Samsung's 5G Verizon deal hailed as example of Korean firms' tech prowess

SEJONG -- South Korea's vice finance minister on Wednesday hailed a multibillion-dollar order won by Samsung Electronics Co. to supply fifth-generation (5G) network equipment to Verizon Communications of the United States. The deal showed how South Korea's industrial sectors navigate through global technology rivalries, Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a meeting with experts, according to the ministry. Companies must step up their investment into new technologies, including next-g

Sept. 9, 2020

S. Korea loses 274,000 jobs in August

South Korea lost 274,000 jobs last month, continuing the downward trend for a sixth consecutive month -- the longest period since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis -- data showed Wednesday. Hit by coronavirus woes, Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s jobless rate inched up 0.1 percentage point on-year to 3.1 percent in August and the number of unemployed surged to 27.08 million, data compiled by Statistics Korea showed. It is the most protracted downturn in employment

Sept. 9, 2020

More than 230,000 join online draw of Galaxy Z Fold 2 limited edition sales

More than 230,000 people in South Korea have entered a draw to buy Samsung Electronics Co.'s limited edition of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, company officials said Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant tries to boost sales of its foldable devices. Those selected from the two-day online draw for a chance to purchase the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition will receive the product from Sept. 25. Only 5,000 units of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition will be released globally. Industry insiders

Sept. 9, 2020

S. Korean bond sales dip 7.2% in Aug.

Bond sales in South Korea dropped more than 7 percent in August from the previous month amid rising interest rates, data showed Wednesday. The value of bonds issued in the country came to 67.7 trillion won ($56.9 billion) last month, down 7.2 percent from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of state bonds climbed 6.8 percent, but the issuance of financial and corporate bonds sank 10 percent and 33.9 percent, respectively. The decline

Sept. 9, 2020

S. Korean stock investors swoop on Tesla in H2

Electric vehicle leader Tesla Motors Inc. has been South Korean investors' most-bought issue among foreign shares since July amid an overseas stock buying craze here, data showed Wednesday. Domestic investors bought a net $1.56 trillion won worth of Tesla shares between July 1 and Tuesday, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. Their net buying peaked at $761 million in July before declining to $471 million in August and rising again to $489 million this month. Market w

Sept. 9, 2020

Doosan Bobcat releases new mowers in N. American market

Construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat Co. said Wednesday it has launched new mowers in the North American market. Doosan Bobcat aims to increase its sales to 100 billion won ($84 million) this year and double the sales by 2024 in the landscape equipment market in the region, the company said in an emailed statement. Doosan Bobcat bought the zero-turn mower business division from US landscape gear company Schiller Grounds Care last year. The zero-turn mower market in North America is es

Sept. 9, 2020

Banks' household loans increase by record amount in August

South Korean banks' household loans increased by the largest amount on record in August amid rising home prices and a rally in the stock market, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding bank loans to local households came to 948.2 trillion won ($796.9 billion) as of end-August, up 11.7 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the largest monthly gain since 2004 when the BOK began compiling related data. In July, such lending gre

Sept. 9, 2020

Doosan Heavy signs deal to provide artificial sun project with pressurizers

South Korea's power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Wednesday that it has signed a deal to provide pressurizers to the global artificial sun project consortium. Under the deal signed with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) consortium launched in late 2006, Doosan Heavy Industries along with its British subsidiary Doosan Babcock will provide pressurizers by 2022, the company said in an emailed statement. The pressurizers will be use

Sept. 9, 2020

S. Korea to allow reopening of ASF-hit farms

South Korea said Wednesday it will allow pig farms hit by the African swine fever (ASF) last year to resume their operations, as no additional cases among domestic pigs were reported for about 11 months. The move will pave the way for 261 farms in the Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces, which have been closed due to the massive outbreak in 2019, to gradually raise pigs again, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ASF swept through pig farms in the inter-Korean borde

Sept. 9, 2020

Job losses extend into August amid pandemic, unemployment rate up to 3.1%

SEJONG -- South Korea lost about 274,000 jobs in August, marking a decline in the number of the employed for the sixth consecutive month, as the coronavirus pandemic hammered job markets, data showed Wednesday. The country's jobless rate rose by 0.1 percentage point on-year to 3.1 percent in August, with the number of employed people falling to 27.08 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the longest fall since the eight months of decline posted in 2009 amid the

