Hyundai IONIQ 5 set to log solid sales

Hyundai Motor Co.'s IONIQ 5 all-electric model is receiving strong responses in the domestic market, with its first-day preorders exceeding 23,000 units, the country's top automaker said Friday. Hyundai started receiving orders for the IONIQ 5 midsize crossover utility vehicle Thursday well ahead of the model's launch in the domestic market in the second quarter, the company said in a statement. Preorders for the IONIQ 5, the first model embedded with Hyundai Motor Group's own EV-only electri

Feb. 26, 2021

Samsung's R&D spending ranks 4th in 2019: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the world's fourth-largest spender on research and development (R&D) activities in 2019, a report showed Friday, trailing behind US and Chinese tech titans. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone producer, invested 15.5 billion euros ($18.8 billion) in 2019 to rank fourth among global firms in R&D spending, according to the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology which cited data from the 2020 European Union Industrial R&D Investme

Feb. 26, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on US inflation woes

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Friday, tracking an overnight Wall Street plunge that was spurred by a bond yields hike. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 84.03 points, or 2.71 percent, to 3,015.66 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks deepened losses as investor worries grew globally over post-pandemic inflation, heralded by a bond yields hike. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 3.52 percent, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Ind

Feb. 26, 2021

Kakao founder says Bill Gates is his role model

Kim Beom-su, the founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp., said Thursday that his role model is Bill Gates and that he wants to further benchmark the steps of the US business magnate following his donation pledge. In an online conference with employees, Kim, who recently pledged to donate more than half of his assets worth over 10 trillion won ($9 billion), shared his ideas of donation and the company's future. "My role model for solving social problems is Bill G

Feb. 25, 2021

9 companies to recall over 470,000 vehicles over defective parts

  Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor and seven other companies will voluntarily recall over 470,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The nine companies, including Honda Motor, Audi-Volkswagen Korea and Kia, are recalling a combined 478,371 units due to faulty components in 171 models, the Ministry of Land,

Feb. 25, 2021

Jeep to launch drive-through event to celebrate 80th anniversary

SUV brand Jeep said on Thursday it will launch a drive-thru event next month to celebrate the company’s 80th anniversary. The American carmaker, founded in 1941, will kick off the event on March 3 along with a limited-edition release of six of its models to mark the occasion. The brand’s signature vehicles will also be put on display for 10 days in the Seongsu-dong neighborhood in Seoul. During the event, customers will have a chance to enjoy consultation services as well as partic

Feb. 25, 2021

[Herald Interview] NYSE hopes to see more Korean firms listing in US

E-commerce giant Coupang’s application this month to list on the New York Stock Exchange has given hope to Korean firms dreaming of listing on the “big board.” If Coupang’s initial public offering is successful, it will be the first Korean direct listing on the NYSE, and its attempt, often headlined as “the largest IPO by a foreign company after Alibaba,” has been drawing attention around the world. 　 But the NYSE does not want to stop at Coupang. Alexandre

Feb. 25, 2021

T'way Air's net losses widen in 2020 on pandemic

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, on Thursday reported widened losses last year due to the coronavirus' impact on the airline industry. Net losses deepened to 137.87 billion won ($124 million) in 2020 from 43.21 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating losses also widened to 174.31 billion won last year from 19.24 billion won the previous year. Sales fell 66 percent to 269.22 billion won from 810.45 billion won over the cited period, it said.

Feb. 25, 2021

Krafton now highest-paying gaming firm in Korea

Krafton said Thursday it has raised the salary of new and existing employees by as much as 20 million won ($18,000), becoming the best-paying gaming firm in South Korea. According to the publisher of globally popular shooting game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, entry-level game developers and other staff members joining the company this year will earn 60 million won and 50 million won a year, respectively. For existing employees, the company granted a raise of 20 million won to develop

Feb. 25, 2021

Korean battery makers' premium strategy faces challenge

South Korean battery giants’ strategy for the electric vehicle market has been to go for premium, high-performance batteries, but the recent strides of Chinese makers with cheaper and less powerful batteries have brought that into question. According to a report released by industry analysis firm Adamas Intelligence on Monday, shipments of lithium iron phosphate batteries for EVs has increased more than sixfold on year in the second half of 2020, signaling the advance of entry-level, low

