Surging US Treasury yields to affect global FX market: vice minister

The rising US Treasury yields has become a “key variable in the global foreign exchange market,” South Korea’s vice finance minister said Tuesday, nodding towards a stronger dollar trend that has rattled emerging market currencies. “When the 10-year US Treasury yield surpassed the 1 percent mark (earlier this month), the Euro, the Japanese Yen and the Chinese Yuan all dropped against the US greenback,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a macroeconomic fin

Jan. 19, 2021

CJ Logistics floated for vaccine distribution

As eyes turn toward the imminent start of COVID-19 inoculations, CJ Logistics has emerged as a candidate for vaccine distribution. CJ Logistics had been considered at a disadvantage, as it does not have an ultra-cold-chain storage like Korea SuperFreeze in Pyeongtaek. But recent reports have suggested it may still be in the running, as it has the widest network of distribution centers and vehicles. A company official who spoke to The Korea Herald said CJ would be able to handle vaccines as th

Jan. 19, 2021

[News Focus] Household debt up W516tr since 2015

SEJONG -- The year of 2020 is expected to record as one of the few years, where a fever of buying apartments and stocks by taking out financial loans swept over the nation. The phenomenon was triggered by skyrocketing real estate prices in the wake of a housing shortage and sharp rebound in the Kospi despite the still high infections of novel coronavirus. Though the fourth-quarter data has yet to be compiled, the figure for the January-September of last year is suggesting that more and more K

Jan. 19, 2021

Budget airline industry poised for major shakeup

South Korea’s budget airline industry is poised for a seismic change this year, with two new players ready to enter the competition amid a pandemic-induced market consolidation. Aero K, one of the two, is set to begin operations next month. “Our first Cheongju-Jeju flight is scheduled on Feb. 19 after receiving permission for the route from the Transport Ministry yesterday,” one Aero K official told The Korea Herald. Two round-trip Airbus A320 flights between Cheongju Airp

Jan. 19, 2021

Coupang offers up to 50% discount for 'global shopping day'

From Tuesday, Coupang is holding a two-day special promotion event, offering up to 50 percent discount on products purchased overseas and products directly imported by the e-commerce firm, the company said Tuesday. During the Jan 19-20 Global Shopping Day, time-limited discount will be provided at 11 a.m. every morning, where items like Samsung 55in Class 8 Series LED Smart Tizen TV, Fujifilm’s instant camera Instax, Ivory Aloe Cosmetic Soap, four-in-one Badger Green Classic Lip Balm 4-S

Jan. 19, 2021

SMEs' exports edge down in 2020 despite pandemic

South Korea's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports inch down in 2020 from a year earlier despite the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. SMEs' overseas shipments totaled $100.8 billion last year, down 0.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The decrease compared with a 6.7 percent decline in exports by middling and large companies. Smaller firms' exports accounted for 19.7 percent of South Korea's tota

Jan. 19, 2021

Regulator plans to review 40-year mortgages for young adults

Financial authorities plan to review mortgage loans with a maximum term of 40 years to help young people buy their first homes, officials said Tuesday. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo unveiled the plan at a time when surging home prices make it more difficult for young people to buy homes. This year, the FSC will study the plan to offer 30-year or 40-year mortgage loans and seek to begin a "trial" offering to sell such products, Eun said. The plan is aimed

Jan. 19, 2021

Doosan Mobility Innovation to expand presence in ship sailing control industry

Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI), a producer of portable fuel cell power packs for drones, said Tuesday that it has teamed up with the local shipbuilding and marine ICT provider Marineworks to develop a solution to control ships' sailing by using drones. The two companies will develop an electric marine chart system on the basis of video footage taken by DMI's hydrogen fuel cell-powered drones, which are capable of flying for more than two hours, DMI said. DMI said the system will allow ships

Jan. 19, 2021

S. Korea vows to speed up trade talks with Central, South America in 2021

South Korea's trade ministry vowed Tuesday to make more progress in expanding trade pacts with counterparts from Central and South America this year, in line with its efforts to diversify its export portfolio amid the growing protectionism around the globe. "It is important that we set a trade strategy for the Central and South American regions amid the growing uncertainties led by the launch of a new US administration and the rising protectionism," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and

