Korea’s IPOs to break annual records

South Korea’s domestic capital market is gearing up for a record year with a parade of initial public offerings set to eclipse a decade-old annual record of 10.1 trillion won ($8.9 billion), thanks to game developer Krafton’s expected blockbuster debut. This comes as Korean companies’ initial public offerings this year have already put their combined fundraising to a near-2020 level, according to IPO prospectuses submitted to Korean financial authorities. Through Sunday, 40

June 20, 2021

Banking groups integrate ‘lifestyle’ into financial services

Tech giants such as Naver and Kakao have penetrated the financial sector by integrating “lifestyle” into their financial services, offering all-in-one services via a single platform or close connections to their users. Kakao Corp., operator of the nation’s No. 1 mobile messenger in terms of users, for example, allows KakaoTalk users easy access to its financial services offered by KakaoBank. KakaoTalk users can use KakaoBank services at just a press of a button on the messeng

June 20, 2021

[Life, Unprepared] South Korea’s rapid financial digitalization in eyes of seniors

This is a part of a series of articles investigating financial activities of seniors during rapid digitalization of the finance industry. —Ed. Yang Kyung-soon, a 72-year-old grandma living in a small neighborhood in Uiseong, North Gyeongang Province, takes a two-hour round-trip bus journey to visit her bank. Twice a month, Yang makes the trip downtown to pay her utility bills.  She has banking service apps on her smartphone that can process the payment in a second, but she feels mo

June 20, 2021

Hyundai’s new Avante sells over 100,000 units within one year

Hyundai Motor’s sedan Avante has sold over 100,000 units nearly one year after its release, the company revealed Sunday. The all-new Avante, which was unveiled in April last year, racked up 104,937 sales as of April, and 111,634 units as of last month. Having sold over 77,000 models within last year alone, it is the second bestselling sedan and third bestselling passenger car in the country so far this year, following Hyundai Motor’s Grandeur and Kia’s Carnival, which sold 43

June 20, 2021

Regulatory reform boon to Korean private equity landscape: report

An anticipated regulatory change in South Korea will bolster growth of the burgeoning private equity industry led by large and reputable fund managers, a report showed Sunday. The revision of the Capital Markets Act, soon to be in effect starting October, aims to separate institutional funds and noninstitutional funds. It is largely aimed at protecting noninstitutional end-investors of private funds, as a number of misselling scandals had dented the fund industry over the past couple of years.

June 20, 2021

Naver and CJ Logistics push for next day delivery

Naver and CJ Logistics said on Sunday its “all-round” fulfillment center in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, had begun operation in a further push for next day delivery. The five-story warehouse, boasting a floor space of 38,400 square meters -- an equivalent of five soccer stadiums -- can store, manage, pack and ship items using the latest logistics technology including MPS and eFLEXS. Another center with a cold chain system focusing on chilled and frozen products is set to open in Yongi

June 20, 2021

Kakao rises to Korea’s 5th largest biz group

Kakao Group, which started off as a mobile messenger app operator and has aggressively expanded into new business territories, is now the country’s fifth-largest business group in terms of market cap, data shows. According to financial data from Korea Exchange and market researcher Infomax, the aggregate market capitalization of all Kakao firms stood at 73.9 trillion won ($65.1 billion) as of Friday. After a dizzying array of spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions in past years, Kakao ha

June 20, 2021

LG spurs expansion of OLED TV market with new sizes

LG Electronics, the world’s leading manufacturer of organic light-emitting diode TVs, is continuing to expand the market of self-emissive TVs by rolling out new size choices. The company is releasing in Korea and the US this month 83-inch OLED TVs, which it said will be the biggest 4K OLED TV in the world. In Korea, the new model will be available for 10.9 million won ($9,600). It is the latest addition to LG’s OLED TV lineup, which has consisted of 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inc

June 20, 2021

DataStreams recognized for contributions to big data industry

DataStreams, a local big data solutions provider, has been recognized for its contributions to the development of the local big data industry by the Korea Society of Management Information Systems, the Seoul-based tech firm said Sunday. It has been chosen as the recipient of the 10th KMIS award, which recognizes and honors an outstanding corporation in information technology. DataStreams, with its persistent focus on research and development, has churned out a stream of innovative products an

June 20, 2021

Central American development bank to open S. Korean office in Seoul

A Central American development bank has decided to open a South Korean office in Seoul as part of efforts to strengthen ties with Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Sunday. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has notified the Korean government and the Seoul municipality that its Seoul office will be set up in the capital's financial district of Yeouido, according to government officials. The bank has the goal of opening the office within this year.

