Kospi’s 38-year road to 3,000-point mark

Buoyed by the increasing participation of small investors and their growing clout in South Korea’s stock market, the nation’s main bourse reached a historic high on Wednesday, surpassing 3,000 points for the first time in the stock market’s 38-year history. The benchmark Kospi was launched by the nation’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange on Jan. 4, 1983, three years after the base value of 100 was decided. It kicked off trading at 122.5 points with 328 listed firms on

Jan. 6, 2021

Retail investors, hopes of recovery open up era of Kospi 3000

An estimated 10 million retail investors, a weak dollar and hope for recovery pushed the benchmark Kospi above the 3,000-point threshold on Wednesday in what could be a new era for the local stock market. Analysts say many factors have driven the rally, including the weak dollar and anticipation for improved corporate earnings, but the biggest force may be legions of small investors, known locally as “ants.” The “ant warriors,” who purchased 60 trillion won ($52.22 bi

Jan. 6, 2021

Customization gains popularity in home appliance market

A recent trend in the home appliance market in South Korea has been owning a unique product with tailored colors and configurations. First introduced by Samsung Electronics in 2019, the Bespoke series allows consumers to pick the colors, materials and functionality of refrigerators, microwave ovens, induction cooktops, dishwashers and air purifiers. Samsung tried with the refrigerator first, luring younger consumers with a variety of color options for fridge panels, which turned out to be a

Jan. 6, 2021

[News Analysis] Will there ever be an LG or Samsung car?

As batteries account for more than 40 percent of the cost of an electric vehicle’s parts, major automakers including Tesla, BMW and Volkswagen are making efforts to develop their own batteries. Such moves have stoked concerns that South Korean battery giants -- LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation -- might lose their clients in the long term. But just as automakers have invaded the field of battery manufacturing, local battery producers are slowly infiltrating the auto p

Jan. 6, 2021

GS Caltex to showcase drone delivery tech, next-gen gas station at CES

GS Caltex will introduce a next-generation charging station that offers drone delivery services in its debut at the world’s biggest tech show, the company said Wednesday. According to the South Korean refinery, at this year‘s Consumer Electronics Show set to kick off online Monday, the company will offer three videos that show how drones can deliver items, utilizing gas stations as logistics bases. The first video contains two drone delivery tests GS Caltex conducted together wi

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea and NASA begin development of space telescope

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute will begin a space project to develop a space telescope with the US space agency NASA and the California Institute of Technology, the ICT Ministry here announced Wednesday. The space project, titled the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explore, or SPHEREx, is a two-year mission designed to launch a space telescope that would collect data that could help understand the history of the universe, the

Jan. 6, 2021

Game and artificial intelligence, unusual guests to local pop music scene

Artificial intelligence technology restores the voices of deceased musicians to sing contemporary songs. A game company airs a song competition show for the soundtrack of its title game. The local music scene continues to evolve, with the convergence of media, technology and industries. South Korean game company Nexon adopted a TV competition show format to best fit Dungeon and Fighter, an arcade-style action game. The five-episode series, available on YouTube channel Dingo Music, has garn

Jan. 6, 2021

Korean Air extends mileage expiration dates amid pandemic

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Wednesday it will extend the expiration dates of mileage that expired at the end of 2020 and mileage that expires at the end of 2021 to 2022 amid the coronavirus pandemic. In June, Korean Air already extended mileage points due to expire at the end of 2020 by one year to 2021 as travel demand dried up due to the pandemic. With the additional mileage extension, Korean Air plans to kick off its revamped SKYPASS mileage program in April 20

Jan. 6, 2021

‘Repurposing’ of MMR vaccine floated as COVID-19 preventive

It may not be just an age-related lack of immunity that explains the higher death rates among senior citizens in the novel coronavirus pandemic. Some scholars are paying attention to the inverse correlation between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage and COVID-19 fatality in their search for a possible deterrent against COVID-19 infection. Among them is Professor Kook Hoon of Chonnam National University Hospital’s pediatrics department. He says MMR vaccines could help mit

Jan. 6, 2021

Korean Air clears hurdle for Asiana takeover

Shareholders of Korean Air Lines Co. agreed to change its corporate mandate to clear a hurdle for its takeover of Asiana Airlines, the airline said on Wednesday. In a meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, nearly 70 percent of stockholders who were present voted to pass an amendment of an article, drastically lifting the cap on total outstanding stocks from 250 million to 700 million. With the amendment, the company can push ahead with its plan to issue 173.6 million new shares to raise capita

