Exports spike 40% in June, extend growth to 8th month

South Korea's exports jumped 39.7 percent on-year in June to extend their gains to an eighth consecutive month on the back of a recovery in global business activities, which led to stronger demand for chips and automobiles, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $54.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports climbed 40.7 percent to $50.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.44 billion. It marked the 14th consecut

July 1, 2021

Commercial breaks to be allowed for terrestrial TV networks

The government will allow commercial breaks for terrestrial broadcasters beginning this week as part of efforts to buttress the industry suffering from falling ad revenues, officials said Wednesday.    The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said a revised enforcement ordinance of the Broadcasting Act, aiming to allow all networks to broadcast commercials during programs, will take effect Thursday.    Terrestrial broadcasters have been prohibited from such advertising si

June 30, 2021

Securities lending service startup snaps up $3.1m funding

Seoul-based financial technology startup Tru Technologies said Wednesday it raised series A investment worth $3.1 million from Korean investors. Joining the latest round were Hana Financial Investment, Hanwha Investment & Securities, KB Investment, Kiwoom Investment, Korea Growth Investment Corp., Shinhan Capital and Stonebridge Ventures. The fundraising comes in line with the growth of its electronic securities lending platform, called TruWeb. The platform, launched in 2020, has offered

June 30, 2021

S. Korea eases rules for phase 3 clinical trial of new COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates can be evaluated through comparison with previously authorized vaccines. This means domestic vaccine developers will no longer have to recruit large control groups for a phase 3 clinical trial. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Wednesday, the government has revised guidelines for phase 3 clinical trials in a bid to accelerate the development of homegrown vaccines against COVID-19. Under the new rules, drugmakers would need j

June 30, 2021

S. Korea, Saudi Arabia eye closer ties in clean energy

South Korea and Saudi Arabia vowed Wednesday to expand ties in the clean energy sector under their joint vision to seek sustainable development through 2030. Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met his Saudi counterpart, Khalid Al-Falih, virtually to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral ties under the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 Committee platform, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the committee in 2017 in line with efforts to broaden their strate

June 30, 2021

Daewoo E&C vows enhanced safety management

South Korean builder Daewoo Engineering and Construction is making renewed efforts to enhance its safety management, it said Wednesday. Since adopting a safety-first doctrine in February, the company has rolled out various measures aimed at drastically reducing major disasters at the construction workplace. They included the establishment of a committee under the auspices of the chief financial officer to oversee the operations of safety control teams, launched at every division of the firm la

June 30, 2021

Hundreds of 5G users file joint lawsuit over disappointing network services

Hundreds of 5G mobile users filed a joint lawsuit Wednesday against the country's three major mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- over disappointing quality of the latest generation networks, according to their legal representative. Around 520 people are taking part in the joint lawsuit, which argues that carriers have offered incomplete 5G services, leading to poor network quality, Kim Jin-wook, an attorney at law firm Joowon, said. "The action seeks compens

June 30, 2021

Shinsegae, Lotte back off from Yogiyo takeover: sources

South Korea's top two retailers -- Shinsegae Group and Lotte Group -- have not joined the race to take over Yogiyo, the country's second-largest food delivery app, industry sources said Wednesday. The rivaling retail giants had been considered the two most viable potential bidders for Yogiyo, run by Germany's Delivery Hero (DH), in a deal that could change the landscape of the country's food delivery industry. "After considering the potential synergy effect in combining the retail and the

June 30, 2021

[News Focus] Korea’s IPTV business confronts challenges despite revenue increase

South Korea’s overall broadcasting industry suffered a drop in revenue last year, but IPTV operators bucked the trend, achieving a respectable 11 percent increase in revenue during the same period. Yet the 2021 outlook for the IPTV business remains mixed due to raging disputes over content fees. According to data released Tuesday by the Korea Communications Commission, the combined revenue of 342 broadcast operators stood at 18.1 trillion won ($16 billion) in 2020, up 340 billion won, o

June 30, 2021

[News Focus] Is China reopening to Korean games?

