Seoul metropolitan area still leads home price growth

SEJONG -- The growth in housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area -- Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon -- continued to outpace that of the nationwide average as of last month, government data showed Friday. According to the recent economic trends, published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the average trading price of homes in the area of Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon climbed by 0.76 percent in November, compared to the previous month. This outstripped a 0.63 percent increase acro

Dec. 17, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group makes generational change through largest ever reshuffle

Marking a shift in generation after Chairman Chung Euisun took office, Hyundai Motor Group announced its regular reshuffle Friday, the largest yet with more than 200 promotions to senior positions. Many executives from the older generation, such as Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Yoon Yeo-chul stepped down, with younger figures newly appointed to senior positions. That includes Choo Kyo-woong, the 47-years old former head of electrical and electronic systems development, who has been promoted as

Dec. 17, 2021

Korean Air joins Pratt & Whitney’s engine service network

Korean Air said Friday that it has joined Pratt & Whitney’s engine maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, network to enhance its competitiveness in the field of aviation engine management. US aerospace company Pratt & Whitney is the producer of a high-bypass geared turbofan engine family called the Geared Turbofan, or GTF, and operates a global GTF engine MRO network with the industry’s top players such as Delta TechOps, Lufthansa Technik, and MTU Aero Engines. The A320n

Dec. 17, 2021

Lotte Chemical to invest W250b to boost advanced concrete material production

Lotte Chemical Corp., a petrochemical unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, said Friday it will spend 250 billion won ($211.4 million) to expand its domestic production line of ethylene oxide adduct (EOA), an advanced material used in concrete. The expansion of the production line in Daesan, a county in the central South Chungcheong Province, will help boost its EOA production capacity by an annual 150,000 tons to 480,000 tons globally, the company said in a release. It will also incr

Dec. 17, 2021

GS Caltex drone flies over Seoul to deliver heating oil successfully

GS Caltex said Friday its drone flew about 1 kilometer over Seoul to successfully deliver heating oil to its destination in a test run. According to the Korean total energy company, the demonstration was performed at the Korea Drone Expo 2021 in Yeouido, western Seoul, Thursday. The drone, which took off from a GS Caltex gas station, flew across the sky and landed at a nearby park 1 kilometer away. There, officials took out the heating oil from the drone and fueled a heater with it. “G

Dec. 17, 2021

SK chairman’s younger brother returns as co-CEO of SK On

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won’s younger brother Chey Jae-won will take the post as the co-CEO of SK On, the group’s electric vehicle battery unit. According to SK on Friday, it held a board of directors meeting and appointed the junior Chey as the co-CEO. Chey Jae-won will lead SK On together with current CEO Jee Dong-seob. This is a return to management for Chey eight years after he stepped down from all posts in 2013 when he was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for embezzl

Dec. 17, 2021

PM says gov't mobilizes all possible resources to support small businesses

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday the government has mobilized all possible resources to provide additional financial support to small businesses that will be affected by the new virus curbs. Kim spoke at a joint press briefing with economy-related ministers on the government's plan to pay 1 million won ($844) each to 3.2 million small business owners following its announcement of stricter social distancing measures the previous day. "We came up with additional support measures that

Dec. 17, 2021

Virus flare-up feared to hurt domestic demand: finance ministry

South Korea's domestic demand is feared to lose steam amid the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases and tighter antivirus measures, the finance ministry said Friday. Amid global inflation risks and supply chain disruptions, Asia's fourth-largest economy faces persisting uncertainty due to the spread of the omicron variant and major economies' move to accelerate monetary policy shifts, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book. "The country's exports re

Dec. 17, 2021

Q3 overseas direct investment rises at steepest pace in nearly 5 years

South Korea's overseas direct investment rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years in the third quarter amid the global economic recovery, data showed Friday. South Korean companies' overseas investments came to $17.01 billion in the July-September period, up 58.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the fastest on-year gain since the fourth quarter of 2016, when it grew 58.3 percent. The third-quarter growth rate was also

Dec. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US tech fall

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight stock plunge on Wall Street as investors digest the US Fed's recent monetary policy decision. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 4.92 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,001.49 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite shed 2.47 percent over the Fed's move to double the pace of its stimulus withdrawal and projections of three rate hikes next year. The Dow Jones Ind

Dec. 17, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korea leads international cooperation on forestry issues

