Moon-Yoon feud casts doubt on Yongsan makeover plan

The fate of Yongsan-gu, Seoul’s geographically central district set to see a changing landscape in years to come, is clouded again as the feud over whether to house a new presidential office there escalates between the outgoing and incoming presidents. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is rushing to relocate the presidential office to the Defense Ministry complex in Yongsan before taking office on May 10. This is to end what he calls the “imperial presidency” Cheong Wa Dae represe

March 22, 2022

Kia EV6 wins Best of the Best award in 2022 Red Dot Design Awards

Kia’s first all-electric vehicle EV6 won the Best of the Best award in the prestigious 2022 Red Dot Design Awards, according to Kia on Tuesday. The Red Dot Design Award is among the world’s most prestigious design awards that reward the most innovative design concepts besides the iF Design Award and International Design Excellence Awards. EV6 also claimed the Red Dot Innovative Products awards. “Kia implemented its new design philosophy ‘Opposites United’ on EV6,

March 22, 2022

Land Ministry likely to brief deregulatory housing measures

SEJONG -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team is scheduled to receive a policy briefing from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport over real estate issues later this week, government officials said Tuesday. In line with Yoon’s earlier pledges to supply 2.5 million housing units nationwide for five years if elected, the Land Ministry’s report could possibly include the market situation in terms of conducting land development as well as deregulations on

March 22, 2022

Seoul shares end higher on institutional buying

South Korean stocks ended higher Tuesday on institutional buying, with investors eyeing the Ukraine war, surging energy prices, and inflationary risks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.95 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 2,710 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 468.54 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($6.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 578 to 257. Institutional investors bought a net 284

March 22, 2022

5 S. Korean CEOs earned more than W10b in 2021: data

Five South Korean CEOs took home more than 10 billion won ($8.2 million) last year, bolstered by either the exercise of stock options or large compensation packages, data released as of Tuesday showed.  The data excludes those who received retirement packages. CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun earned a total of 21.86 billion won last year, his salary nearly doubling from the previous year and ranking atop the list, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday. Lee received a 3.

March 22, 2022

Dunamu donates W1b to Ukraine

Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Tuesday it has donated 1 billion won ($820,000) to the United Nations World Food Program in a bid to provide food aid for war-torn Ukraine. According to Dunamu, it is the first Korean company to donate to WFP’s emergency assistance program that gives local food and food vouchers to civilians affected by the conflict in Ukraine. The donated funds will provide one day’s worth of food for over 1.6 milli

March 22, 2022

[ADVERTORIAL] LG Energy Solution steps up ESG

LG Energy Solution is going all out to practice sustainable management in terms of eco-friendly energy, battery reuse and recycling, and responsible management of supply chains. To tackle climate change, the company is reducing energy use throughout its battery production process and introducing renewable energy to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. The storage battery manufacturer was the first in the industry to join last year both RE100 and EV100, global initiatives to bring together busine

March 22, 2022

BMW to start sales of all-electric i4 in Korea

BMW will soon kick off sales of its latest electric vehicle model i4 in South Korea, according to the carmaker‘s Seoul branch on Tuesday. Already raking in some 3,700 pre-orders, the i4 saloon is set to boast a strong presence in the Korean EV market. The i4 model, revealed in March 2021, is BMW‘s first four-door all-electric Gran Coupe. It brings together the sporting elegance that characterizes BMW coupes and the comfort and functionality of a four-door model.　 Specifically, the

March 22, 2022

Posco Group chief meets Argentinian president over lithium plant

Posco Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Choi Jeong-woo met Alberto Fernandez, president of Argentina, just ahead of the construction of a $830 million lithium plant in the country, the South Korean company said Tuesday. Choi told Fernandez that the Argentinian government‘s support is critical to Posco‘s new growth momentum, as lithium is considered a key material for the battery component that powers ecofriendly vehicles, Korea’s largest steelmaker said in a statement

March 22, 2022

Korea ‘suffers digital skill shortage’

South Korea is now experiencing a digital skill shortage among employers here as the country -- considered one of the most wired in the world -- is seeing local workers’ digital skills largely outdated in the wake of the cloud era, an estimate showed Tuesday. Over the next year alone, roughly 10 million more people in South Korea are estimated to require digital skills training, according to an estimate by consulting firm AlphaBeta. This is equivalent to some 37 percent of the workforce

