Samsung Electronics shares reenter 70,000 won range

South Korea’s market bellwether Samsung Electronics increased 1.3 percent to 70,300 won ($59.46) during Friday morning trade, ending a price slide that lasted four consecutive days. The benchmark Kospi climbed 0.89 percent to 3,015.14 points. Samsung Electronics, the largest company in the nation by market cap, has the biggest group of retail investors, who amassed 2.78 trillion won worth of its shares in the 10 trading days ending Wednesday. Friday’s increase followed an indust

Oct. 15, 2021

Samsung Electronics breaks record for 5G upload speed

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it has set a world record for 5G upload speed: 711 megabits per second. According to the South Korean IT giant, the feat was achieved in a recent trial conducted together with Verizon and Qualcomm in Texas. “For comparison, 700 Mbps is fast enough to download a 1 gigabit movie in 10 seconds. Multi-gigabit speeds have been recorded on downloads before, but this is the fastest speed the companies have been able to reach while uploading data to the net

Oct. 15, 2021

Mamamoo’s agency to go public in November

Rainbow Bridge World, the South Korean entertainment agency behind all-female band Mamamoo, said Friday that it has filed a registration statement with the country’s financial watchdog and will go public on the nation’s secondary bourse, Kosdaq, in November. According to the statement, the agency aims to issue 1.25 million shares. It plans to offer new stocks for public subscription at a price between 18,700 won ($15.80) and 21,400 won a share. The book-building process, where an u

Oct. 15, 2021

Posco Chemical recognized as ‘rising star’ at S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards

Posco Chemical was chosen as the “Rising Star Company” at the 2021 Global Metals Awards, hosted by S&P Global Platts, the company said Friday. It is Posco Chemical’s first overseas award. “Posco Chemical has built a large, successful business in the lithium-ion battery market and forms a crucial part of Posco Group’s value chain integration for green mobility solutions. The company has a significant presence in the secondary battery materials business, which it

Oct. 15, 2021

NH All One REIT pushing for stock market listing in Nov.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) unit of major bank holding firm NH Financial Group Inc. said Friday it is seeking to get listed on the South Korean main stock market in November. NH All One REIT said it began its initial public offering (IPO) process as its registration statement, which was filed with the country's financial watchdog late last month, came into effect. The company said it is planning to sell 28.1 million shares and raise 140.5 billion won ($119 million), with its IPO pr

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korea's finance chief voices concerns over US info-sharing request for chipmakers

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's finance minister on Thursday voiced concerns about the US's request for Korean chipmakers to share information on their supply chains. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki relayed Korean chipmakers' concerns about Washington's request during his meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington D.C., according to his ministry. The meeting was held to discuss bilateral and global economic issues, including global supply chain disruptions. It marked their first ga

Oct. 15, 2021

Auto exports dip by more than 20% in Sept. amid chip shortage

South Korea's exports of automobiles fell more than 20 percent last month, ending eight months of on-year growth, amid the extended global supply shortage of automotive chips and fewer working days, data showed Friday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 151,689 units in September, down 20.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also marked a 6.1 percent on-year decrease to $3.56 billion, the

Oct. 15, 2021

BOK continues to normalize monetary policy to ease 'financial imbalances'

The Bank of Korea will continue adjusting its accommodative monetary policy and determine the timing of another rate hike in a way that could ease "financial imbalances" caused in part by rising household debt, Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday. Lee made the remarks days after the central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent for October but hinted at the possibility of an additional rate increase before the end of this year to rein in inflation and household debt. "Fin

Oct. 15, 2021

KIPO outlines plan to prevent unfair competition, protect trade secrets

With the reorganization of global supply chains and accelerating digital transformation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, securing cutting-edge technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors is becoming ever more crucial. In addition to investing heavily in technological development, countries around the world are strengthening protection of trade secrets and control of technological exports to prevent leaking their core technologies to rivals. The South K

Oct. 15, 2021

Korea’s patent office expands international cooperation

As the grueling seven-year patent war between Samsung and Apple through 2018 showed, intellectual property rights can be used as spears and shields in the global fight for technological hegemony. Amid an intensifying patent war and the COVID-19 pandemic, applications for intellectual property rights in South Korea rose 12.3 percent from a year ago to 284,135 cases in the first half of this year, and the figure is expected to break 600,000 this year. To keep the spirt of innovation alive, the

