Hyundai to halt local plant for 2 weeks for inventory adjustment

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will suspend one of its domestic plants for two weeks to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, from Wednesday through Jan. 6 due mainly to weak sales of the Sonata model, a company spokesman said. The sale of the Sonata sedan plunged 31 percent to 63,078 units from January to November compared with the same period of last yea

Dec. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks dip over 1.5% on virus concerns

South Korean stocks dipped more than 1.5 percent Tuesday after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high in the previous session, largely on concerns of the spreading COVID-19 cases at home and abroad. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 44.97 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 2,733.68. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 19.6 trillion won ($17.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 783

Dec. 22, 2020

Thom Browne to launch perfume line in Korea

US fashion brand Thom Browne said on Tuesday it will launch its perfume line in Korea. A total of six perfumes will be released, including “09.27.65 Eau de Parfum,” also known as Vetyver Absolute, and “09.27.65.01 Eau de Parfum,” which is also called the Vetyver and Cucumber. The fragrances contain a high concentration of Haitian Vetyver oil and its vetyver blend serves as the base signature of the products. The names reference designer Thom Browne’s birthday of

Dec. 22, 2020

KB Kookmin limits personal loan amount to W20m

KB Kookmin Bank, one of five major commercial banks here, has decided to cap the size of personal loans per household to 20 million won ($18,000), sources said Tuesday, marking a drastic move as local lenders have been tightening their grip on lending rules. KB Kookmin plans to maintain the new limit at least until the end of the year, industry sources said. The rule applies to any household that would apply for a new personal loan or seek to increase their loan balance from Tuesday to Dec. 31

Dec. 22, 2020

Retailers cash in on Christmas shopping amid pandemic

Retailers are in a final push for last-minute Christmas shopping in a year marred by the coronavirus pandemic. As the country grapples with a third wave of virus outbreaks, gatherings of five or more people are banned until early January in Seoul and surrounding areas. Despite the dampened mood, retail companies are trying to make the most of the situation, encouraging gift-giving as a way to celebrate the season safe from the virus. Shinsegae Department Store said Tuesday it would offer free

Dec. 22, 2020

[News Analysis] SsangYong Motor halts trading as bankruptcy court grants breather

Stocks of SsangYong Motor halted trading starting Tuesday as the cash-strapped automaker is now under bankruptcy court supervision and has effectively been given a three-month grace period before it enters court receivership. Eyes are on whether SsangYong Motor to avoid the court-led rehabilitation proceedings by soliciting a new investor in that time. On Monday, SsangYong Motor said it had applied for an autonomous restructuring support program, when filing for bankruptcy to Seoul Bankruptcy

Dec. 22, 2020

NH Financial nominates banking unit CEO as new chairman

NongHyup Financial Group has nominated Son Byung-hwan, CEO of its banking unit as the sole candidate for group chairman, officials said Tuesday. If the nomination is approved at a shareholders’ meeting slated for the end of month, Son is set to take the top post, which has been left vacant since late last month. Former Chairman Kim Kwang-soo resigned to serve as the new chief of the Korea Federation of Banks. Son was nominated for his expertise in digital finance as well as his leadershi

Dec. 22, 2020

Galaxy S21 renders draw attention with new camera module, color scheme

With less than a month left to the Samsung Galaxy S21 debut, leaks of renders of the first new phones of 2021 are raising expectations about remarkable changes brought to the Samsung devices. The leaks offered glimpses into some noticeable changes in the Galaxy S21 lineup, such as smaller camera cutouts and greater use of flat displays. While it has been widely known that the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the highest-end model among the lineup, would support the stylus S Pen as an option, the entry mo

Dec. 22, 2020

Producer prices stay flat in November

South Korea‘s producer prices were unchanged in November as a rise in prices of livestock and fishery goods was offset by falling prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.06 in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The flat reading marked a fresh indication of lackluster demand in South Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index fell 0.3 percent, the BOK data showed. In October, So

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea's service sector sales grow 2.2% in 2019

