S. Korea launches advisory body on promoting nuclear exports

South Korea on Thursday launched a new advisory body to promote its exports of nuclear power plants, which were boosted by its successful penetration into the Middle East market. The advisory body, composed of professors and industrial experts, will help South Korea set strategies in fostering nuclear energy as a new export engine, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country also launched a new website (www.k-next.kr), in which overseas partners can access information

March 4, 2021

Samsung remains top smartphone vendor in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2020: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the top vendor in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) smartphone market last year, a report showed Thursday, despite its market share declining. Samsung shipped 99.7 million smartphones in the EMEA market in 2020 for a 28.9 percent market share, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC). The figures were down from 2019 when the company shipped 118.5 million smartphones for a 32.9 percent market share. However, the South Korean tech giant

March 4, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea's chicken exports hit new high in 2020

　South Korea’s chicken exports touched a new high in 2020 amid growing worldwide demand for ready-to-eat products and the popularity of Korean pop culture, a report showed. 　Overseas shipments of processed chicken came to $21 million last year, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association. 　KITA said the jump came as exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or samgyetang, and chicken breast spiked due to the coronavi

March 4, 2021

Samsung sets new download speed record with 5G-4G LTE dual connectivity tech

Samsung Electronics Co. said on Thursday it achieved the industry's fastest download speed with an advanced telecommunications technology using both 5G and 4G LTE base stations. In a demonstration carried out in Suwon, south of Seoul, the company achieved 5.23 gigabits per second (Gbps) in data speeds, which is enough to download a 4-gigabyte full-HD movie in six seconds, to its Galaxy S20+ smartphone, using E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) technology. EN-DC technology enables mobil

March 4, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on US inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Thursday, taking a cue from the overnight tech drop on Wall Street that was spurred by increased bond yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 35.89 points, or 1.16 percent, to 3,047.1 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.7 percent, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating 1.31 percent and 0.55 percent, respectively. Top cap Samsung Electronics lo

March 4, 2021

Consumer price growth at 1-year high in Feb.

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in one year in February due largely to a sharp rise in prices of agricultural and livestock products, data showed Thursday. The consumer price index rose 1.1 percent on-year in February, compared with a 0.6 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year gain since February last year, when the price index rose 1.1 percent. Consumer inflation also rose above 1 perce

March 4, 2021

S. Korea's wine imports hit record high in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korea's wine imports reached a record high in 2020 as more people enjoyed drinking at home and alone due to the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported 54,127 tons of wines last year, up 24.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. The value of imported wines also jumped 27.3 percent from a year ago to $330 million. Industry watchers attributed last year's surge to coronavirus-induce

March 4, 2021

S. Korea's economy grows faster than expected in Q4: BOK

South Korea's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020, although this had no effect on the overall economic contraction for last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's economy expanded 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, 0.1 percentage point higher than what has expected, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted 1 percent last year,

March 4, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves edge up in February

South Korea's foreign reserves inched up in February due to the US dollar's weakness that increased the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $447.5 billion as of end-February, up $4.83 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold b

March 4, 2021

Samsung further expands presence in NAND flash market in Q4: report

Samsung Electronics further upped its leadership in the global NAND flash market in the fourth quarter of 2020, a report showed Wednesday, despite revenue decline.  The South Korean tech giant, also the leader in the DRAM sector, had a 32.9 percent share of the global NAND flash market in terms of revenue in the October-December period, up 1.5 percentage points from a quarter earlier, according to market tracker TrendForce.  But Samsung's revenue from NAND flash products came to a

March 3, 2021

Hyundai Heavy joins hands with Saudi Aramco in hydrogen project

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia's state-run oil firm Saudi Aramco to cooperate on a hydrogen project. Under the deal, Hyundai Oilbank, HHIH's refining unit, will import liquefied petroleum gas from Saudi Aramco to produce blue hydrogen, which is derived from fossil fuel resources such as natural gas, the holding company said. Carbon dioxide captured and stored during the production process will also be provided to Saudi Aramco for

March 3, 2021

[News Focus] Hankook Tire’s sibling war intensifies ahead of proxy war at month-end

