Samsung applies for tax breaks for new chip plant in Austin

Samsung Electronics has asked local governments in Texas to provide tax breaks for its new chip plant in Austin, raising speculation that it is about to expand its production capacity in the US, according to news reports Friday. Reuters reported that the South Korean chipmaker is seeking combined tax abatements of $805.5 million over 20 years from Travis County and the city of Austin, among other tax breaks, citing documents filed with Texas state officials. There were rumors that Samsung

Feb. 5, 2021

SsangYong Motor extends plant suspension amid pandemic

Financially troubled carmaker SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday it will extend the suspension of its local plant due to a lack of parts supplies from contractors. SsangYong Motor already halted its plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Dec. 24, Dec. 28, and Feb. 3-5 as its subcontractors refused to deliver parts due to outstanding payments. The SUV-focused carmaker filed for court receivership on Dec. 21 after it failed to obtain approval for the rollover of existing loans from i

Feb. 5, 2021

BC Card names new chief executive

Credit card issuer BC Card said Friday that it has named Choi Won-seok, a former head of local financial firm FnPricing, as its new chief executive. The CEO hiring process will be complete after a shareholders meeting and board meeting slated for next month. Choi is an expert in the financial and IT segments, having developed systems that evaluate financial products at FnPricing. He has served as an outside board director for the card company for the past six years. The CEO appointee has

Feb. 5, 2021

Current account surplus hits two-year high last year

South Korea’s current account surplus rose to a two-year high last year amid the prolonged economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to a sharp fall in imports and overseas trips, central bank data showed Friday.  The country’s current account surplus for 2020 amounted to $75.28 billion -- up $15.6 billion, or 26.1 percent, from the previous year -- according to preliminary figures released by the Bank of Korea.  This marked the highest current account sur

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea OKs Celltrion's COVID-19 treatment for conditional use

South Korea's drug safety agency said Friday it has approved pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc.'s COVID-19 treatment candidate on several conditions. The conditional marketing authorization of CT-P59, an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, marks the country's first homegrown COVID-19 treatment. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said CT-P59 can be administered to COVID-19 patients at higher risk, referring to people aged 60 or older, or with health conditions like

Feb. 5, 2021

Samsung seeking tax breaks for possible new chip plant in Texas: reports

Samsung Electronics Co. has asked Texas state officials to give tax breaks for its potential new chip plant, news reports showed Friday, raising speculation that the South Korean tech titan could make a big investment in the United States. The world's largest memory chipmaker has requested authorities in Texas to grant tax abatements over 20 years, which would be worth a total of $805.5 million, for its new $17 billion chip facility in Austin, Texas, according to the Austin American-Statesman n

Feb. 5, 2021

Line Bank gets license for Taiwan

Line, a Tokyo-headquartered mobile messenger subsidiary of South Korean tech firm Naver, said Friday that it had won a license from Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission to launch an online bank in Taiwan. Since Line received a permit to set up an online banking business in the nation in 2019, Taiwanese financial authorities had been carrying out due diligence procedures on the internet-only bank. The mobile messenger firm said it would cooperate with the Taiwanese authorities to e

Feb. 5, 2021

Samsung, LG release vacuum cleaners with upgraded charging stations

South Korea's two largest home appliance makers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. -- are set to begin their duel in the vacuum cleaner market, industry observers said Friday, as they released new products boasting upgraded charging stations. LG began to sell its new CodeZero ThinQ A9S stick vacuum cleaner in South Korea that comes with a charging station, which automatically cleans out the dustbin. When the vacuum cleaner is docked in the stand, which LG calls it "all-in-

Feb. 5, 2021

Consumer price of poultry goods on rise amid bird flu outbreak

South Korea plans to inject 50,000 tons of tariff-free imported egg products through June to help stabilize the price. Meanwhile, no additional confirmed cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza were reported Friday, with the total caseload standing at 85. Authorities said they are currently investigating a suspected infection from a duck farm that is raising 8,000 ducks in Yeongam, 384 kilometers south of Seoul. Of the confirmed cases from farms, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul acc

Feb. 5, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, taking a cue from overnight record gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.3 points, or 0.75 percent, to 3,110.85 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.85 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix hiked 1.6 percent. Internet portal giant Naver moved up 2.51 percent, with its rival Kakao up 0.22 percent. Leading chemical maker LG Chem jumped 3.1 percent, and rech