Expectations are running high among South Korean game developers after China recently granted a business license to another Korean game, just the third since 2017, but experts warn that the unexpected approval does not signal an overall shift in China’s hostile licensing policy concerning Korean games. On Monday, Chinese authorities issued a business license to Black Desert Mobile, a mobile version of Pearl Abyss’ hit game of the same name. The news was met with surprise, coming

June 30, 2021

BOK sells net $103m in market smoothing operations in Q1

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it sold a net $103 million in the first quarter to help ease fluctuations in the local currency market. The BOK began releasing such data in March 2019 to help boost the transparency of its market stabilization steps. A BOK official said market smoothing operations in the first quarter came as the Korean currency weakened against the US dollar. The Korean currency closed at 1,131.8 won against the US dollar on March 31, compared with 1,086.3 won at the e

June 30, 2021

‘House prices may fall over rate hike, regulations’

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki warned Wednesday that the housing market was overvalued, and that a scheduled tightening of loan regulations and a possible interest rate hike could see home prices fall. During a government meeting on the real estate market, Hong urged market participants to refrain from buying homes based on expectations of future price increases. “An inflow of liquidity into the housing market could slow down as the country is set to implement measures to slow the growt

June 30, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on vaccine hopes

South Korean stocks rebounded Wednesday after a two-day retreat, following a US drugmaker's announcement that its vaccine turned out to be effective against COVID-19 variants. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 10 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 3,296.68 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.3 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 380. Foreigners so

June 30, 2021

Four crypto exchanges join hands to comply with global anti-money laundering regulations

South Korea’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges have decided to launch a joint venture ahead of the upcoming implementation of domestic and global anti-money laundering regulations, the companies announced Wednesday. The heads of the four exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit -- got together Tuesday and signed a memorandum to create the joint venture, which will develop a system that will help them comply with the “travel rule.” The travel rule is a global standa

June 30, 2021

Samsung further ups presence in domestic smartphone market in Q1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its dominance in the domestic smartphone market in the first quarter of the year on the back of robust sales of the Galaxy S and A series, a report showed Wednesday. Samsung had a share of 67 percent in the South Korean smartphone market in the January-March period, up 9 percentage points from a quarter earlier, according to data from market researcher Counterpoint Research. Its first-quarter market share was also 3 percentage points larger than a year

June 30, 2021

Merged GS Retail aims to challenge online, offline rivals

The new GS Retail is kicking off in July as GS Group’s retail business unit, the company said Wednesday. The new entity was created by the marriage of two GS retail arms -- the old GS Retail and GS Home Shopping. The purpose of the merger, decided at the end of 2020, is to integrate the group’s presence in online and offline commerce platforms and boost its competitiveness in the overall retail sector. The new GS Retail, which officially launches Thursday, will be in charge of op

June 30, 2021

Manufacturer’s Q3 sentiment hits 7-year high on vaccine rollout

South Korean manufacturers’ business sentiment reached a seven-year high for the third quarter this year, as the global economy shows signs of recovery amid vaccine rollouts against the coronavirus pandemic, a poll revealed Wednesday. According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Sentiment Index, which it compiles quarterly, stood at 103 for the July-September period, up four points from the previous quarter. It was the first time in seven years that it surpassed

June 30, 2021

Overseas vacations in sight with signing of first travel bubble

South Korea will sign its first travel bubble agreement with Saipan on Wednesday, paving the way for quarantine-free international travel amid the pandemic. The deal will allow people from both places and their family members who have received vaccinations approved by the local health authorities -- Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca -- to go on a package tour without quarantine, starting sometime between late July and early August. Travelers are required to wait for two week

June 30, 2021

After 25-year ride, Kosdaq’s market cap jumps over 50-fold

The value of stocks traded on South Korea‘s tech-laden Kosdaq market had reached 427.7 trillion won ($379 billion) as of Tuesday, soaring more than 50 times since its launch on July 1, 1996, data showed Wednesday. According to a report released from the Korea Exchange, the market began with a combined market capitalization of 7.6 trillion won 25 years ago, but as the number of listed firms increased from 341 to 1,506 over the cited period, the secondary bourse has rapidly increased its si

June 30, 2021

STX Offshore wins orders for 12 ships

Midsized shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. said Wednesday that it has signed deals to build 12 ships with Oceanian companies. The vessels include two 10,000-ton petrochemical carriers (PCs), six 50,000-ton PCs and four 115,000-ton oil tankers, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding said. The deal for four oil tankers has an option to build two additional oil tankers, the company said. But the shipbuilder did not reveal the value of the deals, citing confidentiality clauses. The ships wil

June 30, 2021