Jan. 6, 2021

FSC to ease regulations on financial firms to spur growth

South Korea’s top financial regulator has vowed to eliminate regulatory hurdles and outdated rules that hinder local financial companies from rolling out innovative services. “The year 2021 is a crucial time for the country as we need to overcome the economic fallout from COVID-19 and carry out future strategies for taking a lead in the post-COVID era,” Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Doh Kyu-sang said during an online meeting on the future outlook and competitiv

Jan. 6, 2021

Samsung heir visits R&D center to better prepare for post-pandemic era

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, on Wednesday visited the company's research and development (R&D) hub to check its future technologies for the post-pandemic era. Lee discussed Samsung's long-term strategy with senior executives at Samsung Research and was briefed on the company's latest projects on next-generation telecommunication technologies, server and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, according

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea, NASA start building space telescope

South Korea's science ministry said Wednesday it has started manufacturing a space telescope in a joint project with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Ministry of Science and ICT said NASA has approved the preliminary design for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), paving the way for its construction. The space telescope was first planned and

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea to provide most of pandemic emergency handouts by Lunar New Year's holiday

South Korea plans to provide a huge chunk of its emergency handouts to smaller merchants hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak by the Lunar New Year's holiday in early February, the finance minister said Wednesday. The country plans to provide 9.3 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in relief funds to small businesses stung by state-imposed shutdowns over virus cases and the self-employed reeling from the economic fallout of the pandemic. "The government will start to provide the emergency han

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea, Pakistan seek to broaden ties in economy, energy

South Korea and Pakistan agreed Wednesday to expand their bilateral economic ties in on-going energy projects in the South Asian nation. The two nations held the third round of the Korea-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee virtually, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the meeting, Seoul requested that Islamabad consider using South Korean consortiums in the planned construction of two hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 470 megawatts (MW) and 215 MW, respectiv

Jan. 6, 2021

Key shareholders unload additional stake in Doosan Fuel Cell

Nine shareholders of Doosan Fuel Cell Co. sold their combined 8.13 percent stake in the fuel cell maker via a block deal, the company said Wednesday. "The stake sale was a part of Doosan Group's self-rescue plan," a company official said by phone. The shareholders were reported to have raised around 274.5 billion won ($252.7 million) via the block deal. The shareholders include Park Jeong-won, chairman of cash-squeezed Doosan Group. After the sale, the combined stake in Doosan Fuel

Jan. 6, 2021

Imported car sales rise 4.5% in Dec. despite pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 4.5 percent last December from a year earlier due to strong demand for German cars, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 31,419 units last month from 30,072 a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. For the whole of 2020, foreign carmakers sold 274,859 autos, up 12 percent from 244,780 in the

Jan. 6, 2021

Kospi touches 3,000 points with retail investors’ buying binge

South Korean retail investors, who have been on a buying spree in recent months, brought benchmark indexes to fresh highs during intraday trading Wednesday. The Kospi touched 3,000 points for the first time in the market’s 38-year history in the early morning session, stretching to as high as 3,027.16 points. But the Kospi pulled back to close at 2,968.21 points, down 22.36 points, or 0.8 percent, shy of the previous session‘s close. The Kospi had maintained a record run for six c

Jan. 6, 2021

GC Pharma completes phase 2 trial of COVID-19 plasma therapy treatment

South Korean biotech company GC Pharma said Wednesday it has completed phase two clinical trials of its plasma therapy treatment for the novel coronavirus. The plasma therapy, known as GC5131A, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. GC Pharma wrapped up the phase two clinical study on Dec. 31 and plans to file for a conditional approval to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety during the first quarter of thi

Jan. 6, 2021

More than 200 million people used Samsung's fitness app in 2020

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its fitness tracking app was used by more than 200 million people around the globe in 2020 as the South Korean tech giant tries to further expand usability of its health platform. Samsung Health, which was first launched in 2012, offers various health-related features from virtual exercises to tacking of sleep patterns, heart rate and blood pressure. "In the past year alone, Samsung Health users burned around 3 billion calories and took around 78 tri

Jan. 6, 2021