Number of registered vehicles gains 2.9% in 2020

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, with that of green cars exceeding the 800,000 mark, government data showed Wednesday. The total number of car registrations came to 24,365,979 units at the end of last year, up 2.9 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number translates into one vehicle for every 2.13 people living in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Las

Jan. 20, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding teams up with Kepco E&C for offshore substation

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Wednesday that it has signed a deal with power plant builder Kepco Engineering & Construction Co. to develop offshore substations. The two South Korean companies plan to make inroads into the overseas offshore substation market, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. An offshore substation refers to equipment that transfers electricity generated at offshore wind farms to land. The government is pushing ahead with its plan to be one of the world's f

Jan. 20, 2021

Samsung's chip R&D spending 2nd-largest in 2020: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the industry's second-largest spender on semiconductor research and development (R&D) last year, a report showed Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to beef up its presence in the non-memory sector. Samsung, the world's top memory chipmaker, spent $5.6 billion on chip-related R&D in 2020, up 19 percent from a year earlier, according to the McClean Report released by industry tracker IC Insights. Samsung's sharp increase in chip R&D spending w

Jan. 20, 2021

Naver to acquire storytelling platform for W653.3b

South Korea's internet conglomerate Naver Corp. said Wednesday that it will acquire Canadian entertainment platform operator Wattpad Corp. in a stock transaction valued at 653.3 billion won ($593.6 million). The Toronto-based storytelling platform provides stories through its flagship app. It is a community of more than 90 million people globally who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Naver said the acquisition is aimed at "strengthening its North American

Jan. 20, 2021

Doosan Infracore wins large-scale excavator order from French firm

Top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday that it has won an order for 221 excavators from French construction equipment rental company Beaulock. Doosan Infracore will provide 12 kinds of excavators, including a 22-ton one, it said, but the company did not reveal the amount of the order. The latest order will help Doosan Infracore expand its presence in the European construction equipment market, the company said. Beaulock bought a total of 250 excavators from Doosa

Jan. 20, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on tech, auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as auto and tech stocks continued to rebound. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 33.11 points, or 1.07 percent, to 3,125.77 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI traded bullish after the key index rallied 2.61 percent the previous session. Investor sentiment also lifted on overnight comments by US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen backing a large-scale fiscal relief package to reinvigorate the world's largest economy

Jan. 20, 2021

Samsung Electro-Mechanics develops slim 3-socket MLCC for 5G smartphones

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., a major electronic components maker in South Korea, said Wednesday it has developed an ultra-slim multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) with a three-socket structure that can be used in 5G smartphones as the company targets to increase sales from global smartphone makers. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it began to supply the 0.65-millimeter slim three-socket MLCC, which is 18 percent thinner than its previous products, to smartphone manufacturers. MLCC is a core co

Jan. 20, 2021

S. Korea wins top ESG rating by Moody’s

South Korea received a top rating in an environment, social and governance assessment conducted by US credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday. Moody’s has recently announced a list of 144 countries assessing their capabilities in handling ESG issues, with five classifications, including “positive” at the top and “very highly negative” at the bottom. Korea was one of 11 nations who rated &ldq

Jan. 19, 2021

Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb unloads stake in Shinyoung Securities

US-based investment adviser Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb has unloaded a 5.5 percent stake in Korea‘s brokerage house Shinyoung Securities, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday. The New York-based firm’s sales proceeds came to 30.4 billion won ($27.6 million) following decades of transactions involving its mutual funds, according to the filing. Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb’s ownership was reduced to 2.11 percent as of December 2020, making it no longer obliged to disclose itse

Jan. 19, 2021

AmCham expresses regret over Samsung chief’s jailing

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea expressed its discomfort over the recent detention of Lee Jae-yong, the chief of the country’s top conglomerate, Samsung Group. While respecting the court’s decision to put Lee behind bars for bribery, the business association cited the case as an example of a “Korea-unique” business hurdle for global business entities here. “Samsung is an important company with significant global leadership, which was why we were sad

