Samsung tipped to top smartphone production in 2021: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to remain the world's top smartphone producer this year, a report showed Tuesday, though its market share is likely to go down as other brands will ramp up production with the recovery of mobile demand. Global smartphone production was projected to increase 9 percent on-year to 1.36 billion units in 2021, according to market researcher TrendForce, which predicted that device replacement demand and growth in emerging markets will lead to gradual recovery of th

Jan. 5, 2021

Rapidly aging population raises alarm over tax revenues: study

If the aging population continues to rise, the ratio of value-added taxes to the nation’s gross domestic product will sharply drop, raising calls for the government’s tax rises to meet the costs of supporting the economy, a recent study showed Tuesday. A value-added tax is a type of indirect tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services by the government, with the purpose of raising funds to operate public programs, including construction of social infrastructures or soci

Jan. 5, 2021

LG Display's OLED panel wins eye protection certification

LG Display Co., the world's leading large size OLED panel maker, said Tuesday its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV panel has received an eye protection certification for low blue light emission. Its OLED display became the industry's first TV panel to win an accreditation from Eyesafe, a US-based eye protection certification agency, according to LG Display. Eyesafe developed standards for eye protection in cooperation with TUV Rheinland AG, a German technical test service and certificati

Jan. 5, 2021

Victorinox Rescue Tool to deal with black ice encounters

With icy cold weather hitting regions across the country, concerns are rising about increased car accidents on black ice. To be prepared for emergencies, Victorinox presented its Rescue Tool, a continuation of its flagship Swiss Army Knife series that boasts 15 tools useful in such situations. According to the knife manufacturer and luxury watchmaker on Tuesday, among the tools are a one-handed serrated locking blade for precise cutting, a seatbelt cutter in case the user becomes entangled and

Jan. 5, 2021

Online shopping hits record high in Nov. amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in November as more people bought products via e-commerce platforms amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in November, up 17.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The use of online shopping increased amid the protracted pandemic as people refrained from visiting offline stores on concerns about infection risks.

Jan. 5, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins W900b container-ship order

Major shipbuilder Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Tuesday it has obtained a 900 billion-won ($823 million) order from an Asian shipper to build six container ships. The vessels will start being delivered in the first half of 2023, Korea Shipbuilding said in an emailed statement. Of the six 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers, four will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, and the other two will be construc

Jan. 5, 2021

Celim Biotech brand ‘Atomu’ received 14th Korea Excellent Patent Award

Celim Biotech’s brand Atomu won a patent award in the Household and Cosmetics category at the 14th Korea Excellent Patent Award held December 2020. The Korea Excellent Patent Award was hosted by Hankook Ilbo and sponsored by the Korea Institute of Patent Information and Korea Intellectual Property Strategy Agency, to promote domestic patent technology and foster products and companies, eventually securing competitiveness in the market. Around 400 companies have applied for the competit

Jan. 5, 2021

Samsung, LG to show off customized home appliances at CES

South Korea's two electronics giants, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., will highlight products with enhanced customized features at the world's largest tech expo next week, industry insiders said Tuesday, signaling they will have a fierce competition in the home appliance market this year. Samsung announced Tuesday it will showcase its upgraded BESPOKE refrigerator and artificial intelligence-supported washers and dryers at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, which is set

Jan. 5, 2021

S. Korea's farm goods exports hit record high in 2020

South Korea's exports of agriculture products reached an all-time high of $7.57 billion last year on the back of strong demand for kimchi and processed foods, data showed Tuesday. The record amount represents a 7.7 percent rise from the previous year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By category, outbound shipments of fresh products rose 3.4 percent on-year to $1.43 billion. Those of processed goods also increased 8.8 percent to hit $6.14 billi

Jan. 5, 2021

Finance minister, BOK chief warn of 'one-sided' cash flow

South Korea's top economic policymaker and the chief of the central bank said Tuesday that more prudent risk management is necessary as much of the idle money is flowing into assets, such as property and stocks. "The financial market showed stability in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are growing concerns over the growing gap between the real economy and the financial sector," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a message for the new year to financial firms. "More

