[Newsmaker] Kakao founder pledges to donate half of assets

The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that he will donate half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "Through this pledge today, we commit to give more than half of our wealth back to society during our lifetime," Kim Beom-su said in a message posted on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the world's we

March 16, 2021

Samsung Display to aggressively target gaming display market with OLED panels

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it targets to expand its presence in the gaming display market with its OLED panels for smartphones. Samsung Display said its 6.78-inch OLED panel is used in Asus' Republic of Gamers (ROG) Phone 5 launched last week, and it aims to sell more OLED displays to those who make gaming IT devices. "With more people practicing social distancing by staying at home, the number of online gamers has surged, and end-product manuf

March 16, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight advances on Wall Street amid falling Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.72 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,058.43 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.05 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gaine

March 16, 2021

Samsung to supply 5G network equipment to Canada's SaskTel

Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has been selected as the sole vendor to supply 5G network equipment and solutions to a Canadian telecommunications firm. Under the deal with Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel), Samsung will provide the Canadian company with the 4G/5G radio unit, massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) radio technology, network virtualization software and maintenance services. The South Korean tech giant said it is also the first time that the

March 16, 2021

Market value of cryptocurrencies in S. Korea spikes tenfold over 3 years

The market value of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has shot up nearly 10 times over the past three years amid keen investor interest, industry sources said Tuesday. According to local cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, its market index stood at 9,742.62 points as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, almost 10 times the level of 1,000 points on Oct. 1, 2017, when the index was first calculated The Upbit Market Index covers all cryptocurrencies traded in the exchange's won-denominated market and shows changes in t

March 16, 2021

Samsung ranks third in Q4 wearables market: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the third-largest vendor of wearable devices in the fourth quarter of 2020, a market report showed Tuesday, amid soaring global demand for wearbles despite the pandemic. The South Korean tech giant shipped 13 million units of wearable devices in the October-December period, up 20.5 percent from a year earlier, although its market share dropped to 8.5 percent from 9 percent a year ago, according to the latest report from market tracker International Data Corp. (IDC).

March 16, 2021

S. Korea's export prices rise for 3rd month in February

South Korea's export prices rose in February, marking the third straight monthly gain helped by a modest recovery in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 3.1 percent in February from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the third consecutive month of an on-month rise. In January, the index rose 1.8 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index rose

March 16, 2021

Google Korea to lower in-app commission rate for developers

The South Korean unit of Google Inc. has decided to lower its planned commission rate for app developers, parliamentary and industry sources said Monday, amid complaints from software makers over steep fees. Google Korea reported to parliament's committee on science and technology that it will cut the 30 percent rate on in-app purchases to 15 percent for app developers whose annual sales generated from its Play store are less than US$1 million, according to the sources. The new policy will take

March 15, 2021

Creditor slams SsangYong's passive stance on HAAH deal

The Korea Development Bank, a major creditor of debt-saddled SsangYong Motor, said Monday that the commercial vehicle maker and its labor union had been “uncooperative” when dealing with the proposed acquirer led by US car retailer HAAH Automotive, which clouds prospects for the deal. Their passivity -- failing to present a reorganization plan swiftly and hinging on state financial support -- stands in contrast with the endeavors of the company’s India-based major shareholder,

March 15, 2021

[News Focus] Proxy adviser puts NPS in dilemma ahead of Samsung shareholders vote

With de-facto chief Lee Jae-yong in jail, drama appears to be brewing ahead of Samsung Electronics’ upcoming general shareholders meeting, amid growing calls for improved checks and balances within its corporate governance system. In a new blow to the current management led by the jailed executive vice chairman and son of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, a proxy adviser recommended voting against the reappointment of three outside directors. But the National Pension Service, the

March 15, 2021

More tax incentives set for high-tech foreign firms to boost FDI

South Korea plans to expand tax incentives for foreign companies in the digital and green industries sectors to attract foreign direct investments that have been shrinking over the past two years. “In order to strengthen foreign investment in high-tech industries such as digital and green, which have strengths, we plan to draw a roadmap for attracting high-tech foreign investment in the first half of the year,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a meeting with economy-related m

