Hyundai Motor donates $1m to Red Cross to support Ukraine

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it will make a $1 million donation to the Red Cross to aid their support for people in war-hit Ukraine. “As the humanitarian situation worsens in Ukraine, it is clear many vulnerable people and communities are in need of urgent assistance,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement. South Korea conglomerates like Samsung, SK, Kakao earlier announced that they have made contributions to aid Ukraine. By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

March 7, 2022

Tesla’s cylindrical battery could be ‘game-changer’: report

Tesla’s new tab-less cylindrical battery cell has the potential to become a game-changer in the electric vehicle industry, according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). The KATECH released an industry trend report on Monday that said the EV market must prepare for what is to come after Tesla starts mass producing its 4680 batteries. Tesla’s 4680 battery is 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters in length, and offers six times the power of the carmaker&rsqu

March 7, 2022

Hyundai Motor makes its entry to used car market official

Hyundai Motor, South Korea‘s largest carmaker, made its entry to the local secondhand car market official on Monday, after facing opposition from small- and medium-sized dealers in the market for years. The company will only sell high-quality certified used cars that have been driven less than 100,000 kilometers and owned for less than five years for customer satisfaction, it said. All cars to be sold must go through performance tests and maintenance service provided by the automaker and

March 7, 2022

Gucci to hold metaverse exhibition at Naver’s Zepeto

Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci said Monday it will put on a metaverse exhibition and sell fashion items for avatars on Zepeto, Korean tech giant Naver’s metaverse platform. The fashion house has opened a virtual space on Zepeto, where users can enjoy a metaverse version of “Gucci Garden Archetypes,” an ongoing multimedia exhibition in Seoul. Gucci and Zepeto, following its first partnership last year, agreed to bring nine out of 13 offline exhibition spaces to Zepeto. Use

March 7, 2022

Kospi drops 2%, Samsung shares rattled

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi fell some 2 percent on Monday, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics dropping below the 70,000 won-mark ($57.03) at one point, rattled by the escalating war in Ukraine and surging oil prices. The value of the Korean won weakened against the US greenback, with the local currency surpassing the 1,220 won-mark against the dollar for the first time since June 2, 2020. It closed 12.9 won higher against the dollar from the previous session at 1,227.1 won. The

March 7, 2022

Seoul stocks sharply drop on soaring oil prices

South Korean stocks plunged over 2 percent Monday amid worries tough sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation against its invasion of Ukraine could raise energy prices and hurt companies' bottom lines. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 62.12 points, or 2.29 percent, to close at 2,651.31 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 557 million shares worth some 11.9 trillion won ($9.7 billion), with losers outnumbe

March 7, 2022

Korean women still earn 38% less than men

South Korea’s gender pay gap persists at major companies, with a recent research suggesting women still earn almost 40 percent less than men. Data from market tracker Korea CXO Research Institute released Monday showed the average annual pay for female workers was 54.2 million won ($44,151) at the nation’s top 150 companies as of 2020, about 38 percent less than the male average of 79.7 million won. Across industries, IT companies such as Kakao and Naver had the highest salaries f

March 7, 2022

S. Korea halts transactions with Russia’s central bank

South Korea has decided to shut down transactions with Russia’s central bank and national funds in efforts to join the international movement to impose more sanctions against Moscow, while providing state emergency support for companies doing business with the Slavic countries in war, the government said Monday. Seoul’s announcement followed the recent series of sanctions by the US and EU to ban transactions with Russia’s state-run financial institutions. The Ministry of Ec

March 7, 2022

Jan. inflation in OECD countries highest in 31 years

The average year-on-year inflation in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries hit 7.2 percent in January, the highest since February 1991, amid rising energy prices. Consumer prices in South Korea rose 3.6 percent in January from a year ago, marking the 29th highest among 38 OECD member countries. The average year-on-year inflation of G-20 and G-7 nations stood at 6.5 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, in the first month of this year. Turkey suffered the worst infl

March 7, 2022

Samsung Electronics Galaxy smartphones embroiled in ‘GOS’ scandal

Samsung Electronics is facing accusations that it exaggerated the performance of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 series. The controversy revolves around an application called game optimizing service, or “GOS.” When users play games with Galaxy S22 smartphones, GOS is activated and adjusts the performance of smartphones to help batteries last longer and prevent overheating issues. Gamers have complained about GOS for some time because the app, which cannot be switched off by th

