Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 6.6 percent in September from a year earlier due to fewer working days and supply glitch that stemmed from parts shortages, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 20,406 units last month from 21,839 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "The monthly sales results are attributable to fewer working days due to the Chuseok h

Economy Oct. 6, 2021

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. took over half of the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market in the first eight months of the year, led by strong demand for its SUV model, industry data showed Wednesday. Hyundai Motor, the maker of the NEXO SUV, sold about 5,900 units in the January-August period, up 34.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from SNE Research. Hyundai accounted for 52.2 percent of the global FCEV sales over the cited period, far surpassing its Japanese

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) front camera co-developed with Daimler AG will be used in Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles. An ADAS front camera, usually tucked between the windshield and the rearview mirror, is considered the "eye" of a smart vehicle as it collects various traffic information. LG said its camera, powered by algorithms developed by its vehicle components solutions (VS) business unit, can provide various features, inclu

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000 again after three days on Wednesday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,028 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,002 local infections, raising the total caseload to 323,379, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded after falling below the 2,000 mark on Monday and Tuesday on fewer tests. South K

Social Affairs Oct. 6, 2021

LS Cable & System, South Korea's top wire and cable maker, said Wednesday it expects to win a 200 billion-won ($168 million) cable supply deal from Taiwan. LS Cable said it has been picked as the preferred bidder for the deal, and if the deal is signed, it will supply cables to a wind farm in Taiwan run by CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering by 2025. The wind farm, located in waters 50 kilometers off the west coast of Taiwan, will be able to generate up to 1 gigawatt of electricity, according to LS

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

Around a quarter of South Korea's mobile subscriptions were on 5G networks in August, data showed Wednesday, as new smartphone launches boosted user growth in the latest generation networks. As of end-August, there were 17.8 million 5G network users, accounting for 24.8 percent of the country's total 71.9 million mobile network subscriptions, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea has a population of 51 million, and some people have multiple mobile phones. The

Technology Oct. 6, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investor sentiment was uplifted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.73 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,973.90 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to an upbeat start, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that came after sharp losses the previous session. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.92 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq compos

Market Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday expressed concerns over Washington's latest request to local chipmakers to share information on their supply chains amid growing concerns over the leak of major trade secrets. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Paris on the sidelines of the council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), sharing opinions on various bilateral trade issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry

Economy Oct. 6, 2021

Domestic sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s new foldable smartphones -- the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 -- have surpassed 1 million units, the company said Wednesday, as the tech giant strives to popularize the foldable category. The third generation of the Galaxy Z series topped the 1 million sales milestone Monday, which is just 39 days after its launch, according to Samsung.  It was the third fastest sales pace to exceed the 1 million sales mark in South Korea after the Gal

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 2 percent for the sixth consecutive month in September, due largely to high oil prices, data showed Wednesday, indicating a build-up of inflationary pressure amid an economic recovery. The consumer prices rose 2.5 percent in September from a year earlier, slowing from a 2.6 percent on-year gain in August, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation rose 0.5 percent last month. Core inflation

Economy Oct. 6, 2021

South Korean financial companies' overseas units saw their earnings jump more than 27 percent in the first half of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 222 overseas subsidiaries of major banks and other financial institutions posted a combined net income of 411.6 billion won ($347 million) in the January-June period. It was up 27.1 percent from a year earlier and 6.1 percent from the first half of 2019, about six months before t

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

Lawmakers were to hold the annual parliamentary audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Wednesday, officials said, a day after the planned session for the defense ministry was disrupted due to a partisan strife over a snowballing land development corruption scandal potentially involving the ruling party's presumptive nominee to run for next year's presidential election. The audit is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. at the JCS headquarters in Seoul, during which the parliamentary national d

Politics Oct. 6, 2021

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to an all-time high in September due to a rise in profits from investment of foreign currency assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $463.97 billion as of end-September, up $40 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bull

Economy Oct. 6, 2021

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has held a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from the United States, Italy and Croatia to discuss bilateral cooperation on the margins of a gathering of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), his office said Wednesday. Chung is in Paris to attend the Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level, which opened Tuesday under the main theme of "Shared Values: Building a Green and Inclusive Future." So

Diplomatic Circuit Oct. 6, 2021

As he reported to the national football team's training camp Tuesday ahead of two World Cup qualifiers, captain Son Heung-min had just one wish. "I'd like to play in front of fans," the Tottenham Hotspur star said after arriving at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in a video clip shared by the Korea Football Association (KFA) Tuesday. Son won't get that wish this time -- at least not at home. South Korea will host Syria at Ansan Wa Stadium in Ansan, Gyeo

Soccer Oct. 5, 2021