Coway named “Best Korea Brand” by Interbrand

Coway, a South Korean home appliance rental firm, has been named one of the “Best Korea Brands 2021” by global management consulting firm Interbrand. This year’s recognition marks the seventh year running that the company has been named among the 50 best brands that represent South Korea. Coming in the 27th place, Coway’s brand value enjoyed a 8.1 percent year-on-year increase and was estimated at 1.12 trillion won. Leading the global environmental home appliances with

June 27, 2021

Banks ask not to be held accountable for crypto fraud

Banks in South Korea have asked the financial authorities not to hold them responsible for money laundering or other fraud involving digital coins, at a time when they are under pressure to screen the digital exchanges for authenticity amid high volatility. The banks apparently remain reluctant to issue real-name accounts for local cryptocurrency exchanges’ virtual asset customers. A recent amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information requires t

June 27, 2021

South Korea’s growing craft beer boom

Craft beers are enjoying a surge in popularity as more beer drinkers in South Korea seek to broaden their choices, bucking the years-long trend of sticking to major mass-produced beers which have dominated the country. According to data from convenience store chain CU, sales of craft beer are growing exponentially, up nearly 500 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. The upward trend appears to be continuing this year as sales have risen by 239.2 percent as of June 21, compared to the

June 27, 2021

[Life, unprepared] DIY pensions gather steam in Korea

This is the second installment of a series of articles investigating financial activities of seniors during rapid digitalization of the finance industry. —Ed. Three years ago, a 32-year-old software developer surnamed Park bought an individual retirement pension plan, not knowing exactly what his corporate pension plan was as an employee. Holding a portfolio mix of stock funds and a bond fund, with one of the stock funds returning as high as 43 percent since inception, the private retir

June 27, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's cumulative EV sales top 200,000 units in Europe

Cumulative electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe from South Korea's two largest automakers -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. -- have surpassed 200,000 units, company data showed Sunday. Hyundai and Kia, both under Hyundai Motor Group, had sold a combined 227,919 EVs in the European auto market as of May since they first began selling EVs there in 2014. Hyundai's EV sales reached 131,719 units, while those of Kia totaled 96,200 units. Their cumulative EV sales in Europe topped 10,000 units i

June 27, 2021

S. Korea aims to develop fully automated cars by 2027

South Korea's industry ministry said Sunday it has approved 53 projects with a budget of 85 billion won ($75 million) this year in line with efforts to develop fully automated cars by 2027. Around 373 organizations and 3,500 experts are expected to join the research projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea said the budget will be spent on developing automotive parts for self-driving cars, along with artificial intelligence software. The announcement came

June 27, 2021

Retail sales up 13% amid vaccine roll-out

Retail sales in South Korea moved up 12.9 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as more consumers visited offline shops amid the country's aggressive inoculation program. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion) last month, up from 11.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores advanced 8.8 percent over the cited period as Sou

June 27, 2021

[Weekender] Invitation to Metaverse

To those who have difficulty in grasping the characteristics of the younger generations of millennials and Gen Z -- pay attention to the “metaverse.” A combination of “meta” and “universe,” the term refers to a virtual world shared by people from the real world. Built on the convergence of all things sci-fi such as augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, artificial intelligence, fifth-generation networks, edge computing and so on, this digita

June 26, 2021

[Photo News] Lotte Maison Dong Busan opens in East Busan

Lotte Maison Dong Busan, the first brick-and-mortar shopping complex for furniture, home appliances and accessories with 38 domestic and foreign brands opened its doors in the southern port city on June 24. 　 A number of top furniture brands, including Simmons, Hanssem, and ACE, have their products on display inside the shopping complex. 　 Aside from the furniture stores, the living-focused mall features unique spaces as well, including “Pet Park”, a playground and training field fo

June 26, 2021

Korean refiners turn to hydrogen in search of next 'oil'

South Korean refiners are jacking up investment in the burgeoning hydrogen market to secure their place in a world shifting away from fossil fuels and to get ahead of the next big change in the energy industry. Hydrogen, which burns clean when mixed with oxygen in a fuel cell, can be used for various industrial purposes, vehicles and ships, but it has been mostly used in oil refining and production of fertilizers. Large-scale usage of hydrogen requires not only manufacturing factories but als

