Corporate direct financing tumbles 44% in Feb.

Corporate direct financing in South Korea plunged nearly 44 percent in February from the previous month due mainly to a base effect, data showed Thursday. Local companies raised a combined 15.5 trillion won ($12.7 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 43.7 percent from January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds directly from the stock and bond markets without borrowing from banks and other financial institutions

March 24, 2022

Ahn stocks hit record high on bets he could be PM

Ahnlab founder Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, saw his shares shoot up to a record high in 10 years on Wednesday on market expectations that he could be the prime minister when Yoon is sworn in on May 10. The stocks closed at 175,800 won ($144.76) Wednesday, breaking the previous intraday high of 167,200 won in January 2012. The net worth of the software mogul-turned-politician soared to 327 billion won. Ahn has a

March 23, 2022

[UP IN THE AIR] ‘Only few will succeed in air taxi commercialization’

The race to come out on top in the future mobility sector is reaching a fever pitch. Market estimates show there are at least 200 global carmakers, aircraft manufacturers, telecommunication firms and startups working on developing urban air mobility (UAM) or flying cars. And Korean companies are no exception. Hanwha Systems, the country’s major defense electronics and related smart technologies and infrastructure service provider, is seeking to pivot its airspace business to target the g

March 23, 2022

Seoul shares up for 2nd day on big-cap tech, steel gains

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to a second session Wednesday as institutional investors picked up large-cap steel and tech shares. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.05 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 2,735.05 points. Trading volume was moderate at 870.73 million shares worth some 11.7 trillion won ($9.64 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 529 to 300. Institutional investors bought a net 233.0

March 23, 2022

Outgoing BOK chief concerned over high inflationary pressure

South Korea’s central bank chief Lee Ju-yeol on Wednesday expressed concerns of the lingering woes stemming from COVID-19, including the high inflationary pressure, as he prepares to wrap-up eight successful years as the Bank of Korea governor. “Looking back, my past eight years as BOK governor were full of unexpected events starting with the Sewol Ferry disaster -- which happened only 15 days after I took office -- MERS, Brexit, US-China trade war, Japan’s export restri

March 23, 2022

Dongnae raises W25b in Series A funding

Dongnae, Korea’s real estate startup platform, said Wednesday it has raised 25 billion won ($21 million) in Series A funding from US and Korean investors. Key investors include NFX, Daol Investment, Hana-Magna, Hana Financial Group, MetaProp, Fursys, Han River Partners, Flybridge, Maple, and WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey. “We plan to expand Dongnae branches in Seoul and in the Seoul metropolitan area, like the Pangyo office in Gyeonggi Province,” a Dongnae official said.

March 23, 2022

Moon taps IMF director as new central bank chief

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday tapped Rhee Chang-yong, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, as the nation’s next central bank chief, but the nomination set off a new war of words as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s office said it wasn’t consulted on the selection. Rhee’s nomination comes on the heels of an apparent weekslong power struggle between the outgoing Moon and the incoming Yoon administrations on naming key staff me

March 23, 2022

SK becomes world’s 1st buyer of ‘net-zero oil’

SK Trading International, a subsidiary of South Korean refiner SK Innovation, announced Wednesday plans to purchase up to 200,000 barrels of “net-zero oil” each year for five years from US-based Occidental Petroleum Corp., in a move to use the sustainable commodity for commercial products. The affiliates of SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate by assets, will use the oil for products including eco-friendly aviation fuel. SK’s purchase of net-zero oil will b

March 23, 2022

LG Energy Solution, SK On win hefty incentives in US, Hungary

LG Energy Solution and SK On, two Korean battery makers that are increasingly expanding their production base in key markets for electric vehicles, have recently won hefty incentives in the US and Europe, respectively. On Tuesday, the state of Michigan approved a package of incentives worth about $600 million for LG Energy Solution, including $565 million in government subsidies and $132.6 million in tax cuts. The incentives come after the battery maker announced a new investment of $1.7 bil

March 23, 2022

Nexon launches Dungeon & Fighter Mobile

South Korean gaming giant Nexon will launch Dungeon & Fighter Mobile -- the latest title of the developer’s megahit intellectual property -- on Thursday, the company said Wednesday. Similar to the PC version, the mobile title is a fast-paced 2D anime-styled side scrolling action game combined with elements of role-playing games and based on a continuously developing storyline. Dungeon & Fighter is one of Nexon’s most popular franchises as the PC version has 850 million re

