Ratio of sovereign wealth fund's alternative assets dips in 2019

South Korea's sovereign wealth fund cut the ratio of alternative assets to its total investments for the first time in 10 years in 2019, data showed Monday. Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) had alternative assets worth $24.5 billion under its management as of end-2019, or 15.6 percent of its total assets worth $157.3 billion, according to the KIC data presented for an annual parliamentary audit. The proportion was down 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier. As of end-August this year, the figur

Oct. 19, 2020

No deal looms between LG Chem and SK Innovation over trade secret case

LG Chem Ltd. and SK Innovation Co. -- South Korea's top two electric vehicle battery makers -- appear unlikely to produce a breakthrough in their high-stakes trade secret case over EV batteries ahead of next week's final ruling in the United States, industry officials said Monday.  A key issue is whether SK Innovation misappropriated and used EV battery trade secrets of its local rival as alleged by LG Chem.   In April last year, LG Chem filed a pair of lawsuits with the US Int

Oct. 19, 2020

Hyundai's Kona EV recall potential hurdle in electrification plan

Hyundai Motor Co.'s planned global recall of 77,000 Kona Electric vehicles may be a drag on the company's electrification plan, analysts said Monday. Hyundai Motor plans to voluntarily recall 77,000 Kona Electric models for a faulty battery cell component, as 14 cases of fires in the model -- 10 domestically and four overseas -- have been reported since 2018. The Kona Electrics manufactured between Sept. 29, 2019, and March 13, 2020, are subject to the recall as a possible short circuit in th

Oct. 19, 2020

Samsung Heavy succeeds in operating remote autonomous ship

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Monday it has successfully navigated its 300-ton remote autonomous ship. The 38-meter-long ship was operated in seas off Geoje Island, 398 kilometers south of Seoul, via a remote control system at a research center located in Daejeon, 250 kilometers away from the seas, Samsung Heavy said. The ship returned safely to a point of departure without the help of crew after reaching its destination, which was 10 kilometers away, the shipbuil

Oct. 19, 2020

Retail giants' sales dip over 2tr won this year amid pandemic: poll

Combined sales by South Korea's retail giants are estimated to have declined more than 2 trillion won ($1.75 billion) on-year in the first nine months of this year on the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll showed Monday. Industry leader Lotte Shopping and its rivals Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store are projected to have posted a combined 17.3 trillion won in sales in the January-September period, down 2.2 trillion won from the previous year, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax

Oct. 19, 2020

S. Korea eyes duty-free cap on overseas direct buying

South Korea may set an annual ceiling on duty-free direct purchases from foreign countries by its citizens starting in 2022, officials said Monday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) has recently broached the idea of setting a cap on the duty-free amount of South Koreans' overseas direct purchases in an effort to enliven domestic consumption. Currently, South Koreans are exempt from duties or value-added taxes if the price of an item bought directly from overseas is $150 or lower. There is no up

Oct. 19, 2020

S. Korea's national debt to jump over next 4 years: report

South Korea's national debt is expected to soar over the next four years, which may have a negative impact on the country's creditworthiness, a report said Monday. In particular, Seoul's interest-bearing state debt is likely to rocket nearly 78 percent over the period based on the government's 2020-24 fiscal management plan, the report from the Korea Institute of Public Finance (KIPF) said. According to the government plan, South Korea's debt that has to be repaid with tax revenues is forecast

Oct. 19, 2020

S. Korea to resume distribution of coupons for museums, theaters, sports facilities

The government will begin distribution of a series of discount coupons this week to spur consumption in the live performance, film and sports industries hit-hard by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday. From Thursday, the government will gradually provide discount coupons, starting with 40 percent discounts for entrance to museums, 1,000 won ($0.87) to 3,000 won discounts for art exhibitions and 8,000 won discount for performances, according to the authorities. For movies, booking

Oct. 18, 2020

South Korea’s trade dependency slips in 2019 amid sluggish reports

  South Korea saw its trade dependency level slip for the first time in three years in 2019, as its export volume dropped amid global factors, data showed Sunday. The country’s trade dependency index -- the total trade volume proportion out of the gross domestic product -- came to 63.51 percent, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service run by Statistics Korea. This was down 2.57 percent from a year earlier and the lowest since the 60.11 percent observed in 2016. The

Oct. 18, 2020

[News Focus] Online shopping turnover for cooked food up 82% on-year

SEJONG -- Home delivery or takeout services for cooked food have posted a remarkable increase over the past year amid fast expansion of delivery apps on smartphones as well as the social distancing in the wake of the novel coronavirus. 　 Online orders have surged in particular, according to data held by Statistics Korea: The monthly turnover of retailers selling packed dish via online shopping platforms reached 1.67 trillion won ($1.45 billion) collectively in August, setting a record high. T

