Economic uncertainty persists amid global flare-up in coronavirus cases: finance ministry

SEJONG-- The South Korean economy is on a recovery path, but it faces lingering uncertainty amid a global resurgence in new coronavirus cases, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said South Korea's exports are on a mild recovery track and the country's production, consumption and investment are improving. "While the service sector and the job market have seen recovery momentum being capped, the Korean economy faces continuing uncertainty amid the fast spr

Nov. 13, 2020

[Time to Play] Fuser, NCSoft’s bold challenge into Western console gaming market

For someone who doesn’t understand games, NCSoft’s Fuser might seem like just another rhythm game. But for those more familiar, they’ll notice that Fuser is the South Korean game industry’s bold knock on the door of the Western console gaming market. For too long NCSoft has relied on its 12-year-old role-playing Lineage series PC games, which took up 85 percent of its revenue in the first quarter of this year. At a time when change was desperately needed, NCSoft h

Nov. 13, 2020

[Graphic News] Hyundai, Kia rank 4th in electrified car sales in 2019

　Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors ranked fourth in global electrified vehicle sales last year, helped by increased exports, industry data showed. 　Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 350,000 electrified models in global markets in 2019, up 25 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement. 　Toyota, Tesla and Honda claimed the top three places in global electrified car sales rankings, it said. 　Electrified models include hybrid elec

Nov. 13, 2020

Seoul stocks open a tad higher on chip gains amid concerns over COVID-19

South Korean stocks opened a tad higher Friday on chip gains, despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 3.31 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,478.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded choppy, with investors paying keen attention to the COVID-19  circumstances in global financial markets, particularly in the United States. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the world's largest economy is on

Nov. 13, 2020

Apple, S. Korean mobile carriers start preorders for new iPhones

Apple Inc. and three South Korean mobile carriers began taking preorders Friday for the iPhone 12 mini and the 12 Pro Max. The US tech giant said the smallest and the largest versions of its latest generation smartphone will go on sale in South Korea starting Nov. 20. The iPhone 12 mini is the smallest of Apple's new smartphones, with a 5.4-inch screen, compared with the standard model's 6.1-inch display. It, however, has the same dual-camera setup on the back as the 12 model. The 12 Pro Max

Nov. 13, 2020

Owner of Korean Air in talks to acquire Asiana Airlines: sources

Hanjin Group, which owns South Korea's top flag carrier Korean Air Lines, is mulling acquiring the country's No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines Inc., sources here said Thursday. Hanjin Group is in talks with the state-run Korea Development Bank, the main creditor of Asiana, to buy the debt-ridden carrier, the sources said. "The KDB first came up with the idea, and they have been negotiating for about two months," a source familiar with the matter said. A KDB official said a deal with

Nov. 12, 2020

Samsung heir returns to business after father's death, convenes design strategy meeting

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong convened a design strategy meeting Thursday in his first business activity since his father's death last month. Lee and high-ranking executives discussed the tech giant's future design plans during the meeting at its research center in Seoul, the company said. It was the first time that the 52-year-old tycoon led a company event since the passing of his father and longtime Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee, who died at age 78 on Oct. 25. Lee, the

Nov. 12, 2020

Sartorius to invest $100m in Songdo targeting Samsung Biologics, Celltrion

Sartorius, a German life sciences company with 170 years of history, announced Thursday it will invest $100 million in South Korea’s bio cluster of Songdo in Incheon to build a manufacturing facility for biologics plant parts. Sartorius’ decision is largely attributable to Korean bio companies: Samsung Biologics and Celltrion. Samsung Biologics and Celltrion have been Sartorius’ clients for a number of years, and their growing roles in the bio industry were a factor Sartoriu

Nov. 12, 2020

LIG Nex1 unveils remote support system for maritime vessels

LIG Nex1 introduced a remote management system for maritime vessels at the 2020 Korea Ocean Expo held Wednesday at Songdo Convensia in Incheon. According to LIG Nex1, the new system will enable trained experts to monitor and maintain a vessel in a quick and effective real-time manner, even when the ship is out operating at sea, by incorporating elements of the internet of things, prognostics and health management and augmented reality technologies. LIG Nex1 explained that internet of things se

Nov. 12, 2020

S-Oil campaign donates for vulnerable in winter

S-Oil on Thursday delivered a donation of 150 million won ($135,000) to the Korea National Council on Social Welfare. Since 2015, South Korea’s leading refiner has led a corporate social responsibility campaign titled Hope to You, in which it donates money to the KNCSW so that it can provide heating oil to energy-poor households. “This year seems to be seeing a cold winter earlier than previous years. It appears that there are still many neighbors who go through a cold winter with

