BOK vows to meet inflation target in medium term

South Korea's central bank said Thursday it will make efforts to achieve its inflation target of 2 percent for this year in the medium term, as it hinted an exit from record-low interest rates amid signs of a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a regular monetary report, however, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said it will maintain the current easing of monetary policy "for the time being" to support an economy recovery. "Monetary policy will stay accommodative for the time

June 10, 2021

S. Korea regains No. 1 spot in May shipbuilding orders

South Korean shipbuilders outpaced their Chinese rivals to regain the top spot in global new orders of ships in May, industry data showed Thursday. South Korea lost their No. 1 ranking to China in April, nine months after grabbing the top ranking in July 2020. South Korean shipbuilders led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. obtained new orders of 40 ships, or 1.42 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), beating their Chinese rivals with 37 ships, or 880,000 CGTs, according to the order book data p

June 10, 2021

Telcos to show off mobility projects at expo

South Korean telecom operators will feature new mobility technology, from flying cars to autonomous vehicles, at the Seoul Smart Mobility Expo 2021, which kicked off at the Oil Tank Culture Park in western Seoul on Thursday. SK Telecom said it will unveil the latest developments of its unmanned aerial mobility (UAM) service project in partnership with local defense company Hanwha Systems Co., Korea Airports Corp. and the Korea Transport Institute at the three-day event. The wireless carrier sa

June 10, 2021

Samsung releases industry's first 0.64-micrometer pixel image sensor

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday introduced a new mobile image sensor, the industry's smallest pixel size, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to beef up its presence in the non-memory sector. The 50-million megapixel ISOCELL JN1 is the industry's first 0.64-micrometer pixel image sensor that can deliver ultra-high resolution images and allow manufacturers to make slim mobile devices, according to Samsung. Its pixel size is 16 percent smaller than that of a 0.7-micrometer pixel image sensor

June 10, 2021

Bond issuance in S. Korea falls 11.5% in May

Bond issuance in South Korea shrank 11.5 percent in May from the previous month amid strong foreign buying, data showed Thursday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 73.3 trillion won ($65.7 billion) last month, down 9.6 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's drop represents a drastic turnaround from an on-month increase of 9.3 trillion won in April. Sales of corporate bonds plunged by

June 10, 2021

Hana Bank issues $600m in ESG bonds

Major South Korean lender Hana Bank said Thursday it has floated $600 million worth of environment, social and governance (ESG) bonds to help support vulnerable and eco-friendly projects. The dollar-denominated bonds will mature in five years and six months, and carry an annual interest rate of 1.25 percent, or the yield on five-year US Treasurys plus a spread of 0.55 percentage point. ESG bonds are a type of sustainability debt offering aimed at financing corporate activities in environmental

June 10, 2021

[Graphic News] Samsung tops Q1 TV market with record share: report

　Samsung Electronics maintained its status as the world‘s leading TV vendor with a record market share in the first quarter, a report showed, as the tech giant posted robust growth on the back of its QLED and large TVs. 　Samsung represented 32.9 percent of the global TV market in terms of sales revenue in the January-March period, its largest share for a first quarter, according to data from industry researcher Omdia. 　Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics wit

June 10, 2021

LG Electronics unveils mobile app for pedestrian safety

LG Electronics Inc. on Thursday unveiled a mobile application for pedestrian safety as the South Korean tech giant eyes to beef up its presence in the software sector despite its planned departure from the smartphone business. The Soft V2X, with V2X standing for "vehicle to everything," is LG's smartphone solution for pedestrian protection. The app can warn users of collision risks between pedestrians and vehicles, as well as possible car-to-car crashes, to prevent road accidents. Th

June 10, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat ahead of US inflation data release

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Thursday as investors await the release of US consumer price data that may give clues about the Federal Reserve's future monetary policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged down 0.5 points, or 0.02 percent, to reach 3,215.68 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi got off to muted start as investors take a wait-and-see mode before the US consumer price index (CPI) for May that will be published later in the day (Kor

June 10, 2021

SK Telecom to conduct spinoff in November, split its stock 5 to 1

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top wireless carrier, decided Thursday to spin off a new investment company in November to expand its foothold in new tech sectors, as well as conduct a 5-for-1 stock split aimed at improving shareholder value. The wireless carrier's board of directors approved the spinoff plan, and the new company, tentatively named SKT Investment Co., will be split on Nov. 1, according to a company regulatory filing. Under the spinoff, SK Telecom's shares will be divided 6-for-4

