Watchdog vows to ramp up ESG oversight of Korean financial firms

Yoon Suk-heun, chief of South Korea‘s financial watchdog, pledged on Friday to beef up its oversight to prevent a spillover of risks associated with environmental, social and governance factors in the Korean finance industry. In a keynote speech at a seminar held in Seoul on Friday, the Financial Supervisory Service governor pledged to shape up a framework to gauge climate risks that could undermine the health of financial companies, in the nation where such standardized framework is pra

April 2, 2021

Consumer price growth hits 14-month high in March

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the fastest clip in 14 months in March, since the coronavirus pandemic dealt a serious blow to the nation’s economy early last year, according to a report Friday. The price for spring onion, in particular, grew by more than 300 percent over the course of a year, marking the steepest growth in 26 years and 11 months. The surging price of scallion is thought to be one of the main reasons behind the soaring prices of agricultural products. The

April 2, 2021

SK Telecom-Sinclair joint venture to commercialize next-generation broadcast solution this year

Cast.era, a media technology joint venture between South Korea's top wireless carrier SK Telecom Co. and US media giant Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., will launch a next-generation broadcast solution that boosts television content quality this year, the South Korean company said Friday. The telecom operator said Cast.era has completed testing of the 5G-ATSC3.0 platform, which boosts broadcast quality using SK Telecom's 5G cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Cast.era is planning

April 2, 2021

Hanwha to set up US office for space biz expansion

Hanwha Systems, the affiliate spearheading Hanwha Group’s space and defense IT business, will set up its first US office, according to industry sources Friday. At its board meeting held March 23, the company decided to establish the US office within this year to add momentum to its space business. Candidate locations include Connecticut, where Hanwha Systems’ parent company Hanwha Aerospace has an office, and the state of Washington, where local satellite companies are clustered.

April 2, 2021

Seoul stocks hit six-week high on US stimulus hopes

South Korea's benchmark stock index closed at the highest point in six weeks Friday on strong foreign and instutional buying amid hopes for a massive infrastructure project in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.4 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 3,112.8 points, the highest number since Feb. 17. Trading volume was moderate at about 781 million shares worth some 13.2 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with

April 2, 2021

Weathering COVID-19 crisis, institutional investors seek more alternative exposure to curb risks

South Korea‘s institutional investors were seen averting the COVID-19 crisis to take decent returns, and pledged to increase their exposure to alternative assets to control the latent volatility risks. The Korean Teachers’ Credit Union said Friday it reaped a windfall in 2020 by taking advantage of the stock market rebound following the depths of the COVID-19 crisis. The KTCU, Korea‘s second-largest institutional investor, said it has returned 10 percent for 2020, or 3.3 tri

April 2, 2021

Nexon founder richest man in Korea with $14.1b in asset

Kim Jung-ju, CEO of gaming firm Nexon’s holding company NXC, is Korea’s richest businessman, with assets valued at $14.1 billion, according to a report from a US think tank. Kim was ranked 144th on a list of the world’s billionaires that showed Jeff Bezos, CEO of e-commerce behemoth Amazon, topping the list with assets totaling $178 billion. The CEO of luxury products behemoth LVMH Moet Hennessy, Bernard Arnault, and his family, were second on the list, with $162.6 billion.

April 2, 2021

Insurers' lending grows 7.8% in 2020

Loans extended by insurance companies in South Korea rose 7.8 percent on-year last year, led by increases in home-backed lending and corporate loans, the financial watchdog said Friday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 253 trillion won ($224.4 billion) as of end-December, compared with 234.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their loans to households rose 2 trillion won on-year to 123.1 trillion won last year as the extension of home-backe

April 2, 2021

Hyundai Motor denies partnership with Google

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor on Friday denied a rumor that it is about to establish a joint venture with US tech giant Google to develop a self-driving service. “The corresponding (rumor) is unfounded,” said an official of the company, denying the reports by a local news outlet. “Hyundai Motor will initially spin off one of its departments, in which Google will invest to establish a joint venture,” the report claimed, adding that the new organization

April 2, 2021

Court-led restructuring set to begin for SsangYong Motor

A court-led restructuring process for SsangYong Motor Co. is set to begin as early as next week as a sole potential investor didn't submit a letter of intent to acquire the financially troubled carmaker, industry sources said Friday. SsangYong Motor's Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has been in talks with US vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc. to sell its majority stake in the Korean unit as part of its global reorganization plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The talks come

