[Newsmaker] Over 1 million face comprehensive real estate tax

SEJONG -- The tally of those subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax -- individuals or corporations -- exceeded 1 million this year for the first time since the nation introduced the tax in June 2005. According to the National Tax Service, almost 1.03 million individuals and corporations are supposed to pay comprehensive real estate taxes in 2021. The figure consists of 947,000 homeowners and 79,600 landowners. This shows that the number of comprehensive real estate holding tax ta

Nov. 24, 2021

Posco Chemical builds new refractory factory in S. Korea

Posco Chemical Co., a unit of South Korean steel giant Posco, said Wednesday it has completed the construction of a new refractory plant in the southern city of Pohang as part of its efforts to boost production of basic industrial materials. The 49.2 billion won ($41.5 million) plant has an annual production capacity of some 21,700 tons of unfired refractory materials, which will boost the company's combined annual production capacity of the materials by 14 percent to 52,500 tons, it added. Refr

Nov. 24, 2021

Hyundai Heavy to set up guidance for offshore green hydrogen plant

Global shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries Group said Wednesday it will establish the world's first technical guidance for offshore green hydrogen plants To that end, the group's affiliates -- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and its subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- have signed a preliminary deal with ABS, a US ship quality assurance and risk management company. The deal is aimed at setting up the world's first guideline for the design of offsho

Nov. 24, 2021

Naver lays out new future with metaverse, AI

South Korean internet giant Naver on Wednesday unveiled its latest technology to expand its business in the metaverse, the fast-emerging platform connecting virtual communities. “We will soon launch Arcverse, a metaverse ecosystem, that connects the virtual world and real world. In Arcverse, users will be able to use the data and services from both worlds at the same time,” said Seok Sang-ok, CEO of Naver Labs, during Deview 2021, Naver’s 14th developer conference. For insta

Nov. 24, 2021

[Market Eye] What Samsung's $17b chip investment means to chip industry

Samsung Electronics will invest $17 billion into its foundry sector, a business that makes money by manufacturing chips clients have designed. But some experts say that despite the staggering size of the investment, the South Korean tech giant is unlikely to challenge the global foundry race led by TSMC. Instead of splurging cash, a structural change must occur to catch up with TSMC, a No. 1 foundry player with a global market share of 58 percent as of second quarter this year, they said. &ld

Nov. 24, 2021

Hanwha invests $100m in Lancium to address excess renewable energy in Texas

Hanwha Solutions said Wednesday it has invested $100 million in a Houston-based tech company Lancium, which aims to build bitcoin mines across Texas that will run on renewable energy. According to the solar-to-hydrogen business unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, Lancium has purchased 9.5 square kilometers of land in Texas and plans to establish over 2,000 megawatts of generating capacity across multiple sites. Lancium develops software and technology that connects bitcoin mines

Nov. 24, 2021

Seoul stocks down ahead of BOK meeting

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the central bank's monetary policy meeting. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 3.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,994.29 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 540 million shares worth some 10.7 trillion won ($9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 373. Institutions sold a net 592 billion won, while f

Nov. 24, 2021

KAI invests in AI company for future technologies

Korea Aerospace Industries announced Wednesday that it will acquire a 10 percent stake in Konan Technology, a company specialized in AI and big data. This investment in shares comes as an effort to acquire future industry-related technology by implementing AI, big data and deep learning into the aviation and defense sectors. KAI and Konan Technology will work together on developing an AI-based prognostics and health management system that can be used on Korean Utility Helicopter, KF-21, FA-50,

Nov. 24, 2021

Seoul Mobility Show to showcase 18 new cars

The Seoul Mobility Show, the only official motor show in South Korea, will kick off this Friday simultaneously at Kintex in Goyang and Paju in Gyeonggi Province as well as Seoul, showcasing 18 new cars. According to the organizer for the show, the exhibition will continue until Dec. 5 with over 100 automobile and mobility companies from six different countries taking part. The main exhibition at Kintex includes vehicles from Kia, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, BMW, Audi, Isuzu, Genesis, Porsch