Oct. 18, 2020

Korean Air seeks to sell assets to secure more cash

South Korea's top full service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. is seeking to raise an additional 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in cash to overcome a prolonged, industrywide slump amid the pandemic, industry sources said Sunday. Korean Air plans to sell a lot of land in downtown Seoul to the Seoul city government for at least 500 billion won and get a subsidy of 1 trillion won from the government within this year. Korean Air has been in negotiations with the city government to sell its land in

Oct. 18, 2020

S. Korea to resume discount coupon scheme to boost domestic consumption

South Korea, as of Sunday, has decided to resume its discount coupon program, after suspending it in mid-August due to a resurgence of the coronavirus, to invigorate domestic spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But concerns persist that the consumption scheme could again lead to a virus flare-up, alongside skepticism over its actual long-term effect on the economy. The scheme -- part of the government’s 90.4 billion-won ($76.2 million) domestic spending revitalization plan -- distribut

Oct. 18, 2020

Korean shippers tipped to see strong earnings in Q3

South Korean shippers, led by industry leader HMM Co., are forecast to post strong earnings in the third quarter of the year on the back of increased fare and a drop in fuel costs, industry sources said Sunday. "A gradual recovery in global maritime cargo volume pushed up global freight rates as the supply of cargo service fell short of rising demand," Jung Yeon-sung, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., said in his recent report. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Ind

Oct. 18, 2020

[Contribution] Green New Deal, a meaningful initiative to drive green economy

"Where does Korea stand in tackling climate change? Going forward, what path should we take next to ensure sustainable growth while Korea’s growth model has once led to a successful industrialization?" As I watched the global protest play out on the Global Day of Climate Action on Sept. 25, I found myself ruminating about Korea’s position in the global response to climate change which is so often condensed into the word "Green." In 2015, governments around the w

Oct. 18, 2020

Korean economy's trade reliance at 3-yr low: data

South Korea's reliance on trade reached the lowest in three years last year due to a slump in overseas sales, data showed on Sunday. According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the reliance on trade, measured by dividing the country's total trade by gross domestic product, stood at 63.51 percent last year, down 2.57 percentage points from a year earlier. The 2019 tally marks the lowest since 2016, when the comparable figure was 60.11 percent, the data showed. The country's reliance on

Oct. 18, 2020

Resurgence of COVID-19 drives unemployment to new high

South Korea shed nearly 400,000 jobs last month as a resurgence of coronavirus cases weighed on the labor market recovery, data showed Friday.  The number of employed people in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 27.01 million as of end-September, down 392,000 from a year earlier, according to the monthly employment data compiled by Statistics Korea. This latest on-year decline was the sharpest in four months, continuing the downward trend for a seventh consecutive month since Ma

Oct. 16, 2020

S. Korea's power sales hit 4-year low in Aug.

South Korea's electricity consumption fell to a four-year low in August in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and a long rainy season, data showed Friday. Power sales in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 44,599 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in August, down 6.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). The figure is the lowest industrial power consumption for August since the 44,412 GWh registered in the same month of 2016. It also r

Oct. 16, 2020

S. Korea to introduce multiple voting rights for non-listed venture startups

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister said Friday that the government plans to introduce multiple voting rights for non-listed venture startups to help shareholders strengthen their control over companies. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the scheme is aimed at encouraging venture startups to get major investment deals, while defending companies against hostile takeovers. The scheme could allow one stock to give 10 votes if a non-listed venture startup faces a hostile takeover. However

Oct. 16, 2020

Woori Bank sells AU$400m in bonds in Australia

Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Friday it has issued AU$400 million ($283 million) in bonds in Australia as part of efforts to help coronavirus-hit South Korean firms and finance eco-friendly projects. The three-year "Kangaroo" bonds come in two tranches -- floating-rate bonds worth AU$250 million and fixed-rate debt worth AU$150 million, the lender said. The floating-rate bonds carry an interest rate of 0.72 percentage point above the Australian bank bill swap rate, with t

Oct. 16, 2020

BOK chief vows soft monetary policy to bolster virus-hit economy

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will maintain a soft monetary policy to bolster the recovery of the South Korean economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the top central banker said Friday. "The BOK will keep its monetary policy accommodative to help the domestic economy bounce back," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at the start of an annual parliamentary audit of the central bank. In the process, the BOK will keep close tabs on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economies and financial

Oct. 16, 2020