BMW Korea upgrades after-sales service apps, accelerates digitization

BMW Group Korea will upgrade and relaunch its two after service mobile apps, as the carmaker bids to turn all aftersale services digital. The new BMW Plus and Mini Plus will be key platforms for the company’s digital and contactless after-sales service business, it said. 　 With the upgrade, an expanded number of services can be reserved in real time, explained the carmaker, which includes general maintenance, parts replacements and recall services. Customers can also select a service ad

Sept. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower amid virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday amid concerns about the spreading virus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.54 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 3,151.45 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea reported 2,049 new coronavirus cases Thursday despite the highest level of virus curbs in most part of the country. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.13 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix fell 0.94 percent. Internet p

Sept. 9, 2021

Open skies: ‘Flying vehicles’ will solve side effects of hyperurbanization

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- Urban air mobility is the ultimate solution to the side effects of hyperurbanization, and businesses and governments alike should work together to open up the skyway, a Hyundai Motor executive in charge of the UAM business said Wednesday. “Urbanization is rapidly progressing around the world, and the serious traffic congestions around the world is becoming real problems of economic and human losses,” Shin Jai-won, chief of the automaker’s Urban Air M

Sept. 8, 2021

Carbon tax would cost Korean firms up to W36tr: Nice Rating

If South Korea passes a carbon tax bill in line with global standards, local companies, particularly those in heavy industries that emit high levels of carbon dioxide, may face between 7.3 trillion won ($6.26 billion) and 36.3 trillion won in additional taxes, a local credit rating agency said Wednesday. The carbon tax bill is currently pending in the parliament. The financial costs will be even higher with the implementation of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, sa

Sept. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Disney+ arrival heralds fiercer competition in Korean streaming market

  After years of courtship by mobile carriers, Disney+, another US-based content giant, is to arrive in South Korea in November, raising expectations of a new phase of growth for the local streaming market after Netflix’s entry years ago.  The Walt Disney Co. Korea announced Wednesday its mobile content streaming app would be available here from Nov. 12, promising a wide-ranging library of content.  Content available for streaming will include that produced by Disney, Pix

Sept. 8, 2021

Tycoons unite for hydrogen future

Leaders of major South Korean conglomerates including Hyundai Motor and SK officially launched the Korea H2 Business Summit on Wednesday to coordinate their efforts in bringing forth a hydrogen society. A local equivalent of the global CEO-led initiative Hydrogen Council, the coalition launched with 15 founding members, holding its inaugural meeting at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Posco Group Chairman Choi Je

Sept. 8, 2021

SK Telecom’s new subscription platform secures 150,000 subscribers in a week

The number of subscribers of SK Telecom’s new subscription-based e-commerce platform T Universe has exceeded 150,000 after its launch last week, SK Telecom said Wednesday. Some 30 percent of the subscribers use mobile networks provided by SK Telecom’s competitors, the company added. Previously, SK Telecom said the company aims to attract 36 million subscribers out of the country’s total population of 51 million by 2025. According to the telecommunications firm, around 70

Sept. 8, 2021

Bitcoin, Etheruem fluctuate amid El Salvador’s historic move

Bitcoin’s trading price declined to about 55 million won ($47,200) locally Wednesday afternoon, only 24 hours after it touched 60 million won for the first time in three months, data from Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange showed. The decline came as El Salvador became the world’s first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender Tuesday. Bitcoin, the original and largest cryptocurrency, hit the 60 million-won milestone on Feb. 20 and continued to rise to 82 mi

Sept. 8, 2021

S. Korean biotech firm Genome & Company to acquire US-based CDMO

South Korean biotech firm Genome & Company will acquire a 60 percent stake in US-based contract development and manufacturing organization List Biological Laboratories for $27 million, the company announced Wednesday. With the acquisition, Genome & Company, which specializes in immuno-oncology, seeks to secure materials needed for future clinical trials of microbiome-based therapies, CEO Bae Ji-soo told an online press conference. 　 Founded in 1978, List Labs is a CDMO firm that owns m

Sept. 8, 2021

South Korea ranks fifth in social app spending as KakaoTalk and YouTube take lead

South Koreans spent 143 billion won ($123 million) on social media applications during the first half of this year, becoming the fifth-largest market in the world, new data from app analytics firm App Annie revealed Wednesday. The top four countries were the US, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia. Users in Korea spent the most time on video streaming app YouTube, while spending the most money on KakaoTalk -- a popular messaging app with features such as banking and shopping that boasts over 45 mill

