Litigation looms over foreign trade finance fund debacle

A looming legal battle between a top insurance firm and an issuer of derivative-linked securities raises concerns over the financial product -- whose underlying asset, a trade finance fund, had deferred redemption. Samsung Life Insurance, which sold over 53 billion won ($47 million) worth of DLS products through a privately pooled fund, is awaiting court proceedings against NH Investment & Securities, the brokerage firm that issued the DLS for the seller, the company said Wednesday. A Sa

April 14, 2021

BHC Chicken achieves W400b sales in 2020

BHC Co. logged 400.4 billion won ($358 million) in sales in 2020, up 26 percent from the year earlier, placing the company as the No. 2 South Korean fried chicken franchise, the franchise operator said Wednesday. According to BHC Co., which runs the BHC Chicken brand, the company’s operating profit also grew by 33 percent on-year to record 130 billion won in 2020. It is the first time the fried chicken franchise recorded sales surpassing the 400 billion mark, the company said. Among t

April 14, 2021

Google Korea's 2020 revenue hits W220b

Google Korea saw its revenue reach more than 200 billion won ($178.65 million) last year in the first disclosure of its financial statement in the country, a regulatory filing showed Wednesday. Google Korea, which operates under Google International LLC, said in the filing that its sales stood at 220.14 billion won last year, up 3.66 percent from the previous year, while operating profit reached 15.59 billion won, up 52.95 percent over the same period. The company said most of its sales came f

April 14, 2021

S. Korea to review post-pandemic fiscal policy: official

South Korea will review its post-pandemic fiscal policy as an economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak will raise the need to normalize its expansionary fiscal spending, a senior government official said Wednesday. Second Vice Finance Minister Ahn Do-geol said the government's priority is placed on supporting an economic recovery with increased fiscal aid, but the country will also make efforts to enhance fiscal soundness in the face of the growing national debt. "There is a need t

April 14, 2021

Women hold 7% of executive positions in S. Korea’s finance sector

Women accounted for merely 7 percent of the management boards of financial institutions in South Korea, despite making up nearly half the sector’s workforce, data submitted to a lawmaker showed Wednesday. The number of women who hold executive positions in 444 financial institutions stood at 358, or 7.4 percent of the entire executive pool of 4,855 as of end of last year, according to Financial Supervisory Service data submitted and distributed by the minor progressive Justice Party Rep.

April 14, 2021

Chubb launches Chubb LifeBalance, a 360-degree health and well-being app

Chubb has released Chubb LifeBalance in Korea, a 360-degree personalized and well-being application that encourages people to incorporate healthy routines into their lifestyle. Chubb LifeBalance comprehensively assesses the lifestyle of users and provides a holistic view of health to help them to objectively measure and manage their own health condition. It tracks and records over 115 different activities, including yoga, swimming, boxing and meditation, and lets users invite their friends an

April 14, 2021

JB Financial launches intraboard ESG committee

Provincial bank-led financial institution JB Financial Group said Wednesday it had launched an intraboard committee responsible for making business decisions focused on environmental, social and corporate governance values.  As the top decision-making body for ESG management, the new committee will develop corporate strategies and policies regarding the incorporation of ESG criteria into the group’s business portfolios, while supervising ESG-related initiatives conducted by its af

April 14, 2021

Hyundai Motor launches fast EV charging stations in highway rest areas

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it will operate high-speed charging stations on major highways to expand the charging infrastructure for its upcoming electric vehicles (EVs). The group said it will open 12 fast EV charging stations equipped with 72 chargers in highway rest areas across the nation on Thursday, and add eight more in major urban areas this year. Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.'s EVs made on the automotive group's dedicated platform will be able t

April 14, 2021

Overseas stock transactions hit new high in Q1

South Koreans' overseas stock transactions touched a new high in the first quarter of the year on brisk investment in US tech firms, data showed Wednesday. Local investors' trading of overseas shares was valued at $128.51 billion in the January-March period, up 96.5 percent from three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). It represents the largest quarterly amount since data tracking began in 2011. The figure covers overseas stock purchases and sales

April 14, 2021

KT fined W165m for mobile service activation delay

South Korea's telecommunications regulator said Wednesday it fined local telecom giant KT Corp. 165 million won ($147,000) for delaying activation of its mobile network services for nearly 20,000 users who had preordered Galaxy Note 20 smartphones last year without proper cause. The Korea Communications Commission said KT violated local telecommunications laws by delaying network activation for up to six days for 19,465 users who had preordered the devices from Samsung Electronics Co. from Augu

