Lotte to acquire stake in bio venture: report

South Korea’s retail-to-construction conglomerate Lotte is considering acquiring a significant stake in Enzychem Lifesciences to become its second-largest shareholder, a local newspaper reported Monday. The group’s de facto holding firm Lotte Holdings and Lotte Chemical would jointly buy the shares, the report said, which would be the conglomerate’s first attempt at a biotech business. The group is also eyeing a joint venture with Enzychem to further its interest in the f

March 22, 2021

Oriental Brewery to raise prices of some beers next month

Oriental Brewery, South Korea's largest brewer, plans to raise prices of some beers next month because of a rise in beer tax, a company official said Monday. The prices of its major beer products, including Cass Fresh and Cass Light, will go up by an average of 1.36 percent from April 1, according to the OB official. Under the new policy, the factory price of a 330-milliliter bottle of Cass Fresh will rise from 845.97 won ($0.75) to 857.90 won. OB, which accounts for about 60 percent of the

March 22, 2021

‘NAND flash could go higher than 600 layers’: SK hynix CEO

NAND flash chips could have more than 600 layers as memory technologies evolve, SK hynix CEO Lee Seok-hee said at a global forum on Monday. During a keynote speech at the International Reliability Physics Symposium hosted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Lee said, “In both DRAM and NAND areas, the company is working to improve not only materials of memory semiconductors but also design structures and reliability to raise the technological value.” “If

March 22, 2021

Civic group to file class action suit over ‘poor’ 5G services

A group of 5G mobile network subscribers in South Korea are pushing for a class action lawsuit against the country’s three telecom companies over the quality of the services. Calling themselves “Victims of 5G,” the group aims to attract 1 million individuals to join the action to seek compensation of an amount not immediately known. The suit is to be filed through joint litigation platform called “Angry People,” it said. “Nationwide establishment of 5G n

March 22, 2021

August IPO likely for Kakao Pay despite MyData hiccups

The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were

March 22, 2021

HMM deploys 2 new ships to cope with soaring freight rates

South Korea's leading shipper, HMM Co., said Monday it has deployed two additional ships to cope with soaring freight costs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. HMM will operate two additional 16,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) ships, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. TEU is a measure used for the capacity of container transportation. The launch came around a month earlier than the original schedule of April. South Korea earlier announced a plan to add eight shipping vess

March 22, 2021

Korean midsized satellite launched into space

A South Korean midsized observation satellite was successfully launched into space Monday, the Korean government announced. The Ministry of Science and ICT in Seoul said the 540-kilogram satellite, loaded on Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a rocket, lifted off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, around 50 days after the satellite arrived at the launch site. 　 The ICT Ministry added that the ground station made its first contact with the satellite 102 minutes after the launch and a

March 22, 2021

Samsung launches new high-resolution monitors

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched its 2021 lineup of high-resolution monitors as the South Korean tech giant eyes to increase sales amid the rising trend of remote working and distance learning.  Samsung said 12 different monitors across three series -- the S8, S7 and S6 -- are released globally, with all models offering more than 1 billion colors, a 178-degree wide viewing angle and enhanced High Dynamic Range 10 technology. In South Korea, 10 models are available with price t

March 22, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution widens battery ‘super gap’ through technology dominance

LG Energy Solution is widening a “super gap” with its competition based on know-hows accumulated throughout 30 years of battery business. According to South Korea’s leading battery firm, it poured more than 5.3 billion won ($4.6 billion) into research and development over the past decade and secured 23,610 battery patents as a result, which is at least 10 times as many as that of a leading Chinese battery player as of last year. Equipped with more than 2,500 R&D perso

March 22, 2021

Hanwha secures Korea’s first mixed hydrogen combustion tech

Hanwha General Chemical said Monday that it had become the first South Korean company to own mixed hydrogen combustion technologies. Mixed hydrogen combustion burns natural gas together with hydrogen to generate electricity. This method of generating electricity can cut carbon emissions by more than 30 percent, according to Hanwha Group’s chemicals unit, and can significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which cause fine dust issues. “Hanwha General Chemical acquired a 100

March 22, 2021

European firms ‘optimistic’ about doing business in Korea: survey

European companies operating here are generally optimistic over Seoul’s growing importance as business venue but also pointed out the rigid regulatory environment, the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday. According to the Business Confidence Survey 2020, 51 percent of respondents said that South Korea’s strategic importance is increasing, while 41 percent replied that its importance remains the same as before. A year earlier, only 34 percent recognized the country&rsq

March 22, 2021

ViGenCell plans IPO in Q3

Biotech firm ViGenCell plans to list its shares on the local bourse in the third quarter of this year in an initial public offering, the company said Monday. Commissioned by the bourse operator Korea Exchange, two independent expert groups have recently conducted a review of the company’s biotech assets, growth potential and business operations and have cleared it for the flotation, ViGenCell said. Following the initial approval, the company plans to apply for the Korea Exchange&rsquo

March 22, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid bond yield woes

South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net

March 22, 2021

Coupang becomes hottest foreign stock for Koreans in debut week

South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e

March 22, 2021

Majority of Koreans pessimistic about job market this year: survey

More than half of South Koreans believe that the nation’s labor market will further deteriorate this year, compared with the conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey conducted by a think tank here showed Monday. Some 77 percent of Koreans said in the survey commissioned by the Korea Economic Research Institute that the nation’s job market is likely to worsen compared with conditions in 2019. Of the 77 percent, 44.6 percent believe that the market will “extremely deter

March 22, 2021

Mando clinches suspension parts supply deal with Volkswagen

South Korean auto parts maker Mando said Monday that it had signed a strategic partnership deal with German automaker Volkswagen to provide some 50 suspension units. It is the single-largest order that Mando has received for the given product category. Starting June next year until 2033, the Korean company will manufacture and supply the parts directly in Europe, with an anticipated annual production capacity of 6 million units. Connecting a vehicle to its wheels, suspension units -- typica

March 22, 2021

Household income surplus surges as people cut spending

South Korea’s household income surplus increased sharply last year as people tightened their belts to weather the protracted economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. The nation’s household income surplus rate posted 32.9 percent, 32.3 percent, 30.9 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively, in the first through fourth quarters of 2020, according to a report from Statistics Korea. The figure has surpassed 30 percent only five times since 2003, when the

March 22, 2021

Samsung launches customizable water purifier in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched a customizable water purifier in South Korea as the tech giant eyes to expand sales amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Samsung said the BESPOKE water purifier, which was first unveiled at the all-digital Consumer Electronics Show 2021 in January, is now available in South Korea at prices between 739,000 won ($650) and 1.299 million won. The overseas launch schedule of the product has yet to be determined, Samsung added. The new water pu

March 22, 2021

Imported commercial car sales fall 24% in February

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 24 percent in February from a year earlier on lower demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 261 units last month from 344 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Sales of all imported commercial vehicles declined last month as COVID-19 containment measures and u

March 22, 2021

LG Electronics still mulling fate of its smartphone biz

LG Electronics Inc. is still mulling the fate of its money-losing mobile business, industry insiders said Monday, amid rumors that the South Korean tech giant may shut down the unit instead of selling it. In January, LG announced its mobile communications division is open to "all possibilities" for its future operations after years of poor performance. LG's mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015. Its accumulated operating losses reached nearly 5 trilli

March 22, 2021