[Newsmaker] [From the Scene] Korea's 1st domestic COVID-19 vaccine ready

ANDONG, North Gyeongsang Province -- Hundreds of vials were lined up on the belt of a packaging machine at L House, SK Bioscience’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday afternoon, as the developer of South Korea’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine SKYCovione is poised to roll out the vaccine’s first batch by the end of August. A few technicians, who were covered from head to toe with sterilized gear -- protective shoes, clothing and

Aug. 11, 2022

LG Innotek’s quality control gets recognition from JLR

The electronic parts supplier LG Innotek was awarded with the Jaguar Land Rover Quality Certificate for two consecutive years, the company said Thursday. The certificate, awarded by UK car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, evaluates partner companies for their quality of components and compliance with delivery dates. LG Innotek has supplied DC-DC converters, components that convert high-voltage direct currents from the battery into low-voltage direct currents, to Jaguar Land Rover since 2017.

Aug. 11, 2022

SK Innovation CEO asks Poland’s support for Korea’s World Expo bid

SK Innovation Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Jun visited Poland to ask the Polish government for its support of South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, the company said Thursday. Kim met with Waldemar Buda, the Polish minister of economic development and technology in Warsaw on Tuesday. 　 SK IE Technology’s President Rho Jae-sok and Polish government officials were also present at the meeting. “The Busan Expo will be a platform upon which we can solve various ch

Aug. 11, 2022

Starbucks Korea to recall 1.8m giveaway bags containing toxic chemicals

Starbucks Korea said Thursday it will voluntarily recall some 1.8 million giveaway “summer carry bags” after drawing public ire for handing out items containing cancer-causing chemicals. After consulting with the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the company decided to recall over 1 million bags that were given away and 16,200 bags sold online starting from Aug. 11 to Oct. 11. Customers who received the bags as giveaway items after purchasing 17 Starbucks drink

Aug. 11, 2022

By 2025, half of Samsung’s premium phone shipment will be foldables

Samsung Electronics mobile head, Roh Tae-moon, said the South Korean tech giant looks to target wider audiences with its Galaxy foldable phones in a bid to address the sluggish growth of its premium smartphones and macroeconomic headwinds, in a press conference held Wednesday, in New York. As the clamshell-type Galaxy Z Flip and book-type Galaxy Z Fold evolve, the combined shipments of two models by the world’s largest foldable phone maker will outsize that of other Galaxy premium smartp

Aug. 11, 2022

Foreigners become net buyers of S. Korean stocks for 1st time in 6 months in July

Foreign investors became net buyers of South Korean stocks for the first time in six months in July on expectations that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of monetary tightening, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreigners' stock investment funds recorded a net inflow of $160 million in July, a turnaround from a net outflow of $3.01 billion the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first net inflow of foreign funds into the local stock marke

Aug. 11, 2022

Coway’s Q2 net profit up 14.4% amid new product launches

South Korean home appliance brand Coway said Wednesday that its second-quarter net profit rose 14.4 percent from a year earlier on the back of innovative product launches. The company logged 132.5 billion won ($101.7 million) in net profit between April and June, the company said. Operating profit went up 5.7 percent on-year to 176 billion won, while cumulative sales in 2022 increased 6.8 percent to 1.9 trillion won. Coway’s global operations also saw increased sales, with Coway‘

Aug. 11, 2022

Money supply up for 3rd month in June on increased deposits

South Korea's money supply grew for the third straight month in June on increased deposits amid rising interest rates, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 3,709.3 trillion won ($2.85 trillion) on average in June, up 12 trillion won, or 0.3 percent, from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The money supply rose for the third straight month in June after posting the first contractio

Aug. 11, 2022

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance net up 9% in Q2

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., South Korea's No. 1 non-life insurer, said Thursday its second-quarter earnings rose 9 percent from a year ago thanks to a decreased loss rate. Net income came to 340.8 billion won ($261 million) in the April-June period, compared with 312.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income expanded 8.4 percent on-year to 490.1 billion won, and insurance premiums from policyholders stood at slightly over 5 trillion won

Aug. 11, 2022

GS Retail withdraws from health and beauty market, set to close all lalavla stores

GS Retail Co. said Thursday it will close all of its lalavla shops, 17 years after it entered the health and beauty (H&B) store market, due to slumping sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and fierce competition. GS Retail will stop operating its lalavla online shops in September and close down all offline stores of the brand by the end of November, the company said. "GS Retail decided to end our health and beauty store business to focus resources and efforts on our convenience stores and qu

