Amid weakening won, US cross-border shopping less attractive to Koreans

With the Korean won falling sharply against the US dollar, cross-border shopping on US platforms has become less attractive to Korean shoppers in a peak season that includes Black Friday in the US, sources said Monday. According to Statistics Korea data, transaction volume of cross-border shopping from the country to the US increased on-year by a mere 6.4 percent to 512.3 billion won ($358.9 million) in second quarter. Last year, the figure had spiked 25.7 percent compared to 2020. Noting that l

Oct. 10, 2022

[From the scene] Ulsan vows green transition in 60th year

ULSAN -- A green transition of Ulsan Industrial District, home to oil refineries, petrochemical plants, auto manufacturing facilities and shipbuilding sites, is crucial to alleviating the cost of carbon emissions and keeping the products' competitive edge in the global market, an Ulsan high-ranking official told reporters on Thursday. "Ulsan is now focusing on how it can diversify energy sources for the industrial complex," said Noh Dong-wan, director-general of innovative industry bu

Oct. 10, 2022

[From the Scene] At LG plant, unmanned robots boost output, ensure workplace safety

CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province -- The factory automation spearheaded by robots has allowed LG Electronics’ home appliance manufacturing plant, located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to boost productivity and ensure workplace safety. “Over the course of five years of operation, we saw a nearly 25 percent increase in output, along with a similar employment rate for the last five years,” said Kang Myeong-suk, a task leader at LG’s kitchen appliances division,

Oct. 10, 2022

Posco, LG sign comprehensive agreement for EV battery material supply

Steel-to-chemical material firm Posco Holdings and lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer LG Energy Solution signed a more comprehensive agreement for electric vehicle battery material supply, the companies announced Monday. Based on the nonbinding agreement signed on Friday, Posco Holding is to ink a long-term deal to supply cathode materials and anode materials to LG Energy Solution before the end of 2022, according to South Korea's largest battery cell maker by batteries supplied to cars.

Oct. 10, 2022

Some 380,000 households at high risk of default due to excessive debt burden: BOK

Some 380,000 households in South Korea were found to be at high risk of financial default due to excessive debt burdens, a central bank report showed Monday. According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) report submitted to Rep. Kang Joon-hyun of the main opposition Democratic Party, the number of households at high risk in terms of financial liabilities reached 381,000 as of the end of last year. The BOK defines such high-risk households as those that are unable to pay back their loans even through disp

Oct. 10, 2022

Soaring food prices force Koreans to scrimp on eating out

Higher food prices are taking a toll on much of the world and Koreans are no exception, as they look to deal with the surging costs of eating out that reached a 30-year high last month -- the latest sign that will likely harden resolve at the Bank of Korea for a second hefty rate hike this week. While overall consumer prices eased in September for a second straight month, services inflation edged up 4.2 percent on-year, a 21-year high, according to Statistics Korea data released last week. Eatin

Oct. 9, 2022

US chip export curbs won't likely hurt Samsung, SK hynix: lawmaker

Amid a chaotic mood building among Korean chipmakers operating fabrication plants in China over Washington's chip export curbs on Beijing, a South Korean lawmaker said Sunday the companies are unlikely to be hurt, as the US would take some time to see to how the repercussions of its actions play out through the global supply chain. "(US authorities) are unlikely to be harsh in export controls on semiconductor equipment going to Korea-owned facilities, because the extent of (repercussions fr

Oct. 9, 2022

Antitrust regulator likely to enhance investigative role

South Korea's antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, is likely to go through an organizational reform to enhance its role in investigating antitrust cases and while focusing less on policy formulation, related ministries said Sunday. The plan set to be carried out by the end of this year, would have the agency focus more on regulating unfair practices, they said. Currently, the FTC is consists of a committee and a secretariat. The committee is the decision-making body that has nine

Oct. 9, 2022

Jeju to host first-ever exhibit on future agricultural machinery

  The first-ever expo for electric and autonomous driving agricultural machinery will be held from Nov. 8 to 10 in Jeju, according to the expo organizing committee Sunday. Officially titled ‘IEVE : The 1st Electric and Autonomous Agricuture,' the expo is co-hosted by the International Electric Vehicle Expo, Korea Global EV Association Network, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Forum. The expo organizing committee appointed Oh Young-hun, governor

Oct. 9, 2022

LG Electronics supplies autonomous robots to malls in Japan

LG Electronics said Sunday it has supplied autonomous robots to two locations of shopping mall chain Aeon in Japan. The multipurpose customer service robots, branded as the LG CLOi GuideBot, have recently begun operating in Aeon malls in Toki, a suburb of Nagoya, and Narita, 60 kilometers east of Tokyo, according to the South Korean tech giant, without specifying dates. The robots feature two 27-inch flat-panel displays with touch-screen functions at the front and the rear side. They can also co