Jan. 19, 2021

S. Koreans' spending on Netflix doubles in 2020: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent over 500 billion won ($454 million) on global video streaming service Netflix last year, doubling the amount tallied the previous year, data showed Tuesday. Local credit card payments on the video streaming service are estimated to have reached 517.3 billion won last year, compared to 248.3 billion won in 2019 and just 65.7 billion won in 2018, according to data tracker WiseApp. Based on the data, WiseApp said paid subscribers to Netflix stood at 4.1 m

Jan. 19, 2021

[Graphic News] Exports of fishery goods down 7.4% in 2020 amid pandemic fallout

　South Korea’s exports of fishery products moved down 7.4 percent on-year in 2020, data showed, as people around the globe refrained from dining out amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a weaker demand for tuna and other popular goods. 　Outbound shipments of fishery goods reached $2.3 billion last year, down from $2.5 billion posted in 2019, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. 　The decrease was largely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limi

Jan. 19, 2021

S. Korea to monitor market volatility amid widening bond yield spreads

South Korea will closely monitor a potential increase in volatility of the financial markets as the yield spread between short and long-term state bonds is increasing, the vice finance minister said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom also said rising US Treasury yields are serving as the main factor that has recently driven the dollar higher against major currencies. Yields on 10-year government bonds recently jumped on anticipation for an economic recovery and expected bond sa

Jan. 19, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on auto gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on strong advances by auto-related shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.02 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,023.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI rebounded on foreign and institutional buying. The key index slumped over 4 percent in total in the previous two sessions. Top automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 4.56 percent, with its smaller affiliates Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis hiking 4.9 percent and 4.95 percent, resp

Jan. 19, 2021

S. Korea's data industry grows 14% in 2020

South Korea's data industry expanded more than 14 percent in 2020 from a year earlier to exceed the 19 trillion won level, a survey showed Tuesday. The local market for data stood at 19.3 trillion won ($17.4 billion) last year, up 14.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the survey by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Data Agency. Last year's growth rate was much higher than the 8.3 percent on-year increase posted a year earlier. Data sales and provision accounted for the la

Jan. 19, 2021

S. Korean exports to Japan dip 11.7% in 2020 on pandemic

South Korean exports to Japan shrank nearly 12 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Overseas shipments to the neighboring country came to $25.09 billion last year, down 11.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Japan thus accounted for 4.9 percent of South Korea's overall exports last year, dropping below the 5 percent level for the first time in three years.

Jan. 19, 2021

Chaebol and prison: a quick look at chiefs who served jail terms

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for bribing former President Park Geun-hye on Monday, joining a long list of conglomerate owners who have been charged with a similar offense in the past. While Lee is the first Samsung chief to be imprisoned and has been sentenced twice -- in a retrial Monday as well as in February 2017 -- Lee Byung-chul, the late founder of Samsung Group, was similarly investigated though without being indicted. Lee Jae-yong’s late father

Jan. 18, 2021

Samsung Electronics launches smart tracking tag

Samsung Electronics will introduce a smart tracking tag this week to help users find lost items, the company announced Monday. Dubbed the Galaxy SmartTag, the product will go on sale here Tuesday for a retail price of 29,700 won, the company said. The brand-new Bluetooth tracker is designed to help users locate lost items such as their keys, phones, pets and anything that they could misplace. By attaching the dongle to your personal belongings, SmartTag will emit an alarm sound when you

Jan. 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Hard lessons from COVID-19 will equip Korea better for next pandemic

This interview is the second installment in a three-part series in conversations with the former directors of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- now the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency -- as the country looks back on a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. -- Ed. A former head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says South Korea weathered the novel coronavirus relatively unscathed in the initial stages, but that the winter serves as a reminder of

Jan. 18, 2021

Celltrion’s COVID drug given green light in 1st of 3-step review

Celltrion’s proposed COVID-19 treatment has won an OK in the first of the three-leg review by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the agency said Monday. The Korean drugmaker last week sought conditional use approval for its anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate regdanvimab, or CT-P59, becoming the first local firm to reach that stage in the race for a COVID-19 cure. A panel of experts, comprising eight outside experts and four from the ministry, advised that the auth

Jan. 18, 2021

Court ruling on Samsung heir adds to stock woes

South Korea’s stock market was dealt a further blow following a conviction of Samsung group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on Monday, with large-cap stocks posting bigger losses. This comes as a recent rally, largely driven by massive retail investor participation since late 2020, has been followed by a stock market correction in the last two trading days. 　 The Korea Exchange’s main board Kospi closed at 3,013.93 points, down 2.3 percent from Friday, despite retail investors’ c

Jan. 18, 2021