March 23, 2022

Eximbank helps finance world’s longest suspension bridge in Turkey

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said it provided 600 million euros ($661.6 million) in financial support for the construction of the world’s longest suspension bridge, which opened last week in Turkey. The 2,023-meter Canakkale Bridge, built by a consortium of South Korea’s DL E&C and SK ecoplant, and Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi and Limak, connects Europe and Asia over the Dardanelle Strait. The 3.13 billion-euro project to build and operate the bridge and an 88.4-kilometer hig

March 23, 2022

LG opens AI research base in US

LG AI Research, an in-house research hub of South Korea‘s fourth-largest conglomerate, said Wednesday it has opened a new research center in the United States. The center is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan. It is LG AI Research’s first overseas location. The new facility will be led by Lee Hong-lak, chief scientist of AI and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. The center’s fundamental researc

March 23, 2022

[KH Explains] Where can you travel from Korea quarantine-free?

If you are fully vaccinated in South Korea or elsewhere and have your vaccination status registered in the country, you can now enter without quarantine on the way back. Those who are fully vaccinated abroad but have not been able to register their vaccination status in the COOV system will also be free of the seven-day long self-quarantine, which is currently required, from next month. As of Wednesday, 54 countries and territories around the world have banned entry from foreigners, of which 2

March 23, 2022

[Graphic News] 7 in 10 S. Koreans suffered income reduction amid pandemic: survey

　Nearly 7 in 10 South Koreans saw their income fall in the wake of COVID-19, a survey showed.  　In an online survey of 2,016 people aged 18 or above by the Korea Institute of Public Administration from Nov. 15-22, 68 percent said their average monthly income was lower in 2021 than in 2019 before the pandemic struck.  　Only 30 percent said their income rose, while the remaining 2 percent said it remains unchanged.  　Those who earned less lost 1.25 million won ($1,038) per month

March 23, 2022

S. Korea's overseas direct investment hits all-time high in 2021

South Korea's overseas direct investment hit a record high last year as the global economy recovered from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of investments made by South Korean companies reached $75.87 billion last year, up 32.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the highest since the government compiled related data in 1968. In the fourth quarter, the country's overseas direct investment jumped

March 23, 2022

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean shares got off to a strong start Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, led by institutional investors' purchase of big-cap shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 26.48 points, or 0.98 percent, to reach 2,736.48 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock market finished higher, as investors digested recent hawkish comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.74 percent, and the Nasd

March 23, 2022

S. Korea to ease property-related tax burdens of owners of one home

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to ease tax burdens on owners of a single home amid growing public discontent about the government's housing policy amid skyrocketing home prices in recent years. The measures -- which are set to be announced at 11 a.m. -- are meant to prevent the owners of one home from additionally shouldering the burden of paying real estate-related taxes. The government plans to let the owners of one home pay similar amounts of property-holding taxes to those of last yea

March 23, 2022

Producer prices up for 2nd month in Feb on high energy costs

South Korea's producer prices grew for the second straight month in February, as high energy costs drove up the prices of factory-produced goods, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 114.82 in February, up 0.4 from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second straight month that the index has risen following January's 1.1 percent on-month gain. From a year earlier,

March 23, 2022

SK On welcomes EU approval on Hungarian aid to its EV battery plant

South Korean battery maker SK On Co. on Tuesday welcomed the European Union’s approval on Hungary’s aid to its electric vehicle battery plant construction in Ivancsa, south of Budapest. “We welcome the EU’s decision,” the company said. “We will do our best to contribute to Europe’s electrification and decarbonization plans, and help the local community‘s development.” Earlier, Reuters reported the European Commission approved Hungary&rsq

March 22, 2022

Hyundai Heavy chief’s entry to boardroom buoys expectation on shipbuilder’s major transition

Chung Ki-sun, the grandson of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, on Tuesday was named CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and its subholding company Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, opening a new chapter for the world’s largest shipbuilder. Shareholders of the two companies approved the appointment on the eve of the group’s 50th anniversary, when it aims to reestablish its brand identity as a technology-centered group, departing from its decades-old image as a tr

March 22, 2022