Sept. 9, 2020

Fitch lowers S. Korea growth forecast 0.2% on COVID-19 fallout

Fitch Ratings lowered the growth forecast for South Korea this year by 0.2 percentage point due to the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, the credit appraiser said Tuesday. The downgrade, would mean Asia's fourth largest economy will backtrack 1.1 percent this year from 2019. Fitch earlier predicted Seoul's economy to post negative growth of 0.9 percent. This is slightly better than the 1.3 percent contraction announced by the Bank of Korea last month. Fitch predicted that while the impact o

Sept. 8, 2020

BOK to buy up to W5tr in state bonds to combat market uncertainties

South Korea’s central bank announced Tuesday that it plans to directly purchase state bonds worth some 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) by the end of this year to combat uncertainties stemming from the resurgence of the coronavirus here. “With the resurgence of the coronavirus leading to bigger market uncertainties, the government is expected to issue additional bonds,” the Bank of Korea said in a statement. “This is a preemptive move to alleviate risks from a possib

Sept. 8, 2020

Seoul’s housing prices show signs of cooling: finance minister

Home prices in Seoul and the neighboring area have shown some signs of stabilizing on the back of the government’s price-curbing measures, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday. He also rolled out plans to provide some 60,000 new public apartments in greater Seoul in 2021-2022, with subscriptions due to start next year. “A month passed since taking effect, the Aug. 4 (housing) supply measures appear to be paying off to a certain extent,” the

Sept. 8, 2020

Number of self-employed people plunges amid deepening pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has hit small businesses in South Korea. The number of self-employed people decreased at an alarming rate in July compared with a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.  According to data compiled by the Korea Small Business Institute and Statistics Korea, the country had 5.548 million self-employed people registered as of last month, down 127,000 from the previous year. The sharp on-year drop was nearly five times as steep as in July last year, when the number of se

Sept. 8, 2020

S. Korea's economy tipped to retreat more than expected over pandemic: KDI

South Korea's economic recession is expected to be deeper than expected this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the pace of recovery may be delayed as there is no end in sight for the pandemic, a state-run think tank predicted Tuesday. Korea Development Institute (KDI) downgraded the nation's economic growth outlook to a contraction of 1.1 percent this year, a sharp downward revision of a 0.2 percent expansion in its May forecast. The nation's economy is expected to expand 3.5 percen

Sept. 8, 2020

S. Korean shipyards retain top spot in new orders in August

South Korean shipbuilders took the No. 1 ranking in new shipping orders in August for the second consecutive month on the back of orders for liquefied natural gas carriers, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, the Korean shipbuilders' new orders amounted to 630,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs), or 23 ships, in August, which took up 73 percent of the global new orders totaling 860,000 CGTs, or 36 ships, last month.

Sept. 8, 2020

Asiana deal set to collapse due to pandemic this week

HDC Hyundai Development Co.'s planned takeover of Asiana Airlines Inc. appears likely to collapse this week as the property developer failed to narrow differences with the airline's creditors over acquisition terms, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.  The deal, if it falls through, would become the country's second botched deal in the coronavirus-hit airline sector this year, following Jeju Air Co.'s cancellation of its plan to acquire smaller rival Eastar Jet Co. in July. K

Sept. 8, 2020

S. Korea, UAE to forge cooperation in renewable energy

SEJONG -- South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to step up cooperation in the renewable energy sector, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday. The agreement was reached at an online meeting between Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and the UAE's economy minister, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, on Monday, the ministry said in a statement. South Korea and the UAE have held regular talks on economic cooperation since 2006, but Monday's meeting was the first talks since the coronavirus pand

Sept. 8, 2020

S. Korea’s welfare spending to grow W40tr by 2024

South Korea’s mandatory spending on welfare is projected to increase 40 trillion won ($33.6 billion) by 2024, amid growing concerns of the coronavirus pandemic and heavier tax burdens, a government budget proposal showed Monday. Social welfare spending would gain an average 7.6 percent annually from this year to 2024, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s four-year fiscal management plan submitted to the National Assembly. Spending for this year stood at 119.7 trilli

Sept. 7, 2020

Kakao inks deal to build data center south of Seoul

South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp. said Monday it will establish a data center in a city south of Seoul in an industrial-educational cooperation project. Under a deal with Hanyang University and the Gyeonggi provincial government, the data center will be built on the university's campus in Ansan, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, at a cost of 400 billion won ($337 million).    Kakao Corp., which operates the country's most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said ground will

Sept. 7, 2020