Forests are increasingly seen as the fundamental answer to resolve the environmental problems the Earth is facing. The 26th United Nations Climate Change conference held in Glasgow, Scotland, last month dealt with forests as a major agenda. As countries around the world scramble to reduce carbon emission to tackle global warming, the Korea Forest Service is playing a leading role in the worldwide efforts to save and develop forests, preparing to host the 15th World Forestry Congress in May nex

Dec. 16, 2021

Posco to build lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina

South Korean steelmaker Posco Group is pushing for commercialization of lithium hydroxide with saline water in the lake of Hombre Muerto, Argentina. Posco announced Thursday that it got an approval from the board of executives for an investment project to commercialize lithium hydroxide production with the salt lithium of Hombre Muerto, a salt lake in Argentina last Friday. A total of 950 billion won ($830 million) will be invested for infrastructure and operation of the lithium hydroxide plan

Dec. 16, 2021

Discussion under way for ‘trusted’ 5G network between S. Korea, US: US diplomat

South Korea and the US are discussing ways to cooperate on 5G network establishments for a “trusted” network, said Jose W. Fernandez, the US undersecretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment, on Thursday in Seoul. Touting Korea as a leader in the 5G sector, Fernandez said the US is currently discussing establishing 5G networks with various countries and that South Korean companies will have more opportunities to take part. The remark from the top official came after

Dec. 16, 2021

Hyundai Motor unveils new platform for small mobility

Hyundai Motor Group unveiled its Mobile Eccentric Droid, or MobED, a small mobility platform using cutting-edge robotics technologies, Thursday. MobED has a flat rectangular body with four wheels that can each move independently so its body can remain stable even on slopes and bumpy roads. One of its features is the independent suspension of the wheels, which allows them to navigate a narrow and complex urban environment. MobED’s “Eccentric Wheel” system has three motors att

Dec. 16, 2021

Kia launches localized MPV model in India

Kia Corp., a smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., on Thursday launched the Carens multi-purpose vehicle in India to gain a share in the local family car market. The seven-seat Carens MPV comes with a 1.5-liter diesel engine, a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter gasoline engine model, the company said in a statement. The 1.6 gasoline model is equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, with the 1.4 gasoline turbo model mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or

Dec. 16, 2021

Fed’s move to have limited impact on Korean market: officials

SEJONG -- The local financial market will not face a high-level volatility despite the news that US monetary policymakers will accelerate their exit from quantitative-easing, Korea’s senior officials expected Thursday. At a meeting for macro economy and finance in Seoul, officials clarified that their prediction was based on Korea’s preemptive measures, involving hikes in the benchmark interest rate earlier this year. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said that the possibil

Dec. 16, 2021

Amorepacific shifts China strategy for sales rebound

South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific is mulling drastically reducing the number of its Chinese stores amid faltering sales, while also ramping up efforts to expand its luxury portfolio and online sales. President Kim Seung-hwan reportedly hinted at a strategic shift in the company’s China business in a meeting with local analysts this week. As of 2019, Amorepacific operated 1,280 stores of five budget brands -- Hera, IOPE, Mamonde, Etude and Laneige -- in China. In 2020 that number fe

Dec. 16, 2021

[GBF] ‘Metaverse stands as biggest challenge for finance sector’

Integrating the world of finance and the virtual space of metaverse is currently the biggest challenge for the global finance sector, among other tasks in the path towards digital transformation, the chief strategist for Shinhan Financial Group’s digitalization said Wednesday. “The biggest issue at hand for the global finance sector is metaverse,” said Sunny Yi, chief digital officer of Shinhan Financial Group, at The Korea Herald’s Eurasian Economic & Cult

Dec. 16, 2021

’High inflation could hinder Korea’s sustainable economic growth': BOK chief

South Korea’s central bank chief expressed concerns of high inflation Thursday, saying it could pose as a major hurdle for the economy’s sustainable growth. “If the sentiment surrounding inflation expectations continues to sour, the ties between wages and inflation could drive up inflationary pressure, as observed in other economies,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a press briefing. “The longstanding high inflation could hinder households’ purchasin

Dec. 16, 2021

Seoul stocks advance for 2nd session on eased FOMC uncertainties

South Korean stocks advanced for a second straight session Thursday amid eased uncertainties from the FOMC meeting results. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 17.02 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 3,006.41 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 397 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 416 to 406. Foreigners bought a net 183 billion won, while institutions sold

Dec. 16, 2021