June 26, 2021

Court rules against Netflix in network usage fee dispute

A Seoul court on Friday ruled against global video streaming giant Netflix in its prolonged network usage fee dispute with South Korean major internet access provider SK Broadband Inc. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed a request from Netflix to confirm that the United States-based video streaming service provider is not liable to pay network usage fees to SK Broadband. The court also rejected Netflix‘s request to confirm that it has no obligation to negotiate with the South Kore

June 25, 2021

Naver’s chief operating officer resigns over employee’s suicide

Choi In-hyuk, chief operating officer of Naver, the country’s largest portal operator, on Friday announced that he will step down from his post, apologizing for an employee’s suicide. Choi is one of co-founders of Naver, which was established in 1999. He is a close ally of Lee Hae-jin, the de facto chief of the internet company. The executive, however, will maintain his CEO post at Naver Financial. Naver released a statement regarding the employee’s death after an interna

June 25, 2021

Kospi ends at fresh high on recovery hopes

South Korea's stock market reached an all-time high for the second consecutive day Friday, in sync with a global stock rally that stemmed from hopes of a quick economic rebound and a massive US stimulus package. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 16.74 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 3,302.84 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 18.4 trillion won ($16.3 billion), with gainers outnumb

June 25, 2021

Fiscal chief opposes universal cash relief

South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Friday voiced opposition to a new round of COVID-19 emergency cash handouts for all nationals, promoted by the ruling Democratic Party and the government. “It is inappropriate to hand out emergency relief funds to people in the upper income brackets. The US government doesn’t even offer tax rebates for the upper class,” Hong said at the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee meeting. “Spending money

June 25, 2021

Posco partners with China’s HBIS Group to product automotive steel sheets

South Korean steelmaker Posco is working with Chinese steel producer HBIS Group Co. to produce and sell automotive galvanized steel sheets, the company said Friday. Through an online signing ceremony, the two companies inked an agreement to establish an equally invested joint company, Posco said. Posco Chief Executive Officer Choi Jeong-woo and Kim Hag-dong, the head of steel business unit, attended the event. “From our collaboration with HBIS Group we plan to reinforce our position a

June 25, 2021

Shinsegae Department Store to build new landmark in Suseo

Shinsegae Department Store will build a new department store in the envisioned Suseo Station Transit Center Complex, the company said Friday. According to the retail giant, a consortium led by Hanwha Engineering and Construction and participated in by Shinsegae has been chosen as the preferred candidate for the Suseo Station Transit Center Complex Development Project, which is worth about 1.2 trillion won. The Suseo Station Transit Center Complex Development Project aims to develop a 115,927

June 25, 2021

Banks’ dividend cap to be lifted from July

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Friday it will lift the current 20 percent dividend cap imposed on local lenders and financial holding firms on July 1, raising the possibility of interim dividends in the second quarter.  The decision came as most of Korea’s major banks and financial holding companies were found to have maintained financial soundness amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. They passed the authority’s latest stress test, conducted between May and

June 25, 2021

Samsung Electronics and affiliates to vaccinate workers from July

Samsung Electronics and its affiliates will start vaccinating its workers at their in-house clinics starting next month, according to industry sources on Friday. The flagship electronics unit and affiliates, including Samsung Display, Samsung SDI and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, will run an in-house vaccination program as part of efforts to beef up antivirus measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Samsung Electronics notified its employees on Friday the company will start the vaccination progra

June 25, 2021

KH Group to acquire Alpensia Resort for W710bn

KH Gangwon Development, a special purpose company of KH Group, will acquire the Alpensia Resort in PyeongChang, which was used as a venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the company announced Friday. The company signed an agreement with Gangwong Province on Thursday to purchase the resort, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, for 710 billion won ($629.65 million). The deal is expected to be finalized by Aug. 23, after due diligence. The Alpensia Resort served as the main location of the firs

June 25, 2021

‘Ride the global tide through innovation procurement’

Amid a constant influx of new technologies that has changed the way we live, work and communicate, COVID-19 has drastically accelerated digital transformation. The expedited digitalization has prompted to expand the industrial scope of future markets where national borders and the boundaries between the online and offline world are becoming ever more blurred. Thus, at present, major economies across the globe fiercely compete with one another to get ahead in future promising industries. Agains

June 25, 2021