April 14, 2021

Banks' household loan growth slows in March

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a slower clip in March, while the growth of mortgage loans remained at a high level, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 1,009.5 trillion won ($898.8 billion) as of end-March, up 6.5 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The February reading compares to a 6.7 trillion-won gain in February. The BOK said the rise in lending was mainly at

April 14, 2021

GS Retail fined W5.4b for unfair biz practice

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to fine GS Retail Co. 5.4 billion won ($4.8 million), the largest-ever fine on a retail operator, for its unfair business practice. GS Retail, the operator of super supermarket unit GS The Fresh, took profits from multiple suppliers without proper reasons and engaged in other unfair business practices between 2015 and 2018, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). GS Retail gained a profit of 3.9 billion won between 20

April 14, 2021

Hyundai Electric to expand electric charging business

Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co.(HE) said Wednesday that it has signed initial deals with local operators of charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) to provide electricity. Under the deals, HE will provide electricity collected from operators of renewable energies, such as solar energy, to EV charging station operators, including Mooving, Pumpkin and Charzin. HE is an energy solution unit of global shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH). HHIH's oil refin

April 14, 2021

Hyundai to resume production of IONIQ 5 on Thursday

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will resume the plant that produces the IONIQ 5 all-electric model on Thursday following a weeklong suspension due to chip parts shortage. Hyundai Motor halted the No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which produces the IONIQ 5 and the Kona subcompact SUV, from April 7-14. The suspension at the No. 1 Ulsan plant comes amid a lack of semiconductor parts used in the Kona's front vehicle camera system and a problem in Hyundai Mobis Co.'s pro

April 14, 2021

Samsung, LG win dozens of awards at int'l design competitions

South Korea's two major electronics firms -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- said Wednesday they have won dozens of honors at renowned international design competitions with their products. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone and TV vendor, said it has received a record 71 accolades at the International Forum (iF) Design Award 2021. The company said it won 36 prizes for product design, which include two Gold Award honors for its BESPOKE AX9000N air purifier and BESPOKE C

April 14, 2021

Hyundai E&C bags $150m order from Singapore

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., a major builder in South Korea, said Wednesday it has won a $150 million order to build a underground substation in Singapore. Under a letter of award from Singapore's SP Group, Hyundai E&C said it will handle earth retaining stabilizing structure and piling works of a 34-story office tower and the construction of the underground substation along with the operation support center in Pasir Panjang, the southwest region of Singapore. The constructi

April 14, 2021

ICT exports rise for 10th month in March on high demand for chips, displays

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose 8.9 percent in March from a year earlier, marking the 10th consecutive month of on-year gains, thanks to healthy global demand for chips and displays, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of ICT goods reached $17.41 billion last month, compared with $15.99 billion the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Last month, imports reached $10.93 billion, up 15.7 perc

April 14, 2021

Samsung Heavy completes pilot test of LNG regasfication system

The system, named S-REGAS, is the world's first LNG regasification system for LNG floating storage regasification unit (LNG-FSRU) combined with cold power generation technologies, the shipbuilder said. Cold power generation refers to electric power generation using energy produced during the vaporization process of LNG, which is transported in a liquid state by cooling it to minus 162 C, without emitting carbon dioxide. The S-REGAS can generate 16-megawatt electricity, the company said. A LNG

April 14, 2021

S. Korea ranks 2nd in global chip sales in 2020: report

South Korea, home to major memory chip suppliers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., ranked second in global chip sales last year, a report showed Wednesday, although it had extremely weak presence in the fabless segment. Total integrated circuit (IC) sales from South Korea-based firms represented 21 percent of the global market in 2020, according to the latest McClean Report published by market researcher IC Insights. The United States topped the ranking with a share of 55 percent

April 14, 2021

Samsung Engineering wins $650m plant deal from Saudi Arabia

Samsung Engineering Co., a plant construction unit of Samsung Group, said Wednesday it has clinched a $650 million deal to build a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia. Under the deal with Advanced Global Investment Co., a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Advanced Petrochemical Co., Samsung Engineering will build a propane dehydrogenation plant and utilities and offsites at Jubail Industrial City II on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast. The plant, which is set to be completed in 2024, will produce 840,0

April 14, 2021