Sept. 8, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day on tech regulation concerns

South Korean stocks extended losses to the second straight session Wednesday as investors offloaded tech shares amid concerns about regulations against online platform giants. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 24.43 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3,162.99 points. Trading volume was high at about 839.72 million shares worth some 16.89 trillion won ($14.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 560 to 307. Foreigners sold a net 283 billion won worth of local

Sept. 8, 2021

Brokerages overtake banks in ISAs

The number of people who held individual savings accounts, or ISAs, through brokerage houses in South Korea has soared as the government changed the rule allowing holders to invest in equities from this year, data showed Wednesday. Nearly 1.29 million people held ISAs at local securities firms as of the end of July, up 1.13 million from the end of last year, according to data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association. But while the number of ISA holders grew at brokerages, the nu

Sept. 8, 2021

Wealthy Koreans face excessive taxes: think tank

South Korea has placed an excessive tax burden on members of its top income bracket in recent years, a think tank said Wednesday, suggesting that this could cause an exodus of wealthy Koreans. The income tax rate on annual earnings exceeding 1 billion won ($858,400) rose twice in the last five years to the current 45 percent, a report from the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. In 2017, the year President Moon Jae-in took office, the rate increased to 42 percent from 40 percent. It was

Sept. 8, 2021

IBK signs MOU with Saudi SME Bank to support small enterprises

Industrial Bank of Korea said Wednesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Small and Medium Sized Bank through a videoconference, in a bid to share IBK’s knowledge and expertise in financial support for small companies. Under the agreement, IBK will help Saudi SME Bank in developing a credit loan system and products, business strategies, risk management measures and IT and computer systems. IBK will also form a taskforce with working-level staff to directly communicate a

Sept. 8, 2021

‘Jeonse’ squeeze builds: Even semibasements fetch W100m

The average rent for semibasement apartments in Seoul on two-year “jeonse” leases topped a record 100 million won ($85,900) this year, suggesting low-income households in the city are facing heavier financial burdens, data showed Wednesday. Jeonse, a two-year housing lease that requires a lump sum deposit, for semibasement apartments measuring 60 square meters or smaller in the capital city came in at an average of 104.4 million won as of end-August, according to the Land Ministry d

Sept. 8, 2021

[News Analysis] What is behind South Korea’s rising milk prices?

Retail milk prices are expected to rise soon following an increase in the price of raw milk last month. After the decision by the Korea Dairy Committee to raise the price of raw milk from Aug. 1, major milk and dairy product suppliers are mulling when to reflect this in their retail prices. “When to increase the prices or by how much are still under discussion,” one official at Seoul Dairy Cooperative, the largest milk producer in South Korea, told The Korea Herald. “With r

Sept. 8, 2021

Daily card spending up 8.4% in H1 amid pandemic

Daily card spending in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier, supported by increased online purchases amid the pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. Holders of credit and debit cards spent an average 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) per day in the January-June period, compared with 2.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Credit card spending rose 10.2 percent on-year to a daily average of 2.1 trillion won, led by

Sept. 8, 2021

Banks' household loans grow at slower pace in Aug.

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a slower pace in August from the previous month due largely to slowed growth in overdrafts for stock investments, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 1,046.3 trillion won ($898 billion) as of end-August, up 6.2 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The August reading slowed from a 9.7 trillion won on-month increase in July, the data showed. The BOK

Sept. 8, 2021

BOK forecast to hike key rate again in Nov.

South Korea's central bank is expected to raise its interest rate in November to cope with concerns over a financial imbalance, a report said Wednesday. "The Bank of Korea is likely to raise its benchmark rate to 1 percent from 0.75 percent at its Nov. 25 policy meeting in consideration of worries about a financial imbalance related to an economic recovery, rising inflation and the hot housing market," Woori Finance Research Institute said in the report on the local financial market.

Sept. 8, 2021

Exports of materials, parts and equipment hit fresh high in Jan-July

South Korea's exports of industrial materials, parts and equipment set a new record in the first seven months of 2021, data showed Wednesday, on the back of the country's efforts to beef up competitiveness of the key industrial sectors amid the prolonged trade row with Japan. Outbound shipments from the sectors came to $203.2 billion in the January-July period, up 23.3 percent on-year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports also moved up 25.5 perc

Sept. 8, 2021