Jan. 19, 2021

Lee jailing puts Samsung back in emergency mode

Samsung Electronics and its affiliates returned to an emergency posture on Tuesday, a day after an appellate court sentenced the conglomerate’s leader Lee Jae-yong to two years and six months in jail. Multiple sources at the country’s largest business group spoke of a somber mood, with many expressing regrets about the court’s decision and worries about the tech giant’s mid-term strategies. “Aside from day-to-day operations, the leader’s vacancy literally

Jan. 19, 2021

Hyundai, Kia Q4 operating profit jumps despite pandemic

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. are expected to post double-digit growth in their fourth-quarter operating profit, helped by robust domestic sales despite the coronavirus pandemic. Strong local demand for their vehicles helped Hyundai Motor and Kia offset their weak overseas sales in the October-December period, analysts said. Hyundai, the country's biggest carmaker, likely posted an operating profit of 1.71 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in the fourth quarter, up 37 percent from 1.24

Jan. 19, 2021

Dunamu introduces digital asset fear-greed index

Dunamu, a South Korean blockchain and fintech company, said Tuesday that it has developed an indicator that measures volatility of digital asset market to help investors make decisions. The digital asset fear-and-greed index reflects market sentiment in five different levels, from ”extreme fear“ to ”extreme greed.” The index gauges market volatility with trading price and transaction volume every five minutes.  “As many domestic digital asset investors use gl

Jan. 19, 2021

Boryung revs up anti-cancer drug production line at Yesan plant

Boryung Pharmaceutical announced it had begun full-fledged use of its Yesan plant and more emphasis on anti-cancer products. Boryung announced Tuesday that it had been producing plasma cell myeloma treatment Velkin from end-December at the Yesan plant, and is soon to send the bulk out to the market. Once the company gains EU good manufacturing practices certification, which the company is preparing to apply for this year, Boryung’s anti-cancer products will make their way to the global

Jan. 19, 2021

LG, Samsung washers favored by US Consumer Reports

Washing machines made by South Korea‘s LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics swept the top spots in a ranking by American consumer organization Consumer Reports, according to industry sources Tuesday. LG Electronics ranked first in the front-load washer, top-load agitator washer and top-load high-efficiency washer segments, becoming the first non-US firm to win three out of five washing machines categories in the ratings compiled by the organization. LG Electronics continued its stren

Jan. 19, 2021

PoongLim Pharmatech to begin mass production of COVID-19 vaccine syringes

PoongLim Pharmatech, a local medical device manufacturer, will produce 10 million syringes a month for COVID-19 vaccines, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Tuesday. The Gunsan, North Jeolla Province-based firm recently finished repurposing its factory as a smart manufacturing facility to produce a more efficient type of syringe, known as a low-dead-space syringe. It is designed to minimize the amount of fluid left between the plunger and needle after a shot. PoongLim’s syringe rec

Jan. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks rebound over 2% on auto gains

South Korean stocks jumped more than 2 percent Tuesday on stellar advances by auto-related shares, backed by expectations of improved earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 78.73 points, or 2.61 percent, to close at 3,092.66 points. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 23.8 trillion won ($21.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 737 to 124. Foreigners bought a net 412 billion won, while

Jan. 19, 2021

Korean lenders to muster up $3b for SK hynix’s global investment

A group of South Korean lenders pledged on Tuesday to earmark a combined $3 billion over the next five years to spur global investment into local semiconductor maker SK hynix as part of the nation’s bid to shore up growth of futuristic technology. South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said the lenders’ agreement with the country’s second-largest semiconductor chip manufacturer will pave the way for future economic development as the c

Jan. 19, 2021

Ministry vows to compensate for any vaccine side effects

The government will launch a joint monitoring and decision-making system with related agencies to provide a full compensation to those who experience side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. Along with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the ministry will set up the system to better respond to emergent cases and study correlations between vaccines and adverse reactions, as well as to make decisions on whether t

Jan. 19, 2021

Naver’s big data to be used for customs clearance

South Korea’s customs agency will use Naver’s big data for efficient customs clearance of direct purchases from foreign countries, officials said Tuesday. The Korea Customs Service and Naver signed a memorandum of understanding for applying product information stored on the online platform’s shopping unit to its customs procedures. The agreement was forged to effectively block entries of harmful products such as illegal drugs and medical supplies. “The MOU for a stra

Jan. 19, 2021