June 20, 2021

S. Korea picked as member of FAO's council for 12th time

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Sunday the country has been elected to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council for the 12th time in a row. During the general conference of the FAO held virtually, South Korea was elected to the 49-member council for a three-year term, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The FAO is an intergovernmental organization with 194 member nations that works to ensure food and nutrition safety, alleviate poverty and impr

June 20, 2021

Stock gift to BTS members balloons to W150b

Stocks gifted to members of boy band BTS have snowballed to a combined value of nearly 150 billion won ($132.5 million) over the course of about 10 months. The gift -- 478,695 common shares of BTS’ management agency Hybe that were evenly distributed to the seven members -- is now valued at the domestic stock market at 149.8 billion won, as Hybe shares notched an all-time high for five straight trading days until Friday. This means members RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, V, Jimin and Jungkook hav

June 20, 2021

Kakao emerges as No. 5 conglomerate in terms of market cap

Kakao Corp., which operates South Korea's most popular mobile messenger Kakao Talk, emerged as the country's fifth-largest conglomerate in terms of market cap on the back of the recent gains from the main bourse, data showed Sunday. The combined market cap of Kakao and its affiliates came to 73.9 trillion won ($65.2 billion) as of Friday, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. It marked a sharp rise from just 13.2 trillion won tallied in end-2019. The marke

June 20, 2021

LG Electronics launches 83-inch OLED TV

LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday it has launched an 83-inch OLED TV as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the premium TV market. LG's 83-inch OLED TV, the 83C1, will be first available in South Korea and the United States this month. In South Korea, its list price has been set at 10.9 million won ($9,630). LG is the first TV maker to release an OLED TV with an 83-inch size display. The 83C1 is also the industry's largest OLED TV with 4K resolution. The latest TV expan

June 20, 2021

[Photo News] Eco-friendly consumer goods attract visitors at trade fair in Seoul

Seoul International Sourcing Fair 2021, a platform for discovering new business partners and carrying out business-to-business transactions through networking, is currently being held at Coex. With the environmental, social and governance sector gaining momentum, some 150 small and medium-sized enterprises and startups are displaying eco-friendly consumer goods in various categories, including gifts, living, beauty, smart devices and wellness.  Participants browse a variety of eco-friendl

June 19, 2021

Watching ‘meokbang’ can lead to health issues such as obesity: report

“Meokbang” (also known as “mukbang”), a compound word for “eating” and “broadcast” in Korean, is a popular form of content found on video platforms such as Youtube, AfreecaTV, Twitch, and Kakao TV. Meokbang streamers show themselves consuming large platefuls of junk food while simultaneously interacting with viewers. Along with the rise of one-person households in the country, people have gotten in the habit of watching meokbang while eating alon

June 19, 2021

Seoul stocks tipped to face selling pressure next week on inflation woes

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week, as investors could take to the sidelines amid weakening local currency and uncertainties from the Fed's earlier-than-expected timeline for policy tightening, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,267.93 points Friday, up 0.57 percent from a week ago. The KOSPI set a new all-time high Wednesday on strong individual buying, backed by speculation that the US Federal Rese

June 19, 2021

S. Korea to speed up efforts to bag Czech nuclear plant project

South Korea's industry ministry said Saturday it will spare no efforts to win a nuclear plant project from the Czech Republic as the European country is open to have Asia's No. 4 economy as a potential partner. The remark came after Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the European nation, where he met Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Friday (Czech time) to discuss the two countries' possible cooperation in the nuclear energy segment. During the meeting, Babis pointed out that South Ko

June 19, 2021

“Hasty delisting of digital coins negatively impacts investors”

Coming under increasing pressure from financial regulators, local cryptocurrency exchanges have hastily delisted dozens of digital coins, but the removals create negative impact on investors, experts said on Friday. Since Upbit announced its decision to discontinue the trading of five coins on June 11, two more exchange - Bithumb and Coinbit - joined the move with sudden delisting and investment warnings. “Inadequate digital tokens certainly have to be removed from the market but hasty d

June 18, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 treatment shows promise in variant cure

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody treatment Regkirona, or CT-P59, has shown initial promise in treating patients infected with COVID-19 variants, the company said Friday, quoting preclinical results from its recent animal test. Celltrion said it found that the injection of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona significantly reduced viral titers in 50 experimental mice infected with the South African variant. The mice injected with Regkirona showed a 100 p

June 18, 2021