Hyundai E&C set to begin presales of housing units in Daegu

Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the company behind South Korea’s top apartment brand, Hillstate, is starting presales of units in a high-rise mixed-use apartment complex in the southeastern city of Daegu, the company said Tuesday. Slated for completion in the summer of 2024, the complex, dubbed HillState Dalseong Park Station, comprises three buildings with 392 housing units each measuring 84 square meters. Of the 392 units, 72 are what locals call “residential officetel&rdq

March 30, 2021

[News Focus] Most age groups skeptical on economy

SEJONG – Over the economic conditions in the coming year, a pessimistic stance was found to be dominant in most age groups in South Korea, with the only exception being people aged 40-49, a recent poll showed. According to a survey released Saturday by Gallup Korea, gloomy predictions on the economy outnumbered positive predictions among people in their 20s, 30s, 50s and 60s or older. Optimists outnumbered pessimists only among those in their 40s. By age group, 40 percent of those aged

March 30, 2021

Hyundai Mobis presents HLED as innovative rear lamp material

Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, is expanding its presence in the global auto lamp market with its series of unique rear lamp technology, officials said Tuesday. After two years of joint research with LG Innotek, the parts maker has recently come up with HLED, a thin film-like material that can be flexibly bent and that emits light in all conditions. Due to its delicate light control, the product may be applied to both the stop lamp and the tail lamp with a mere

March 30, 2021

GS Caltex among oil majors behind launch of a new oil exchange

South Korean energy company GS Caltex was among the companies behind the launch of a new oil exchange in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to help secure a more stable and transparent supply of Middle East crude. Launched Monday, the new International Exchange Futures Abu Dhabi, or IFAD, has listed the Middle Eastern nation’s flagship Murban crude and started trading Murban crude futures. GS Caltex joined global oil majors BP, Total, Inpex, Vitol, Shell, PetroChina to support its incepti

March 30, 2021

Hanwha Q Cells takes Chinese solar companies to court in Germany, France

Hanwha Q Cells said Tuesday it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Chinese solar company Astronergy in Germany. The lawsuit, filed on March 12 with German court, accuses Astronergy of stealing Hanwha’s patented technology that enhances the efficiency of solar cells. The legal action is the latest from Hanwha against Chinese competitors. Previously it sued three firms -- Jinko Solar, LONGi Solar and REC -- in March 2019. Last June, Germany’s Dusseldorf District Court r

March 30, 2021

Bitcoin price resurges despite coin delisting risks

Bitcoin is reaching 70 million-won mark again Tuesday amid a global credit company’s digital coin endorsement. According to local crypto exchange Upbit, Bitcoin price rose above 69 million won ($60,860) as of 1:50 p.m., after falling as low as 62 million won on March 25. Tuesday’s Bitcoin rally came after Visa Card announced Monday that it would accept cryptocurrencies for credit card bills. In its pilot program, Visa Card will allow settlement of transactions in USD Coin, a st

March 30, 2021

Seoul stocks advance on hopes of global economic rebound

South Korean stocks advanced more than 1 percent Tuesday on strong foreign and institutional buying, aided by expectations of a quick global economic recovery from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.96 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 3,070.0 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1 billion shares worth some 13.9 trillion won ($12.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 531 to 307. Foreigners

March 30, 2021

Samsung C&T-led consortium wins $1.56b deal from Taiwan

Samsung C&T Corp., the construction unit of Samsung Group, said Tuesday its consortium has clinched a $1.56 billion project to build a terminal at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Under the deal with Taoyuan International Airport Corp., the Samsung C&T-led consortium will build Terminal 3 that can have an annual customs clearance processing capacity of 45 million passengers. Samsung C&T said it will take 60 months to complete the project. Samsung C&T said its stake is wor

March 30, 2021

Fila stays silent after Chinese unit vows to continue using Xinjiang cotton

Fila Korea is staying silent on the ongoing controversy surrounding Xinjiang cotton after its Chinese unit vowed to continue using the fabric. When asked about Fila China’s statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo last week confirming its support for Xinjiang cotton, a representative of the company acknowledged the existence of backlash but refused to comment. In a statement on Weibo last week, FILA China said it “has always purchased and used cotton produced in China inclu

March 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korea pins high hopes on ‘K-syringes’

Despite taking an early leadership in COVID-19 diagnosis and epidemic response, South Korea has been months behind in the global race to either develop vaccines or secure jabs already developed and inoculate its citizens. While playing catch-up, the government is hoping to draw attention to its achievements elsewhere -- their syringes. Low dead-space syringes, which local firm PoongLim Pharmatech developed in partnership with the government, has allowed the country to inoculate 1,880 more p