March 7, 2022

Samsung expected to launch Galaxy A series in mid-March

Samsung Electronics Co. is widely expected to launch its entry-level Galaxy smartphones later this month in response to the March 8 release of Apple's new iPhone SE, industry sources said Monday. Samsung's mid-low tier Galaxy A series is forecast to come in various new models -- A73, A53, A33 and A23 -- a product line the company said would provide "cutting-edge innovations, services and features at an accessible price." Apple is expected to announce the next-generation version of the

March 7, 2022

S. Korea joins global move to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank

South Korea said Monday it plans to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, joining the global move to impose additional sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The government said it will announce details after consulting with related government agencies. The US has banned transactions with Russia's central bank, the finance ministry and sovereign wealth funds as part of fresh sanctions against Moscow. The European Union also announced similar sanctions. South Korea has

March 7, 2022

S. Korea faces heightened economic uncertainty amid Ukraine crisis: KDI

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track, but external economic uncertainty has markedly increased as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has jacked up prices of oil and raw materials, a state-run think tank said Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is maintaining its moderate recovery on the back of solid manufacturing output, with the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases having limited impacts on in-person services, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment re

March 7, 2022

SeAH Besteel exports spent nuclear fuel casks to US firm

South Korean steelmaker SeAH Besteel Corp. said Monday it will deliver three dry casks used to store spent nuclear fuel to a US nuclear logistics company. The delivery comes some six months after SeAH Besteel signed a deal for 17 casks with Orano TN, which provides total system solutions for used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management. SeAH Besteel said it marks the first time for a South Korean firm to export finished casks for spent nuclear fuel to the US market. The three casks will be

March 7, 2022

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on soaring oil prices

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Monday as the United States and its allies mull ways to suspend imports of Russian crude, raising concerns the soaring oil prices may weigh on corporate performances. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had retreated 46.26 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,667.17 points as of 9:17 a.m. Investor sentiment for risky assets decreased as Brent crude hit an intraday high of US$139 a barrel, the highest since 2008, following reports the US and it

March 7, 2022

Number of EV taxis surges as driving ranges get longer

The number of newly registered electric taxis has surged to some 5,000 last year, as more taxi drivers are increasingly opting for EVs with better driving range. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, a total of 4,991 EV taxis were registered last year, which is a 453.9 percent jump from a year ago. The number increased rapidly last year compared to previous years. The number of new EV taxis was 1,018 in 2019 and 901 in 2020. The business lobby cited increase

March 6, 2022

Genesis GV60 gets remote software updates

Hyundai Motor’s standalone luxury brand Genesis announced Sunday that it is offering an “over-the-air” software update for its GV60 model that was launched last October. The software update will enhance the car’s advanced driver assistance system by improving forward and backward collision warnings, parking distance warnings, and remote smart parking assist features. With GV60, drivers will be able to download the updated software “over-the-air” while drivin

March 6, 2022

[MEET THE CEO] With fresh IPO capital, Krafton looks into metaverse, NFT and C2E

As one of South Korea’s online game pioneers, Kim Chang-han -- a computer engineer-turned-entrepreneur -- had early success in his life with his creation, PUBG: Battlegrounds. Since its debut in 2017, the popular battle royale game has sold over 75 million copies in 200 countries and also turned the small game company Krafton into a global studio generating 1.89 trillion won ($1.55 billion) of revenue a year. Kim, also known as the father of PUBG for his key role in developing the game, i

March 6, 2022

Hana chief highest-paid banking CEO in 2021

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai was the highest-paid banking CEO last year, taking home an annual salary of 2.4 billion won ($1.98 million), according to annual reports filed by financial firms Sunday. Kim ranked No. 1 in annual salary paid to executives among his peers, with KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo ranking No. 2 with 1.7 billion won and Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung No. 3 with 800 million won. Woori Financial Group has yet to file a similar r

March 6, 2022

Retail investors rush for Russia ETFs despite warnings

South Korean retail investors have been on a buying spree of Russia-related exchange-traded funds amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, data showed Sunday. Analysts say that retail investors are hoping for a rebound in Russian stocks once the situation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war calms down, but warned that the current volatility could be costly for them. Retail investors bought over a net 70 billion won ($57.4 million) worth of Russia-related ETFs sold both locally and ov

March 6, 2022