Feb. 25, 2021

Science journal Nature highlights Korea’s next-gen solar cell on front page

A next-generation solar cell developed by South Korean research team made the cover of leading science journal Nature, according to the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology on Thursday. The institute’s research team led by Seo Jang-won developed a perovskite solar cell that demonstrates an efficiency rate of 25.2 percent. The efficiency rate indicates the proportion of solar energy converted into usable energy. Perovskites are easily synthesized compounds with an orthorhombic

Feb. 25, 2021

Trade minister says government is 'ready' for partnership with Eastern Europe in green business

South Korea’s trade minister said on Thursday that the government is poised to cooperate with Eastern European countries in green business, including the development of low carbon energy. Speaking at the KOREA-V4 Economic Cooperation Forum, Minister for Trade Yoo Myung-hee said the government is ready for economic cooperation with V4 countries -- Poland, Hungry, the Czech Republic and Slovakia -- who are “shifting to renewable energy.” “Eastern European countries are m

Feb. 25, 2021

SK teams up with Plug Power to branch out into hydrogen market in Asia

SK Holdings said on Thursday that it is teaming up with US hydrogen company Plug Power to branch out into the hydrogen market in Asia. The partnership comes after the South Korean conglomerate invested 1.85 trillion won and acquired some 10 percent of shares in Plug Power, becoming the largest shareholder of the hydrogen giant. An online deal closing ceremony was held Thursday and was attended by executives of both companies including CEO of SK Holdings Jang Dong-hyun, Vice Chairman of SK E&a

Feb. 25, 2021

Seoul stocks shoot up 3.5% on US Fed chief's soothing comments over yield hike

South Korean stocks sharply rebounded to surge more than 3 percent Thursday as the US Federal Reserve chairman's comments soothed inflation worries. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 104.71 points, or 3.5 percent, to close at 3,099.69 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 16.9 trillion won ($15.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 807 to 80. Foreigners bought a net 968 billion

Feb. 25, 2021

LG AI Research unveils first AI achievement

LG Group unveiled its first achievement in artificial intelligence research conducted by the group’s AI research arm. The South Korean conglomerate announced two academic papers on explainable AI and continual learning in collaboration with University of Toronto, through the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Explainable AI, co-researched by a team led by Professor Konstantinos Plataniotis, refers to a technology that easily explains a result of its research to

Feb. 25, 2021

[News Focus] COVID-19 causes historic gap in online sales by product type

SEJONG -- The novel coronavirus was found to have brought a seriously widening disparity in the online sales performances of local retailers by product segment and business type. South Koreans have sharply increased their online spending on agricultural, livestock and fisheries products as the cut back on dining out amid the pandemic. According to Statistics Korea, the monthly turnover of retailers selling products from agriculture, livestock and fisheries online -- for homemade food -- reach

Feb. 25, 2021

S. Korea to suspend more coal plants in spring to cut fine dust emissions

South Korea said Thursday it plans to suspend the operations of more coal-powered plants during spring time in line with its efforts to cut the emissions of fine dust. Under the plan, the country plans to halt the operation of 19 to 28 coal plants in March depending on the electricity demand, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It will mark a sharp rise from nine to 17 plants suspended over the December-January period. The country's fine dust emissions from coal-powered pl

Feb. 25, 2021

Carmakers to recall over 470,000 vehicles over defects

Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Honda Korea, Ford Sales and Service Korea, Audi Volkswagen Korea, Nissan Korea, Volvo Cars Korea, and BMW Korea will recall 478,371 vehicles after faulty components have been found, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday. The latest action came a day after the ministry announced a mass recall for 26,699 units of Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle models over faulty batteries. Of the total cases, 29,769 units

Feb. 25, 2021

Finance minister to attend virtual G-20 meeting this week

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki plans to attend a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 major economies this week to discuss ways to tackle the pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The meeting, to be chaired by Italy, will be held virtually Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. G-20 financial chiefs and leaders of international organizations will discuss ways to strengthen policy coordination to cope wi

Feb. 25, 2021

‘Market picks SK Group as top ESG player here’

As the ESG business management trend continues to gain traction in South Korea, environmental factors have outweighed social and governance values in importance, the Federation of Korean Industries said on Thursday. The major business advocacy group also added that SK Group, among business entities across the nation, has received the top recognition in the market as a pioneer of the ESG business culture. In the federation’s survey polling research chiefs of major brokerages here, 60 pe

Feb. 25, 2021