Online shopping up 25% in April amid contactless trend

Online shopping in South Korea increased 25.2 percent in April from a year earlier as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid a non-contact consumption trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in April, up from 12.1 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The April reading slightly fell from a 15.9 trillion-won on-year gain in March, but the use of on

June 3, 2021

LG allows others to use its open source software management tool

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday said its open source software management tool is now available to outside developers as the South Korean tech giant eyes to bolster its presence in the software community. LG said the FOSSLight (Free and Open Source Software Light) system, which it has been using since 2014, can now be downloaded for free at its website. Open source software is distributed with its original source code and allows programmers to freely use or modify work. But at the same time,

June 3, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins W221b order for 3 oil tankers

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday it has signed a 220.5 billion-won ($198.6 million) order for three oil tankers. The order from a European company calls for Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of KSOE, to deliver the vessels by February 2024, KSOE said in a regulatory filing. The order has an option to cancel an order for one oil tanker within a given period, the company said.  So far this year, KSOE has bagged orders for 123 ships, as well

June 3, 2021

All of Samsung's chip facilities achieve Carbon Trust's Triple Standard

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip producer, said Thursday that all of its semiconductor facilities have earned triple standard recognition from global environment certification leader Carbon Trust. Samsung said its nine chip facilities worldwide have received the Carbon Trust Triple Standard label for their efforts to reduce carbon, waste and water use. The company runs five semiconductor worksites in South Korea, three in China and one in the United States. The South

June 3, 2021

S. Korea to stockpile more natural gas amid uncertainties

South Korea said Thursday it plans to stockpile more natural gas to maintain a stable supply of the resource amid uncertainties in the global price. Under the draft plan, the state-run Korea Gas Corp. will reserve nine days worth of gas to cope with potential disruptions in imports, compared with the previous guideline of seven days, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said the revision is also aimed at better preparing for unexpected cold waves, which may lea

June 3, 2021

Tesla's Model Y becomes best-selling imported model in May

US electric vehicle maker Tesla's newly released Model Y was the top-selling foreign car model in South Korea last month, beating German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz's E-Class, industry data showed Thursday. A total of 3,461 Tesla's vehicles were registered in May, sharply up from 76 in April, thanks to the release of new EV models, according to the data by CarIsYou Data Research Center. Tesla's Model Y accounted for most of the Korean sales, selling 3,328 units in May, becoming the best-selling

June 3, 2021

Samsung unveils new Galaxy Book Go laptops

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled new Galaxy Book laptops as the South Korean tech giant eyes to beef up notebook sales amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. The Galaxy Book Go and the Galaxy Book Go 5G will be the latest additions to Samsung's notebook portfolio powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon compute platforms. The Galaxy Book Go 5G is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G platform, while the LTE version is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 system.

June 3, 2021

SK Planet invests W15b in cancer diagnostics firm

SK Planet, a data analysis subsidiary of top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., said Thursday it will invest 15 billion won ($13.2 million) in local cancer diagnostics firm Bertis in a move to expand its presence in the digital health care industry. The move will make SK Planet the second major shareholder in the privately held company, which develops artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology in protein analysis for early diagnoses of major diseases, such as breast cancer. SK Planet said in a

June 3, 2021

State agencies request 6.3% hike in 2022 budget

South Korea's government ministries and state agencies have requested a 6.3 percent hike in their budgets for next year as they seek to cope with post-pandemic economic recovery and implement key policy projects, the finance ministry said Thursday. Their budget proposals amount to a combined 593.2 trillion won ($533.7 billion), up 35.2 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Requests for budget spending in the health, social welfare and environmen

June 3, 2021

Apple's App Store facilitated nearly $15b in sales in S. Korea last year

Apple Inc. facilitated nearly $15 billion in billings and sales in South Korea last year, according to a report released by the company Thursday, unveiling the figure for the country for the first time. The report from the US-based Analysis Group found that Apple's App Store facilitated $14.9 billion in billings and sales in South Korea in 2020, accounting for 2.3 percent of the total global market at $643 billion. The figure covers sales of digital goods and services facilitated by the App St

