S. Korea to soften mortgage rules for first-time buyers from July

South Korea will ease mortgage rules for first-time homebuyers starting next month as part of a raft of real estate measures aimed at helping young people move up the property ladder, according to a real estate service provider on Monday. Applying for a mortgage will become easier for both couples and individuals seeking to purchase a home for the first time, the Zigbang report said. From July, couples with a combined annual income of less than 90 million won ($79,141) -- compared with the c

June 21, 2021

[News Focus] Coupang bets on Olympics to grow streaming service

E-commerce platform operator Coupang has once again surprised the market by winning the exclusive rights to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics online, apparently beating out local tech giants Naver and Kakao. For the deal, which has not yet been officially announced, Coupang may have agreed to pay up to 50 billion won ($44 million), industry observers said Monday, adding that it testifies the Nasdaq-traded firm’s strong intent to expand into the over-the-top content business. Since launching

June 21, 2021

Korean asset managers bank on virus recovery

South Korea’s asset managers are counting on the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic as vaccination gathers momentum. This, in turn, is adding fuel to Korean managers’ efforts to revisit industrial sectors that were hardest-hit by the virus impact. Shinhan Asset Management, an asset management arm of Korea’s banking group Shinhan, said Monday it plans to launch a second batch of its hybrid fund next week, in order to target companies reeling from the pandemic amid

June 21, 2021

Brokerage houses raise target prices for Kakao on business expansion

Backed by aggressive moves to go beyond its platform business, South Korean brokerage firms have painted a rosy outlook for Kakao and raised their target prices on the company, reports showed Monday. Some analysts predicted the popular mobile messenger KakaoTalk operator’s stock price to rise as high as 200,000 won ($175.80), up from their prior target prices. The adjustment came after the company jumped to the third most valuable stock on the nation’s main board Kospi. “Kaka

June 21, 2021

SK Bioscience to invest W150b to beef up vaccine production capacity

SK Bioscience Co., a major South Korean pharmaceutical firm, said Monday it plans to invest 150 billion won ($132 million) through 2024 to expand its production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines. SK Bioscience said the investment is meant to increase the production capacity of the production line based in Andong, about 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The investment will also be spent on building facilities to develop vaccines utilizing the so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which recently c

June 21, 2021

Samsung Display workers launch 1st strike in company history

Representatives of the labor union at Samsung Display Co. on Monday launched their first-ever strike after failing to reach a compromise on a wage hike, and the walkout marks the first after group chief Lee Jae-yong promised to abolish the conglomerate's "no labor union" policy. Around 40 representatives of Samsung Display's labor union staged a walkout at its plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, after their wage negotiations with the company did not reach an agreement. The uni

June 21, 2021

Eximbank inks $5b loan agreement with UAE’s oil company

To provide financial support for South Korean companies with overseas contracts in the Middle East, the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea has signed a loan agreement worth $5 billion, or nearly 6 trillion won, with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.  The framework agreement was made at a meeting between Eximbank CEO Bang Moon-kyu and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of the UAE's ADNOC, held Sunday at the oil company

June 21, 2021

S. Korea becomes world's 3rd-largest cosmetics exporter in 2020

South Korea became the world's third-largest exporter of cosmetics products in 2020 with its trade balance in the sector remaining in the black for nine straight years, government data showed Monday. The country exported $7.57 billion worth of cosmetics goods last year, up 16.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. South Korea's exports were third in the world, trailing France and the United States. Asia's fourth-largest economy posted a

June 21, 2021

S. Korea becomes less trade-dependent in 2019: BOK

South Korea's economy became slightly less trade-dependent in 2019, with imports accounting for more than 14 percent of overall supplies here, a central bank report showed Monday. The country's overall industrial output amounted to 5,097.5 trillion won ($4.49 trillion) in 2019, compared with 5,074.2 trillion won in 2018, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Domestic output accounted for 85.6 percent of the total, up from 85.5 percent in 2018, while imports accounted for the r

June 21, 2021

Samsung launches upgraded Odyssey gaming monitors

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday announced the global launch of its upgraded gaming monitors as the South Korean tech giant tries to boost sales amid the stay-at-home trend. The 2021 edition of Odyssey gaming monitors -- G70A, G50A and G30A -- will be available in major markets, including South Korea, according to Samsung. The 28-inch G70A comes with a price tag of 950,000 won ($840) here, while the 27-inch G50A will be sold at 650,000 won. List prices for the 27-inch and 24-inch G30A monit

