[News Focus] COVID-19 widens gap among top 3 Korean game companies and the rest

The prolonged pandemic has intensified a polarization between top South Korean game companies and small and mid-sized ones. While the smaller players took a hit in revenue and employment amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the big three -- Nexon, NCSoft and Netmarble -- have reaped strong earnings and are returning part of them to staff and shareholders with dramatic hikes in salary and dividends. On Feb. 1, Nexon, which breached a 3 trillion-won ($2.72 billion) mark in revenue for the first time t

Feb. 18, 2021

REIT investment grows amid tough regulations on housing market

Real estate investment trusts, which allow individuals to make indirect investment in properties, have gained traction recently from investors facing heavier regulations on home buying. The entire value of assets owned by REITs stood at 61.4 trillion won ($55 billion) in January, up 26.3 percent on-year from 48.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday. The government has strengthened rules on mortgage loans, real estate tax, and redevelopme

Feb. 18, 2021

FSS warns investors of IPO launched by loss-making tech firms

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday warned retail investors to be cautious of initial public offerings launched by promising but still loss-making companies, stressing that short-term gains may not be achievable. “As the rules allow (loss-making) companies (but with growth potential) to launch an IPO, profits may not occur within a short period of time after listing,” the FSS said in a statement. As part of efforts to encourage budding companies to draw investment, t

Feb. 18, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Chem innovates business model centering on sustainability

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading petrochemical, high-tech material and biopharmaceutical company, has set out to innovate its business model as it shifts focus to sustainability. Last year, the flagship LG affiliate announced its sustainability strategy that pivots on carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2050 as the first Korean chemical firm. The company has recently committed to using 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 to join the global clean energy RE100 initiative led by the in

Feb. 18, 2021

Samsung to hold TV launch event ‘Unbox & Discover’

Samsung Electronics will hold a launch show for its TV products, dubbed “Unbox & Discover,” next month. Samsung said Thursday it has sent out invitations to global partners and media for the event set for March 2. “Samsung will share its vision for how the company’s latest innovative products are set to redefine the role of the TV through cutting-edge technologies, beautiful design and impactful partnerships,” it said. The company is expected to unveil

Feb. 18, 2021

SsangYong Motor pins hope on government help

SsangYong Motor, the cash-strapped Korean affiliate of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, is pinning hopes on the government’s apparent reluctance to let it go bankrupt, company officials said Thursday. Holding the key to the carmaker’s crisis is its largest creditor, Korea Development Bank which, despite its earlier refusal for additional loans, is under pressure to keep the carmaker afloat. “The management is undergoing talks with potential investors, slated to w

Feb. 18, 2021

Hanwha Solutions’ 1st YoY report card shows 29% surge in operating profit

Hanwha Solutions on Thursday announced its first year-over-year results after its launch on Jan. 2, 2020 through the merger of Hanwha Chemical and Hanwha Q Cells & Advanced Materials. According to its regulatory filing, the company’s revenue shrank 2.8 percent to 9.19 trillion won ($8.3 billion) on-year, but its operating profit surged 29 percent to 594.2 billion won, improving its profitability despite economic downturn from the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, net profit saw a whoppin

Feb. 18, 2021

Government, Hyundai, LG join hands to reuse dead batteries

Amid a heightening blame game over the cause of Kona Electric Vehicle fires, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and LG Energy Solution President Kim Jong-hyun on Thursday gathered at the automaker’s research and development center in Namyang, Gyeonggi Province to discuss a business model reusing expired EV batteries. At the event, the respective heads of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Glovis, LG Ener

Feb. 18, 2021

[Video] Will chat app Clubhouse reshape social media trends?

The invitation-only audio chat application named Clubhouse is surging in popularity around the globe by picking up millions of people on social media. Launched in March 2020, the niche platform facilitates audio conversations between users. Once users are invited to join, they can enter various chat rooms and communicate about those topics. The types of chat rooms are diverse and the most popular ones are operated by a handful of users speaking to a silent audience. The chat rooms range fro

Feb. 18, 2021

South Korea to continue financial support for business hit by pandemic

South Korea’s Finance Minister said Thursday that the details of the COVID-19 financial support programs nearing their expiration will be “decided by early March,” indicating the government’s willingness to continue the programs. “The details of all the financial sector’s loan programs regarding its extension of maturities and delay of interest payments will be decided by early March,” Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said ahead o

