S. Korea to increase number of eco-friendly cars to 7.85m by 2030

South Korea said Thursday the accumulated number of eco-friendly cars running in the country will reach 7.85 million by 2030, in line with its vision to go fully carbon-neutral by 2050. The target will mark a sharp rise from 820,000 units tallied in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The emission of greenhouse gases from cars will also fall 24 percent over the period. The announcement came as a part of the five-year fourth basic plan on promoting the ec

Feb. 18, 2021

Residents' foreign currency deposits fall in January

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in January on a decline in corporate holdings of the US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $89.3 billion as of end-January, down $4.8 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The decline came as companies repaid their US dollar-denominated debts last month, the BOK said. Residents include local citiz

Feb. 18, 2021

Corporate M&As down 53.1% in 2020

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday that the value of corporate mergers and acquisitions declined 53.1 percent on-year last year due largely to a lack of mega deals. Corporate deals were valued at 210.2 trillion won ($190 billion) last year, compared with 448.4 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). But the total number of corporate mergers and takeovers rose 12.9 percent on-year to 865 last year, it added. Under the country's fair trade

Feb. 18, 2021

Households' income from wage, biz operations dips for 3rd quarter in Q4 amid pandemic

South Korean households' income earned through wages and business operations fell for the third straight quarter in the fourth quarter of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The average household earned 5.16 million won ($4,670) per month in the October-December period, up 1.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But household income earned through wages and business operations declined for the third consecutive quarter

Feb. 18, 2021

S. Korea's three major multiplexes post nearly 70% sales plunge in 2020

South Korea's three major multiplex chain operators have seen their respective 2020 sales plunge nearly 70 percent from a year earlier due to the fallout of the yearlong novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. Industry leader CJ CGV, the cinema affiliate under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its sales reached 583.4 billion won ($527.9 million) last year, down 70 percent from the previous year. It shifted to an operating loss of 392.5 billion won in 2020 from an operati

Feb. 18, 2021

S. Korea's mobile game market surges 24% to W5tr in 2020: data

The mobile game market in South Korea logged sharp growth of over 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) last year amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Total mobile game transactions in the country were estimated at 5.3 trillion won in 2020, up 24.3 percent from the previous year, according to data from mobile app tracker IGAWorks based on estimated sales of Google's Play store, Apple's App Store and homegrown rival ONE Store. Last year's growth far outpaced that of 2019 when it grew 5.3 percent fr

Feb. 18, 2021

Samsung Heavy bags W459b order from Oceania

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday it has clinched a 459 billion-won ($415 million) deal to build four liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled oil tankers. Under the deal with an Oceania company, the very large crude carriers will be delivered by June 2023, the shipbuilder said. Samsung Heavy Industries did not reveal the name of the Oceanian company. With the latest order, Samsung Heavy Industries has bagged $1.7 billion worth of orders, or 14 ships, so far this year. Samsung Heavy Indus

Feb. 18, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s exports of cosmetics up 16% in 2020

　South Korea’s exports of cosmetics shot up 16 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, data showed, on the back of the growing demand from the United States and elsewhere in Asia. 　Outbound shipments of cosmetics reached $7.57 billion last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service and the Korea Cosmetic Association. 　Experts say the growth was attributable to the Hallyu, or Korean Wave, which has resulted in a boom in Korean entertainment products such as pop mus

Feb. 18, 2021

Baemin CEO pledges to donate more than half of his assets

The CEO of South Korea's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers Corp., said Thursday that he will donate more than half of his wealth, estimated to be more than 1 trillion won ($905 million). "My wife Bomi Sul and I hereby pledge that we will return more than half of our wealth to society during our lifetime," Kim Bong-min said in a message on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the wor

Feb. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US inflation concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight tech losses on Wall Street that stemmed from inflation concerns. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.8 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,128.93 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreign and institutional appetite for risk assets remained low after the KOSPI's 0.93 percent decline in the previous session. Overnight, the Nasdaq lost 0.58 percent as tech stocks, sensitive to high inflation, retreated

