Consumer price growth at near 4-year high in April

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in almost four years in April on higher prices of farm and oil goods, data showed Tuesday, indicating that the country may face growing inflationary pressure. The consumer price index rose 2.3 percent on-year in April, accelerating from a 1.5 percent gain the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year gain since August 2017, when the price index climbed 2.5 percent. Compared with a mo

May 4, 2021

Renault Samsung workers to stage strike again over wages

Unionized workers at Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday they have decided to lay down their tools again to demand a wage hike.  Renault Samsung's 1,900-strong workforce will launch an eight-hour strike at their plant in Busan, around 450 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday as they are not satisfied with the company's wage proposals.  The announcement came as they staged a six-hour strike Monday. They previously launched an eight-hour strike last Friday.  The union and

May 3, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 5th day on return of short selling

South Korea’s stock market retreated for a fifth consecutive session Monday amid strong foreign and institutional selling on the first day the government lifted a 14-month ban on short selling of large-cap stocks. The local currency’s value against the US greenback also weakened. The main bourse Kospi closed at 3,127.2 points, down 20.66 points or 0.66 percent, from the previous session’s close. The index began trading at 3,149.05 points and once rose up to 3,174.26 points in

May 3, 2021

Samsung heirs sign on donation for SNU Hospital

Samsung Electronics and Seoul National University Hospital agreed on Monday to launch an official team to coordinate a 300 billion won ($267 million) donation from the bereaved family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee for children with cancer and rare diseases. On behalf of the Lees, Samsung Electronics Presidents Sung In-hee and Rhee In-yong, in charge of social contributions and corporate relations, attended the ceremony with Seoul National University Hospital President Kim Yon-su and

May 3, 2021

S. Korea, China, Japan express concern over uneven economic revival in Asia

As uncertainties surrounding an uneven economic revival from the COVID-19 pandemic linger in the Asian region, top economic policymakers and central bank chiefs from South Korea, China and Japan on Monday pledged to maintain an open trade regime and strengthen regional cooperation. “The regional outlook has improved, with continued policy support and growing vaccine coverage. However, we should remain vigilant as the economic recovery has been uneven across and within member economies,

May 3, 2021

S. Korea's development of novel drugs lags behind others

A total of 40 novel drugs were approved by Seoul‘s pharmaceutical authorities in 2020, but none were developed by South Korean companies, according to a survey released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday. According to the Korean drug safety agency, local companies failed to introduce novel drugs domestically for the second consecutive year. In 2018, there were two novel drugs developed by local pharmaceutical companies that received approvals from the agency. “Laun

May 3, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 test kit receives conditional approval in Korea

South Korea‘s pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Monday that the company has received a conditional approval for its COVID-19 test kit DiaTrust from the country‘s drug safety agency. DiaTrust, developed jointly by Humasis and Celltrion, is an antigen test kit that can detect the most recent COVID-19 variants from the UK and Brazil. The test kit uses a sterile nasal swab which can identify specific antigens of COVID-19 present in specimens collected from the nasal cavity within

May 3, 2021

All-new LX Holdings sets sail under Koo Bon-joon’s lead

LX Holdings, which has spun off from LG Group, on Monday held an inaugural event and board meeting to officially mark its business kickoff and name Koo Bon-joon as its first CEO and chairman. The newly-launched business group is expected to exert all of its effort into phasing out of the LG brand in order to gain an independent position in the market. “Today, we sail off under the name LX, hopeful, yet also a little tense, over what may be awaiting us down the road,” Koo was quoted

May 3, 2021

Lotte Foods to switch to EVs for sales activities

Lotte Foods will replace all of its company cars used for sales activities with electric vehicles in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the company said on Monday. The South Korean food manufacturing firm will distribute about 380 units of Chevrolet’s Bolt EV for all of its sales employees, who drive over 20,000 kilometers on average per year, the company explained. Lotte Foods said it will be distributing the cars in May and June. Prior to the change, the company installed 90

May 3, 2021

[Herald Interview] COVID-19, a perfect storm for Lime Korea

A blessing in disguise. No other idiom can better describe what the coronavirus outbreak has meant for Lime, the world’s leading operator of rented electric scooters and bikes. When the pandemic first broke out, communities shut down, and so did riders. Lime lost 95 percent of its ridership. But as the weather got nicer, “much of that revenue has come back,” says Lime CEO Wayne Ting. Lime recorded its first profitable quarter in the July-September period last year, as incre

