Korea’s economy shrinks 1% in 2020

South Korea’s economy shrank 1 percent in 2020 from the previous year, due to blows dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic, marking its first contraction since it was hit by the devastating 1997 Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago, the central bank said Tuesday. The 1 percent contraction in the country’s gross domestic product was slightly better than the Bank of Korea’s earlier projection of minus 1.1 percent in November, its advanced data showed. Yet, it was one of its

Jan. 26, 2021

Samsung heir urges employees to keep Samsung going

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in another message from prison, asked the company’s executives and employees to carry on with planned investments. Samsung’s three CEOs -- Kim Ki-nam, Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk -- wrote on the company’s intranet, Samsung Knox, on behalf of Lee, conveying the heir’s message to the employees. “To my Samsung family, I regret that I have caused worries because of my shortcomings,” Lee said. “Samsung fac

Jan. 26, 2021

KRX chief to reform short-selling regulations for ordinary investors

The chief of South Korea’s sole bourse operator on Tuesday pledged to strengthen pre-to-post management of short-selling -- a strategy of borrowing, selling and repurchasing stocks to return them to the lender -- and reform unfair systems and practices on the matter. The nation’s financial watchdog previously announced it would be resuming short-selling from March 16, after first introducing a temporary ban in March last year, as the pandemic impact rattled the stock market. Local p

Jan. 26, 2021

Live commerce catches on as retailers focus on online shopping

South Korean retailers are rushing to tap the emerging new trend of live commerce, which combines streaming and e-commerce. Hyundai Home Shopping said on Monday it aims to reach 100 billion won ($90.5 million) in sales from its live commerce channel this year, after their latest data showed sales jumped fivefold last year. Sales generated from the company’s live commerce business in 2020 reached 28.5 billion won, up nearly 500 percent from 5 billion won in 2019, according to their latest

Jan. 26, 2021

Biz sentiment edges up for Feb. on eased uncertainty: poll

South Korea's business sentiment inched up for February from a month earlier on decreased economic uncertainty, a poll showed Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 96.6 for next month, up 4.9 points from January, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. KERI said the February confidence got a boost from

Jan. 26, 2021

Population mobility at 5-year high in 2020 amid rising housing transactions

The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country hit a five-year high last year as housing transactions increased amid rising home prices, data showed Tuesday. The number of people who changed their residences gained 8.9 percent on-year to 7.74 million in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest since 2015, when the number of such people came to 7.76 million. It also represented the fastest on-year increase since 1999. The populati

Jan. 26, 2021

Bourse operator to boost consumer trust, short selling system: KRX chief

South Korea's bourse operator said Tuesday it is willing to raise financial consumers' trust by strengthening monitoring of suspicious trading transactions and improving short selling regulations. The increase in the number of investors has raised people's standard for the local market, requiring a higher level of protection and fairness, Korea Exchange (KRX) Chairman Sohn Byung-doo said in an online press conference held in Seoul. "We are open to hearing different voices to reasonably ov

Jan. 26, 2021

Imprisoned Samsung heir apologizes to employees, asks them to keep up their work

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, has expressed an apology to his employees following his imprisonment as he asked workers to maintain their work despite his absence, officials here said Tuesday. Lee was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was put behind bars again less than three years after he was allowed to walk free. In a me

Jan. 26, 2021

7 steelmakers fined W300b over price collusion

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine seven steelmakers a combined 300 billion won ($272 million) for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers rigged prices and timing to buy the key material between 2010 and 2018, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). It marked the fourth-largest amount of fines levied by the regulator

Jan. 26, 2021

Imported commercial car sales fall 6.9% in 2020

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 6.9 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on lower demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 4,482 units last year from 4,812 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. KAIDA expects the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. Imported commercial ca

Jan. 26, 2021

BMW Korea to spend W60b on logistics center

BMW Group Korea said Tuesday it will invest 60 billion won ($54 million) until 2023 in expanding its local logistics center. The logistics center in Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, will be able to accommodate about 18,000 vehicles, up from the current 11,000 with the expansion, the company said in a statement. BMW said it will continue to increase investment here to meet customers' demands and boost sales. The German carmaker said it will establish the infrastructure at the logistics center

Jan. 26, 2021

S. Korea logs trade surplus of over $60b with FTA partners in 2020

South Korea posted a trade surplus of more than $60 billion with its free trade agreement (FTA) partners last year amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The country's exports to FTA partners fell 3.9 percent on-year to $383.1 billion and imports declined 1.3 percent to $323 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. This resulted in a trade surplus of $60.3 billion last year, down 15.7 percent from a year earlier. In contrast, South Korea posted a trade deficit of

Jan. 26, 2021

S. Korea to invest W28b in R&D projects for eco cars

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest nearly 28 billion won ($25.3 million) in research and development (R&D) projects for eco-friendly automobiles and self-driving technologies in line with the country's green energy drive. The country plans to allocate 13.4 billion won for research projects for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell cars, along with 14.5 billion won for self-driving systems, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget will be spent on a wide a

Jan. 26, 2021

Samsung Heavy wins W230b container carrier order

Major shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a 229 billion won ($208 million) deal with an Oceania company to build two container carriers. Under the deal with an unidentified customer, the vessels will be delivered by December 2022, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The container carrier can load up to 13,000 20-foot containers, the company said. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has clinched deals worth $400 million so far this year. (Yonhap)

Jan. 26, 2021

Flurry of IPOs on horizon to join stock rally

It will be another busy year for initial public offerings in South Korea as a slew of companies are rushing to debut on the local stock market amid a stock rally and strong appetite from retail investors, analysts said Tuesday. Companies ranging from bio, battery makers, fintech to games are set to go public in 2021, following a string of successful IPOs last year driven by ample liquidity. The IPO market in Asia's fourth-largest economy could raise a record amount of money this year, analysts

Jan. 26, 2021

LG releases new air conditioner with upgraded design, hygiene features

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, released a new air conditioner with upgraded design and hygiene features Tuesday as the company aims to increase sales amid the pandemic. The LG Whisen Tower comes with the company's new design for standing air conditioners that highlights minimal aesthetics after combining characteristics from its luxury brand LG SIGNATURE and its customizable home appliance line LG Objet Collection. It is LG's first standing air conditioner in

Jan. 26, 2021

S. Korea to remove import duties on eggs this week amid supply shortage

South Korea said Tuesday it will temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products this week in an effort to ease a supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. The Cabinet approved a revised regulation that will allow local firms to import a total of 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until June 30. The move will be effective starting Wednesday. Currently, duties of 8-30 percent are levied on imported egg products. The move came as t

Jan. 26, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as foreign and institutional investors sought to cash in profits after the key stock index hit its all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 12.9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,196.09 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics shed 1.01 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 2.59 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem fell 0.61 percent, while rechargeable battery maker Samsung SD

Jan. 26, 2021

Samsung Display develops low-power OLED panel for smartphones

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has developed a low-power consumption organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel for smartphones. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. said the latest OLED display reduces power consumption up to 16 percent compared with its previous smartphone panels. The new OLED panel is already being used in Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone unveiled earlier this month, it added. OLED displays do not require a separate light

Jan. 26, 2021

State power firms forecast to log big losses in 2021

South Korea's five state power companies are projected to post large losses this year due to a government push to reduce dependence on coal for electricity generation and low electricity prices, their internal documents showed Tuesday. The five firms -- Korea South-East Power Co., Korea Midland Power Co., Korea Western Power Co., Korea Southern Power Co. and Korea East-West Power Co. -- are predicted to register a combined loss of 1.3 trillion won ($1.18 billion) this year, according to their 2

Jan. 26, 2021