Seoul shares open sharply lower on inflation, recession woes

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight crash on Wall Street, on concerns over high inflation and a global economic downturn. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 46.77 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,564.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares tumbled as investors remained worried about inflation and the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening, which would slow the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.99 percent

May 10, 2022

Umicore sets up rechargeable battery research lab in S. Korea

Belgium-based Umicore N.V. has completed its research laboratory for rechargeable battery materials in central South Korea that could help promote the local industry, the industry ministry said Tuesday. Umicore's central technology center is based in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, and serves as the company's Asian hub for research and development of key materials for next-generation rechargeable batteries, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Umicore, an interna

May 10, 2022

Geely invests in Renault's Korean unit for new car development

Renault Korea Motors said Tuesday an affiliate of China's Geely Holding Group will invest in the company as part of their parent firms' agreement signed early this year to develop an environment friendly vehicle. Geely Automobile Holdings, China's largest privately-owned automotive group, will acquire a 34.02 percent stake in Renault Korea, the South Korean unit of Renault Group said in a statement. In January, Geely Holding Group and Renault Group announced they will collaborate to launch an al

May 10, 2022

Nearly half of S. Korea's public firms lose money in 2021

Nearly half of public institutions in South Korea lost money in 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic with the state-run power monopoly logging the biggest loss on soaring oil prices, data showed Tuesday. A total of 170 public companies and institutions, or 47 percent of 363 that disclosed their 2021 results, were in the red last year, according to the data posted on the state portal All Public Information in One (ALIO). The state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) registered the largest op

May 10, 2022

Current account surplus shrinks in March amid high energy costs

South Korea continued to post a current account surplus for nearly two years in a row in March, but the surplus contracted as soaring oil prices drove up import costs, central bank data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) worried there is a possibility of the country posting a "temporary" current account deficit in April due to mounting energy bills and a rise in corporate dividend payouts in the month. According to the preliminary data from the BOK, the current account surplus rea

May 10, 2022

Half of Koreans in their 20s prefer child-free marriage: survey

Almost half of South Koreans in their 20s said they would prefer to be part of a couple that does not have children after marriage in 2020, in a jump from 2015, when only 3 in 10 Koreans backed the idea, a local think tank said Monday. In 2015, 29.1 percent of Koreans in their 20s said raising children was not a must, whereas in 2020, 52.4 percent said yes to the same idea, according to the Korea Development Institute. Meanwhile, the number of those who said they would have children after marr

May 9, 2022

Over 100,000 temps turn regular workers under Moon

SEJONG -- More than 100,000 temporary jobs in the public sector have been converted into regular jobs during the Moon Jae-in administration, whose term expires Monday midnight, state data showed. According to Alio, a system for publicizing management information of 370 public agencies, 101,720 nonregular jobs were converted into regular jobs between May 2017 and May 2022. The outgoing president had pledged to have “zero irregular jobs” in state-funded agencies. The new permane

May 9, 2022

Daewoo E&C eyes bigger presence in US

Daewoo Engineering & Construction has teamed up with its parent company Jungheung Group to accelerate its business expansion in the all-important US market. According to Daewoo E&C on Monday, Jungheung Group Vice Chairman Jung Won-ju and its business delegation signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Carrollton, Texas last Thursday to carry out development projects in the US city. Carrollton, located near Dallas, has one of the most developed Korean American communities

May 9, 2022

Calls grow for revival of Korea-US currency swap deal

Ahead of the scheduled South Korea-US summit next week, some lawmakers and experts have been calling for a revival of the bilateral currency swap as a countermeasure to the growing signs of a weakening won, reports said Monday. South Korean market was rattled on Friday when its local currency hit its lowest point in over two years, trading at 1,272.7 won against the US greenback at around 3:30 p.m. It eclipsed the previous low of 1,285.7 won against the US dollar reached in March 19, 2020 when

May 9, 2022

[Photo News] Diesel price spike

A board shows diesel retail price surpassing gasoline price at a gas station in Daejeon on Monday amid growing concerns over rising diesel prices due to an inventory shortage and a lower tax cut than for gasoline.