March 30, 2021

Celltrion’s sales of COVID-19 treatment to reach W1.2tr: report

Sales of Celltrion’s COVID-19 treatment could reach 1.2 trillion won ($1.06 billion) this year, a local securities firm said Monday. According to a report from Hana Financial Investment, sales of Celltrion’s COVID-19 antibody treatment CT-P59 are expected to increase since Celltrion received a positive scientific opinion from the European Medicines Agency last week for its monoclonal antibody treatment candidate. But the report said Celltrion’s production capacity for the d

March 30, 2021

Samsung's Texas chip plant returning to normal levels

Samsung Electronics Co.'s chip production at its US plant is approaching normal levels, an official from the company said Tuesday, following a monthlong shutdown caused by a power outage in the region. "Our plant in Austin, Texas, has entered the normal stage of production from last week," a Samsung official said. "We are currently ramping up operations to reach the level we had before the shutdown." Industry insiders now expect that Samsung's Austin plant may resume produc

March 30, 2021

Hyundai to suspend Ioniq 5 production on chip shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday it will suspend production at a domestic plant that produces the Ioniq 5 all-electric model due to a chip shortage. Hyundai plans to halt the operation of the No. 1 plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, which also produces the Kona subcompact SUV, due to lack of parts from April 7-14, a company spokesman said over the phone. The decision comes amid a lack of semiconductor parts used in the Kona's front vehicle camera system and a problem in Hyundai M

March 30, 2021

Daewoo E&C continues to strengthen CSR activities

Construction company Daewoo E&C continues to strengthen its corporate social responsibility activities, operating various volunteer work programs for its employees, the company said Tuesday. Since 2007, Daewoo E&C staff have taken part in various volunteer programs. Rather than one-off events or one-time donations, their activities have been focused on contributing their talent to improving the living environments for the underprivileged, the company explained. In 2018, the company a

March 30, 2021

Lending rate cap to be lowered to 20% from July

South Korea’s maximum legal interest rate that private lenders can charge customers will be lowered to 20 percent per annum from July, the nation’s top financial regulator said Tuesday. A revised enforcement ordinance to cut the maximum lending rate suggested by the policymaking Financial Services Commission in November was approved during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, officials said in a statement. The move is aimed at easing interest rate burdens on beleaguered debtors.

March 30, 2021

Sales of top food delivery app Baemin nearly double in 2020 on pandemic

South Korea's top food delivery app Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, saw its sales nearly double in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, its operator said Tuesda. Baemin's top line stood at 1.09 trillion won ($960 million) last year, up 94.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Woowa Brothers Corp. It is the first time that Baemin's sales have exceeded the 1 trillion won mark since its market debut in 2010. Woowa Brothers attributed the sales jump to greater demand for food d

March 30, 2021

SK hynix to focus on improving profitability in NAND biz: CEO

SK hynix Inc. will focus on improving profitability of its NAND business following its deal to buy Intel Corp.'s non-volatile memory unit, its chief executive officer said Tuesday. Lee Seok-hee told shareholders that SK hynix is committed to becoming the global leader in the NAND industry with the acquisition of Intel's NAND business and its 2018 investment in Japan's Kioxia Corp. Last October, SK hynix, also the world's No. 2 DRAM maker, signed an agreement to buy Intel's non-volatile memory

March 30, 2021

KAIST unveils deepfake-detecting mobile app

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Tuesday its research team launched the country's first mobile app that detects deepfakes -- images or videos digitally manipulated with artificial intelligence (AI) -- to curb misinformation and prevent potential harm to victims targeted by the technology. The software, named KaiCatch, can accurately detect deepfakes by using AI technology that recognizes abnormal distortions in a subject's face in images, according to KAIST, S

March 30, 2021

Savings banks' profit rises 10% in 2020 on interest income

South Korean savings banks reported 10 percent growth in their combined net profit for 2020, thanks to a modest rise in interest income, data showed Tuesday. The combined net income of the 79 savings banks stood at 1.4 trillion won ($1.24 billion) last year, compared with a profit of 1.3 trillion won a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 8.7 percent on-year to 6.5 trillion won, while loan-loss provisions jumped 30.7 percent o

March 30, 2021

Rice production costs up 6.5% last year

Rice production costs in South Korea rose 6.5 percent last year as rice output fell due to a record-long rainy season and typhoons, data showed Tuesday. Farmers spent 31,082 won ($27) to produce 20 kilograms of rice last year, compared with 29,172 won the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The rise in costs came as a long rainy season and typhoons reduced the number of sunny days last year, reducing rice output to a 52-year low, according to the statistics agenc

March 30, 2021