June 10, 2021

Preorders for Kia's EV6 in US fully booked in a day

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday presale orders for its first all-electric model, EV6, have been fully reserved in one day in the United States. Kia sold all of the 1,500 units of the EV6 First Edition in an online preorder event in the world's most important automobile market on Tuesday (US time), the company said in a statement. The EV6 First Edition is equipped with a 77.4 kilowatt-hour (KWh) battery, an augmented reality head-up display, remote parking assist

June 10, 2021

[Exclusive] Government preparing Moderna vaccine for Samsung, SK, LG employees

The South Korean government is preparing to provide the COVID-19 vaccine from US pharmaceutical company Moderna to employees of some major domestic companies as part of efforts to help normalize their business operations early, according to industry sources Wednesday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has sent out related guidance to companies including Samsung Electronics and its affiliates, SK and LG Group companies, multiple sources confirmed to The Korea Herald. According to the compan

June 9, 2021

FSC gives green light to Korea’s third Internet-only bank

Toss Bank on Wednesday received final approval from the Financial Services Commission to operate as the nation’s third mobile-only bank. Now that it has the green light, Toss is set to jump into South Korea’s fast-growing online banking market, currently dominated by KakaoBank and K bank. Toss Bank -- backed by Viva Republica, the operator of fintech app Toss -- will officially launch as early as September. Toss Bank will operate within the existing Toss app to take advantage of

June 9, 2021

Outlook for chip market gets brighter upon strong demand for memory

The world’s semiconductor market is projected to attain greater growth than initially forecast this year, mainly led by the memory sector amid rising demand for chips across various industries under the protracted COVID-19 pandemic. According to a forecast released by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics on Wednesday, the worldwide semiconductor market is expected to increase by 19.7 percent to $527 billion in 2021 from a year earlier, and continue to grow by 8.8 percent in 2022.

June 9, 2021

EuBiologics to start phase two clinical study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

South Korean biopharmaceutical company EuBiologics announced Wednesday that it will commence phase two clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate EuCOVAC-19. EuBiologics plans to conduct the clinical study of its synthetic antigen-based vaccine candidate from the end of this month on a total of 230 people, with an aim of completing it by October, the company said. EuBiologics said the company has seen positive results from the phase one trial in terms of the safety and immunogenicity

June 9, 2021

Employment rate recovers to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, minister says

The recovery of South Korea’s job market picked up steam as more than 600,000 positions were added back to the economy in May, surpassing that mark for the second consecutive month, government data showed Wednesday. Statistics Korea found that the number of employed people reached 27.6 million last month, 619,000 more than a year earlier, as Asia’s fourth-largest economy continued its recovery from the virus-caused downturn. The base effect from severe job losses last year lifted

June 9, 2021

First Paris Baguette store opens in Cambodia

SPC Group is launching the Paris Baguette bakery franchise in Cambodia, opening the first branch in the country‘s capital city, the company said Wednesday. According to SPC Group, the Korean firm behind bakery brand Paris Baguette, it forged ties with Cambodia’s HSC Group to open the first Paris Baguette store in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is the sixth country in which Paris Baguette has launched, and it is the first time the bakery operator has formed a joint venture for its overseas

June 9, 2021

Homegrown driverless car to get first trial run

A homegrown autonomous driving vehicle will begin its first trial run next week, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute said Wednesday. AutoVe is a level 4 self-driving vehicle that does not have a driver’s seat. With no human assistance, the six-seater car is driven solely by the research institute’s artificial intelligence system, coupled with a self-developed voice recognition system. Passengers can just talk to the car to set up the destination, it said.

June 9, 2021

S. Korean businesses dissent expansion of ‘Google tax’

South Korea’s business circles have submitted a petition to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expressing concerns over the global move to expand the range and rate of digital services tax. The Federation of Korean Industries said Wednesday that it has submitted a joint statement on behalf of industries here, addressing OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. “The move to excessively expand the range of digital services tax and to raise its tax rate would con

June 9, 2021

Hyundai Motor chief wins top accolade at 2021 Autocar Awards

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has won the top prize at the 2021 Autocar Awards for his contribution to the global car industry, the company said Wednesday. The Issigonis Trophy, named after car designer Sir Alec Issigonis, is the award given to a standout individual within the industry who is deemed to have delivered an exceptional level of success. “In the last decade, Hyundai Motor Group has grown into one of the world’s leading car firms, and Chairman Chung has be

June 9, 2021