Jan. 5, 2021

Hyundai to build hydrogen fuel cell plant in China: sources

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker, will build its first overseas hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in China as it seeks to enter the local hydrogen market, industry sources said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor aims to build the hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in Guangzhou within this year as it has recently obtained government approval for the investment plan, a person familiar with the matter said over the phone. "Hyundai Motor is in talks with a Chinese company to form a joint compan

Jan. 5, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on virus concerns, profit-taking

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses over jitters from the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.28 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,942.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a muted start, with the global coronavirus infections exceeding 85 million and the new COVID-19 variant spreading concerns in major economies. Investors' desire for profits also increased after a five-session record-

Jan. 5, 2021

Celltrion to release clinical study data of COVID-19 treatment next week

South Korea's pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. is expected to release the outcome of its second phase clinical study of anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment later this month, company officials said Tuesday. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is currently reviewing conditional approval of CT-P59, also known as Regdanvimab, a move that could potentially lead to manufacturing and sales of the first homegrown treatment. This submission was based on the data from the global phase

Jan. 5, 2021

Spending on alcohol, tobacco hits record high in Q3 amid pandemic

South Koreans' spending on liquor and cigarettes reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Tuesday. Local households spent 4.3 trillion won ($3.96 billion) on alcohol and cigarettes in the July-September period, up 6.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. It represents the largest quarterly figure since 1970, when the central bank began tracking related data. The on-year increase is the h

Jan. 5, 2021

S. Korean shipyards tipped to take No. 1 spot in new orders in 2020

South Korean shipbuilders are expected to take the top spot in new global shipbuilding orders for 2020 despite the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Tuesday. Local shipyards' new orders came to 7.98 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) as of Dec. 28 last year, ranking first worldwide, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. Chinese shipbuilders came in second with 6.73 million CGTs. Global new orders totaled 17.92 million CGTs

Jan. 5, 2021

SK Biopharm shares slump as lock-up expires

SK Biopharmaceuticals shares plummeted as much as 10 percent Monday as almost 5 million shares were released after a lock-up period. Shares in the pharmaceutical company declined 8.58 percent to close at 154,500 won ($142) after plunging as much as 10 percet during trade as the last batch of shares that were locked in after the initial public offering were freed to the market. The benchmark Kospi rose 2.47 percent to 2,944.45 points on Monday.  Over 4.9 million additional shares held by

Jan. 4, 2021

Stock rally nears turning point as Kospi market cap tops W2,000tr

Stock analysts began to look for signs that the current bull market will end its run, as stocks in South Korea got started the year strongly on Monday, setting yet another all-time high on the first trading day of 2021. The Korea Exchange’s main board, the Kospi, closed at 2,944.45 points on Monday, up 2.5 percent from the previous close. The combined market capitalization of the Kospi’s 916 constituents, including electronics giant Samsung Electronics, exceeded 2,028.3 trillion wo

Jan. 4, 2021

[News Focus] Lee puts compliance 1st in ‘new Samsung’ vision

For Samsung, South Korea’s No. 1 business empire, 2021 could be a year of historic changes under its third-generation leader, if things turn out as the company hopes. Amid adverse conditions expected out in the market under the unending pandemic, the biggest Korean tech giant appears to be bracing for more internal and fundamental changes in response to the needs of the time, amid a court verdict on its de-factor chief, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. On behalf of the

Jan. 4, 2021

Businesses look beyond pandemic to a year of market upheavals

After a year of unprecedented crisis brought on by the pandemic, South Korean businesspeople were realigning themselves for the new year, tense over continuing market disturbances. In their respective New Year’s addresses, conglomerate chiefs all predicted that the market will face an accelerated transformation this year in response to post-coronavirus new norms. The most hopeful was the electronics industry, including the country’s No. 1 tech giant, Samsung Electronics, which has

Jan. 4, 2021

K bank upgrades mobile app for tailored services

K bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank, said Monday that it had revamped its mobile application to provide tailored services to its customers. Designed as a personal finance platform, the app operates an open banking system that allows users to transfer and withdraw money from accounts registered at separate banking institutions. Once a customer logs in, the main page of the K bank app displays the list of all accounts held by that customer. Customers can also personalize the

Jan. 4, 2021