March 22, 2022

Samsung heiresses to raise W400b in big share sales

Samsung Group’s two heiresses are reportedly seeking to raise about 400 billion won ($327 million) by selling their shares in Samsung SDS, the IT solutions unit, possibly in a move to secure funds to pay inheritance taxes. According to industry sources Tuesday, a combined 3.9 percent stake in Samsung SDS was sold in a block trade after Monday’s closing through KB Securities and Morgan Stanley. The price ranged between 127,400 won and 129,500 won apiece, about a 7 to 9 percent disco

March 22, 2022

CNP Motors, e.L.e Media sign MOU with Alpha Motor Corporation for future promotions

The parent company of Rolling Stone Korea, e.L.e Media, and South Korean carmaker CNP Motors announced that they had signed a pact with American vehicle company Alpha Motor Corporation on March 12. Global media company e.L.e Media has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alpha Motor Corporation to “promote mutually beneficial business directions,” the company said in a statement. The company, which deals with professional media content, noted that the signing is aimed at pr

March 22, 2022

Doosan Heavy to sell boiler-making overseas unit

South Korean plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Tuesday it has decided to sell its boiler-making overseas subsidiary, in an apparent bid to improve its financial health. In its latest business report, Doosan Heavy Industries said it has finalized a plan to dispose of Doosan Babcock based in Britain during the current fiscal year. Doosan Babcock ranks as one of the world's four companies with original technologies for making boilers for power plants and has provided

March 22, 2022

Card use grows in 2021 on spending recovery, less reliance on hard currency

Card use for settlement in South Korea jumped 9.4 percent last year as consumption rebounded from a pandemic-caused slowdown and people reduced reliance on hard currency, central bank data showed Tuesday. The daily average settlement made through credit card and other card services came to 2.76 trillion won ($2.26 billion) last year, up from 2.52 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The growth was driven mostly by a spike in settlement through credit

March 22, 2022

Sales at franchise outlets fall 5.5% in 2020 due to pandemic

Sales at franchise outlets in South Korea declined 5.5 percent on-year in 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, led by a slump in sales at dining-out brands, the corporate watchdog showed Tuesday. Sales at franchise outlets averaged 311 million won ($254,400) in 2020, compared with 329 million won the previous year, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Average sales at dining-out franchise brands fell 9 percent on-year to 283 million won. Service providers, including education

March 22, 2022

Banks' bad loans decline in 2021 amid debt rollovers

South Korean banks' nonperforming loans shrank in 2021 due in part to debt rollovers aimed at helping pandemic-hit businesses, data showed Tuesday. Bad loans at local banks came to 11.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) at the end of December, down from the previous year's 13.9 trillion won, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The regulator attributed the decline to a fall in overdue corporate loans, which totaled 10.2 trillion won as of end-December, down f

March 22, 2022

Seoul shares up late Tues. morning on tech gains

Seoul shares extended gains late Tuesday morning, buoyed by institutional buying despite Wall Street losses on rising oil prices and the Fed's hawkish comments on inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.27 points, or 0.64 percent, to trade at 2,703.32 points as of 11:20 a.m. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday (local time) the US central bank would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate faster than expected if that is needed to contain ramp

March 22, 2022

Hyundai Heavy Industries sells $300m in green bonds

Major South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it has successfully sold green bonds worth US$300 million to overseas investors. The five-year green bonds carry an interest rate equaling to the yield on five-year US Treasuries plus a spread of 0.95 percentage point, 0.20 percentage point lower than its original offer. The shipbuilder's first overseas public sale of five-year green bonds, guaranteed by the state-run Korean Development Bank (KDB), has been two times oversubsc

March 22, 2022

Regulator OKs convenience store operator Korea Seven's takeover of Ministop

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to approve a deal by Korea Seven Co., the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, to buy its smaller rival Ministop Korea Co. In January, the country's retail giant Lotte inked a deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in Ministop Korea for 313.3 billion won ($257 million). Korea Seven, an affiliate of Lotte, eventually bought Ministop Korea. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has given the green light to the deal, saying that the t

March 22, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on auto, tech gains

Seoul shares opened higher Tuesday on institutional and individual buying amid uncertainties involving the Ukraine-Russia peace talks and US interest rate hikes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 5.71 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 2,691.76 points as of 9:15 a.m. Institutions and individuals' stock purchases worth 89.7 billion won ($74 million) helped offset 90 billion won worth of foreign selling. Auto and tech stocks led gains. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. rose 2

March 22, 2022