[News Focus] Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana to create global top 10 airline

South Korea will have a mega carrier ranking as one of the world’s top 10 by fleet, following the country’s No. 1 carrier Korean Air’s decision to acquire its close rival Asiana Airlines on Monday. In the past months, Kumho Industrial struggled to find a new owner for Asiana, the country’s second biggest carrier. Most recently, its attempt to sell it to HDC Hyundai Development, a local property developer, collapsed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, Korean Air an

Nov. 16, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding's Q3 loss narrows on strong operating profit

South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Monday that its net losses narrowed in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of its strong operating profit. Net losses shrank to 29.2 billion won ($26.3 million) in the July-September period from a loss of 296.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in an emailed statement. Operating profit came to 33.6 billion won in the period, a turnaround from an operating loss of 256.3 billion won, while sales fell 2

Nov. 16, 2020

Korean flag carriers eye tie-up as policy lender backs W1.8tr deal

South Korea’s two flag carriers Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines are anticipating a tie-up, as the nation’s policy lender Korea Development Bank vowed to finance the 1.8 trillion won ($1.62 billion) megadeal. Announcing a plan to help Korean Air Lines acquire a majority stake in its longtime rival, KDB said Monday that the merger is indispensable in keeping the nation’s struggling aviation industry afloat. “The new integrated Korean flag carrier will rise to one of

Nov. 16, 2020

Seoul stocks hit almost 3-year high on chip rally, vaccine hopes

South Korean stocks surged to a nearly three-year high Monday despite the spreading coronavirus woes, buoyed by a rally in chipmakers and vaccine hopes that fueled investor appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose to the highest in nearly two years against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 49.16 points, or 1.97 percent, to close at 2,543.03. The reading marks the highest closing since 2,568.54 points on Feb. 1, 2018. Trading volume was high at a

Nov. 16, 2020

S-Oil recognized by Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 11 consecutive years

S-Oil said Monday it has made the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World, the list of world’s most sustainable companies, this year. According to the South Korean refinery, it has been included in the DJSI World list for 11 consecutive years. In the Oil & Gas category, S-Oil is the first and the only refinery in the Asia-Pacific region to be included on the list for 11 years straight, the company said. Co-operated by global index providers S&P Dow Jones Indices and RobecoSAM,

Nov. 16, 2020

[Advertorial] LG Chem bolsters CSR activities under new slogan, ‘Green Connector’

LG Chem recently announced its new corporate social responsibility slogan, “Green Connector,” in response to global climate change and is focusing its efforts on four major fields: ecology, education, energy and the economy. To boost its corporate social responsibility activities for ecology, the South Korean chemical-to-battery giant joined hands with the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements last month, forming a team of 20 university students and supporting them in stu

Nov. 16, 2020

LG Electronics’ OLED TV production in full throttle in Mexico ahead of holidays

LG Electronics said Monday it has ramped up the production of its organic light-emitting diode TVs in Mexico by more than 30 percent to respond to a surge in demand anticipated for the upcoming holidays. According to the South Korean consumer electronics giant, its OLED TV plant in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Northeastern Mexico, has increased its production by more than 30 percent to prepare for Black Friday and Christmas season. All OLED TVs manufactured in the Reynosa plant are shipped througho

Nov. 16, 2020

S. Korea likely to give conditional OK to Delivery Hero's acquisition of Woowa

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator is likely to give conditional approval to a $4 billion deal by Germany's Delivery Hero to acquire the nation's top food delivery app operator, Woowa Brothers, Delivery Hero officials said Monday. Delivery Hero officials in South Korea said the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) informed them that it would grant permission for the deal on the condition that the German firm sells its food delivery affiliate here, Yogiyo. Officials at the KFTC were not

Nov. 16, 2020

Korea to roll out plans to stabilize soaring rents after long deliberation

After a series of meetings among ministers and high-ranking officials earlier this month, the South Korean government is expected to roll out another package of measures to address issues linked to the soaring cost of housing offered through “jeonse” contracts. Jeonse is a two-year housing rental agreement that involves a large lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent. The new measures are expected to include supplying more than 100,000 subsidized homes for low- and middle-incom

Nov. 16, 2020

LG Group to split off non-electronics affiliates

LG Group, the fourth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, is set to split off multiple affiliates with the former chief’s sibling, according to industry sources on Monday. Koo Bon-joon, an uncle of current LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and younger brother of late former Chairman Koo Bon-moo, is preparing to take control of multiple affiliates. The affiliates expected to be separated from the group are LG International Corp., LG Hausys Ltd., and Pantos Co., according to news reports. It

