Samsung Display unveils new OLED trademark

Samsung Display applied for a trademark for its Samsung OLED brand in 43 nations, in an attempt to stake out its leading position in the organic light-emitting diode market that is entering maturity. “The new brand logo serves to clearly present our brand identity and superior technology as a leading player in the OLED market as it shifts over to maturity,” said Baek Jee-ho, vice president of strategic marketing for small and medium displays at Samsung Display. “From hereon,

Jan. 7, 2021

Finance Ministry vows to beef up monitoring of excess liquidity

Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom vowed on Thursday to strengthen monitoring on swelling of liquidity spilled over to the country’s asset markets amid concerns over the stock market’s sharp pandemic-era rally. Buoyed by fiscal stimulus and relief packages provided during the COVID-19 crisis management procedure, the abundant liquidity has flown into the stock and real estate markets to the point where the government is beginning to worry whether the real economy could catch up.

Jan. 7, 2021

FSS to inspect Samsung Securities for allegedly breaching capital market rules

The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service will launch a three-week comprehensive inspection of Samsung Securities on Monday, officials said Thursday. The comprehensive inspection on the nation’s leading brokerage will be the first of its kind since April 2018, when the firm was under FSS inspection over a dividend fiasco in which it mistakenly paid stocks to employees as dividends instead of cash dividends. During the planned inspection, the financial authorities will mainly look

Jan. 7, 2021

Korean Air unveils redesigned official website and app

Korean Air on Thursday unveiled its redesigned official website and mobile app, enabling customers to access the cheapest tickets for any given date or destination. The “cart saving” feature will allow customers to save details when they decide to leave the website during the process of booking so that they can come back and continue the process later. The revamped mobile app dubbed “Korean Air My” has adopted a simpler design and made main services more accessible, the

Jan. 7, 2021

Korean firms ready to showcase products for 'new normal' pandemic era at all-digital CES 2021

South Korean firms, anchored by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., will focus on showcasing new innovations that can make people's lives better in the new normal era of the pandemic at the upcoming global tech expo, industry insiders said Thursday, as they prepare for online exhibition to global audiences. This year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will take place from Monday to Thursday and will be held online for the first time due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. More than

Jan. 7, 2021

S. Korea to invest over W250b in AI, software education in 2021

South Korea's ICT ministry said Thursday it will invest 262.6 billion won ($242 million) to foster education in artificial intelligence (AI) and software this year as part of the country's digital New Deal program that seeks to boost jobs in new tech industries. South Korea last year unveiled the digital New Deal, which aims to spend 58.2 trillion won on key tech investments, such as AI, to create around 900,000 jobs by 2025. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it plans to educate around 16,0

Jan. 7, 2021

Households' excess funds rise in Q3 amid pandemic

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies rose in the third quarter of last year due mainly to an increase in stock investments, the central bank said Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 30.7 trillion won ($28.2 billion) in the July-September period, up from 16.6 trillion won a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the

Jan. 7, 2021

Exports of fishery goods down 7.4% in 2020 on pandemic fallout

South Korea's exports of fishery products moved down 7.4 percent on-year in 2020, data showed Thursday, as people around the globe refrained from dining out amid the new coronavirus pandemic, leading to 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 the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The decrease was largely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, whic

Jan. 7, 2021

Sale of 3 midsized shipbuilders in final stage

The sale of South Korea's three midsized shipbuilders is in the final stage despite concerns that they may have trouble in finding viable investors due to a slump in the shipbuilding industry and the COVID-19 outbreak. The midsized shipbuilders -- Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and Daesun Shipbuilding Engineering Co. -- were put up for sale last year due to their financial trouble since the 2008 global financial crisis. Creditors of Daesun S

Jan. 7, 2021

Bitcoin tops W40m in S. Korea for 1st time

Bitcoin topped 40 million won ($36,800) per unit for the first time in South Korea on Thursday, a local cryptocurrency exchange said. Bitcoin was trading at 40.9 million won as of 8:58 a.m., up 6.94 percent from the previous day, according to local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. It just took 11 days for the cryptocurrency to top the 40 million-won mark after it broke the 30 million-won threshold on Dec. 27, 2020. The bitcoin price jumped 380 percent compared with a year earlier. The bull ru