May 9, 2022

One Store out to challenge Google, Apple app store monopolies with IPO

South Korea’s homegrown app marketplace One Store aims to challenge Google and Apple, two US tech giants that enjoy a near-monopoly in the whopping 300 trillion won ($235 billion) app store market globally, with its forthcoming stock market debut here. One Store, the nation’s sole operator of an app store of the same name, is a merged entity of the nation’s four app stores that was previously operated separately by SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus and Naver. Now it is an affiliate of

May 9, 2022

Hyundai Motor to build LNG plant for power supply, emissions goals

Hyundai Motor Group will construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cogeneration facility inside its automotive manufacturing plant in Ulsan to secure a stable power supply while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the carmaker on Monday, it plans to digest over 70 percent of annual electricity used at the country’s largest automotive plant through the new LNG power facility. The new facility, comprising two gas turbines and one steam turbine, will have th

May 9, 2022

Hanbok, soju and kimbab added to global trademark list

The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Monday that six Korean product names will be added to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Nice classification in June.　 The Nice Classification, established in the French port city of Nice in 1957, is a classification system that lists trademarks of products and services used internationally. It is updated every five years and has been ratified by 91 countries. KIPO proposed to add 10 names of Korean products at the WIPO committee

May 9, 2022

LG Chem, KIST develop tech for efficient carbon dioxide conversion

LG Chem and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed a technology that efficiently turns carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, which is used to produce alternative fuels and plastic. The two parties have developed an electrochemical reactor for converting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide at the highest level of efficiency through joint research, the company said. Carbon monoxide is needed to produce alternative fuel sources such as synthesis gas and methanol, as we

May 9, 2022

Jeju Air to resume Busan-Singapore route next month

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Monday it will resume the Busan-Singapore route next month as eased virus restrictions unleash pent-up demand. Jeju Air will offer two flights a week on the Singapore route from June 24 after it suspended the route 28 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Singapore currently allows fully vaccinated travelers to visit the country without a quarantine period. Jeju Air also plans to resume two flights a week on th

May 9, 2022

Asiana to expand flights to Europe amid eased virus curbs

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will expand flights on its European routes later this month as eased virus restrictions unleash pent-up demand. Asiana Airlines will increase flights on the routes from Incheon to Frankfurt and London beginning May 28 and May 30, respectively, the company said in a statement. The carrier will resume the routes from Incheon to Paris and Rome on June 18 and June 22, respectively, while planning to resume flights on routes f

May 9, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on recession woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on concerns over a global economic downturn amid high inflation and the prolonged shutdown of major Chinese cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.32 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,639.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US shares fell as investors were worried about the Federal Reserve's belt-tightening to curb inflation and the subsequent impact on the economic growth. The Dow Jones Industri

May 9, 2022

Extra budget for small businesses to be Yoon’s first economic move

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is set to reveal an extra budget later this week as the president-elect had promised to support the self-employed and small businesses that COVID-19 hit the hardest. Yoon takes office Tuesday. “The budget will be rolled out at the earliest day possible once the new government takes over,” said Choo Kyung-ho, Yoon’s finance minister nominee who will double as deputy prime minister. The Yoon government is expected to use at least 33 trilli

May 8, 2022

[From the Scene] Recycling used EV batteries for Jeju carbon neutrality

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- For Jeju, the goal of achieving carbon neutrality will not be achieved only through promoting electric vehicles, solar and wind energy, but also from recycling used batteries. The EV Battery Industrialization Center of Jeju Technopark is on a mission to extend the resort island‘s green efforts by collecting used EV batteries and reusing them. The agency is the only public entity, funded by both the local and central government, in South Korea seeking ways to make t

May 8, 2022

Number of ‘supercars’ worth W300m quadruples over 6 years

Over 5,000 “supercars,” those worth around 300 million won ($230,000), have been registered as corporate cars in South Korea, according to the National Assembly Budget Office on Sunday. The data showed that the number of super expensive imported cars bought by corporations have quadrupled over the past six years from 1,172 to 5,075 units. Since 2016, the number of corporate supercars have shown an average increase of 32.2 percent. Imported cars worth between 200 and 300 million wo

May 8, 2022