LG Energy Solution ranks 2nd in global EV battery market in Jan.

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. was the No. 2 supplier of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the world in January after China's CATL, a market research firm said Tuesday. LG Energy Solution, which spun off from LG Chem Ltd. in December last year, shipped 2.5 gigawatt-hour (GWh) equivalents of EV batteries in January, up 50.6 percent from a year earlier, according to SNE Research. But its global market share shrank to 18.5 percent from 23.9 percent in the same month last ye

March 2, 2021

SsangYong resumes plant operations after weekslong suspension over parts shortage

Financially troubled carmaker SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday it has resumed the operation of its local plant after a weekslong suspension due to a glitch in its parts supply. SsangYong Motor halted its plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, for two days in December and 16 days last month as its subcontractors refused to supply parts due to outstanding payments. The SUV-focused carmaker filed for court receivership on Dec. 21 after it failed to obtain approval for the rollover of

March 2, 2021

LG's steam closet hits 1m in cumulative production

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, said Tuesday that the cumulative production of its steam closet has surpassed 1 million units. Domestic models of LG Tromm Styler, a clothing care appliance that made its debut in 2011, surpassed 1 million units in cumulative production as of end-February, the company said. All of LG's steam closet models are manufactured in the company's plant in Changwon, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul. LG currently sells the Styler in m

March 2, 2021

Mercedes-Benz Korea adds Maybach SUV to lineup

Mercedes-Benz Korea on Tuesday added its most luxurious SUV model to the lineup to gain a bigger share in the South Korean market. The German carmaker has launched the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC SUV equipped with a twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 M177 engine at 257 million won ($230,000), the company said in a statement. "The new Mercedes-Maybach GLS is a fascinating model that will draw the attention of customers who want a high-end SUV. We will continue to provide the best products this

March 2, 2021

LG Innotek develops industry's first automotive Wi-Fi 6E module

LG Innotek Co., a major electronics parts maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has developed an automotive Wi-Fi module with advanced wireless communication technology as the company eyes to expand its presence in the future mobility market. LG Innotek claimed its latest automotive Wi-Fi module is the industry's first to be based on the next-generation Wi-Fi 6E (6th Generation Extended) technology using 6 GHz bandwidth. The company said it expects to commercialize the Wi-Fi 6E module in 2022

March 2, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply higher on eased bond yield concerns

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Tuesday, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally that stemmed from eased concerns about the impacts of a bond yield hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 81.62 points, or 2.71 percent, to 3,094.57 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a bullish start after a three-day holiday weekend on strong institutional and foreign buying. Foreigners, who net sold a record 2.8 trillion won ($2.5 billion) the p

March 2, 2021

Online food delivery market grows 79% in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korea's online food delivery service market spiked nearly 80 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. The value of online food service transactions came to 17.4 trillion won ($15.5 billion) last year, up 78.6 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was nearly 6.4 times the 2.7 trillion won recorded in 2017, when the statistical agency started tracking related data. Of the total transactions

March 2, 2021

Industrial output snaps 7-month rise in Jan. amid pandemic

South Korea's industrial output declined for the first time in eight months in January, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign that the country's economic recovery momentum still remains weak amid the pandemic. The industrial output declined 0.6 percent in January from the previous month, compared with a 0.4 percent on-month gain in December last year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But from a year earlier, it gained 1.4 percent. It marked the first on-month decline since

March 2, 2021

Naver, Softbank launch Japanese joint venture to take on internet giants

South Korea‘s leading internet portal Naver Corp. and Japanese telecom giant Softbank Corp. have completed a merger of their subsidiaries to tap deeper into the Japanese market with a wide range of services, their joint venture said Monday. 　 Japanese chat app operator LINE, affiliated with Naver, and Softbank’s internet business Yahoo Japan launched a new entity called Z Holdings. 　 The merger creates a $30 billion tech giant with more than 100 million users on a monthly basis acros

March 1, 2021

[Herald Interview] Carbon-neutral Philips sets higher goals for 2025

For anyone who has tried, it is evident that reducing one’s carbon footprint requires an extraordinary attention to the waste produced, coupled with a conscious effort to cut down on convenient habits that are harmful to the Earth. When the individual effort is enough of a challenge to take on, how does one achieve this seemingly insurmountable task as a company, let alone a global one with international branches? Global health care company Philips has had its eyes on an environmental,