Jan. 7, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight Wall Street gains that were largely generated by the Democrats' control of the US Senate. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 44.46 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,012.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks gained ground amid expectations that the US political paradigm shift would help increase spending to stimulate the world's largest economy and benefit its export-driven trade partners. Market bellwe

Jan. 7, 2021

S. Korea to focus on financial stability amid concerns over asset market boom

South Korea's vice finance minister vowed Thursday to strengthen financial stability this year amid concerns that idle money is excessively flowing into asset markets. Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made the remarks amid mounting worries that only asset markets, such as property and stock markets, are booming even as economic slumps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have continued. "Authorities are facing the task of closely managing liquidity that has sharply increased in the process

Jan. 7, 2021

Samsung unveils new vision for TVs focusing on accessibility, sustainability

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled a new vision for its TV business as the world's largest TV vendor vows to improve accessibility and sustainability with its latest products and services. Under the vision of "Screens everywhere, Screens for all," the South Korean tech giant said the company will go environmentally friendly with its TV business operations and allow more people to comfortably enjoy their viewing experience as it introduced the 2021 portfolio. "During th

Jan. 7, 2021

Samsung unveils 2021 TV lineup with new Neo QLED TV

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled its 2021 TV lineup, including a new Neo QLED TV using mini LED technology, as the South Korean tech giant looks to defend its status as the world's leading TV vendor. Samsung's Neo QLED TV made its debut at the First Look event ahead of Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, along with new models of Micro LED and Lifestyle TVs. Samsung said the Neo QLED TV takes its flagship QLED TV to "the next level," as it uses new light source, Quantum

Jan. 7, 2021

S. Korean steelmakers' earnings forecast to perk up in Q1

South Korean steelmakers are expected to see their earnings bounce back in the first quarter of the year on a recovery in demand and rising prices, analysts said Thursday. The rosy outlook represents a stark turnaround from their dismal performances last year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has sent global demand for steel products sinking. According to a Yonhap News analysis of securities firms' forecasts, leading steelmaker Posco is projected to register an operating profit of 9

Jan. 7, 2021

Major foreign IBs revise up S. Korea's 2021 growth outlook

Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have slightly raised their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth for 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Thursday. As of end-December, nine major global IBs, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, forecast the South Korean economy to grow 3.4 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from their median outlook offered a month earlier, according to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance. Seven IBs -- Barclays, BoA-Me

Jan. 7, 2021

Kia Motors unveils new logo, brand slogan

South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Motors unveiled a new logo and a brand slogan on Wednesday, as the company aims to transform its image to one of future mobility. The new logo and the slogan, which is “Movement that inspires,” comes as part of the automaker’s mid- and long-term strategy announced last year, which outlines the automaker’s plans to become a leading firm in the future mobility industry, the company said. “The new logo symbolizes Ki

Jan. 6, 2021

Government to spend over W26tr on housing stabilization

The government will spend over 26 trillion won ($23.9 billion) to develop new towns and build infrastructure in the first half of the year in a bid to curb soaring housing prices, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki unveiled detailed plans for a government-led 110 trillion won investment project program that will be carried out throughout the year by public agencies, state-run firms and private companies. “The investment project will center on housing s

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea has ‘no plans’ to raise fuel taxes, cut inheritance tax

South Korea’s Finance Ministry said Wednesday that it has no plans to raise taxes on gasoline and diesel this year, despite its vows to go carbon neutral by 2050, and hinted that it will likely maintain the inheritance tax at its current level. In a briefing on the revised taxation rules previously announced in July, Im Jae-hyun, a senior official at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the government “currently has no plans to adjust the transportation-energy-environment tax

Jan. 6, 2021

Ford Korea rolls out New Ford Explorer Platinum

Ford’s popular Explorer sports utility vehicle is to return with upgrades to its powertrain and design, Ford Sales and Service Korea said Wednesday. The automaker said it was rolling out the New Ford Explorer Platinum, with functions enhanced from the Explorer 2.3 Limited. The New Ford Explorer is equipped with 3.0-liter Ecoboost V6 gasoline engine that puts out up to 370 horsepower and a maximum torque of 54 kilogram-meters. The carmaker has fully digitized the 12.3-inch cockpit a

Jan. 6, 2021