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea's current account surplus widens in December

South Korea's current account surplus widened on-month in December last year, mainly due to a modest recovery in exports, the central bank said Friday. The current account surplus reached $11.51 billion in December, widening from a surplus of $9.18 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April 2020, the largest in almost a decade, on faltering expo

Feb. 5, 2021

Samsung Electronics ranks 2nd in 2020 US patent grants

Samsung Electronics Co. clinched the No. 2 spot in US patent grants among global corporate giants in 2020, industry data showed Friday. Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone and memory chip maker, received 8,539 US patent grants last year, down 1 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the US Intellectual Property Organization. Yet, the flagship of Samsung Group, the top family-controlled conglomerate in South Korea, retained the No. 2 title for 14 years on end. S

Feb. 5, 2021

S. Korea's exports of sauces hit all-time high in 2020

South Korea's exports of sauces reached an all-time high in 2020 as more people enjoyed cooking at home around the globe amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. Outbound shipments of sauces rose 25.8 percent on-year in 2020 to reach $301.7 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). KITA said the growth also came as global consumers became more aware of Korean-style foods following the popularity of Korean cultural content oversea

Feb. 5, 2021

Korean Air net losses narrow in 2020 despite pandemic

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses narrowed in 2020 from a year earlier, as it offset the pandemic-caused slump in passenger travel with increased cargo deliveries and enjoyed decent gains from an asset sale. Net losses narrowed to 291.45 billion won ($260 million) last year from 622.76 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. "The proceeds from the sale of its in-flight catering and duty-free business and forei

Feb. 4, 2021

SK Bioscience’s COVID-19 vaccine to be used with GSK adjuvant

SK Bioscience is collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline in COVID-19 vaccine development, the company said Thursday. According to SK Bioscience, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510 has shown improved T cell activity, or immune response, when used in combination with GSK’s adjuvant AS03. The two companies are running a clinical phase 1/2 trial of GBP510 and AS03, since the local drug authority’s approval of the clinical test design on Jan. 26. Adjuvants are immune boosters that are ad

Feb. 4, 2021

HHIH swings to red on slump in affiliate, COVID-19

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH) said on Thursday that it swung to the red last year from a year earlier due to losses from equity ties with its oil refining unit and the new coronavirus pandemic. Its net loss came to 789.7 billion won ($705.8 million) in 2020, compared with a net profit of 115.3 billion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales fell 29 percent on-year to 18.91 trillion won last year, while it suffered an operating loss of 597.1 billion won, sw

Feb. 4, 2021

Naver to shut down portal's trending search chart this month

South Korean search giant Naver Corp. said Thursday it will shut down its online portal's real-time search chart service this month amid a yearslong controversy over whether it could be prone to advertising or be used to rig public opinion. The portal giant, which draws 30 million users everyday, said in a blog post that it will shut down the service on Feb. 25 as user searches have become more diversified and specific. The search chart first appeared in 2005 and has served as a major part of

Feb. 4, 2021

South Korea to add 830,000 housing units by 2025

South Korea plans to supply 830,000 housing units in Seoul and other big cities by 2025 through housing redevelopment projects led by state-run agencies, marking the largest-scale supply measure yet envisioned by the Moon Jae-in administration. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday announced its real estate plan, which aims to provide affordable housing in big cities to meet the demand from young people and to tackle soaring home prices. “If this measure is imp

Feb. 4, 2021

Automakers cut production due to chip shortage

Automobile companies worldwide have been forced to curtail production as they run out of automotive chips, according to industry sources on Thursday. US-headquartered General Motors announced Wednesday, US time, that the carmaker will suspend manufacturing at three plants in North America, and operate its Bupyeong 2 assembly line in Korea at half capacity starting from Monday. Although the company didn’t reveal the exact volume of the reduction, market watchers estimate it would reach

Feb. 4, 2021

[Green Paradox] Three things holding back Korea’s solar takeoff

As part of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal initiative, South Korea is rolling out solar farms more than ever before. Last year, the country installed 53,454 new solar farms worth 4.1 gigawatts, a record annual increase, according to the Korea Energy Agency. The record is set to be broken, as another 4.4 GW are planned this year. Despite the country’s bold ambitions, experts say Korea lacks grid infrastructure, clear rules and proper incentives to support the staggering q

Feb. 4, 2021