March 1, 2021

Average daily export volume hits new high in February

South Korea saw the volume of exports continue growing for a fourth consecutive month in February, showing signs of recovery from the coronavirus crisis, on the back of strong chip and automobile demand. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy on Monday, outbound shipments came to $44.81 billion last month, up 9.5 percent from the previous year. The average daily export volume increased 26.4 percent to reach $2.3 billion -- the largest for the month. The on-year export growth

March 1, 2021

Market looks ahead to ‘post-coronavirus’ proxy season in March

This year’s March proxy season is to herald unprecedented scenes, including virtual meetings, e-voting systems and the rising presence of environmentally friendly corporate policy frames -- reflecting the COVID-19 pandemic situation. While top-tier conglomerates swiftly moved to adjust the date and format of their upcoming shareholders meetings, smaller businesses were observed struggling with epidemic-caused new market norms. Of the 2,350 listed companies on South Korea’s bench

March 1, 2021

Homeplus to sell cars, offer EV charging services

Homeplus will sell cars and install electric vehicle charging stations, as part of its efforts to provide more reasons for customers to visit its physical stores other than grocery shopping, the hypermarket chain said Monday. Homeplus’ plans for the new mobility service platform cover a wide range of services, and it is currently taking preorders for two electric motorcycles from DNA Motors -- EM-1 and Zappy 1 -- and preparing to launch a rental service, the company said. “By of

March 1, 2021

[Herald Interview] Tailored foreign investing advice gets new twist

Collector of Korean art, TV celebrity, motivational speaker and investment adviser -- those are just a few of the titles Mark Tetto, 40, has under his belt. After about 10 years of living in Seoul, the Italian American multihyphenate is taking on a new challenge in leading Topor & Co. Korea, one of the first investment advisers in South Korea that handles private wealth management for wealthy families. In the past five years as a partner at TCK, his primary focus was to manage a globally d

March 1, 2021

[Photo News] Samsung Electro-Mechanics introduces new optical zoom

Samsung Electro-Mechanics officials present its folded, 10x optical zoom camera module for smartphones. The company on Monday announced it will begin mass production of the technology, claiming to be the first South Korean maker to do so. Folded zoom technology allows phone makers to minimize the camera’s protrusion in smartphones.  By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)

March 1, 2021

Boys no longer preferred

Statistics Korea’s data on Monday showed the male ratio at birth in South Korea fell to the lowest level last year, implicating the end of the country’s long-held tradition of boy preference. The gender ratio at birth, or the number of baby boys per every 100 baby girls born, stood at 104.9 in 2020 -- the lowest since the institution started to collect related data in 1990. The figure is close to a natural level observed worldwide of about 105 boys to every 100 girls. This repres

March 1, 2021

Netflix to start publishing audit report this year

Netflix Korea will disclose its audit reports in March, which would be its first regulatory filing since entering the country in 2016. The local unit of the US media platform giant is incorporated as a limited liability company here, but has become newly subject to disclosure rules applied for publicly traded firms. The change is due to the effectuation last year of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on External Audit of Stock Companies, amended in 2017 to enhance business transparency and p

March 1, 2021

Pension funds extend stock selling streak to 42nd straight session

South Korean pension funds logged a record-long selling spree of local stocks, extending net selloffs to a 42nd consecutive session. While the unloading trend extended during a recent market correction period, experts predict their selling will likely to continue at least until June this year. The combined net sales of the pension funds came to 12.98 trillion won ($11.57 billion) so far this year. In February, they sold a net 4.58 trillion won -- 4.32 trillion won on the main bourse Kospi an

March 1, 2021

Philip Morris Korea wins legal battle against tax authority over trademark fees

Philip Morris Korea has won a legal battle worth billions of won against the country’s tax authority over trademark usage fees, according to legal sources. The Seoul Administrative Court on Monday ruled in favor of the South Korean unit of the international tobacco company, ordering a tax imposed by Seoul Main Customs worth 9.82 billion won ($8.7 million) to be canceled. The ruling comes four years after the Korea Customs Service ordered the company to pay some 3.4 billion won in customs

March 1, 2021

S. Korea, Switzerland extend W11tr currency swap deal until 2026

The Bank of Korea said Monday it has agreed with Switzerland’s central bank to extend their bilateral currency swap arrangements for another five years, as part of a move to further bolster financial cooperation. The currency swap deal totaling at 11.2 trillion won ($10.1 billion), which was set to end on Monday, will last until March 2026, according to the BOK. “The extension of the currency swap deal aims to enhance bilateral relations in the area of finance and to strengthen f

March 1, 2021