Another extra budget could reach some W30tr: finance minister

Another extra budget under review to support the pandemic-hit people may reach some 30 trillion won ($26.5 billion), the country's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday. The government is planning to create this year's second extra budget with excess tax revenue as it seeks to underpin an economic recovery and minimize the fallout of the pandemic. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told a parliamentary meeting that another extra budget would be below some 32 trillion won, which is roughly equal

June 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Regulator offers record rewards to person reporting steelmakers' price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has provided a record 1.75 billion won ($1.5 million) in rewards to a person who reported seven steelmakers' alleged price fixing. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided in January to fine the country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers a combined 300 billion won for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The commission said it was able to take stern ac

June 23, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Fed's reassuring comments

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from the Fed's comments that support its accommodative policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.73 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,274.61 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a strong start, following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's reassurance that the recent inflation rate has grown faster than expected but will likely stabilize. Overnight, the

June 23, 2021

Global chipmakers to break ground on 29 fabs by 2022: report

Chipmakers worldwide will break ground on 29 new semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) by 2022, including two in South Korea, a report showed Wednesday, as they try to meet rising demand. Semiconductor firms will start the construction on 19 new high-volume fabs by the end of this year and another 10 in 2022, according to SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. "Equipment spending for these 29 fabs is expected

June 23, 2021

S. Korea to chip in additional $2m to EBRD

South Korea said Wednesday it has agreed to additionally contribute $2 million to funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a bid to boost cooperation with the lending body. The agreement was reached after Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso held a virtual meeting Tuesday, according to Seoul's finance ministry. Under the agreement, South Korea will additionally contribute the money to two EBRD trust funds designed to support t

June 23, 2021

Convenience store chain E-Mart24 to open 1st outlet in Malaysia

E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it will open its first store in Malaysia this week as part of its overseas push. The 257-square-meter outlet, located in an office district in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, is slated to open Thursday, E-Mart24 said. E-Mart24 said it has signed a "master franchise" contract with local food and distribution investment firm United Frontiers Holdings (UFH) for its foray into the South

June 23, 2021

S. Korea's carbonated water market grows 28.6% over 5 years

South Korea's market for carbonated water expanded nearly 29 percent over the past five years amid growing consumer interest in low-calorie drinks, a state food trade firm said Wednesday. The volume of carbonated bottled water in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 24.3 million liters in 2020, up 28.6 percent from five years earlier, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said, citing a report from market researcher Euromonitor. Euromonitor has projected local sales of carbonated bo

June 23, 2021

Samsung unveils 3 new 5G chips, one antenna radio

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled a set of innovative 5G solutions, three chips and one antenna radio, at its first virtual showcase event. Called “Samsung Networks: Redefined,” the show was streamed live from Seoul at 11 p.m., Korean time. It was the first event hosted by Samsung’s network business. The virtual event was held ahead of Mobile World Congress 2021, an offline event slated for June 28 in Barcelona, Spain. Last year’s congress was canceled due to th

June 22, 2021

Property developer picked as final bidder for Eastar

South Korean property developer Sung Jung Co. said Tuesday the court has selectedit as the final bidder to acquire financially troubled budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court accepted Eastar's plan to sign a contract with Sung Jung on Thursday, Eastar Chief Executive Kim You-sang said over the phone. Early on Tuesday, Sung Jung received contract documents from the bankruptcy court through the deal's lead manager Deloitte Anjin LLC to buy Eastar, the company's Chairman Hyoung

June 22, 2021

Korea’s financial vulnerabilities highest since 2008 financial crisis: BOK

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that the country’s financial vulnerabilities had increased to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, calling for efforts to prevent a deepening of the financial imbalance caused by the heated real estate and digital asset markets. The nation’s financial vulnerability index climbed to 58.9 in the first three months of 2021, surpassing 41.9, the figure it reported in the fourth quarter of 2019, before COVID-19 hit the country

June 22, 2021

[Herald Interview] Cleaning startup Miso aims to be ‘Amazon of services’

