Ikea Korea launches first Circular Hub in Goyang branch

Ikea Korea has unveiled its first “Circular Hub” in South Korea at its Goyang branch in Gyeonggi Province, where second-hand items are sold, the Swedish furniture company said Monday. The Circular Hub is a global project introduced by the Ingka Group, in its commitment to prolong the life of its products and contribute to circularity, Ikea explained. “With the launch of ‘Circular Hub,’ we are excited to support the many people with new, more inspiring ways to ea

March 15, 2021

Pulmuone Foods names LG’s ex-marketing director as new CEO

Pulmuone Foods, a subsidiary of fresh food company Pulmuone, said Monday it had named the ex-vice president of LG’s Global Marketing Center as its new CEO. Kim Jin-hong, the new CEO of Pulmuone Foods, boasts some 20 years of marketing experience under his belt at home and abroad. The 55-year-old took on multiple senior roles while at LG including President of LG Electronics France and was the president of Kellogg Company’s South Korean unit between 2013 and 2014. “As the co

March 15, 2021

Investigation launched after Jeju Air flies with a damaged winglet

Low cost carrier Jeju Air is under investigation by the Transport Ministry after it was found to have flown one of its planes with a damaged winglet last week. The airline’s 7C264 flight, which left Gimpo Airport on Wednesday morning, attempted landing on the runway at Gimhae International Airport in the afternoon. During the landing, the plane tilted to one side and the plane appears to have damaged its winglet during its second attempt at landing, sources close to the matter said on Mo

March 15, 2021

Woori to compensate victims of Lime misselling

South Korea’s Woori Bank on Monday has decided to heed to the financial watchdog’s recommendation to compensate to end-investors who dealt with heavy losses due to the lender’s selling of funds tied to 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) misselling scandal involving now-defunct hedge fund Lime Asset Management. The nation’s fourth-largest commercial lender by total assets will provide 78 percent of total investments made by an 82-year old man -- whose investment had been fr

March 15, 2021

Tax agency cracks down on use of cryptocurrencies to hide assets

South Korea’s tax agency said Monday that it had caught more than 2,400 individuals who hid assets in virtual currencies to avoid taxation. The National Tax Service collected data from digital currency exchanges and caught 2,416 tax delinquents who had concealed assets through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple. The concealed assets totaled 36.6 billion won ($32.24 million), the officials said. The probe targeted people with over 10 million won in delinquent taxes, a

March 15, 2021

Netflix's mobile active users top 10m in Feb.: data

Active users of video streaming apps by Netflix Inc. on their mobile devices topped 10 million in South Korea last month, more than doubling from the start of last year, data showed Monday. The video streaming platform recorded 10.01 million Android and iOS users in the country in February, compared with 4.7 million in January last year, according to mobile data tracker IGAWorks. Monthly active users refer to unique users who interacted with a service at least once a month. Netflix was the mo

March 15, 2021

Schroders Korea raises W100b for global sustainable growth fund

Schroders Korea said Monday it had pooled over 100 billion won ($88 million) from South Korean end-investors earlier this month through its fund product that is designed to hold a portfolio of its flagship global sustainable equity fund. This is the first to reach the milestone among Korean funds dedicated to foreign equities while taking environmental, social and governance factors into account, according to Schroders Korea. Schroders Korea has raised Koreans’ capital for th

March 15, 2021

Brokerages' 2020 profit jumps 20.8% on stock rally

South Korean brokerage firms saw their combined net profit jump 20.8 percent last year, thanks to a stock rally that helped them earn higher commission fees, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 57 brokerages stood at 5.91 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in 2020, compared with a profit of 4.89 trillion won in 2019, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The combined brokerage fees stood at 13.6 trillion won in 2020, up 43.8 percent from a year ago. The brokerages

March 15, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins w823b in orders for 10 ships

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Monday it has bagged orders worth a combined 823 billion won ($725 million) to build 10 vessels. Under a deal with an African company, three 91,000-cubic meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of KSOE, will start being delivered in the second half of 2022, KSOE said. In a separate deal with an Oceanian company, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., another unit of KSOE, will const

March 15, 2021

Kepco starts injecting fuel rods into UAE's second nuclear reactor

South Korea's state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) said Monday it has started a process to insert fuel rods into the second reactor in the Barakah nuclear plant of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Kepco and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) said they kicked off the process starting last week. South Korea completed the insertion of fuel rods into the first reactor in March last year. The fuel rod injection came after the UAE issued an operating license for the second unit