Nov. 16, 2020

BOK chief discusses COVID-19, digitalization with Asia-Pacific central banks

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol attended a videoconference with central bank representatives from 11 Asia-Pacific nations, the nation’s central bank said Monday. Key topics included the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. The 25th Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks was a follow-up to a similar meeting held Aug. 19. The long-term effects of the pandemic on the economy, GDP outlooks and the digitalization of central banks were among the topics discussed, the BOK s

Nov. 16, 2020

Lawmakers set to adding ‘employment promotion’ to BOK’s role

South Korean lawmakers of both the ruling and opposition parties’ latest attempt to amend the law to add the goal of maximum employment to the Bank of Korea’s mandate has been prompting divided response from onlookers as of Monday. The related proposals submitted by lawmakers -- which came as Asia’s fourth-largest economy has been seeing record-high jobless rates -- would be reviewed by the National Assembly’s strategy and finance committee, starting Monday. Unlike the

Nov. 16, 2020

Korean firms likely to benefit from RCEP trade deal

South Korea signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is expected to benefit Korean companies, especially in steel, automobiles and electronics, through the elimination of tariffs across Asian countries. The pact will also help better protect Korean firms’ intellectual property rights in the region, experts said Monday. RCEP is made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The region covers nearly a third of the global economy

Nov. 16, 2020

Foreign buying spree pushes Kospi above 2,540, to highest point in 33 months

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi, crossed the 2,540-point mark Monday for the first time in nearly 33 months, amid net buying on a massive scale by foreign investors, according to market operator the Korea Exchange. The nation’s benchmark began trading at 2,507.46, up 13.59 points or 0.54 percent from the previous session’s close. It sustained an uptrend to close at 2,543.03, extending its winning streak for a third consecutive session. The index had not surpassed the 2,500-po

Nov. 16, 2020

S. Korea to cut maximum legal lending rate to 20% next year

South Korea’s government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea have decided to lower the maximum legal lending rate to 20 percent from the current 24 percent starting next year to ease financial burdens on beleaguered debtors, the nation’s top financial regulator said Monday. Through the rate cut, nearly 87 percent or 2.08 million of 2.39 million borrowers across the country -- being charged with 20 percent interest rate per annum or more -- are expected to see their debt shrin

Nov. 16, 2020

Samsung launches new monitor highlighting enhanced usability, connectivity

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched a new monitor highlighting enhanced usability and connectivity amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend.  Samsung said its Smart Monitor is a "do-it-all screen" that meets consumers' needs in remote working, learning and at-home entertainment with better mobile and PC connectivity.   The flat-screen monitor comes in two models, with the M7 supporting ultra-high definition resolution in 32-inch and the M5 featuring full HD

Nov. 16, 2020

Samsung’s global dishwasher sales cross 1 million mark

Samsung Electronics sold more than 1 million dishwashers globally this year, the company said Monday. The record stands in accumulated figure as of the second week of November. Samsung credited the dishwasher sales growth to an expanded line of products and technological features that helped them stand out in South Korea, North America and European markets. In Korea, the newly launched “bespoke” dishwasher line helped quadruple third quarter sales volume on-year. The bespoke washer

Nov. 16, 2020

Cinema chains, distributors remain in red in Q3, but have likely bottomed out

South Korean movie theaters and film distributors again struggled with operating losses in the third quarter due to the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic, but their deficit contracted from three months earlier, industry reports showed Monday. CJ CGV, the leading multiplex chain in South Korea, saw its third-quarter operating loss reach 96.8 billion won ($87.3 million), swinging from an operating profit of 31 billion won tallied a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Its sales tu

Nov. 16, 2020

Auto exports slip 3.2% in Oct. on virus pandemic

South Korea's exports of automobiles fell 3.2 percent on-year in October after rebounding briefly the previous month, as the resurgence of COVID-19 cases around the globe hurt consumer sentiment.   Local carmakers shipped a combined 200,666 units of automobiles overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports edged up 5.8 percent to $4 billion.   During the January-September period, the countr

Nov. 16, 2020

S. Korea to hold 4th round of talks on amending FTA with Chile

South Korea will hold the fourth round of negotiations with Chile this week on revising their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that went into effect in 2004, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday. The two-day videoconference talks, which are set to begin Tuesday, will focus on expanding the scope of free trade and updating terms of the 15-year-old FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two sides will also hold discussions on five categories -- goo

Nov. 16, 2020