Shares of battery makers flying high on growth optimism

South Korea's three battery makers have been on a roll as investors swoop on them amid growing optimism for their future growth, industry sources said Friday. LG Chem Ltd, the parent of LG Energy Solution Ltd.; Samsung SDI Co; and SK Innovation Co. finished at record highs on the Seoul bourse Thursday amid expectations that eco-friendly policies across the global will increase demand for electric vehicles, powering their growth down the road. LG Energy Solution, which spun off from LG Chem in

Jan. 8, 2021

S. Korea's current account surplus narrows in November

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed on month in November last year, mainly due to a decline in investment income, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $8.97 billion in November, narrowing from a surplus of $11.66 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on falte

Jan. 8, 2021

Market cap of S. Korea’s top 100 firms climbs near 80% in 5 years

The combined market cap of the top 100 South Korean companies reached a record high of 1,745 trillion won ($1.6 trillion) this year, up 77.5 percent from 983 trillion won in 2016, data showed Thursday. According to a report by local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute, the combined market cap of local firms as of Jan. 1 jumped 43.1 percent on-year, or 526 trillion won. The corresponding figures were those observed on the first day of each year at the bourse operator Korea Exchange. Samsun

Jan. 7, 2021

SKT reshuffles AI division, pushes digital transformation

SK Telecom has relocated its artificial intelligence service division under the company’s main business that operates mobile networks and information technology solutions, in a gesture to add full momentum to digital innovation, the company said Thursday. “The latest corporate reshuffle has reflected SKT CEO Park Jung-ho’s will to marry AI technology with the company‘s all mobile network services and solutions,” SKT explained. The AI service division -- AI&CO

Jan. 7, 2021

Kospi closes at fresh record high above 3,000

After South Korea’s benchmark Kospi hit the historic 3,000 mark a day before, the bull market continued unabated Thursday as it set a fresh record thanks to foreign and institutional investors who turned to net buyers. The Kospi began at 2,980.75 in the morning, up 12.54 points or 0.42 percent from the previous session’s close. Within a minute of the market opening, it soon recovered to 3,000 points and then rose to its fresh high of 3,055.28 during intraday trading. Fueled by in

Jan. 7, 2021

Homeplus CEO resigns after 3 years

Homeplus CEO Lim Il-soon intends to resign after leading the hypermarket chain for three years, the company said Thursday. Lim, the first female CEO in the industry, told the company last year that she wished to resign for personal reasons, and the company recently accepted her resignation. Since she was appointed to lead the retail giant in October 2017, Lim has been responsible for many industry firsts, Homeplus said. In 2019 Lim decided to convert some 15,000 contract employees to f

Jan. 7, 2021

Controversial workplace disaster bill reaches final step

The National Assembly‘s legislation subcommittee on Thursday passed the controversial bill on punishing owners of businesses in cases of workplace disasters. The bill will be voted on at the plenary session on Friday to be enacted. The legislation, spearheaded by the progressive minor Justice Party, aims to curb recurring deaths of workers by upping criminal punishment for business owners and CEOs if they are found to have neglected safety measures. The bill, heavily protested by busine

Jan. 7, 2021

Starbucks Korea rolls out limited Playmobil figurines

Starbucks Coffee Korea on Thursday launched a set of limited edition Playmobil toy figurines, hoping to re-create the successes of their previous merchandise collections. Customers can get one of six tall-size beverages with an accompanying Playmobil figure for 12,000 won. In collaboration with the famed German toymaker, the coffee chain will release a total of eight different Playmobil figurines this month, while the drink and toy combo -- named the Buddy set -- will end on Feb. 3. The fir

Jan. 7, 2021

[News Focus] Korea ranks 26th of 32 OECD members in employment

SEJONG -- South Korea still fell short of major economies in the employment index as of the third quarter of last year, which was the latest available data. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea posted 65.7 percent in the employment rate for people aged between 15-64, deemed the working age population, in September 2020. While the OECD compared 32 members, Korea ranked 26th in the index. Of the total 37 members, the French-based organization had yet to

Jan. 7, 2021

Korean venture capital E& leads merger of clinical stage biotech firms

E& Investment, a South Korean venture capital that specializes in the bio and health care sectors, said Thursday that NeuroBo Pharmaceutical, in which the company owns a 40 percent stake, had acquired a US COVID-19 treatment developer. NeuroBo, a Nasdaq-listed clinical-stage biotechnology company, on Dec. 31 acquired ANA Therapeutics, which is developing a treatment for COVID-19 that is currently in phase two and three clinical trials.  “This is an exciting and transformative