March 15, 2021

Auto exports jump 35% on eased pandemic jitters

South Korea's exports of automobiles advanced 35 percent on-year in February, data showed Monday, as major trading partners gradually normalized their economic activities amid the virus pandemic. The country's outbound shipments of automobiles reached 161,886 units in February, compared with 123,022 units posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also soared 47 percent to reach $3.5 billion. Over the first two months of 2020, th

March 15, 2021

ICT exports up over 10% in Feb. on robust chip demand

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products jumped 11.5 percent on-year in February, rising for the ninth consecutive month on the back of strong overseas demand for chips and displays, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of ICT goods stood at $15.28 billion last month, the second-highest amount ever for February on record, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country reached a record $15.68 billion in ICT exports for th

March 15, 2021

S. Korea to focus on stabilizing markets amid rising US bond yields

South Korea said Monday it will pump up efforts to smooth out volatility of the foreign exchange market and flows of foreign capital as rising US bond yields could increase market fluctuations. The country also saw the limited possibility of an acute outflow of foreign capital as its government bonds still offer higher returns than those of US Treasurys, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The finance ministry said the country's FX market and foreign currency liquidity conditions

March 15, 2021

Asiana extends mileage expiration dates amid pandemic

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will extend the expiration dates of its mileage that will expire at the end of this year by one year to 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Asiana Airlines already extended mileage points due to expire at the end of 2020 by one year to 2021 as travel demand dried up due to the pandemic. In January, its bigger rival Korean Air Lines Co. said it will extend mileage points that expired at end-2020 and mileage that expires at

March 15, 2021

S. Korea estimated to have ranked 10th in 2020 global GDP rankings

South Korea's economy is estimated to have ranked 10th in the world in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The nominal GDP of Asia's fourth-largest economy was estimated at $1.62 trillion last year, according to the data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD). The amount is larger than Russia's $1.40 trillion, Brazil's $1.39 billion and Australia's $1.33 trillion. The estimated 2020 GDP ranking is up two notches from a year earlier. South Korea's economy al

March 15, 2021

Seoul stocks open tad lower on inflation worries

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Monday as rising bond yields continued to stoke concerns of earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.24 points, or 0.14 percent, to 3,050.15 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Auto and financial stocks got off to a strong start, while techs slumped. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.48 percent, but No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix gained 0.71 percent. Giant internet portal operator Naver t

March 15, 2021

Posco International to issue ESG bonds worth W80b

Posco International will sell green bonds worth 80 billion won ($70 million) to finance its efforts on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) fronts, the company said Sunday. The ESG bond issue is part of the firm’s plan to raise 150 billion won in the debt market. The rest, 70 billion won, is to be raised through regular bond offerings. 　 The volume of bond sales could be even greater, the trading arm of steelmaker Posco said, as institutional investors demanded as m

March 15, 2021

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Indonesia’s $5b infra project opportunity for S. Korean battery makers: ambassador

South Korean companies, from startups to big companies, could benefit from Indonesia’s latest infrastructure initiatives and trade deals, the country’s ambassador to South Korea told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. The ambassador was referring to Indonesia’s first sovereign wealth fund worth $5 billion, to be managed by Indonesia Investment Authority. The first phase of the fund’s investment will focus on toll roads, airports and seaports, but the focus will b

March 14, 2021

[#WeFACE] LG Chem CTO says ESG is survival of the fittest

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with executives of South Korea’s leading corporations on their response to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues, which have become central factors globally in measuring the sustainability of an investment or business decision. – Ed.  Even for South Korea’s leading petrochemical company LG Chem, the global environmental, social and governance drive means the survival of the fittest -- those who

March 14, 2021

LG tops best home appliance lists in US

South Korea’s LG Electronics has grabbed the top spots in home appliance rankings by US-based nonprofit organization Consumer Reports. LG’s organic light-emitting diode TV model 65CX scored 87 and was ranked the best TV among 227 products in the US organization’s latest rankings report for 2021. For LG, it reclaimed its position at the top of the TV list in two years. Of the top 10 TV models, seven were by LG, suggesting a consumer preference for the Korean-made TVs. Th

March 14, 2021