Feb. 18, 2021

S. Korea's power consumption up 6.1% in Jan.

South Korea's electricity consumption climbed more than 6 percent in January from a year earlier due to a severe cold wave, data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 49.89 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in January, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Power Exchange. The exchange said the solid increase resulted from the cold wave and more working days in spite of the business slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the avera

Feb. 18, 2021

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 Thursday. 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). KITA said the jump came as exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or "samgyetang," and chicken breast spiked due

Feb. 18, 2021

Regulator calls for creditors' support to keep SsangYong Motor afloat

South Korea's top financial regulator said Wednesday it would be better to keep SsangYong Motor Co. afloat as its bankruptcy would result in massive job losses. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remark during a meeting of the National Assembly National Policy Committee, answering a lawmaker's question about the fate of the financially troubled carmaker. "It will be a demanding task to financially support SsangYong Motor's subcontractors. It appears to be

Feb. 17, 2021

Korean investors shudder as EHang plunges on short seller report

South Korean investors holding $550.3 million worth of shares in Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings appear to be left in disarray as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price plummeted on a short seller report on Tuesday. EHang Holdings was the ninth-largest stock listed on the United States bourse to be in custody of the Korea Securities Depository until last week, according to the latest data by the KSD. It was also the seventh-most active US-listed stock this year, as Korean individuals a

Feb. 17, 2021

[Photo News] Royal Salute Contemporary Art Digital Festival

Scotch whisky brand Royal Salute is holding a pop-up art exhibition at Seoul Auction‘s Gangnam Branch that continues until Tuesday. The show features contemporary artwork inspired by the whisky brand from five artists including Kim Sun-woo, qwaya, 275c and Adrian Seo and Sung Nak-jin. Alongside the artwork, a range of Royal Salute whiskys, including this year’s latest lineup and limited editions, are also on display -- including the 29-year-old Pedro Ximénez edition. Entry

Feb. 17, 2021

Selective relief handouts more effective than universal program: OECD chief

The head of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development said Wednesday that targeted support programs for low-income earners and small businesses will be more effective tool for South Korea to counter the economic fallouts from the coronavirus pandemic than a universal provision of relief funds. “Targeted support measures on those who need it most will have greater multiplier effects, imparting a greater boost to private consumption compared to across-the-board support to

Feb. 17, 2021

Housing prices cooling after supply measures: minister

The nation’s fiscal chief said Wednesday that housing prices had cooled down since the government announced new supply measures earlier this month. At a meeting with related ministers, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government would speed up its housing supply plan, unveiled earlier this month, by selecting potential locations for new apartments by June and by strengthening monitoring to prevent illegal housing transactions and tax evasion. “To prevent confusion in the ma

Feb. 17, 2021

Export sector to get W167t trade finance boost

The South Korean government will roll out massive support programs for exporters this year, aiming to return the country’s export volume to pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. Exports, the main locomotive of Asia’s fourth largest economy, are projected to have fallen below $1 trillion for the first time in four years due to economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the annual plan from the Ministry of Trade, Industry an

Feb. 17, 2021

S. Korean sovereign wealth fund still has coal exposure, despite cut

South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund, managing $183.1 billion in assets, has cut its coal stock exposure in the United States, but its investment in coal-related US listed shares still stands larger compared with other sovereign wealth funds in the world. 　 The findings indicated that Korea Investment Corp. has room for more aggressive action to fight greenhouse gas threats posed by coal, and to perform its fiduciary duty to take environmental risks into account. According to its regulat

Feb. 17, 2021

Naver plans its largest yet bond issue

Naver plans to raise as much as 700 billion won through bond sales to secure funds required to set up a new data center in South Korea and invest in foreign platform startups. The South Korean internet giant disclosed the plan, which would be the largest in its history, in a regulatory filing with the Financial Services Commission on Tuesday. The target amount is set initially at 400 billion won, with a possibility of rising to 700 billion won, it said. The bond issue will be Naver’s

Feb. 17, 2021