Genesis GV80 SUV earns IIHS top crash safety award

The Genesis GV80 sport utility vehicle earned the highest crash safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday. The South Korean carmaker produces the luxury SUV and high-end sedans under its independent Genesis brand. The IIHS has added its own seal of approval to the GV80 only a few weeks after golf great Tiger Woods unintentionally put the flagship SUV in the spotlight by demonstrating its crashworthiness. The GV80 earned the Top Safet

March 19, 2021

S. Korea sees limited chance of sharp rise in oil prices

Oil prices are not likely to sharply rise down the road, given oil producing nations' output capacity and rising US bond yields, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said the government will take actions to stabilize inflation, if needed, amid concerns that an uptrend in oil costs would exert upward pressure on prices amid an economic slowdown. "A rise in oil prices could increase burdens on households and companies. But as the current hike i

March 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US bond yields

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, tracking an overnight tech plunge on Wall Street that stemmed from a hike in the long-term US Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 40.99 points, or 1.34 percent, to 3.025.02 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech stocks, sensitive to inflation, dropped as spiking yield rates fueled concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.02 perce

March 19, 2021

Samsung ranks 5th in 2020 PC monitor market: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's fifth-largest PC monitor vendor last year, a report showed Friday, after posting robust growth in sales amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. The South Korean tech giant shipped 11.7 million units of monitors in 2020, up 30.6 percent from a year ago, according to the report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC), with its market share increasing to 8.6 percent from 7.1 percent a year earlier. Samsung posted the biggest yearly growth a

March 19, 2021

ITC delays preliminary ruling on LG-SK battery patent suit

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) said Friday it has delayed the preliminary decision on the battery patent infringement suit between LG Energy Solution Ltd. and SK Innovation Co. to next month. The US trade panel was due to deliver the initial ruling on the battery patent suit between the South Korean rivals Friday (US time) but postponed the date by two weeks to April 2. "Additional time will be needed to complete the initial determination, which will require an extension of t

March 19, 2021

Number of health & beauty shops dips for 1st time in 2020 amid pandemic

The number of big-name retailers' beauty stores in South Korea declined for the first time in 2020 as more customers turned to online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. The country's three major health and beauty (H&B) chains -- Olive Young, lalavla and LOHB's -- had a combined 1,484 outlets across the nation as of end-December last year, down 31 from a year earlier, according to the data posted on the electronic disclosure system of the Financial Supervisory Servic

March 19, 2021

Ioniq 5 bedazzles with futuristic silhouette, expanded interior space

For South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor, the game changer for this year’s business is the launch of Ioniq 5, its first all-electric vehicle built on their exclusive EV platform. While vying against global competitors such as Tesla, the new model is expected to serve as a key barometer on whether Hyundai Motor Group manages to accommodate to the post-coronavirus market changes and transform into a sustainable, comprehensive mobility operator. Set to kick off mass production

March 19, 2021

[News Focus] LG Group’s spinoff decision to take center stage at shareholders meeting

At the annual shareholders meeting set for next Friday, LG Group’s plans to spin off business units and create a new holding company for them are expected to take center stage. As the meeting approaches, market experts and advisory institutions are releasing their assessments of the restructuring plan, which the group says it has had in the works since the leadership change in 2018. LG Corp., the current holding company of LG Group, announced in November that the group would spin off

March 18, 2021

KCGI in predicament as hostile takeover bid for KAL fizzles out

South Korean private equity house Korea Corporate Governance Improvement appears to be in a predicament as its hostile takeover bid for Hanjin KAL is being overshadowed by the Korea Development Bank’s tighter control over the parent company of flag carrier Korean Air Lines. This comes as a KCGI-led consortium, which took issue with the “poor governance” displayed by the transportation group’s owner family and sought to bring in professional managers to replace incumbent

March 18, 2021

S&P, Moody’s affirm stable outlook for Naver

Global credit rating agencies S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s have forecast stable growth for South Korean internet giant Naver, respectively assigning the firm ratings of A- and A3. S&P said its rating reflected the Korean internet firm’s strong position in the search engine and e-commerce segments in Korea, adding that even tech behemoth Google had only recently made headway in the Korean market with video platform YouTube due to the Korean firm’s formidable leadersh

March 18, 2021

Suwon, home of Samsung, has highest number of 40-something male retail traders: data

