S. Korean drug firms enjoy bumper year in 2020 despite pandemic

Major South Korean drug and biopharmaceutical companies saw their sales surge in 2020 from a year earlier despite the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Monday. Eleven local pharmaceutical companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy, including Green Cross Corp. and biopharmaceutical behemoth Celltrion Inc., registered sales of more than 1 trillion won ($910 million) last year. The remainder are Kolmar Korea Co., Celltrion Healthcare Co., Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp., Yuhan Corp.

Feb. 22, 2021

2 concrete pipe producers fined W313m over price collusion

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to fine two small concrete pipe producers a combined 313 million won ($282,000) for colluding to fix prices of industrial pipes. Buyang Industry Co. and Shinhung Hume Pipe Co. colluded to fix their quotations between  2012 and 2016 for 38 rounds of concrete pipe purchase bidding put forward by government agencies and public firms, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KTFC). The deals were worth an estimated 10.6 billion

Feb. 21, 2021

Cargo handling at seaports down 1.6% in Jan.

The amount of cargo processed at South Korea's seaports moved down 1.6 percent in January from a year earlier amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The volume of cargo handled at local sea ports came to 128.9 million tons last month, compared with 131 million tons posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo also shrank 1 percent on-year to 111.1 million tons last month. The ministry attributed

Feb. 21, 2021

S. Korea to introduce contact-free boarding at airports

Contactless, airport check-in systems will be set up across the country by next year, South Korea’s Vice Finance Minister said on Friday, in a bit to digitalize the nation’s social infrastructure. “By 2022, (the government) will implement a contactless check-in system at 15 airports across the nation, which automatically confirms identification of passengers via biometric data, in order to increase convenience of residents using local airports,” Vice Finance Minister K

Feb. 19, 2021

S. Korea's overseas financial assets touch new high in 2020

South Korea's overseas financial assets hit a new high in 2020, mainly due to increased stock investments, central bank data showed Friday. The nation's external financial assets came to $1.93 trillion at the end of December last year, up $236.3 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The net international investment position came to $441.4 billion as of the end of December, down $59.5 billion from a year earlier, the data showed. The position

Feb. 19, 2021

S. Korea closely watching prices of food, oil

South Korea is closely monitoring rising prices of agricultural and oil products, the vice finance minister said Friday, amid concerns that inflation may pick up amid an economic slowdown. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said the government plans to draw up measures to respond to a potential surge in such prices, if needed. "Not only prices of agricultural and livestock products but also those of raw materials, including crude oil and nonferrous metal, have continued to stay fir

Feb. 19, 2021

Economic uncertainty persists amid protracted pandemic: finance ministry

The South Korean economy faces lingering uncertainty as domestic demand and the job market remain sluggish amid a flare-up in new coronavirus cases, the finance ministry said Friday. The manufacturing sector and investment are improving amid robust exports, but the service segment is suffering setbacks amid the third wave of the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "The real economy faces persistent uncertainty as domestic demand remains sluggish and job data point

Feb. 19, 2021

Gold prices hit 10-month low on hope of economic recovery

Gold prices in South Korea hit a 10-month low as hope of an economic recovery has made the bullion less attractive, data showed Friday. A gram of gold changed hands at 63,900 won ($57.7) on the domestic market Friday, down 0.48 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. It marked the lowest price since April 6 last year, when the price stood at 63,780 won. The closing prices were also down 20.22 percent from an all-time high of 80,100 won per gram recorded on July 28

Feb. 19, 2021

Producer prices rise 0.9% in January

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.9 percent on month in January, supported by a modest rise in prices of farm goods and energy, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 104.88 in January, compared with 103.90 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index gained 0.8 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods gained 7.9 percent on-month in January, compared with

Feb. 19, 2021

South Korea to continue financial support for business hit by pandemic

South Korea’s Finance Minister said Thursday that the details of the COVID-19 financial support programs nearing their expiration will be “decided by early March,” indicating the government’s willingness to continue the programs. “The details of all the financial sector’s loan programs regarding its extension of maturities and delay of interest payments will be decided by early March,” Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said ahead o

