Full-service carriers enjoy growing cargo demand as low-cost carriers continue to bleed

Full-service carriers like Korean Air and Asiana Airlines continued to deliver profit thanks to their cargo business, drawing a stark contrast with low cost carriers amid a severe drop in international air travel due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Korean Air reported its fifth consecutive quarterly operating profit. Revenue in the second quarter of this year increased by 16 percent to 1.95 trillion won ($1.73 billion) and operating profit by 31 percent to 196.9 billion won co

Aug. 18, 2021

Bithumb enjoys robust growth in H1

Bithumb Korea, the operator of a local cryptocurrency exchange, saw a 1,100 percent jump in its net profit, according to a financial statement of Vident, the largest shareholder of the exchange on Wednesday. Bithumb’s revenue in the first half of the year stood at 608.7 billion won ($520.9 million), soaring 507 percent on-year, while its net profit rose a whopping 1,100 percent to 603.3 billion won, the data showed. Kim Sung-kwon, a press officer at Vident, said Bithumb‘s annual

Aug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] BTS producer Pdogg beats chaebol chiefs in pay

In another sign of the rise of the “new rich” in Korea Inc., the producer behind K-pop juggernaut BTS topped the list of highest-paid executives in the first half of this year, beating the country’s far more prominent tycoons running conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai and LG. According to regulatory filings by listed companies on Wednesday, senior song producer Kang Hyo-won took home the biggest sum during the first six months of this year, receiving a total of 40.07 billi

Aug. 18, 2021

South Korea’s potential growth on downhill for decades

South Korea’s potential growth rate has declined for decades, reflecting the nation’s aging society, slowing capital accumulation and changing job market, a think tank report showed Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s potential growth rate – gross domestic product per person aged 15 and over – by decade came to an average 2.1 percent in the 2010s, compared with 7.6 percent in the 1980s, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute. The figure has

Aug. 18, 2021

Resort developer Ananti delivers record breaking revenue in H1

South Korean resort developer Ananti delivered a record-breaking 111.8 billion won ($95.6 million) in revenue during the first half of this year, up 156 percent from a year ago. Its operating profit stood at 38 billion won, up by 65.8 billion won as it turned to profit. The firm’s revenue growth comes as its brand awareness grew, coupled with the burgeoning demand for private spaces for vacations. Some 54 percent of its revenue was generated from membership sales for their resorts, while

Aug. 18, 2021

KT-led research alliance aims to launch ‘hyperscale AI’ next year

KT Corp., South Korea’s leading mobile carrier, said Wednesday that it aims to debut a “hyperscale artificial intelligence” model by next year through joint research with universities and a state-run research center. According to the company, AI One Team, a research alliance comprising representatives of industry, academia and a public research organization, has signed an agreement with KT to conduct the project together. AI One Team involves 10 organizations, including the

Aug. 18, 2021

NPS sells entire General Electric stake in Q2

The National Pension Service, South Korea’s public pension scheme, divested its entire 11.5 million shares in General Electric as of end-June, a regulatory filing showed Wednesday. The world’s third-largest pension fund no longer held a share in Boston-based conglomerate General Electric, which was the 66th-largest stake it built with a $151.6 million valuation in March, according to quarterly filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. GE gained a shareholder

Aug. 18, 2021

KT teams up with KAIST to develop hyperscale AI model

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Wednesday it has joined hands with the country's top science university KAIST to develop a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) language model. The telecom operator plans to commercialize the model, which uses massive computing infrastructure for natural language processing, in the first half of next year, with hopes of powering its services, such as smart speakers and AI call centers. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Inst

Aug. 18, 2021

Steelmakers in talks with shipbuilders over price hike

South Korean steelmakers appear to be in the final stage of negotiations with shipbuilders over prices of thick steel plates, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Posco, the country's largest steelmaker, has reportedly proposed a hike in the prices of thick steel plates -- a key material that accounts for about one-fifth of shipbuilding costs -- to 1.15 million won ($980) per ton. The offer marked a sharp increase from the first half of this year when thick steel plates were sold at

Aug. 18, 2021

S. Korea to foster 1,800 5G service firms by 2026

South Korea aims to create around 1,800 companies that specialize in new 5G services in the next five years, the ICT ministry said Wednesday, to boost adoption of promising technologies powered by the latest generation networks. While the country commercialized 5G in 2019, companies have yet to fully harness the blazing fast networks that could power upcoming tech services, such as remote-controlled factories, self-driving vehicles, and 3D holograms. The ICT ministry said it aims to boost the

