S. Korean asset managers log record net profit in Q1

South Korean asset management companies collectively earned record net profit in the first three months, according to data released by the state watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Tuesday. The combined net profit of the 328 domestic asset management firms came in at 615 billion won ($551.74 million), up 424.7 percent from the same period last year. The growth is partly attributable to reduced operational costs, the FSS said. The figure broke the previous record of 457.5 billion won p

June 8, 2021

SK Telecom to wrap up testing of 5G-powered traffic system in Seoul

SK Telecom Co., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Tuesday it will wrap up the testing of a next-generation traffic system in Seoul by the end of this month as it seeks to accelerate efforts to develop self-driving technology based on its high-speed 5G network. The telecom operator has been testing the traffic system, named the Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS), with the Seoul metropolitan government since early 2019 and has installed 1,735 5G sensors across the city's m

June 8, 2021

Indonesian shareholder drops $1.5b charge against KB Kookmin over Bank Bukopin acquisition

Seoul-based KB Kookmin Bank has steered clear of litigation in controlling Indonesian subsidiary Bank Bukopin, as its minority shareholder in Indonesia dropped all charges against South Korea‘s largest commercial bank, a filing showed Tuesday. Bosowa Corporindo, which was holding a 11.6 percent stake in the Indonesian midsized bank, has reached an out-of-court settlement for the 20.8 trillion-Indonesian-rupiah ($1.5 billion) charges against the bank‘s new controlling shareholder an

June 8, 2021

Number of registered employees rises 2.2% in 2019: data

The number of registered employees, who are eligible for state insurance programs, in South Korea rose 2.2 percent on-year in 2019, data showed Tuesday. There were 24.35 million registered employees in 2019, compared with 23.38 million in 2018, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. About 20.48 million people worked the same job in 2019, while some 3.87 million people changed jobs, the data showed. Of the people who changed jobs in 2019, people aged between 15 and 29 accounted fo

June 8, 2021

Samsung looking to expand 7th generation V-NAND solutions: exec

Samsung Electronics Co. aims to expand the use of its seventh generation V-NAND chip solutions, a senior executive said Tuesday, as the South Korean tech giant eyes to bolster its technology prowess in the memory sector. In the second half of the year, the world's leading memory chip maker will introduce a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product based on its seventh generation V-NAND chip that boasts the smallest cell size yet in the industry, according to Song Jai-hyuk, head of Samsung's

June 8, 2021

S. Korean battery trio to showcase future EV battery tech at InterBattery 2021

Three Korean battery makers are set to showcase their next-generation battery products and technologies at a major industry fair to get ahead in the toughening competition in the fast growing electric vehicle battery market, the companies said Tuesday. LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK Innovation Co. will introduce their latest battery products and sustainable business models at InterBattery 2021, which runs from Wednesday to Friday at the Convention & Exhibition Center in so

June 8, 2021

SsangYong Motor workers accept unpaid leave, wage cut in self-rescue efforts

Unionized workers at SsangYong Motor Co. have voted to accept a proposal for unpaid leave and a wage cut as part of self-help the financially troubled company is struggling to stay afloat with self-help measures, the company said Tuesday. In a vote held on Monday and Tuesday, SsangYong workers agreed to the company's offers of a two-year unpaid leave to half of it 4,700 employees, an extension of lower wages and suspended welfare benefits until June 2023, the company said in a statement. Ssang

June 8, 2021

Naver invests in 70 startups under its accelerator scheme, their value estimated at W1.3tr

South Korea's top internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Tuesday that it has invested 40 billion won ($36 million) in a total of 70 startups -- mostly early-stage tech firms under its accelerator scheme that started in 2015. The investment was made over the past six years since the tech giant created D2 Startup Factory, an accelerator for tech startups under its arm. Naver has supported promising entrepreneurs with advanced technological skills since 2015. Naver said the startups were ab

June 8, 2021

Samsung Display on track to roll out QD displays in H2

Samsung Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea, is on track to produce its next-generation displays in the second half of the year, industry insiders said Tuesday. Samsung Display is set to release pilot products of the quantum-dot (QD) display for TVs and monitors this month and send them to its clients for further testing, according to the sources. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. earlier revealed that it aims to launch its QD displays in the second half of the year

June 8, 2021

LG Energy invests W12b in Australian EV battery material supplier

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Tuesday it has struck a deal to buy a 7.5 percent stake in an Australian chemical company for 12 billion won ($10.8 million) for a stable supply of critical metals used in electric vehicle batteries. LG Energy Solution, the wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., said it agreed to buy new shares issued by Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM), which produces nickel and cobalt, key materials for lithium-ion batteries. QPM is the 100 percent own

June 8, 2021

April tax revenue up W13.8tr

South Korea's tax revenue rose 13.8 trillion won ($12.4 billion) in April from a year earlier due largely to an increase in the collection of capital gains taxes, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 44.9 trillion won in taxes in April, compared with 31.2 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The rise in tax revenue was mainly attributable to an increase in capital gains tax income from housing transactions and fund investments.

