S. Korea eyes active push for FTAs with African nations

South Korea said Wednesday it will actively push for free trade agreements with African nations in a move to deepen economic ties with the resource-rich emerging market and to diversify its trade portfolio. Last month, South Korea and Egypt agreed to carry out a joint feasibility study on the bilateral trade and economic partnership, which is a first step for South Korea to have a free trade pact with an African country if the two sign the free trade deal. Trade volume between South Korea and Af

Feb. 16, 2022

S. Korea reports largest job growth in almost 22 years in Jan.

South Korea reported the largest job growth in nearly 22 years in January as the job market improved to pre-pandemic levels due to a low base effect and the ongoing economic recovery, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 26.95 million last month, up 1.14 million from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest job growth since March 2000, when the number of employed people increased 1.21 million on-year. It also marked the

Feb. 16, 2022

Instant noodle makers' 2021 operating profits sink on rising costs

South Korea's three major instant noodle makers saw their operating profits tumble in 2021 due largely to increased costs, their regulatory filings showed Wednesday. Nongshim Co., the leading maker of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, said that its 2021 operating income plunged 33.8 percent from the previous year. Ottogi Co. and Samyang Foods Co. also saw their operating profits for last year shrink 16.1 percent and 31 percent on-year, respectively. The companies attributed t

Feb. 16, 2022

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on eased Ukraine tensions

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from eased Ukraine tensions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 40.21 points, or 1.5 percent, to trade at 2,716.75 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks rallied, snapping a three-day losing streak, on the back of overall gains in tech shares amid eased tensions over Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

Feb. 16, 2022

Samsung unveils board reshuffle plan

Samsung Electronics unveiled Tuesday a plan to add six new board members and put them to the vote at an upcoming shareholder meeting in March. With the move, Samsung is likely to place more emphasis on its memory chip operations and sustainability in its business, which includes smartphones, consumer electronics goods and semiconductor chips. Among the incoming inside board member nominees is Samsung Electronics CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, who oversees its Device Solutions Division dedicated to semic

Feb. 15, 2022

Tesla faces FTC sanction over alleged fiddling with battery performance

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has sent a review report to US electric vehicle maker Tesla to notify its conclusion of an investigation showing that Tesla allegedly fiddled with battery performance in low temperatures. The report notified Tesla of violating advertisement laws by exaggerating the performance of its Model 3 vehicles. Tesla advertised that its Model 3 vehicles can drive up to 446 kilometers once fully charged, without informing customers that its driving range can decreas

Feb. 15, 2022

NCSOFT 2021 net down 32.5% on increased costs

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Tuesday its net profit decreased 32.5 percent in 2021 due to increased costs. Net profit stood at 395.7 billion won ($329.8 million) last year, compared with 586.6 billion won a year earlier, NCSOFT said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit came to 375.2 billion won, down 55 percent on-year from 824.8 billion. Annual sales fell 4.4 percent over the same period to 2.3 trillion won. Its increased spending on marketing

Feb. 15, 2022

Seoul stocks down for 3rd day amid Ukraine risk

South Korean stocks extended their losing streak to a third session Tuesday, as investors' appetite for risky assets weakened amid heightening US-Russia tensions over Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 27.94 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 2,676.54 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 575 million shares worth some 9.2 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with losers outnumb

Feb. 15, 2022

Korea to draw contingency plans amid Ukraine tension

SEJONG -- Korea’s economic policymakers are mapping out contingency plans to minimize shocks from the possibility of worsening relations between Ukraine and Russia, the Ministry of Economic and Finance said Tuesday. Their plans are mainly focused on protecting export-oriented enterprises and the financial market by carrying out a variety of emergency countermeasures. Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon presided over a task force meeting during the day to cope with the geopolitical risk. P

Feb. 15, 2022

Posco Chemical offers EV experience program for children

Posco Chemical said Tuesday it ran an experience program where children can make miniature electric vehicles and charging stations and learn about their eco-friendliness. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it opened “Green Dream Class” at four children’s culture centers from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11 where Posco Chemical staff and executives participated as instructors and assembled miniature EVs and charging stations t

