insurance business in Korea. The announcement marks Kopp‘s return to the position that he had served in from 2013 to 2018. Kopp will replace the incumbent Edward Ler, who has been appointed to Head of Southeast Asia for Chubb. Kopp, currently Chubb‘s Asia Pacific Head for Accident & Health, has more than 25 years of experience in the financial servi

July 13, 2021

Money supply continues to grow in May

South Korea's money supply continued to grow in May, as loans to households and firms grew amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,385 trillion won ($2.95 trillion) as of end-May, up 0.6 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 jumped 11 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that counts cas

July 13, 2021

Hyundai, Kia expected to log sharp rebound in Q2 earnings

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. are set to report a sharp rebound in operating profit for the second quarter on strong demand for their vehicles that offset output disruptions by semiconductor shortages, analysts said Tuesday. Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, are expected to have posted operating profits of 1.86 trillion won ($1.6 billion) and 1.34 trillion won, respectively, for the quarter ended June 30, according to a median for

July 13, 2021

Most bond experts eye rate freeze in July: poll

A majority of bond mavens in South Korea predict the central bank to hold its key interest steady for July amid the prolonged coronavirus fallout, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 200 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 89 percent of the 100 respondents said the Bank of Korea (BOK) will likely freeze its policy rate at a rate-setting meeting slated for Thursday. The number of standpatters was down nine from the previous month. In contrast, 11 experts, u

July 13, 2021

[Exclusive] Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution complete development of 4680 cell samples, eye Tesla orders

Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution have finished developing samples of larger and more powerful “4680” battery cells, a type first presented by Tesla last year, in an apparent effort to win contracts from the global electric vehicle leader, a source said Tuesday. “Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution have developed samples of cylindrical 4680 cells and are currently conducting various tests at their facilities to verify their structural integrity. Also, they have provided spe

July 13, 2021

DH asks regulator to extend deadline for Yogiyo sale

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday that Delivery Hero (DH) has asked it to extend the deadline for the sale of its food delivery affiliate here, Yogiyo, as the German company is facing difficulty in finding a potential investor. In December, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) ordered DH to sell Yogiyo, South Korea's No. 2 food delivery app, if it wants to buy the country's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers. DH has to sell Yogiyo by Aug. 3. Details on DH's request a

July 13, 2021