Kyobo Life Insurance establishes new leadership with 3 CEOs

South Korean insurer Kyobo Life Insurance said Monday that the company would be led by three CEOs by adding a new chief to lead digital transformation. Pyun Jung-beom, the newly appointed co-CEO, is a sales and strategy development expert who climbed the corporate ladder in Kyobo since 1988. The new chief will be in charge of leading projects to accelerate digitalization at the company and to enhance the company’s capability for marketing and sales, officials said. Co-CEO and Chairman

March 29, 2021

[Feature] Not just window shopping: Young generation dives into art market

Appreciating art at galleries and exhibitions is a pure joy for Jeong Hye-young, a 35-year-old office worker in Seoul, not just because it takes her mind off her stress-filled work life but also because she sees how the works increase in value. “I don’t think art is only for the rich. After starting to buy paintings, I feel like I know more about the artists and truly enjoy the artworks,” said Jeong, who collects paintings by contemporary artists including Oh Chi-gyun, best

March 29, 2021

Kakao’s Klaytn to offer nonfungible tokens on OpenSea

Klaytn, the blockchain project of Korea’s Internet giant, Kakao, said on Monday that it has partnered with OpenSea, the fast-emerging marketplace for nonfungible tokens. Klaytn, which is developed by Ground X, will begin to support Klaytn-based NFTs on OpenSea by the end of June. OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace for user-owned digital goods, which include collectibles, gaming items, domain names, digital art, and other assets backed by a blockchain. Unlike fungible cryptocurrenci

March 29, 2021

S. Korea’s e-payment up 32% to daily average of W700b

Electronic payments in South Korea increased 32.7 percent on-year in 2020, hitting a record high of 705.5 billion won ($624 million), in terms of daily average transactions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Monday. “The social distancing measures implemented due to the spread of the COVID-19 has led to a continued expansion of contactless online transactions,” the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The reading marked the highest amount since the BOK started col

March 29, 2021

Incheon Airport: Korea’s main airport marks 20 years as global hub

Incheon Airport marked its 20th anniversary of operations on Monday. Since its opening two decades ago as the country’s main gateway airport, it has become one of the busiest in the world, connecting 255 flights between 63 countries. In 2019, the airport boasted the third-largest cargo traffic and the fifth-largest volume of international traffic, according to Incheon International Airport Corp., the airport’s operator, based on data from Airports Council International. President

March 29, 2021

Card firms 2020 net rises 23.1% amid pandemic

South Korea's credit card firms saw their combined earnings rise 23.1 in 2020, helped by higher income from loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial regulator said Monday. The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card Co., Samsung Card Co. and KB Kookmin Card Co., came to 2.02 trillion won ($1.8 billion) last year, up 380.1 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The sharp rise was attributed to a combination of earn

March 29, 2021

S. Korean chipmaker Magnachip to be sold to Chinese PEF for $1.4b

South Korean chipmaker Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. has said it will be sold to a Chinese private equity fund for about $1.4 billion. Magnachip, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Wise Road Capital Ltd. and its partners to sell its entire shares. "Magnachip's management team and employees are expected to continue in their roles, and the company will remain based in Cheongju, Seoul and Gumi, South Korea," the company

March 29, 2021

Hyundai Construction Equipment wins W250b in orders from China

South Korean construction equipment maker Hyundai Construction Equipment Co. said Monday it has bagged orders worth 250 billion won ($221 million) to provide excavators and loaders to China. The orders, the largest ones since the company began making inroads into China in 1995, include 2,200 pieces of construction equipment, such as 5.5- to 8.5-ton excavators and wheel loaders, the company said. They accounted for about 30 percent of its entire sale of about 7,800 units last year in China. Th

March 29, 2021

Korean shippers, shipbuilders sailing well amid Suez blockage

Shares in South Korea's shipbuilders and shippers have enjoyed decent increases in the past weeks, but this time, they are again on a rising track on expectations for a further climb in freight rates and demand for ships amid the unprecedented blockage at the Suez Canal. HMM Co., South Korea's largest shipper, saw its shares jump 15.96 percent to close at a record high of 34,150 won Friday, though it traded 5.86 percent lower as of 10:50 a.m. Monday in the face of profit-taking. Pan Ocean Co.,

March 29, 2021

Biz sentiment down for April on uncertainties: poll

South Korea's business sentiment slightly fell for April on increased uncertainties in the electronics and auto manufacturing industries, a local think tank said Monday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 106 for next month, down 3.2 points from March, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. But the index for April stayed above 100 for the second straight month after its March reading exceeded 100 for the first time in