Hankook & Company -- the holding group of the world’s seventh-largest car tire maker, formerly named Hankook Technology Group -- is entangled in an escalating sibling feud ahead of its annual shareholders meeting slated for March 30. What had started off as a conflict between Chairman Cho Yang-rai’s two sons has now flared into an extensive proxy war over management control. Assuming the defense is Cho Hyun-bum, the youngest of senior Cho’s four offspring and CEO of the

March 3, 2021

South Korea eyes ‘travel bubble’ to revitalize aviation industry

South Korea will pursue quarantine-free, international travel agreements with other countries and lift other virus-related restrictions to prop up the aviation industry struggling to survive amid a sharp fall in air demand. “The country will push ahead with the signing of ‘travel bubble’ agreements for people to travel without restriction on the basis of the coronavirus situation (suitable for such pact),” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during an emergency economic me

March 3, 2021

Banks still wary of cryptocurrency partnership

The resurgence of cryptocurrency trading as well as upcoming changes in law that mandate investments in bitcoins be made with accounts under real names are likely to provide new opportunities for commercial lenders seeking new income sources. But many are still reluctant to make ties with crypto exchanges, citing risks in the volatile market and lack of confidence over forging partnerships with smaller crypto exchanges here. Currently, three banks -- Shinhan, NH Nonghyup and K bank -- are in p

March 3, 2021

Local private equity firm to acquire fledgling hybrid air carrier

An investor group led by a domestic private equity firm JC Partners is looking to take over the South Korean fledgling hybrid airline Air Premia, industry sources said Wednesday. The consortium composed of JC Partners, founded by former head of Orix Private Equity Korea Lee Jong-chul, and Hong Kong-based Korchina is said to close the buyout deal by acquiring at least 65 percent of Air Premia voting rights before the first half of 2021. Their combined price is expected to reach at least 50 bill

March 3, 2021

KAIST’s new material could make EV batteries 20% more powerful

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Wednesday it has developed a new material that enhances the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 20 percent while maintaining their stability. According to a research led by Cho Eun-ae, materials science and engineering safety professor at KAIST, lithium-ion batteries that contain 80 percent nickel inside cathodes demonstrate energy capacity of 200 ampere-hours per gram. However, the newly developed cathode materials can accommodate

March 3, 2021

Moon orders probe of housing officials’ alleged property speculation

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ordered an expanded, thorough investigation into allegations that staffers at the public housing development agency used internal information to make speculative property investments. “The comprehensive investigation will be conducted by the Prime Minister’s Office and sufficient manpower will be mobilized with the help of the transport ministry to investigate the allegations thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned,” said presidential secretary

March 3, 2021

Hyundai Glovis forges tie with China’s Changjiu Logistics

Hyundai Glovis is forging ties with a Chinese logistics company to expand and strengthen its logistics business from China to Europe, the firm said Wednesday. As part of the partnership deal, China’s Changjiu Logistics has bought from Hyundai Glovis a 30 percent stake in Adampol, a Poland-based company that Hyundai Glovis acquired in 2014. Hyundai said the two companies will join forces to launch a new railroad transport brand, dubbed ECT, or Euro China Train. As shipping costs are sp

March 3, 2021

Leadership challenge intensifies family feud at Kumho Petrochemical

A nephew is challenging the leadership of his uncle, incumbent Chairman Park Chan-koo, at Kumho Petrochemical, launching a campaign to win the support of shareholders Wednesday. Park Chul-whan, the company’s largest shareholder with 10 percent of the shares, opened a website for his shareholder proposal in which he claimed that mismanagement was blocking growth of the company and suggested the direction that the company should go to increase its value.  The younger Park is the son

March 3, 2021

Nearly half of South Korea's startup founders hail from prominent universities: report

A local survey showed around half of local startup founders are from the country’s four most prominent universities, implying that educational background could play an important role in starting a new business here. “Many people easily associate startup founders with their individual talents or abilities rather than their educational backgrounds. (But data underlines) that the startup sector here is skewed towards certain universities,” said Park Ju-gun, industry tracker CEO

March 3, 2021