Suwon in Gyeonggi Province has the highest number of male retail traders in their 40s, outpacing Gangnam, a posh residential district in Seoul, data showed Thursday. The city having the largest number of male traders perhaps has something to do with South Korean tech giant Samsung, which is headquartered in the city, observers say. According to the state-run Korea Securities Depository, a total of 34,463 male day traders in their 40s lived in Suwon as of the end of 2020, while southern Seoul&rs

March 18, 2021

S-Oil forges partnership to capture carbon and use it for soft drinks, dry ice

S-Oil has teamed up with a local gas firm to capture carbon dioxide emitted from its facility and use it for carbonated soft drinks and dry ice. According to the South Korean refinery on Thursday, it has signed an agreement with Dong Kwang Chemical for the project, for which S-Oil will collect by-product gases from its hydrogen production process at the Ulsan plant and supply them through pipelines to the adjacent Dong Kwang facility. There, carbon will be extracted, refined and then trans

March 18, 2021

[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution combines climate change actions with CSR activities

LG Energy Solution’s new solar power project in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, combines the firm’s social outreach program with a mission to curb carbon emissions. Dubbed the “Power Plant for Hope Green,” the facility built at a bus transfer center in the city last year is expected to cut 4,900 tons of greenhouse gases and generate profits worth 800 million won ($712,000) over the next 20 years. All the proceeds from the 410-kilowatt facility will be donated t

March 18, 2021

S. Korea's economy expected to grow 3.2% in 2021: AMRO

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year as the start of vaccinations raised hopes of a solid economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a regional macroeconomic research agency said Thursday. The forecast by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) is slightly higher than the Bank of Korea's outlook of 3 percent growth for this year. The AMRO also expected South Korea's economy to grow 3 percent next year. But the AMRO warned that growth is uneven in some se

March 18, 2021

Seoul stocks up on eased rate hike woes

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday on strong foreign buying, following the US Federal Reserve's reiteration that rates will remain at near zero through 2023. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.51 points, or 0.61 percent, to close at 3,066.01. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 14.8 trillion won ($13.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 503 to 329. Foreigners bought a net 483 b

March 18, 2021

Nafabeltan out, but push for homegrown COVID-19 drug continues

The competition to develop the country’s second COVID-19 treatment continues among South Korea’s major pharmaceutical companies after Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical recently dropped out. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Wednesday that it has decided not to approve Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s candidate, Nafabeltan, based on a review by its advisory board of its efficacy and safety. Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical’s acute pancreatitis dru

March 18, 2021

Daewoong clinches W380b out-licensing deal with Chinese pharmaceutical firm

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday that the company has out-licensed its gastroesophageal reflux disease agent Fexuprazan to Shanghai Haini Pharmaceutical for 380 billion won. The deal included an upfront payment of 6.8 billion won and 13.6 billion won in milestone payments, the company added. Under the agreement, Shanghai Haini has acquired rights to conduct clinical studies for the agent used to treat a digestive disorder. Shanghai Haini would also be in charge of the entire approval pr

March 18, 2021

Hanwha to sell half of stake in electric truck maker Nikola

Hanwha Group, a South Korean energy-to-defense conglomerate, plans to sell half of its stake in US electric truck maker Nikola Corp., the two companies said Thursday. Green Nikola Holdings, Hanwha's US subsidiary that holds a 5.65 percent share in Nikola, plans to sell up to 11.1 million shares over a six-month period from June, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Hanwha's stake in Nasdaq-listed Nikola is worth about $180 million as of Wednesday's closing price of $16.

March 18, 2021

OB releases series of new beers to maintain edge

Oriental Brewery Co. has released a series of new “high tech” beers in recent months to maintain its market lead. OB accounted for some 52 percent of Korea’s home beer market last year, according to Nielsen Korea, with its flagship beer Cass Fresh alone accounting for some 40 percent. In a statement, CEO Ben Verhaert said the company is seeking to continue to progress to accommodate changing consumer trends. All New Cass Hoping to continue its lead in the market, OB unveil

March 18, 2021

Doosan Fuel Cell, KSOE to jointly develop SOFCs for ships

South Korean fuel cell maker Doosan Fuel Cell Co. said Thursday that it will team up with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) to develop solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), energy conversion devices that generate electricity, to be used for ships. Under a preliminary deal with KSOE, the subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), Doosan Fuel Cell will design and produce fuel cells, while KSOE will develop technologies to apply the fuel cells to ships, th

March 18, 2021