Feb. 18, 2021

[News Focus] Gyeonggi housing prices in continuous spiral of climb

SEJONG -- Housing prices in many satellite cities around Seoul posted a growth of more than 5 percent in 10 weeks, with price increases in some cities surging 10 percent. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, Seongnam’s Bundang-gu saw the average trading price of homes climb by 9.5 percent from 31.97 million won ($28,800) per 3.3 square meters on Nov. 27, 2020 to 35.04 million ($31,600) on Feb. 5, 2021. This means the average price of an 84-square-meter house, a popular size among

Feb. 18, 2021

Lotte Chemical develops fire-resistant urethane insulation

Lotte Chemical said Thursday that the company has developed urethane-based semi-non-combustible insulation product. The company added that the new fire-resistant insulation product can reduce the amount of smoke by 30 percent in case of a fire, compared to conventional urethane-based insulation products. According to the petrochemical affiliate of Lotte Group, it took two years for the firm to conduct research on the new insulation product, using purified isophthalic acid, which is widely u

Feb. 18, 2021

Seoul to build research facilities for robotics and AI

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it has decided to spend a total of 34.7 billion to build research facilities for robotics and artificial intelligence near Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The central government will inject 24.2 billion won in the project, while the city government and the Gangnam-gu office will invest 2.5 billion won and 7.8 billion won, respectively. The region near Suseo Station has remained idle since December 2019, when the city government decided

Feb. 18, 2021

KAIST appoints Lee Kwang-hyung as new president

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has appointed the institution’s provost and executive vice president Lee Kwang-hyung as its new president, it said Thursday. KAIST held a board meeting to appoint Lee the 17th president of the institution upon approval of Minister of Science and ICT. Lee, who is known as a futurist who introduced convergence studies at the academic institution, is an alumnus who earned a master‘s degree in industrial engineering at KAIST in 198

Feb. 18, 2021

Coway achieves record sales of W3.2tr in 2020

Coway achieved its highest annual sales of 3.2 trillion won in 2020, largely backed by the growth in overseas purchases, the Korean home appliances rental company said Thursday. Last year, Coway said its annual sales increased by 7.2 percent, when compared to the year earlier, thanks to its thriving overseas business. The operating profit and net profit stood at 606.4 billion won and 404.7 billion won, jumping 32.3 percent and 21.8 percent on-year, respectively. “Amidst internal and e

Feb. 18, 2021

Cadillac launches entry-level SUV XT4 in full-option

Cadillac of GM Korea is launching its first entry-level sports utility vehicle XT4 in Korea to target younger drivers, the company said Thursday. The automaker said the XT4 model here will be come in the sport trim with all functional options -- including massage seats in the driver and the passenger seats in the front, and a panoramic sunroof. With a price tag of 55.3 million won ($50,000), the new model seeks to gain an upper hand in the compact SUV segment, against its potential rivals M

Feb. 18, 2021

Eastar Jet could fly again as soon as June

South Korea’s troubled low-cost carrier Eastar Jet, which filed for court receivership last month, could be back in the sky as soon as June amid increased chances of a deal. According to industry sources, the number of potential buyers -- including a private equity fund and a construction company -- has risen from four to six or seven, with the acquisition process set to be finalized by late May. Earlier this month, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court allowed the airline to initiate corporate reh

Feb. 18, 2021

Baemin founder pledges to donate over half of his wealth

Kim Bong-jin, the founder and CEO of Woowa Brothers -- the company behind South Korea’s top food delivery app, Baemin -- has pledged to donate more than half of his assets through the Giving Pledge -- a philanthropic campaign launched by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. “My wife Sul Bo-mi and I hereby pledge that we will return more than half of our wealth to society during our lifetime. Our lovely children, Hanna and Jua have agreed with our decision,” Kim said Thu

Feb. 18, 2021

Celltrion to take on S. Africa variant

Only a day after Celltrion began distribution of its monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 in Korea, the company announced Thursday that it is setting out to tackle the more contagious South African variant. “We have a growing library of antibody candidates for COVID-19 variants, of which the ‘32nd antibody’ has shown potency against the South African strain,” said Celltrion’s Honorary Chairperson Seo Jung-jin. “We will enter animal trial of this 32nd a

Feb. 18, 2021

Woowa Brothers' founder joins super wealthy donation campaign

Kim Bong-jin, the founder and chairman of a local delivery app operator Woowa Brothers, on Thursday joined the bandwagon of rich, self-made South Koreans donating substantial amounts of their assets to society. Kim said he and his wife have joined The Giving Pledge, a global campaign of the world’s wealthiest people contributing a majority of their assets to philanthropic projects, and that they would donate a half of their wealth in their lifetimes, according to the company. The 45-ye

Feb. 18, 2021