June 21, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s exports of grapes set fresh high in 2020

　South Korea’s exports of grapes shot up 35 percent on-year in 2020 to set a new record high, data showed, on the back of the growing popularity of local agricultural products overseas. 　Outbound shipments of grapes came to $30.7 million in 2020, compared to $22.8 million posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　Over the first four months of 2021, exports of grapes came to $7.2 million, also up nearly 50 percent fr

June 21, 2021

LG, Magna in final phase to launch EV powertrain joint venture

LG Electronics Inc. and Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. are in the final phase of launching their electric vehicle (EV) powertrain joint venture next month, industry insiders here said Monday, as they review board member appointment plans for the new company. The South Korean tech giant is scheduled to spin off its green business in its vehicle solutions unit on July 1 to set up LG Magna e-Powertrain Co. Magna will then acquire a 49 percent stake in the new firm for $453 mil

June 21, 2021

Over 40% of S. Korean firms plan to hire interns in H2: poll

More than 4 out of 10 South Korean companies plan to employ interns during the second half of the year mainly for the purpose of covering manpower shortages, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey of 416 companies, taken by recruiting platform Saramin, 44 percent of the respondents said they have plans to hire interns in the July-December period. The figure is higher than the percentage of intern-hiring firms a year earlier. About 33 percent of local firms employed interns during the sa

June 21, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on Fed's hawkish pivot

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday despite strong export data as the US Federal Reserve's hawkish pivot last week increased market worries about an early tapering of its accommodative policies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 18.23 points, or 0.56 percent, to trade at 3,249.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start in the wake of the Fed's ongoing discussions about expediting its rate hike timeline. Federal Reserve Chairman

June 21, 2021

Exports up 29.5% in first 20 days of June

South Korea's exports rose 29.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of June on the back of robust demand for chips, autos and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $32.4 billion in the June 1-20 period, compared with $25 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 29.1 percent on-year to $32.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $291 million during the cited period, the data showed. B

June 21, 2021

Nearly 80% of S. Korean consumers increase online shopping amid pandemic

Nearly 8 out of 10 South Korean consumers have increased their online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 1,000 local consumers, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed 78.4 percent of the respondents saying their online purchases have risen since the outbreak of COVID-19. About 71 percent of them said they have purchased more foodstuffs and beverages online, followed by dining out and other food services (30.9 percent), kitchen and

June 21, 2021

Kepco maintains electricity rate in Q3 amid pandemic

South Korea's state-run energy firm on Monday said it has decided to retain the electricity rate in the third quarter of 2021, in a bid to ease the financial burden on local households amid the pandemic and rising inflation. The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said it will maintain the electricity rate from the previous quarter during the July-September period despite the recent hike in the global price of resources. The company, however, said it may raise costs in the fourth quarter should

June 21, 2021

[News Focus] From free air tickets to meal discounts: Vaccine marketing takes off

From free air tickets and special discounts on burgers to vaccinated-only seats at concerts, local industries are revving up their marketing efforts to target the rapidly growing number of Koreans getting their COVID-19 vaccine shots. As of Sunday, over 15 million people, or some 29.2 percent of the total population, have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, surpassing the government’s initial goal of inoculating 13 million in the first half of this year, according to the Ko

June 20, 2021

Korea’s IPOs to break annual records

South Korea’s domestic capital market is gearing up for a record year with a parade of initial public offerings set to eclipse a decade-old annual record of 10.1 trillion won ($8.9 billion), thanks to game developer Krafton’s expected blockbuster debut. This comes as Korean companies’ initial public offerings this year have already put their combined fundraising to a near-2020 level, according to IPO prospectuses submitted to Korean financial authorities. Through Sunday, 40

June 20, 2021

Banking groups integrate ‘lifestyle’ into financial services

Tech giants such as Naver and Kakao have penetrated the financial sector by integrating “lifestyle” into their financial services, offering all-in-one services via a single platform or close connections to their users. Kakao Corp., operator of the nation’s No. 1 mobile messenger in terms of users, for example, allows KakaoTalk users easy access to its financial services offered by KakaoBank. KakaoTalk users can use KakaoBank services at just a press of a button on the messeng

June 20, 2021