Jan. 7, 2021

One month ahead of vaccination, Korean syringe manufacturers face uncertainties

With a nationwide vaccination campaign scheduled for next month, South Korean manufacturers are looking ahead to the mass production of syringes. But challenges remain, as the government has yet to designate the type of syringes to be used. According to industry sources Thursday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency recently made phone calls to domestic syringe makers regarding their production capacity and the types of syringes they can manufacture. “Despite the phone call

Jan. 7, 2021

SK kicks off 2021 with $1.5b investment into US hydrogen company Plug Power

South Korea’s No.3 conglomerate SK Group said Thursday it would acquire a 9.9 percent stake worth $1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in the US hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power to jointly take the initiative in Asian hydrogen markets. The group’s holding firm SK Holdings and a natural gas subsidiary SK E&S will invest 800 billion won each into Plug Power, which will make SK Group the largest stakeholder in the New York-based hydrogen company. SK Group is expected to finaliz

Jan. 7, 2021

LG Display to recast display in contactless new norm at CES 2021

LG Display will shine a light on the role of displays in the post-COVID-19 contactless society at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show 2021, set to take place from Monday, the company said Thursday. The three key messages the company wants to convey this year are “Natural Reality,” “Lifestyle in Harmony” and “Better for People” -- with an overarching theme that displays brings the real world to those in front of them. LG Display’s display soluti

Jan. 7, 2021

Chey likely to be sole candidate for KCCI chair

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is set to be named as the next chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, succeeding incumbent Chairman Park Yong-maan, industry officials said Thursday. The KCCI has so far never been led by a figure at the helm of one of the so-called Big Four chaebol -- Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK or LG. Chey’s selection is seen as a signal that the KCCI is seeking to enhance its role and stature amid the post-coronavirus market turbulence. The KCCI will conve

Jan. 7, 2021

Seoul stocks set another record high, key index tops 3,000 points

South Korean stocks rallied Thursday to close above the 3,000-point mark for the first time, backed by strong foreign and institutional buying triggered by US stimulus hopes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 63.47 points, or 2.14 percent, to close at 3,031.68 points. Trading volume was very high at about 1.5 billion shares worth around 26.8 trillion won ($24.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 617 to 220. Institut

Jan. 7, 2021

[Photo News] Make way for snow plows

Plows remove the snow piled up on the runways at Incheon International Airport on Thursday after the nation faced heavy snowfall overnight. (Yonhap) (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Jan. 7, 2021

LG acquires controlling stake in US data firm Alphonso for $80m

LG Electronics announced Thursday the South Korean tech giant has acquired a controlling stake of more than 50 percent in US data analytics firm Alphonso, in an $80 million deal for its TV business. Based in Silicon Valley, Alphonso is a data analytics startup that specializes in TV commercials and various media content. With the latest investment, LG plans to accelerate its digital transformation strategy that aims to deliver better customized services for LG TV users. The company plans

Jan. 7, 2021

Samsung unveils Neo QLED with Quantum Mini LED tech

Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled its 2021 TV lineup, including the Neo QLED featuring its Quantum Mini LED technology during a virtual presentation ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show next week. The Neo QLED, a step up from the current QLED models, uses a new light source called Quantum Mini LED that is much tinier than current LED. The Quantum Mini LED is designed to be one-fortieth the height of a conventional LED. The number of LEDs used in a liquid crystal display TV is a lot

Jan. 7, 2021

Experts positive on Kospi’s rally despite concerns over bubble

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed above the 3,000 points for the first time Thursday, as well as rising to an all-time high of 3,055.28 during intraday trading. Retail investors’ buying binge led the historic 3,000-point milestone a day earlier although the index ended up closing at 2,968.21 points. While the era of Kospi 3,000 has wide opened, multiple brokerage houses raised stock price outlook for this year, setting the upper-end target band to 2,830-3,500 points. They predic

Jan. 7, 2021

Foreign investment banks raise 2021 growth outlook for S.Korea

Top foreign investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and HSBC, have upgraded South Korea’s growth outlook for this year to an average 3.4 percent, up by 0.1 percentage point from their previous estimate, a report released by the Korea Center for International Finance showed Thursday.  By end-December, two of nine investment banks surveyed in the report -- Credit Suisse and HSBC -- had revised their outlook upward by 0.7 percentage point and 0.5 percentage point to 3.6 per

Jan. 7, 2021