April 2, 2021

ITC dismisses LG’s request to drop SK’s patent violation suit

The United States International Trade Commission on Friday dismissed a request made by LG Energy Solution to sanction SK Innovation’s lawsuit that accused LG of infringing on patents. The ITC dismissal came just one day after the US government agency ruled in favor of SK in another patent case filed by LG against SK. The latest denial involves SK’s complaint that accused LG of infringing on its patents in September 2019, a separate case from the two archrivals’ dispute abou

April 2, 2021

Hyundai, Kia US sales jump 76% on SUVs in March

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Friday their combined US sales jumped 76 percent in March from a year earlier on robust demand for their SUV models. Hyundai and Kia sold a total 141,926 vehicles in the United States last month from 80,531 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. "Strong consumer confidence, stable inventory, a compelling lineup, attention-grabbing advertising and the efforts of our dealer partners all c

April 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply higher on US stimulus project

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on the back of a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.08 points, or 0.97 percent, to 3,117.48 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish due to market optimism over a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal in the US, which local investors hailed as a sign of rising global demand. Auto and tech shares got off to a strong start, taking a cue from the ove

April 2, 2021

LG's rollable TV hits overseas markets

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday it has begun selling its rollable TV in foreign markets as the South Korean tech giant eyes to expand its presence in the high-end TV market. LG started overseas sales of the SIGNATURE OLED R TV through its global website Thursday. The industry's first rollable TV is currently available in 15 countries, including the United States, Russia, Germany and France. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, LG said it plans to focus on online sales rather than offline mar

April 2, 2021

Bank mortgage loans rise at solid pace in March

South Korea's major banks saw their mortgage loans grow at a brisk pace in March despite higher lending rates, industry data showed Friday. The nation's five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and Nonghyup -- had 483.2 trillion won ($427 billion) in outstanding home-backed loans as of end-March, up 3.4 trillion won from the previous month. March marks the second consecutive month that their combined mortgage lending has climbed by a number in the 3 trillion-won range. February s

April 2, 2021

Consumer price growth at 14-month high in March amid economic recovery

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in 14 months in March on higher prices of farm and oil products, data showed Friday, in the latest sign that inflationary pressure is building up amid an accelerating economic recovery. The consumer price index rose 1.5 percent on-year in March, accelerating from a 1.1 percent on-year gain in the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The index grew 0.1 percent on-month. It marked the fastest on-year rise since

April 2, 2021

Carmakers' March sales rise 12% on robust overseas demand

South Korean carmakers' sales rose 12 percent last month from a year earlier helped by robust overseas demand for SUVs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Thursday. The five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor -- sold a combined 672,643 vehicles in March, up from 601,082 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales fell 6.7 percent to 140,971 units last month from 151,025 a year ago. But overseas sal

April 1, 2021

Fiscal chief says global economy on track for steep recovery

The global economy is poised to make a strong rebound on the back of a revival in manufacturing and the coronavirus vaccine rollout, said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday. “The upturn in the global economy will be steeper than expected,” he said at a meeting with government officials on innovative growth. His remark came as Asia’s fourth-largest economy showed signs of recovery supported by exports. “Exports are the core driving force of an economic recovery.

April 1, 2021

Brokerages among highest-paying firms in S. Korea

South Korean stock brokerage firms were among highest-paying companies across all industries last year with an average annual salary of more than 120 million won ($106,288), data showed on Thursday. According to data compiled by recruitment firm Job Korea, employees at Korea’s top 100 listed companies were paid an average annual pay of 83.2 million won. Claiming the top spot of the list for the highest-paying workplaces here, stock trading firm Samsung Securities, paid 131 million won

April 1, 2021

SK didn’t infringe on LG’s battery patents: ITC

The US International Trade Commission on Thursday ruled in favor of SK Innovation in its battery patent case against LG Energy Solution, in an unexpected twist in the legal battle. In its preliminary decision, the ITC said SK had not infringed on any of LGES’ four battery patents in a case that was filed by LGES in September 2019. This is separate from the battery trade theft case, in which the ITC sided with LGES and slapped SKI with a “devastating” 10-year business ban in t

April 1, 2021