Nov. 12, 2020

Higher the better? NAND memory tech competition heats up

With the latest announcement of Micron’s completion of a 176-layer NAND Flash chip, pressure is mounting on market leader Samsung Electronics over its belated new product launch. Up until early this year, it was widely expected that Samsung was going to announce the mass production of its seventh-generation 3D V-NAND Flash this year. However, industry insider s said that the Korean chip giant seems to have changed plans due to technological challenges that it has not yet overcome. Sa

Nov. 12, 2020

Seoul stocks snap 8-day winning streak on lockdown concerns

South Korean shares snapped an 8-session winning streak Thursday, as growing lockdown concerns in major economies sapped investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 10.25 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 2,475.62. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 15.7 trillion won ($14.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 443 to 402. Foreigners bought a net 490 bill

Nov. 12, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells to build large-scale floating solar power plant

Hanwha Q Cells, South Korea’s leading solar cell and module maker, will build a 41-megawatt floating solar power plant in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, the company said Thursday. According to Hanwha Q Cells, the company received approval from the Korea Water Resources Corporation last week and plans to begin construction of the solar farm within this year. When finished, it will be the largest floating solar power plant built at a dam. It will generate enough electricity for aro

Nov. 12, 2020

Amorepacific appoints new president

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific announced the appointment of Kim Seung-Hwan as its new president on Thursday, in a major post-COVID-19 shakeup following lackluster sales this year. Kim, 51, previously served multiple roles including as head of the human resources unit. He will replace Bae Dong-hyun as the group’s president from next year. The age gap between Kim and Bae has been seen as a move to bring younger blood into power as the company struggles to fend off competition b

Nov. 12, 2020

Hyundai Motor partners with SP Group to create EV ecosystem in Southeast Asia

Hyundai Motor is set to partner with Singapore’s largest charging company SP Group to lay the groundwork for a Southeast Asian electric vehicle battery subscription service, the firm said Thursday. On the same day, Hyundai Motor and SP Group signed a business agreement to discover new battery-use businesses in the city-state. The signing ceremony was attended by Chung Hong-beom, Hyundai Motor’s SF Innovation Center chief, and Chuah Kee Heng, CEO of SP Group’s eco-friendly ene

Nov. 12, 2020

Startups to compete with promising business ideas at Come Up 2020

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is set to hold the nation’s largest startup competition, Challenge! K-Startup to select and reward startups with promising business ideas, during the Come Up 2020 period, officials said Thursday. The startup competition is held as a special event of Come Up 2020, which is one of Korea’s biggest startup conferences and is scheduled to take place online and offline at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Nov. 19 to 21. Final startup founders will be sel

Nov. 12, 2020

Photos of Korean workers

  The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced the list of winners for its 7th annual photography contest held under the theme of “Workplace and life of workers” for this year on Thursday. Eighty-two works were awarded out of 5,500 pieces submitted by the public and photographers. The left photo shows grand prize winner Kim Seung-kwon’s “Breadwinner’s Most Beautiful Clothes.” Ha Sang-yoon won the best prize with his photo on the right, titled

Nov. 12, 2020

Kasa Korea unveils first investment property in Seoul

Kasa Korea, a real estate investment platform operator, on Thursday unveiled the first property to be listed on its platform, offering retail investors relatively easy entry into the property investment market in the form of small-sum securities. The corresponding property is Yeoksam London Vill, a recently built eight-story commercial property located in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu. The building is currently occupied entirely by PCA Korea, the domestic branch of US-based private school Provid

Nov. 12, 2020

Chicken franchise Kyochon joins Kospi

Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s largest fried chicken franchise operator, made a market debut on the nation’s main bourse Kospi on Thursday, with its shares hitting the upper price limit of 29.98 percent at the closing bell. With the opening price set at 23,850 won ($21.40) per share, Kyochon F&B started off at 93.9 percent higher from its offering price of 12,300 won per share. The firm’s stock plunged by 14.68 percent to 20,350 won per share within five minutes of tradi

Nov. 12, 2020

Samsung’s financial arms going green

Financial affiliates of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group announced Thursday that they would halt investment projects linked to coal-power businesses as part of their efforts to run operations in an environmentally responsible manner. Samsung’s insurance arms Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, among others, will stop investing in coal-fired power stations or lending money to operators of such power plants. They will also stop purchasing

Nov. 12, 2020