Oct. 9, 2022

Hanwha Aerospace selected as preferred bidder for S. Korea's space rocket project

Hanwha Aerospace Co., an aerospace business unit of chemical-to-financial conglomerate Hanwha Group, has been selected as preferred bidder for South Korea's space rocket-upgrading project, the company said Friday. Hanwha Aerospace beat the country's sole aircraft manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI) in the 300-billion won ($213 million) project spearheaded by state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the company said in a statement. "Hanwha Aerospace will c

Oct. 7, 2022

Korean duty-free shops strive to reduce reliance on China

Korean duty-free shops, hit hard by protracted COVID-19 lockdowns in China, are seeking to reduce their reliance on Chinese sales, turning their eyes to alternative markets like Southeast Asia. Before the pandemic, China’s deep-pocketed tourists and resellers used to be their key revenue sources that made up more than 80 percent of their sales. With the resumption of international travel around the world, local retailers, especially the top two Lotte and Shinsegae, had pinned high hopes

Oct. 7, 2022

Korea’s central bank chief sees more rate hikes coming

The chief of South Korea’s central bank hinted at more rate hikes to come on Friday to combat high inflation, while stressing that the possible currency swap deal with the US is only a short-term solution. “We believe that we need to maintain our stance to raise rates going forward in order to prevent entering a stagnant state of high inflation,” Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit. “The BOK has so far carried out a series of s

Oct. 7, 2022

Rice production to fall by 2% this year: Statistics Korea

SEJONG -- The nation’s rice output is projected to decrease by 78,000 tons in 2022 on-year in the wake of a curtailed rice paddy size as well as shortage in rainfalls, Statistics Korea said Friday. According to the state-run agency, rice production nationwide will likely decline by 2 percent on-year from 3.88 million tons in 2021 to 3.8 million tons in 2022. The size of rice paddies is estimated to have contracted by 0.7 percent from 7,320 square kilometers (732,000 hectare) to 7,270 squ

Oct. 7, 2022

Science experts call for creation of national science hub

South Korea’s science experts have called for nationwide efforts to set up a national science hub in order to gather the country’s scientific talents and research efforts. According to the Science Dreamland, an incorporated association, over 100 figures from the science and technology sector, local governments and companies gathered to share thoughts on how to successfully push for building a national science hub at the National Assembly Members Office on Friday. The association refe

Oct. 7, 2022

Seoul shares end 3-day winning streak on rate hike woes

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday, ending a three-day winning streak amid lingering concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening and a global economic recession. After volatile trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.02 points, or 0.22 percent, to end at 2,232.84. Trading volume was a bit slim at 402.26 million shares worth 6.96 trillion won (US$4.75 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 487 to 370. Institutional investors sold a

Oct. 7, 2022

Apple Pay likely to start Korean services next month

Apple Pay will start its Korean services next month or at least early December, according to recently leaked documents stating terms and conditions for Hyundai Card customers. The screen captures of digital documents labeled “terms and conditions” in Korean said that “the purpose of this document is to regulate the conditions and procedures of the rights between our customers and the company, obligations and responsibility and more for the usage of Apple Pay services provided

Oct. 7, 2022

Samsung's Q3 operating earnings to drop sharply on weak chip demand

Samsung Electronics is expected to log a sharp drop in its quarterly operating profits as the company on Friday announced that its tentative third-quarter operating profits are estimated at 10.8 trillion won ($7.7 billion), a 31.73 percent decline on year. According to the South Korean chipmaker, its operating profits from the third quarter will also have declined by 23.4 percent on quarter. The downfall will mark the first quarterly dip in the company’s operating profits since the fourth

Oct. 7, 2022

BOK to maintain monetary tightening stance amid high inflation

South Korea's central bank said Friday it will maintain its position to raise interest rates going forward to combat inflation that is expected to stay in the 5-6 percent range "for a considerable period of time." In a report submitted to lawmakers for a parliamentary audit, the Bank of Korea (BOK) voiced concerns a sharp slide of the local currency against the US dollar will likely apply upward pressure on prices. "It is of urgent need to keep a lid on inflation expectations

Oct. 7, 2022

S. Korea posts current account deficit in Aug. amid slowing exports, mounting import bills

South Korea posted a current account deficit for the first time in four months in August as exports grew at a slower pace and import bills continued to mount amid high crude oil and raw material prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account shortfall came to $3.05 billion in August, a sharp turnaround from a surplus of a revised $790 million tallied a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first time in four mo

Oct. 7, 2022