Aug. 18, 2021

SK REIT eyes stock market debut in Sept.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) unit of SK Group, South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate, said Wednesday it will carry out an initial public offering in September. SK REIT said it will sell 46.5 million shares to investors in the planned IPO, whose specific date has yet to be unveiled. Its public offering price has been set at 5,000 won ($4.26) per share, with the company seeking to raise about 233 billion won through the IPO. After a demand forecast session for institutions on Aug. 23-24,

Aug. 18, 2021

Hyundai to cut output at US plant on chip shortage

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will reduce production at its US plant this week due to a chip shortage. Hyundai Motor will cut vehicle production at the Alabama plant from Tuesday to Friday (US time) over a lack of semiconductor parts, a company spokesman said over the phone. The Alabama plant halted operations for one week last month due to the same problem. From January to July, Hyundai's vehicle sales rose 22% to 2.34 million units from 1.92 million in the year-ago perio

Aug. 18, 2021

Danggeun Market wins unicorn status with $162m funding

Danggeun Market, operator of hyperlocal e-commerce app Karrot, said Wednesday it has fetched a $162 million funding in a series D round with an enterprise valuation of $2.7 billion. The latest round of funding, led by Hong Kong-based later-stage venture capital house DST Global, was joined by Aspex Management and Reverent Partners. Also taking part in the fundraising were existing investors Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Kakao Ventures, Strong Ventures and Capstone

Aug. 18, 2021

Auto exports down 2.9% amid shortages of automotive chips

South Korea's exports of automobiles edged down 2.9 percent in July from a year earlier as the global supply shortages of automotive chips hindered production, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 181,046 units in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports advanced 12.3 percent to $4.1 billion. The ministry attributed the decrease to a low base effect, as overseas shipments of cars gathered ground in July 2020 after the

Aug. 18, 2021

Semiconductor market to expand 25% in 2021, grow further in 2022: WSTS

The global semiconductor market is expected to expand 25.1 percent this year on the back of robust growth from the memory sector, a report from an industry tracker showed Wednesday, amid concerns of a slowdown in demand. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a nonprofit organization of chipmakers, said the global semiconductor market is expected to grow to $551 billion in 2021, up from its previous forecast of $527.2 billion. It also revised up the market growth for the year to 25.1 p

Aug. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open slightly lower on Afghanistan uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday, tracking a stock plunge on Wall Street that stemmed from reports on Taliban's earlier-than-expected control of the Afghanistan capital. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.18 points, or 0.07 percent, to 3,140.91 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a choppy start as investors digest the impact of Taliban's seizure of Kabul and the frenzy at the airport. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

Aug. 18, 2021

Major firms fare well in H1 despite pandemic

Sales by major companies in South Korea rose nearly 10 percent in the first half of the year in spite of the coronavirus pandemic with their total operating profit more than doubling, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined sales of 225 out of the country's top 500 firms came to 1,127.4 trillion won ($960 billion) in the January-June period, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Their operating profit stood at 105.1 trillion won in the six-month period, more than do

Aug. 18, 2021

KakaoBank’s net profit jumps 156% in H1

KakaoBank, the country’s largest internet-only bank by user numbers, on Tuesday said it recorded a 156 percent jump in net profit in the first half of this year, backed by increased interest income and its platform business. The company’s net profit in the January-June period stood at 115 billion won ($97 million) including 69.3 billion won in the second quarter. Its operating profit was 133.8 billion won. The mobile-only lender, which debuted on the stock market Aug. 6 as the

Aug. 17, 2021

Smilegate’s Lost Ark rewrites rules of online PC game market

Lost Ark, developed by Smilegate, has emerged as the most popular title in the role-playing PC game category in South Korea, a surprising performance given its rise to the top slot took some time and benefited from a host of external factors. The multiplayer game was launched in November 2018. As with other mainstream games, it pulled off a stellar record when it formally kicked off its service, drawing a record 350,000 concurrent users. Over time, its popularity declined as fickle players mi

Aug. 17, 2021

S. Korean firms’ donations to Vietnam vaccine fund surpass W9b

South Korean companies operating in Vietnam have provided a total of 9.2 billion won ($7.8 million or 180 billion dong), in donations to help the Southeast Asian country secure COVID-19 vaccines, according to officials in the South Korean Embassy in Vietnam and local media reports Tuesday. If donations from South Korean individuals are counted, the combined contribution to Vietnam’s vaccine fund could surpass 10 billion won, they said. Forking out the biggest amount was Samsung Electro

Aug. 17, 2021