May 3, 2021

Solus Advanced Materials ramps up 5G copper foil production in Luxembourg

Solus Advanced Materials will increase the capacity of its copper foil plant in Luxembourg to 15,000 metric tons from the current 12,000 tons by the end of this year to meet growing demand for 5G network equipment, the company said Monday. The Luxembourg plant manufactures two types of high-end copper foils. Low-loss copper foils, which minimize signal losses, are used for 5G data centers and satellite communications, while high-frequency copper foils, which offer greater signal speed, are u

May 3, 2021

Hankook Tire Q1 net jumps 53% on base effect

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. said Monday its first-quarter net profit jumped 53 percent from a year earlier on a base effect amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit jumped to 149.47 billion won ($133 million) for the three months that ended on March 31 from 97.66 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. "Corporate taxes were factored in the year-ago quarterly bottom line, but in this past quarter, there was not such a one-off cost factor,&

May 3, 2021

GM Korea's April sales dip 25% amid pandemic slump

GM Korea Co. said Monday its sales retreated 25.4 percent last month from a year earlier on weak demand at home and abroad. The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. sold 21,455 vehicles in April, down from 28,749 units the previous year, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales dropped 18.4 percent on-year to 5,470 units, and exports sank 27.5 percent to 15,985 autos over the cited period, it said. The Detroit carmaker has three Korean plants -- two in Bupyeong and one in Changwon -

May 3, 2021

Kia's April sales jump 78% on strong exports

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Monday its sales soared 78 percent last month from a year earlier on a low base effect and solid demand for SUVs. Kia sold 249,734 vehicles in April, up from 140,262 units a year ago, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales reached 51,128 units last month, climbing 1.5 percent from a year earlier. Overseas sales vaulted 120.9 percent on-year to 198,606 units due to the low base effect from last year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit

May 3, 2021

Hyundai's April sales more than double on SUV demand

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday its sales more than doubled last month from a year earlier on robust demand for its SUV models despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's biggest carmaker sold 345,777 vehicles in April, up from 167,693 units a year earlier, helped by strong demand for the Palisade SUV, the Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle, and the Genesis GV70 and GV80 SUVs, the company said in a statement. On top of robust SUV sales, the company benefited from a base effect, in which i

May 3, 2021

[Top Bankers] NH NongHyup speeds up global expansion under new CEO

This is a part of a series of interviews and analyses of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the fifth installment. -- Ed. Throughout its 60-year history, South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank managed to build an unparalleled reputation as the nation’s most successful agricultural and commercial bank. Hinting its popularity among Koreans in retail banking, its net profit in the first three months of this year gained ro

May 3, 2021

More than half of Koreans support tax on crypto gains: survey

More than half of Koreans favor taxation on gains from cryptocurrency trading, a survey showed on Monday, lending support to the government’s move to levy tax on the digital assets. 　 According to a poll by local survey firm Realmeter, 53.7 percent of the people polled said they back the planned taxation on cryptocurrency next year while 38.3 percent of them said they opposed the plan. Female respondents were more supportive over the taxation scheme over male respondents. The percentage

May 3, 2021

Renault Samsung's April sales sink 28.6% on weak domestic demand

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its sales fell 28.6 percent last month from a year earlier due to weak domestic demand. The South Korean unit of Renault S.A. sold 9,344 vehicles in April, down from 13,087 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales tumbled 50.4 percent on-year to 5,446 units last month, while exports jumped 87.2 percent to 3,878 units over the cited period, XM3 the company said. French automaker Renault holds an 81 percent stake in Renault S

May 3, 2021

SsangYong's April sales dip 36% on weak domestic demand

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales fell 36 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to lower demand at home amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic. SsangYong Motor sold 4,351 vehicles in April, down from 6,813 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Exports rose 30 percent to 1,033 units last month from 796 a year ago, but domestic sales declined 45 percent to 3,318 units from 6,017 during the cited period, it said. From January to April, sales also fell 26 percent

May 3, 2021

Samsung heir becomes S. Korea's richest stockholder after inheritance

Lee Jae-young, vice chairman of global tech titan Samsung Electronics Co., has emerged as South Korea's richest stockholder following inheriting stocks from his late father, a corporate tracker said Monday. Lee's mother and his two sisters also ranked second to fourth, with Kim Beom-su, founder and chief of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp, dropping to fifth, according to CXO Institute. The value of Lee's stock holdings stood at 15.62 trillion won ($14 billion) as of Frid

May 3, 2021