Nov. 24, 2021

Korean firms supply core auto parts of Rivian’s initial models

South Korean manufacturers are seeking to expand their presence in the electric vehicle market through a partnership with Rivian, the burgeoning US electric vehicle maker that has been in the global spotlight for its potential to become the next Tesla. According to the industry, Posco International is supplying some 145 billion won ($122 million) of half shafts for 340,000 vehicles produced by Rivian. Domestic partner Erae AMS will work alongside it to begin delivering the ordered amount next

Nov. 24, 2021

S. Korea seeks int'l cooperation for urea solution supply during ODA meeting

South Korea on Wednesday sought international cooperation on its efforts to secure a stable supply of urea solution following a recent supply crunch, the industry ministry said. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request during a "networking day" event for official development assistance (ODA), which brought together ambassadors and charge d'affaires from 27 developing countries in Asia, South America, the Middle East and Africa, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energ

Nov. 24, 2021

Hyundai Doosan Infracore ties up with SK Ecoplant for smart construction technologies

Construction equipment maker Hyundai Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday it has signed a deal with local builder SK Ecoplant to improve digital technologies related to construction site management. Under the deal, Hyundai Doosan Infracore will develop new technologies using its cloud-based construction site management platform XiteCloud, which will be demonstrated on the construction sites of SK Ecoplant, the company said. Thanks to growing demand for the construction technology digitalization

Nov. 24, 2021

Population mobility falls for 10th month in Oct.

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country declined for the 10th straight month in October amid decreased housing transactions, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 10.7 percent on-year to 540,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the 10th consecutive month the number has dropped and represented the sharpest on-year decline since a 10.9 percent fall in June 2019. The decline was

Nov. 24, 2021

Trade terms decline for 7th straight month in October

South Korea's terms of trade fell for the seventh consecutive month in October as prices of imports grew at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- stood at 91.26 last month, down 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices. It shows the a

Nov. 24, 2021

S. Korean economy forecast to grow 3.2% in 2022

The South Korean economy is likely to expand 3.2 percent on-year in 2022 on the back of a recovery in private consumption and brisk exports, a local think tank said Wednesday. The Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI) also forecast the gross domestic product of Asia's fourth-largest economy to increase 4 percent this year from a year earlier. "Private consumption is expected to show a marked upturn in the first half of next year thanks to a shift in anti-coronavirus measures and improving

Nov. 24, 2021

Imported commercial car sales fall 26% in Oct.

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 26 percent in October from a year earlier amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles declined to 336 units last month from 452 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Decreased sales of Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Scania trucks weighed on the monthly result, KAIDA said. From January to

Nov. 24, 2021

S. Korea, Costa Rica vow to boost trade, investment during ministerial talks

The top trade officials of South Korea and Costa Rica met in Seoul on Wednesday and discussed ways to further boost bilateral trade and investment, Seoul's industry ministry said. During the meeting, Seoul's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Costa Rica's foreign trade minister, Andres Valenciano Yamuni, checked the implementation of the South Korea-Central America Free Trade Agreement and agreed to work more closely to further facilitate bilateral trade and investment, according to the Ministry of

Nov. 24, 2021

Imports of golf equipment at record high in first 10 months of this year

South Korea's imports of golf equipment rose to a record high in the first 10 months of this year on the back of strong demand amid the pandemic, customs data showed Wednesday. The imports of golf clubs and other related equipment reached $601 million in the January-October period, up 29.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The reading hit an all-time high for any first 10 month period of the year. It was also higher than the yearly imports of

Nov. 24, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, financial advance

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on advances in tech and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 16.47 points, or 0.55 percent, to 3,013.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Bank and insurance shares went up amid expectations the Bank of Korea might raise the key interest rate Thursday. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.53 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.84 percent. Internet portal operator Naver slippe

Nov. 24, 2021

Big firms' donations sink 37.1% amid pandemic

Large South Korean companies' social contributions plunged nearly 37 percent in the first nine months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. CEO Score, which tracks corporate management, said 255 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales donated a combined 1.01 trillion won ($850 million) to charities during the January-September period, down 37.1 percent from a year ago. CEO Score said the tumble came amid the new coronavirus pandemic, though those co

Nov. 24, 2021