March 29, 2021

Galaxy S21 smartphone sales top 1m units in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday that domestic sales of its new flagship smartphone series, the Galaxy S21, surpassed 1 million units last week. The South Korean tech giant said the S21, which was released here on Jan. 29, achieved the milestone 57 days after its launch, about one-month faster than its predecessor the S20. But the pace of S21 sales was slower than the S10, which topped the 1 million mark in 47 days in 2019. Samsung has been introducing new Galaxy S devices in mid-February

March 29, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of stock accounts tops 40 million

　The number of stock trading accounts in South Korea has risen sharply over the past year to surpass the 40 million mark amid a buying craze by retail investors, industry data showed. 　Active stock accounts in Asia‘s fourth-largest economy numbered 40.07 million as of March 19, up from 35.48 million at the end of last year. 　It marks the first time that the country’s number of active stock accounts has exceeded the 40-million level. 　The number has increased by approximately 1

March 29, 2021

Samsung maintains top spot in Gulf smartphone market in Q4: report

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its leading position in the smartphone market of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region in the fourth quarter of 2020, a report showed Monday, although its gap with Apple Inc. has narrowed. The smartphone shipments in the Gulf region grew 2.3 percent on-quarter to 4.26 million units in the last three months of 2020, and Samsung accounted for 42 percent of them, according to market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC). Samsung's market share was down from

March 29, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid virus woes

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday amid concerns over rising new coronavirus cases around the world. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.69 points, or 0.02 percent, to 3,040.32 points in the first 15 minutes of trading amid foreign and institutional selling. Investor concerns grew as US COVID-19 cases moved back up, with the third wave of the virus spreading in Europe. New COVID-19 infections topped 126 million over the weekend around the world, with the death tol

March 29, 2021

Samsung reclaims No. 1 spot in Feb. smartphone sales: report

Samsung Electronics Co. reclaimed the top spot in global smartphone sales in February, a report showed Monday, after it narrowly beat Apple Inc. on the back of the early release of the Galaxy S21 series. Samsung shipped 24 million units of smartphones for a 23.1 percent market share last month, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics, outpacing Apple which sold 23 million units for a 22.2 percent share. China's Xioami came in third with an 11.5 percent share, followed by Vivo with 10

March 29, 2021

S. Korea's exports predicted to rise 18.3% in March: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to rise 18.3 percent in March from a year earlier to extend the gains for the fifth consecutive month, led by strong demand for chips and automobiles, a poll showed Monday. Outbound shipments are expected to reach $54.6 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on eight brokerage houses. Imports are estimated to rise 17.8 percent over the period to reach $49.2 billion wo

March 29, 2021

Number of top 10 groups' units soars 17.5% over 5 years

The number of subsidiaries belonging to South Korea's top 10 conglomerates has jumped nearly 18 percent over the past five years to nearly 700, data showed Monday. No. 1 conglomerate Samsung and nine leading business groups had a combined 699 listed and unlisted companies under their wings as of end-December 2020, up 17.5 percent, or 104, from five years earlier, according to the data based on their business reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. SK Group and six other conglomer

March 29, 2021

[Herald Interview] IBK Securities eyes bigger opportunity, market trust as SME-specialized investor

IBK Securities, the brokerage arm of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, aims to cement its position as a leading medium-sized company by securing 1 trillion won ($886 million) of its own capital and expanding financial flow between SMEs in Korea and investors. CEO Suh Byung-ki, entering his second year this month, said in an interview that its goal of securing 1 trillion won of capital may lead the way for the company to raise its credit rating and its reputation as a trusted company in th

March 29, 2021

Corporate direct financing jumps 29% in February

South Korea's corporate direct financing jumped 29 percent in February from the previous month due to a modest rise in bond sales, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 19.9 trillion won (US$17.6 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 4.4 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales plunged 64.2 percent on-month to 684.6 billion won, with the value of initial public offerings dipping 43.9 p

March 29, 2021

[News Focus] Seoul mayoral by-election campaign revolves around real estate plans

Real estate development schemes have taken center stage in the ongoing Seoul mayoral race, with candidates churning out a series of plans to woo voters angry about the central government’s strict regulations that have failed to curb soaring housing prices in the capital. Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party said last week that he would lift restructuring and redevelopment regulations within a week if he is elected as Seoul mayor. He also pledged to supply 360,000 housing u

March 28, 2021