June 8, 2021

Seoul stocks open slightly lower amid valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Tuesday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 3.08 points, or 0.09 percent, to reach 3,249.04 points as of 9:17 a.m. The Kospi got off to choppy start after it finished the previous session at a record high of 3,252.12 points. Stock prices fluctuated as investors take a wait-and-see mode, seeking more clues to fathom the ou

June 8, 2021

Duty-free sales surge to nearly 3-year high in April

Duty-free sales in South Korea jumped more than 50 percent in April to nearly a three-year high, signaling the industry's steady recovery toward the pre-pandemic level, government data showed Tuesday. Combined sales at duty-free shops in Asia's fourth-largest economy increased 51.6 percent in April from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). The figures mark the steepest monthly growth since 54.6 percent in May 2018. Sales surged 108 per

June 8, 2021

SK Telecom to launch VR game for Oculus devices

SK Telecom Co., a major South Korean wireless carrier, said Tuesday it will launch a virtual reality (VR) game for Facebook Inc.'s Oculus Quest devices in a move to bolster its presence in the VR sector. "Crazy World VR," playable on Oculus' Quest 1 and 2 devices, features a range of sports games from archery and tennis to bowling in VR and allows users to compete with other players around the world in real time. The game, slated to launch Wednesday, also incorporates characters from

June 8, 2021

Jeju Air resumes flights to Saipan amid vaccination drive

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier by sales, said Tuesday it has resumed flights to Saipan in a preemptive measure to absorb post-coronavirus travel demand. Jeju Air started to provide one flight a week on the Incheon-Saipan route on the day following permission from the transport ministry, a company spokesman said over the phone. "We expect most of the initial passengers to be businessmen, Koreans residing overseas and their family members. But pent-up demand for travel (

June 8, 2021

Current account surplus sharply narrows in April on higher oil prices

South Korea's current account surplus sharply narrowed in April as higher oil prices increased the country's import bill, the central bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus reached $1.91 billion in April, narrowing from a surplus of $7.82 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering e

June 8, 2021

Kospi notches record high closing above 3,250

South Korea’s key stock index Kospi set an all-time record high at Monday’s closing, nearly a month after the benchmark logged the previous closing high, backed by institutions and retail investors’ net purchases. The benchmark advanced 0.37 percent to close at 3,252.12 points, breaking its previous record of 3,249.3 points from May 10. It started off at 3,244.59 points and got as high as 3,264.41 in the early morning trade. The index erased some earlier gains to trad

June 7, 2021

Moderna could produce mRNA vaccine substance in South Korea: report

US pharmaceutical company Moderna may produce the drug substance for its messenger RNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea, a local media outlet reported Monday. The company is reviewing options for the vaccine substance production here, including building its own production facility in Korea and partnering with a local firm, the report said, quoting Corrine Le Goff, Moderna’s chief commercial officer. The executive did not provide further details. The US-based pioneer in mRNA techno

June 7, 2021

US Fed’s rate hike could raise Korea’s household debt interest payments

With growing signs of an interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve as early as this year, a hawkish turn there will increase debt burdens in South Korea if policymakers here fail to take timely steps, a think tank said Monday. Debt interest payments per Korean household could gain as much as 2.5 million won ($2,249.62) on average if the US Fed decides to raise its interest rate from the current near-zero level, a report from the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. The KERI projecte

June 7, 2021

Hyundai Sonata to give way to Ioniq 6

Once the nation’s most popular sedan and Hyundai Motor’s flagship model, the Sonata is apparently losing out to all-electric vehicles as the automaker moves to convert its Asan plant for the production of Ioniq 6. A number of factors have weighed down the once-bestselling model, including an unsuccessful face-lift and the increasing diversity of alternative models in the market, observers noted. The automaker is planning to suspend its Asan plant for about a month during the Jul

June 7, 2021