June 3, 2021

S. Korea atop Q1 chip equipment spending chart: report

South Korea was the world's largest spender on chip equipment in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, amid a global semiconductor shortage. South Korea, home to major memory chip producers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., spent $7.31 billion in chipmaking equipment in the January-March period, up 118 percent from a year ago, according to quarterly billings data from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufactur

June 3, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's US sales on roll in May

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Thursday their combined US sales again broke their monthly record for the third consecutive month in May thanks to the popularity of their SUV models.  Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 170,315 vehicles in the United States last month, up 64.6 percent from a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Both Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, reported the

June 3, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday on overnight Wall Street gains, backed by the US Federal Reserve's economic diagnosis that partially eased market jitters over early post-pandemic inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.09 points, or 0.5 percent, to reach 3,240.32 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.14 percent, following the Fed's reiteration of its stance that the ongoing price hike is likely transien

June 3, 2021

Finance minister warns of adjustments in home prices

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday voiced "deep" concerns about one-sided expectations that housing prices will likely continue to rise in the second half. The minister said housing prices may stabilize as the government has a strong commitment to curbing high-flying home prices. "Market players need to be vigilant against one-sided anticipation for the housing market," Hong said at a pan-government meeting on the property market. He also cited talks of an early tape

June 3, 2021

S. Korea's dependency on Japan materials, parts hits new low

South Korea's dependency on Japanese materials and parts plumbed an all-time low this year in the wake of Tokyo's control on exports of key products, government data showed Thursday. Imports of Japanese materials and parts came to $9.69 billion in the January-April period, accounting for 15 percent of South Korea's overall imports of those goods, according to the data from the industry and trade ministry. The proportion was down 1.1 percentage points from the same period a year earlier and the

June 3, 2021

FX reserves hit record high in May on weaker dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to a record high in May as the US dollar's weakness improved the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $456.4 billion as of end-May, up $4.15 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The FX re

June 3, 2021

Kia’s EV6 comes with sleek design, long driving range

For South Korea’s second-largest carmaker Kia, its sister brand Hyundai Motor is both the closest partner and biggest rival in the fast expanding battery electric vehicle market. Set to deliver the EV6 in the later half of the year, Kia has chosen to emphasize the extensive driving range and harmonious design proportion -- vying with Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 5, which is noted for its spacious interior and futuristic design. Earlier this week, the carmaker unveiled the EV6 to the medi

June 3, 2021

[Herald Interview] Understanding blockchain through investor’s eyes

Just as people are getting used to the concept of cryptocurrencies, new terms like “DeFi,” nonfungible token and metaverse have become the talk of the town. While an increasing use of NFTs opens up a wide range of virtual services in the metaverse, investors are seeing huge business opportunities from these technologies that could reshape the digital world. And some are moving quickly to back novice blockchain startups with fresh ideas and potential. The Korea Herald met Ethan Ki

June 2, 2021

S. Korean companies rush to develop mRNA vaccine tech

South Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are taking the initiative in the messenger RNA vaccine sector in hopes of developing new COVID-19 vaccines and building their capabilities to counter the next pandemic. Samsung Biologics, a major contract manufacturer of drugs, plans to add an mRNA vaccine production line at its facility in Songdo, Incheon, to potentially manufacture ingredients for new mRNA vaccines. ST Pharm, GeneOne Life Science and Hanmi Science are bent on developing

June 2, 2021

SK Lubricants expects 100% surge in lubricant sales for EVs

SK Lubricants, a subsidiary under SK Innovation, said Wednesday that its lubricant sales for electric vehicles is expected to double on-year, buoyed by a growing demand for EVs. The market size for EV lubricants will grow as much as six times by 2025, as the number of EVs, which stood at 3.94 million this year, will jump to 11.26 million by 2025, according to IHS Markit. EVs, which accelerate faster than gas-powered cars, require much more efficient lubricants that can cool down motors, gear

June 2, 2021