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

[MARKET EYE] Insurers brace for bumper bill on growing reports of flooded cars

Insurance companies face costly claims for damage coverage for nearly 7,000 flooded cars -- among which at least 1,900 are from luxury brands -- after heavy rain battered Seoul and Gyeonggi Province this week. According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, 12 automobile damage insurance companies received a total of 6,853 claims for flooded cars as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, The number of claims for flooded imported luxury cars received by the country’s five largest insurance compani

Aug. 10, 2022

Korean researchers develop homegrown fluorine-based polyimide film

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Production Technology said Wednesday that they have succeeded in developing a fluorine-based polyimide film, opening a leeway to produce the material without having to rely on imports from Japan. The film is a crucial part of foldable displays, as it gets rid of wrinkles when folded. It has been under the Japanese government’s export control since 2019, which had Korean manufacturers in a panic due to their heavy dependence on items produced in the nei

Aug. 10, 2022

Dongsuh Foods expands Kanu marketing for summer season

Dongsuh Foods Corp. has been incorporating new marketing strategies and diversifying its brewed coffee lineup to cater to diverse customers. The instant coffee giant said Tuesday it has launched a new promotional event called “Maxim Kanu Paddle Point,” starting July 30. Customers can earn points which can be cashed in for travel and picnic merchandise by purchasing select Maxim Kanu products. The event will last for two months. Meanwhile, Dongsuh Foods released its “Kanu Li

Aug. 10, 2022

Samsung suffers heavier taxes, cost per hire than TSMC: think tank

The heavier burden of corporate taxes and cost per hire are weighing on South Korean chipmaking giants like Samsung Electronics, indicating the unfavorable conditions leave them behind competitors like Taiwan-based TSMC amid intensifying semiconductor competition worldwide, according to a local think tank Wednesday. Korea sets the maximum rate of the corporate tax at 25 percent -- imposed on taxable income of large business entities like Samsung -- as a result of a tax hike by 3 percentage poi

Aug. 10, 2022

Big 3 shipyards attain 87% of yearly order goals

South Korea's three major shipbuilding companies have achieved nearly 87 percent of their yearly order targets thanks to a jump in orders for high-priced liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, government data showed Wednesday. The top three shipyards -- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. -- won a combined $30.52 billion worth of new orders in the first seven month of this year, or 86.9 per

Aug. 10, 2022

S. Korea's job growth slows in July amid economic uncertainty

South Korea reported job additions for the 17th straight month in July, but the pace of job growth slowed from the previous month amid heightened economic uncertainty, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.48 million last month, up 826,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The July figure was the largest for any July since 2000, when 1.03 million jobs were added from a year ago. But the pace of job growth slowed for the second stra

Aug. 10, 2022

KCC to probe Apple, Google over in-app payment rules

The Korea Communications Commission will look into whether app market operators -- Apple, Google and One Store -- are in violation of a Korean law that bans forcing certain in-app payment methods among app developers, the regulatory agency said Tuesday. The fact-checking investigation will begin from Aug. 16, according to the KCC. App market operators that only allow certain payment options or refuse app registrations or updates of app developers that use external links for in-app purchases co

Aug. 9, 2022

Korea’s trade deficit with China to persist: KCCI

South Korea’s trade deficit with China is likely to persist for the time being, unless Korea strives to achieve supply chain independence from China, according to a report by lobby group Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The growing reliance on China over key materials used for Korean semiconductor or battery manufacturing signals Seoul‘s need to upgrade its free trade agreement terms with China as cost attractiveness of Chinese goods will continue to deteriorate Ko

Aug. 9, 2022

Korean battery makers keep close tabs on US Inflation Reduction Act

South Korean lithium-ion battery cell makers are expected to be beneficiaries once the Inflation Reduction Act comes into force in the United States, as the bill is likely to induce US electric vehicle makers to cut their reliance on Chinese battery components. But at the same time, Korean battery makers are now pressured to preemptively diversify their import sources of key materials out of China, as the new US bill is apparently aimed at countering China’s influence on the EV supply cha

Aug. 9, 2022