Sales of South Korea's service industry grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2019 due to weaker oil prices and consumer sentiment, government data showed Tuesday. Service sector sales came to 2,188 trillion won ($1.98 trillion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest growth rate since the 0.8 percent increase in 2013 and hovered well below the average annualized increase of 7.2 percent between 2009 and 2019 "In

Dec. 22, 2020

Insurance fraud claims rise 9.5% in H1

Fraudulent insurance claims rose 9.5 percent in terms of payments in the first half of this year, partly due to a rise in minor fraud by jobless people as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy, the financial regulator said Tuesday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), insurance scammers took a record 452.6 billion won ($409.4 million) through wrongful filings during the January-June period, up from 39.2 billion won a year earlier. The regulator detected 47,417 suspects in

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea to spend over W500b on biotech next year

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest 520 billion won ($468.7 million) in biotechnology next year as part of efforts to develop treatment and vaccines for COVID-19. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the figure represents a 24.9 percent hike from 2020. The ministry said it will spend 31.7 billion won on COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development next year and 10.2 billion won to acquire technology to respond to new infectious diseases. For research into new core biotech industries, the mi

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea's tech trade at record high last year: data

South Korea's technology trade reached an all-time high of $31.6 billion last year, up 10.1 percent from 2018, government data showed Tuesday. Technology trade refers to the country's international technology transactions, such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, as opposed to tech products, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The ICT ministry said outbound technology transfers amounted to $13.8 billion last year, compared with imports of $17.9 billion, leading to

Dec. 22, 2020

Korea Shipbuilding wins W607.2b LNG ship order in Panama

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., the world's leading shipbuilding group, said Tuesday it has received a 607.2 billion-won ($549 million) liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship order in Panama. Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., one of three shipbuilding affiliates of the holding company, will build the three LNG carriers for an unidentified shipper in Panama by September 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing. Two other shipbuilding affiliates are Hyundai Heavy Industries C

Dec. 22, 2020

Exports of key products forecast to grow 12% in 2021: biz body

Exports of South Korea's key industries are expected to grow nearly 12 percent in 2021 thanks to economic rebounds in major economies, a business body said Tuesday. The Korea Industry Alliance Forum (KIAF) projected overseas shipments of chips, automobiles and nine other major business sectors to expand 11.9 percent on-year to $422.2 billion next year. Annualized growth forecasts are 14 percent for ships, 10.3 percent for automobiles, 6.4 percent for machinery and 3.9 percent for electronics.

Dec. 22, 2020

SK Telecom to develop pandemic-fighting AI with Samsung and Kakao

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday it has partnered with Samsung Electronics Co. and Kakao Corp., the country's top mobile messenger operator, to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The telecom operator said the three companies formed a joint research and development group to develop and unveil the AI, which will offer preventative advice against COVID-19 infections, by early next year. According to SK Telecom,

Dec. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors are wary of COVID-19 that is spreading at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,770.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. Global recovery hopes weakened over the new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, reportedly up to 70 percent more transmissible than the or

Dec. 22, 2020

Kia union OKs tentative 2020 wage deal amid pandemic

Kia Motors Corp.'s union has agreed on a tentative wage deal for the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the company said Tuesday. Kia's 30,000-strong union tentatively accepted the company's proposals, including 1 1/2 months of merit-based remuneration, 1.2 million won ($1,080) in special COVID-19 allowance and 1.5 million won in gift certificates per person, instead of freezing wages for the year, the company said in a statement. The company also agreed to restore the 25-minute extra

Dec. 22, 2020

Insurers' lending rises 2% in Q3

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 2 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 245.8 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 4.9 trillion won from the end of June, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households increased by 1.5 trillion won to 121.6 trillion won in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companie

Dec. 22, 2020

SsangYong Motor files for court receivership

Cash-strapped SsangYong Motor on Monday filed for court receivership, after failing to pay back about 165 billion won ($149.5 million) worth of debts to its creditor banks. In a statement, the automaker said its executive board has made the decision to apply for corporate rehabilitation and related documents were submitted to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court in the afternoon. “We are truly sorry to worry all interested parties, financial institutes and employees at this time when the world

Dec. 21, 2020