Aug. 11, 2022

ICT exports inch down in July amid weakened smartphone, computer demand

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products inched down in July from a year earlier due to a slowdown of global demand in smartphone and computer products, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $19.34 billion last month, slightly down from $19.48 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea's ICT imports in July grew 16.8 percent on-year to $13.22 billion

Aug. 11, 2022

Multiplexes show signs of recovery in Q2 as pandemic winds down

South Korea's major cinema chains showed clear signs of recovery in the second quarter as a growing number of moviegoers are returning to theaters, industry data showed Thursday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its aggregated operating loss came to 16.2 billion won (US$12.5 million) for the April-June period, narrowing from an operating deficit of 57.3 billion won a year ago. Its sales nearly doubled to 318.5 billion won for the se

Aug. 11, 2022

Seoul shares open sharply higher on improved US inflation data

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street after the release of better-than-expected inflation data that raised expectations that the US Federal Reserve could slow the pace of monetary tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 31.87 points, or 1.28 percent, to 2,512.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.5 percent in July, a slowdown from the 9.1 percent gain for June that mark

Aug. 11, 2022

Exports up 23.2% during first 10 days of Aug.; trade deficit widens

South Korea's exports jumped 23.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of August on robust demand for petroleum products and autos, but the country saw its trade deficit widen on soaring fuel costs, data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.7 billion in the Aug. 1-10 period, compared with $12.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports grew 34.1 percent on-year to $23.4 billion during the cited period, resulting in a

Aug. 11, 2022

Hyundai Motor to recall over 70,000 vehicles over faulty parts

Hyundai Motor Co. will voluntarily recall more than 70,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. Hyundai is recalling 70,582 units of six models that include the Xcient QZ heavy duty truck and the County bus, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Along with Hyundai's recall, Mercedes-Benz Korea is also set to recall 438 units of five models, including the EQE 350+ and EQS 450+ pure electric sedans. The problems that prompt

Aug. 11, 2022

[Newsmaker] Samsung foldables to get chipset upgrade

Samsung Electronics, a chips-to-smartphones company, said Wednesday it plans to roll out its clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 4 and foldable Galaxy Z Fold 4 on Aug. 26 in South Korea, the United States and Europe. Both the Z Flip 4, a more affordable version of the Samsung premium phone that would deploy foldable form factors, and the Z Fold 4, a workspace-dedicated tabletlike device, will boast enhanced camera features and chipsets that power them. The Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 will deploy a new mobile ch

Aug. 10, 2022

Household borrowing dips on higher rates and tighter curbs

Bank loans to households in South Korea fell for the first time in four months in July, as rising interest rates and tighter loan curbs prompt Koreans to refinance their budget without banks’ help, Bank of Korea data showed Wednesday. As of July, loans stood at an estimated 1,060.5 trillion won ($810.1 billion), down 300 billion won from the previous month. Mortgage loans soared 2 trillion won to 791 trillion won in July from the previous month, having risen faster than a 1.4 trillion-w

Aug. 10, 2022

FSC starts work on crypto framework

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said Monday that efforts to set up a framework for digital assets like bitcoin were underway as part of its larger deregulation initiative to help companies start new businesses without having to worry about regulatory uncertainty. At a meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, the top financial regulator’s chief said his agency would divide cryptocurrencies into security and nonsecurity tokens, and use the existing law to regulate the former

Aug. 10, 2022

Seoul shares fall nearly 1% on tech plunge, concerns over US inflation data

South Korean stocks fell Wednesday, with tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics dipping 1.5 percent, dented by dismal earnings projections by big US tech firms, like Micron Technology Inc., that pointed to a further slowdown in global chip demand. Analysts say investor sentiment remains cautious with eyes on US consumer prices, due to be announced Wednesday (US time), as it will provide a clue as to how fast the US Federal Reserve will push for monetary tightening going forward. The Korea Composit

Aug. 10, 2022

70m Pokemon bread sales provide record Q2 revenue for SPC Samlip

South Korean confectionery company SPC Samlip said Wednesday that it has posted an all-time high sales record of over 800 billion won ($611.4 million) in the second quarter, driven by the popularity of its Pokemon Bread, of which the company sold 70 million packs for the last six months. The company’s second quarter sales surged on-year by 14 percent to 814.9 billion won in sales, while its net profit skyrocketed by 61.5 percent to 23.5 billion won in the cited period. Key growth drivers

Aug. 10, 2022