Feb. 15, 2022

KakaoBank to launch AI mortgage service

Korea’s largest internet-only lender KakaoBank will launch a mobile mortgage loan service powered by an artificial intelligence-based chatbot this month, allowing for a user-friendly and convenient loan application process, the firm said Tuesday. “Most of the mobile mortgage loans in the country require customers to swipe left and right on a phone screen to go through a complicated process of loan application. But KakaoBank’s mortgage loan service provides much more seamless

Feb. 15, 2022

Sales of luxury goods surge 23% during pandemic: Lotte Members

Lotte Members, the membership service for Lotte Group companies, said Tuesday it has seen a 23 percent surge in transactions for luxury goods since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a study based on transaction data of its L.Pay mobile payment system and L.Point membership points, sales of luxury goods in 2020 and 2021 increased 23 percent compared to the same figures from 2018 ad 2019. Among age groups, consumers in their 20s showed the highest 70.1 percent increase in lux

Feb. 15, 2022

No breakthrough in talks to turn post offices into banking branches

South Korea’s financial regulator’s plan to allow nationwide post offices to work as brick-and-mortar branches for commercial banks here continues to face major hurdles as the plan has been stalled for nearly two years. On Monday, the Financial Services Commission mentioned its plans to review post offices and other similar institutions that could partner up with lenders in offering offline banking services, in its 2022 annual plan. The plan is part of its efforts to narrow the gap

Feb. 15, 2022

Hanwha Systems partners with Israel Aerospace for naval platform marketing

Hanwha Systems, a global defense electronics and smart ICT solutions provider, said Tuesday it has joined hands with Israel Aerospace Industries to globally promote combat solutions and technology for naval platforms.  Under an agreement for mutual marketing, the two firms will collaborate on expanding their presence in Asia where Hanwha Systems has built its sales network for years. IAI, with more than 50 years of experience cooperating with the world’s navies, is a customer-tailo

Feb. 15, 2022

LG's AI fashion designer Tilda debuts in New York

LG Group’s virtual fashion designer powered by the hyperscale artificial intelligence has debuted at New York Fashion Week, bringing the engine’s text-to-image generation capability to new heights, its holding company LG Corp. said Tuesday.  The virtual fashion designer, named Tilda, has collaborated with Park Youn-hee, a South Korea-born fashion designer behind the Greedilous brand. The collection was unveiled during a Fall 2022 runway show Monday held at Spring Studios, a po

Feb. 15, 2022

Volvo launches all-electric C40 Recharge SUV in S. Korea

Volvo Car Korea Co. on Tuesday launched the Volvo brand's first pure electric model, the C40 Recharge SUV, as part of the Swedish carmaker's electrification push. The C40 Recharge is one of seven all-electric models to be released by Volvo Cars by 2030. The Swedish carmaker aims to become fully electric by 2030. The coupe-styled electric SUV is equipped with a 78kWh battery and a front and rear dual-motor system, which allows it to go from zero to 100 kilometers in 4.9 seconds. It can travel u

Feb. 15, 2022

Number of unicorns hits new high of 18 in 2021

The number of unicorns in South Korea reached an all-time high in 2021 amid state support for promising startups, data showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 18 unicorns as of end-December last year, up from 13 a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was also sharply up from three in 2017. A unicorn is an unlisted startup with a valuation of $1 billion or more. The number of unicorns serves as a yardstick of a country's ecosystem for startups

Feb. 15, 2022

Auto exports down 6.4% in January amid lack of automotive chips

South Korea's automobile exports fell more than 6 percent in January from a year earlier due to a global shortage of automotive chips and a high base effect, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles came to 179,709 units last month, down 6.4 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, however, exports rose 2.3 percent to $4.09 billion last month. "A high base effect, the temporary shutdown of some pr

Feb. 15, 2022

Seoul stocks open nearly flat amid Ukraine risk

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Tuesday, as investors took to the sidelines amid heightening US-Russia tensions over Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 0.79 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,705.27 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed unchanged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.49 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.27 percent,

Feb. 15, 2022

Major listed firms' dividends drop 14.4% in 2021

Dividend payouts by South Korea's major listed firms fell more than 14 percent in 2021, but seven paid out more than 1 trillion won ($835 million), a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined amount of dividends by 53 companies, including top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., stood at 28.55 trillion won for fiscal 2021, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Leaders Index. The firms cover those that have announced dividends as of Friday out of the country's top 100 listed corporatio

Feb. 15, 2022