Around 5 a.m. in Seoul, when most of the city is still asleep, it’s not difficult to see backpack-toting men in their 50s and 60s waiting in long lines outside staffing agencies, wondering if there are any day jobs available for them. For their female counterparts, or ajumma as Koreans would call them, the situation is slightly better but not very different. “Cleaners who were working in this industry before … like at 6 a.m., they go to the employee referral agencies, th

June 22, 2021

South Korea excluded from MSCI World Index again

South Korea’s entry to the Morgan Stanley Capital Investment World Index fell through again, casting a cloud over its market ambition to gain global status and further expansion, reports said Tuesday. US finance firm MSCI decided to stay put with Korea’s listing as an emerging market in its regular meeting held on June 10. Asia’s fourth-largest economy has kept its position in the MSCI EM Index since 2014, as it has failed to overcome certain hurdles. Although Korea ranked No

June 22, 2021

Over 70% of Korean millennials, Gen Z say wealth distributed inequally

More than 70 percent of millennials and Generation Z in South Korea believe that wealth and income is distributed unequally throughout society, a survey showed Tuesday. The study released by Deloitte Anjin showed that some 73 percent of millennials and 76 percent of Gen Z in Korea recognized wealth and income inequality as a major concern. This surpasses the 69 percent and 66 percent response from global millennials and Gen Z, respectively, towards the same issue. While millennials and Gen Z

June 22, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound on hopes of gradual tapering

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday as investors speculate that the Fed's tapering timeline may be slower than expected. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 23.09 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,263.88 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.6 billion shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($13.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 582 to 270. Foreigners bought a net 319 billion won, while retail inves

June 22, 2021

Coupang faces biggest backlash yet as criticism mounts over working conditions

In March, Coupang made history as the first South Korean startup to make its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in the US, becoming a subject of both awe and envy among entrepreneurs here. But a few months later, it now faces growing criticism, with many suggesting the company achieved stellar growth by sacrificing the safety and well-being of its workers. A series of deaths among its workers and a fire at one of its distribution centers last week seem to have reinforced that view. Outside

June 22, 2021

Ex-President Park Geun-hye’s house to be auctioned off

Impeached former President Park Geun-hye’s house in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, will be put up for sale in August at a public auction, according to local real estate auction information provider GG Auction on Tuesday. The state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. will kick off the first round of bidding on Aug. 9. If the property does not sell during the three-day bidding period, Kamco will lower the price by 10 percent and hold a second round of bidding the following week, officials sai

June 22, 2021

Moody’s ups NH NongHyup Bank’s rating from stable to positive

Global ratings firm Moody’s on Tuesday raised its rating outlook for South Korean lender NH NongHyup Bank from stable to positive, while maintaining the firm’s ratings at A1.  “The upgrade reflects our expectation that the bank’s asset soundness and capital adequacy as well as improved profitability will remain solid over the next 12-18 months,” Moody’s said in a statement.  Meanwhile, Moody’s revised up the ratings of NH Investment & S

June 22, 2021

No. of double-income households dips by most in 3 years amid pandemic

The number of double-income households in South Korea declined the most in three years last year as the job market took a beating from the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The number of double-income households came to 5.59 million as of October last year, down 69,000 from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. This accounted for 45.6 percent of all married couple households. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2017, when the number of such households fell by 89,

June 22, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding to form global R&D alliance for cutting-edge shipbuilding technologies

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) said Tuesday that it plans to set up a global research and development alliance to develop state-of-the-art shipbuilding technologies. To sharpen its competitive edge in the construction of eco-friendly ships and smart ships amid their growing demand, DSME will establish the R&D alliance, along with four universities, five ship quality assurance and risk management companies, and five research institutes, the shipbuilder said. The fou

June 22, 2021

Container cargo volume at seaports up 11.2% in May

The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports jumped 11.2 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, in yet another sign of a recovery in trade from the economic fallout of the new coronavirus pandemic. Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 2.63 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in May, compared with 2.37 million TEUs in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to the COVID-

June 22, 2021