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korea to resume discount coupon program to spur spending

South Korea plans to resume discount coupon programs aimed at boosting private spending as the country is preparing to move into a phase of "living with COVID-19" in early November, a senior government official said Friday. Except for food delivery via apps, the country suspended the coupon programs for sports, accommodations, tourism, cultural performances, and railway and bus service due to the resurgence of virus cases. The government earlier said the resumption will depend on the

Oct. 15, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street, with tech shares leading the market gains. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 27.4 points, or 0.92 percent, to 3,016.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 1.73 percent to 14,823 points amid hopes of strong corporate earnings in the third quarter, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.56 percent to 34,913 points. In Seoul, market bell

Oct. 15, 2021

S. Korea, UAE agree to push for free trade deal

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Thursday that they will launch official talks toward a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul‘s trade ministry said.　 Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his UAE counterpart, Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, in Dubai, and issued a joint statement that calls for pushing to forge a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The CEPA is a type of free trade agreement that emphasize

Oct. 14, 2021

Yanolja to acquire 70% stake in Interpark's e-commerce businesses

Yanolja Co., a leading South Korean travel platform operator, said Thursday that it signed an agreement to buy a 70 percent stake in e-commerce businesses of Interpark Corp. for 294 billion won (US$248 million). 　Yanolja said its move to acquire Interpark‘s travel, performing arts, shopping and book businesses is intended to make inroads into the global travel market dominated by foreign platform companies. 　“The two companies will cooperate to strengthen the competitiveness and

Oct. 14, 2021

Yanolja to acquire Interpark, enter global tourism market

Travel and leisure platform operator Yanolja said on Thursday that it will acquire a 70 percent stake in Interpark, one of South Korea’s first e-commerce platforms, for 294 billion won ($248 million). Following the announcement of the deal, Yanolja said it would enter the global tourism market with the new “growth engine.” “The international tourism market has been dominated by foreign platforms. The acquisition will see Yanolja enter the market as a South Korea company

Oct. 14, 2021

Food and coffee brands offer Halloween specials

Although normally celebrated at bars and clubs in South Korea, Halloween this year may look a little different as the pandemic puts paid to nights out partying. The retail industry is coming up with creative Halloween-themed treats and drinks to capture customers planning to celebrate at home. South Korean confectionery maker Orion dressed its signature Choco Pie in a Halloween costume this year. It launched a limited edition “Halloween Choco Pie,” using traditional flavors of H

Oct. 14, 2021

[News Focus] Gasoline prices reach 82-month high in Korea

SEJONG -- South Korea’s gasoline prices climbed to the highest in almost seven years, in line with a spike in international crude prices over the past month amid steeply rising demand for petroleum worldwide. The situation, which could worsen further, is expected to pose a tough burden to some manufacturers and households, as long as oil producers choose not to increase output. According the Korea National Oil Corp., gasoline prices reached 1,695.98 won ($1.42) per liter on Thursday. Th

Oct. 14, 2021

[Herald Design Forum 2021] Sustainability the new trend for Gen Z, industrial designers say

Sustainability is a key trend in industrial design as Generation Z consumers prioritize conscious and valuable consumption when it comes to making purchases. The latest trend for those born between 1997 and the early 2010s, is not about being trendy, but about creating designs that people do not get sick of for a long period of time and thus leaving a smaller carbon footprint, said experts in industrial design who took part in the Herald Design Forum 2021 on Thursday. Benjamin Hubert, a Londo

Oct. 14, 2021

New global digital tax will push up Korea’s tax revenue: minister

The implementation of the new global digital tax regime will lead to a small increase in tax revenue for the South Korean government, the country’s finance minister said Thursday. The two-pillar tax proposal on taxing the digital economy and ushering in a global minimum tax rate, spearheaded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, was endorsed by 136 countries Friday. Pillar one aims to reallocate some tax revenue from where multinationals post profit to where the

Oct. 14, 2021

5 startups spin out from Samsung

Five in-house startups that have built business models upon the COVID-19 pandemic will spin out from Samsung Electronics, said the tech giant Thursday. Samsung said the five new spin-outs are the outcome of Samsung employees’ efforts to develop solutions for the post-pandemic era, raising growth prospects of the startups. One of them is DiaVision, a group of employees from Samsung’s medical equipment business, which has developed a quick COVID-19 diagnosis kit based on image reco

Oct. 14, 2021