Feb. 18, 2021

[News Focus] Gyeonggi housing prices in continuous spiral of climb

SEJONG -- Housing prices in many satellite cities around Seoul posted a growth of more than 5 percent in 10 weeks, with price increases in some cities surging 10 percent. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, Seongnam’s Bundang-gu saw the average trading price of homes climb by 9.5 percent from 31.97 million won ($28,800) per 3.3 square meters on Nov. 27, 2020 to 35.04 million ($31,600) on Feb. 5, 2021. This means the average price of an 84-square-meter house, a popular size among

Feb. 18, 2021

Corporate M&As down 53.1% in 2020

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday that the value of corporate mergers and acquisitions declined 53.1 percent on-year last year due largely to a lack of mega deals. Corporate deals were valued at 210.2 trillion won ($190 billion) last year, compared with 448.4 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). But the total number of corporate mergers and takeovers rose 12.9 percent on-year to 865 last year, it added. Under the country's fair trade

Feb. 18, 2021

Households' income from wage, biz operations dips for 3rd quarter in Q4 amid pandemic

South Korean households' income earned through wages and business operations fell for the third straight quarter in the fourth quarter of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The average household earned 5.16 million won ($4,670) per month in the October-December period, up 1.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But household income earned through wages and business operations declined for the third consecutive quarter

Feb. 18, 2021

S. Korea's power consumption up 6.1% in Jan.

South Korea's electricity consumption climbed more than 6 percent in January from a year earlier due to a severe cold wave, data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 49.89 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in January, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Power Exchange. The exchange said the solid increase resulted from the cold wave and more working days in spite of the business slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the avera

Feb. 18, 2021

S. Korea's chicken exports hit new high in 2020

South Korea's chicken exports touched a new high in 2020 amid growing worldwide demand for ready-to-eat products and the popularity of Korean pop culture, a report showed Thursday. Overseas shipments of processed chicken came to $21 million last year, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). KITA said the jump came as exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or "samgyetang," and chicken breast spiked due

Feb. 18, 2021

Selective relief handouts more effective than universal program: OECD chief

The head of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development said Wednesday that targeted support programs for low-income earners and small businesses will be more effective tool for South Korea to counter the economic fallouts from the coronavirus pandemic than a universal provision of relief funds. “Targeted support measures on those who need it most will have greater multiplier effects, imparting a greater boost to private consumption compared to across-the-board support to

Feb. 17, 2021

Housing prices cooling after supply measures: minister

The nation’s fiscal chief said Wednesday that housing prices had cooled down since the government announced new supply measures earlier this month. At a meeting with related ministers, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government would speed up its housing supply plan, unveiled earlier this month, by selecting potential locations for new apartments by June and by strengthening monitoring to prevent illegal housing transactions and tax evasion. “To prevent confusion in the ma

Feb. 17, 2021

S. Korea’s money supply sees record gain

South Korea’s money supply gained a record amount of currency and other liquid instruments on-year in December, central bank data showed Wednesday, triggering alarm bells about inflation. The country’s M2 amounted to 3,191.3 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-December, gaining 260.9 trillion won on-year, showed preliminary data compiled by the Bank of Korea. In terms of percentiles, the M2 increased 9.8 percent on-year and 0.4 percent on-month. The M2 is a calculation of the mo

Feb. 17, 2021

FSC chief denies political consideration on short selling ban extension

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo said Wednesday that there were no political considerations at play in the regulator’s latest decision to extend its temporary ban on short selling, stressing that the practice a “necessary” trading tactic. “Even tough retail investors have voiced against short selling, the authorities reached a conclusion that short selling is a necessary trading tactic in the stock market,” Eun said at a parliamentary briefing,

Feb. 17, 2021

Regulator to file complaints against 4 steelmakers over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it will file complaints with the prosecution against four steelmakers for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. Last month, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to fine seven steelmakers, including No. 2 player Hyundai Steel Co., a combined 300 billion won ($270 million) for price fixing. The corporate watchdog said it has decided to file complaints with the prosecution against Hyundai Steel and three other steelmakers, n

Feb. 17, 2021