Major South Korean shipyard Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Thursday it has won a 365 billion-won ($329 million) order to build four very large gas carriers (VLGCs). KSOE, the shipbuilding subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, said it has signed the contract with Asian and Liberian shipping lines. Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a unit of KSOE, will deliver the 86,000-cubic-meter carriers starting in 2023, KSOE said. The announcement of the ne

Industry April 29, 2021

New home permits in South Korea jumped nearly 35 percent in March from a year ago despite the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Thursday. Construction permits issued for new homes stood at 45,354 units last month, down 34.8 percent from a year ago, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Construction permits spiked 44.9 percent from a year ago to 6,691 in the South Korean capital of Seoul in March. New home permits issued in the capital area, which includes th

Economy April 29, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that a monthlong shutdown at its US semiconductor plant cost it more than 300 billion won ($270 million) in losses, although the facility is now fully normalized. "There was a wafer production disruption due to the stopping and recovering of the fab," Han Seung-hoon, a senior vice president at Samsung's foundry business, said in a conference call. "About 71,000 wafers were affected, and this corresponds to around 300 to 400 billion won in dam

Industry April 29, 2021

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday said that South Korea will strive to bring the stalled peace process on the Korean Peninsula back on track, saying that the first half of this year will be the "most optimal" time to realize any possible progress. Lee urged the United States to engage North Korea at the earliest date possible during a press conference in Seoul as the Joe Biden administration is likely to finalize its monthslong North Korea policy review in the weeks to com

North Korea April 29, 2021

The Seoul metropolitan government opened a new tourism hub in the nation's capital Thursday, saying it will support the growth and development of the tourism industry. Seoul Tourism Plaza, located inside Samil Building in the central Jongno Ward, is spread across floors one and four to 11, with a tourism information center and souvenir shop on the first floor and the offices of various tourism organizations, associations and startups on the upper levels. The city government said the plaza aims

Travel April 29, 2021

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the 12th consecutive month in March, as exports have shown signs of a strong recovery, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- increased 3.6 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the 12th straight month of an on-year rise since April last year, when the trade terms logged the first on-year hike in over two years on

Market April 29, 2021

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Thursday seven more major firms are required to disclose detailed information on their management and business activities. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) unveiled its new updated list of large business groups with assets of 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) or more to face tougher filing regulations. The number of such firms stood at 71, with e-commerce giant Coupang, Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, and s

Market April 29, 2021

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will attend an in-person Group of Seven (G7) ministerial meeting in Britain next week to discuss access to COVID-19 vaccines, climate change and other global issues, a ministry official said Thursday. The first face-to-face gathering of G7 foreign and development ministers in over two years is set to take place in London from Monday to Wednesday. Though not party to the group, South Korea, Australia, India, South Africa and Brunei, the chair of the Association of

Foreign Affairs April 29, 2021

DAEGU -- An operator of the controversial doxing website "Digital Prison" has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for violating privacy law by disclosing personal data of suspected sex offenders and other criminals. The Daegu District Court delivered the prison sentence Wednesday to the website's initial operator and ordered him to pay a forfeiture of 8.18 million won ($7,340). The accused was indicted on charges of sharing personal information of alleged and convicted sex offend

Social Affairs April 29, 2021

US Forces Korea (USFK) will resume the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine to its members this week, the US military has said, after a two-week suspension of its use amid concerns over blood clot cases. The decision to resume the use of J&J's Janssen vaccine Friday was based on the joint recommendation of the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control to end the temporary pause of the COVID-19 vaccine use for all persons aged 18 and older,

Defense April 29, 2021

The buyers of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Ioniq 5 all-electric car could face lack of state subsidies for EV purchases as a global chip shortage affects the model's production, industry sources said Thursday. Hyundai began the delivery of the Ioniq 5 on Thursday but still lacks traction motors essential to manufacture the new model. The company has received about 40,000 preorders for the Ioniq 5 since Feb. 25 and was planning to produce 10,000 units in April to meet demand. But it cut the output targe

Mobility April 29, 2021

South Korean automaker Kia Corp. and its battery supplier SK Innovation Co. will work together for the recycling of used electric vehicle (EV) batteries to secure valuable metals and reduce waste, the companies said Thursday. SK Innovation supplies lithium-ion batteries for Kia's EV6 and other EV models, and they have been working together to make use of spent batteries after forging a partnership in March 2020. The two companies said they will work together to process and reuse spent EV batte

Industry April 29, 2021

SK IE Technology Co. (SKIET), a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., is set to draw a record-breaking subscription rate from retail investors for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Seoul bourse, the company's IPO managers said Thursday. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators used in electric vehicles, has allowed individual investors to subscribe to up to 5.34 million new common shares to be sold under the IPO on the main KOSPI market on May 11. The battery mater

Market April 29, 2021

South Korea's top internet portal operator, Naver Corp., said Thursday its net profit jumped 11,252.5 percent on-year during the first quarter due to accounting profits. Net profit reached 15.31 trillion won ($13.8 billion) during the January-April period, compared with 134.9 billion won in the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. The record profit in the first quarter is due to accounting profits reflected from the business integration of its messaging firm Line Corp. in Ja

Industry April 29, 2021

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, backed by the US Federal Reserve's reiteration to keep its asset-buying schemes and earnings surprises from major companies that increased investors' appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.32 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,195.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stock index came to a strong start as the US Federal Reserve said Wednesday (local time) it would not roll back its asset-buying progr

Market April 29, 2021