March 15, 2021

Kia fully unveils design of first E-GMP-based model, EV6

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker and an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, on Monday revealed the design of the EV6, its first all-electric model to use the group’s exclusive electric vehicle platform, ahead of the global unveiling slated for later this month. The EV6 is notable for the electric-global modular platform, or E-GMP, and will also be the first electric vehicle launched since Kia Motors changed its name to Kia Corp. The car’s defining feature, a

March 15, 2021

Kumho Petrochem aspires to expand ‘beyond conventional boundaries’

After posting better-than-expected business output last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumho Petrochemical is now bracing for another leap forward, seeking to gain an upper hand in the post-coronavirus industry, officials said Monday. The company’s core direction is to grow beyond the conventional petrochemical sector, to expand high value-added products, and to diversify the market use of newly growing materials. Last year, the company posted 740 billion won ($651.4 million) in o

March 15, 2021

Samsung Bioepis to begin local sales of Humira biosimilar with Yuhan

Samsung Bioepis said Monday that the company has signed a marketing partnership with Yuhan to launch its adalimumab biosimilar Adalloce. Adalloce is a pen type biosimilar of Humira, used in treating active autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatism, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The drug was launched as Imraldi in European countries in 2018 and posted a cumulative $417 million in sales as of last year. In South Korea, Samsung Bioepis will launch the adalimumab bi

March 15, 2021

AIG names new CEO of Korean office

Global insurance firm American International Group said Monday that it has appointed Ramzi Toubassy, the former chief of the company’s Malaysian branch, as the head of the Korean office. Toubassy, who succeeds outgoing CEO Douglas Min, will report to Steven Barnett, CEO of AIG’s Asia-Pacific General Insurance. He will start working at the Seoul office from April 1. He has more than 24 years of experience in the industry, working at the company’s global offices in the US, Le

March 15, 2021

Seoul stocks down after choppy trading on yield worries

South Korean stocks retreated Monday after choppy trading as rising bond yields continued to stoke concerns of earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.68 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,045.71 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 12.4 trillion won ($10.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 564 to 293. Foreigners sold a net 210 bil

March 15, 2021

Brinkmanship on both sides as battery dispute continues

The verdict on the trade secret dispute between South Korea’s two leading battery makers came out weeks ago. But the warring rivals show no sign of ending their hostility, with both parties going to extreme lengths to woo the highest official of the US to their side. US President Joe Biden could make or break SK Innovation’s electric vehicle battery business in the states, as he has the right to overturn the US International Trade Court’s decision last month that slapped a 10

March 15, 2021

Toss Securities officially launches MTS

Viva Republica, South Korea’s leading fintech startup, officially launched a mobile stock trading system Monday. Toss opened the service preliminarily a month ago for 640,000 preregistered users, about 70 percent of whom are in their 20s and 30s. The stock trading service, which aims to attract young and new investors with easy-to-use interfaces, is incorporated into Viva Republica’s payment app Toss. “We aim to provide a satisfying investment experience for new investors as

March 15, 2021

Jaguar Land Rover Korea to launch 4 new models in 2021

Jaguar Land Rover Korea will launch four new models to strengthen its product portfolio and lower the prices of the cars to meet consumer demands, the company’s managing director said in a press conference on Monday. Speaking to the media here for the first time since his appointment in October 2020, Robin Colgan laid out his 4P strategy to strengthen the company’s foothold in the market, and reiterated the automotive group’s global roadmap focused on electrification. 　 Thi

March 15, 2021

S. Korea to reenter list of top 10 economies by GDP in 2020

Despite the prolonged economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea is forecast to have reentered the list of the world’s 10 largest economies by nominal gross domestic product in 2020, data showed Monday.  Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s nominal GDP for last year was estimated at $1.624 trillion, which marked the ninth highest among 14 major countries, up two notches from the previous year, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

March 15, 2021