KDI cuts 2021 growth outlook, citing sluggish domestic recovery

South Korea’s economy will contract 1.1 percent this year amid the COVID-19 fallout and rebound to 3.1 percent growth in 2021, state-run think tank Korea Development Institute said Wednesday. In its latest revision, KDI maintained its outlook for this year at its previous September figure but cut the prospect for next year’s growth by 0.4 percentage point, citing the slower-than-expected recovery pace of the domestic market. “Our economy is expected to expand 3.1 percent (

Nov. 11, 2020

Kakao Bank’s IPO plan picks up speed

South Korea’s leading online bank Kakao Bank has launched a procedure to pick lead underwriters for its public initial offering, according to industry sources Wednesday. The affiliate of mobile messenger firm Kakao has sent a request for proposal to domestic and global brokerages to explain the planned IPO and select underwriters. Holding a board meeting in September, the online bank decided to go public in the first half of next year. Launched in 2017, Kakao has been fast growing by a

Nov. 11, 2020

Ministers discuss steps to address housing crisis

Amid growing concerns over the soaring cost of housing offered through “jeonse” contracts, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki held a closed-door meeting with other ministers and high-ranking government officials Wednesday to discuss measures to address housing issues. Jeonse is a unique form of rental agreement in South Korea where tenants pay a refundable lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent. Among the participants were Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee

Nov. 11, 2020

S. Korea’s household debt surges at fast pace in Oct.

South Korea’s household debt extended by local banks surged at a rapid pace in October, gaining more than 10 trillion won ($9 billion) on-month, central bank data showed Wednesday, despite government vows to put a brake on the momentum. Outstanding bank loans extended to local households gained 10.6 trillion won on-month to 968.4 trillion won as of end-October, propelled by home-backed lending, according to the Bank of Korea. The gain is the highest for an October reading since

Nov. 11, 2020

Seoul stocks at over 2-year high on vaccine hopes; Korean won at nearly 2-yr high

The South Korean stock market hit a more than 2-year high Wednesday, as investor sentiment improved on stronger exports and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine test results. The Korean won surged to a 23-month high against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 33.04 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 2,485.87 points, the highest closing since 2487.25 points on May 3, 2018, and extend its winning streak to an eighth day. Trading volume was high at about 1.3 billion

Nov. 11, 2020

[From the Scene] SKC’s copper foil business ready to ride on EV wave

JEONGEUP, North Jeolla Province -- On a cold, grey cement floor lay four rows of giant circular lids that could easily measure 5 meters in diameter. The only things moving inside the shabby, dimly-lit warehouse were plastic fans ventilating the facility, which was lit by sunlight coming through the square window panes right beneath the high-rise ceiling. The scene almost looked like a giant whack-a-mole machine. But who could have imagined that under those enormous lids was the molten for

Nov. 11, 2020

‘Celltrion’s COVID-19 antibody shot will kill virus in 5 days’

Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin stirred up a storm Wednesday after saying in a radio interview that his company’s COVID-19 antibody treatment will eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the human body in four to five days from administration and that it will be available for emergency use in Korea starting at year-end. “In order to put a stop to the pandemic for good, there needs to be both the vaccine and the treatment,” Seo said live on the radio program. “And among treatm

Nov. 11, 2020

Drone taxi flies over Seoul in first test flight

A drone taxi flew over Yeouido, Seoul, for the first time Wednesday morning as part of South Korea’s road map to realize the commercialization of urban air mobility by 2025. The Seoul Metropolitan Government co-hosted an event with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to demonstrate the drone taxi as part of future mobility that could ease the city’s traffic congestion. For the demonstration, one two-seater drone aircraft -- with no one on board -- was used. The air

Nov. 11, 2020

[Herald Interview] Han Sung Motor takes big leap in digital customer journey

Mercedes-Benz Korea official dealer Han Sung Motor plans to continue investment to meet customer expectations and to accelerate the digital customer journey in the post-COVID-19 era, the CEO said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Korea is now the fifth-biggest market for Mercedes-Benz in the world,” said Han Sung Motor’s CEO Ulf Ausprung in its Seoul headquarters where luxury Cheongdam showroom is located. “There was an immense development in the Korean car marke

Nov. 11, 2020

Posco Energy begins operation of LNG carrier business

South Korean energy producer Posco Energy said Wednesday it had begun operations of its new liquefied natural gas carrier business the same day, becoming the first private LNG terminal operator in the country to do so. An opening ceremony took place Wednesday at Gwangyang LNG Terminal in South Jeolla Province, nearly two months after the energy business arm of major steelmaker Posco received a business license from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in September. The company explained

Nov. 11, 2020

Estee Lauder’s apology for ‘Asian skin tone’ stokes backlash

US cosmetics giant Estee Lauder has apologized after unilaterally shipping a darker shade of foundation to Asian customers, but their decision to single out women in their apology is drawing yet another round of criticism. The company came under fire earlier this week after a viral online review revealed that a matte foundation product ordered online arrived in a different shade with a note explaining that Ivory Nude was the “best color for Asians” while Shell, which the customer h

Nov. 11, 2020

E-Mart Q3 net up 6.7% on speedy sales recovery, outlet renewal

South Korean retail giant E-Mart said Wednesday that its net profit rose 6.7 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, thanks to its faster-than-expected sales recovery from the pandemic and renewal of its outlet networks. The company posted a net profit of 119.9 billion won ($107.9 million) in the July-September period, compared with a net profit of 112.4 billion won a year earlier, E-Mart said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit hiked 30.1 percent on-year to 151.2 billion won,

Nov. 11, 2020

SK’s bio, chemical units, Doosan Heavy join MSCI Korea Index

Morgan Stanley Capital International announced Wednesday that it has added three large- and mid-cap South Korean stocks -- SK Biopharmaceuticals, SK Global Chemical and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction -- to its global and regional equity index, as part of November rebalancing. As anticipated by market watchers, the Geneva-based MSCI added the three, but didn’t invite the South Korean novel drugs developer Hanmi Science to the club. It also removed Amorepacific preferred, BNK

Nov. 11, 2020

LG sweeps US Consumer Reports picks for OLED TVs

Two of the top four televisions of 2020 selected by US Consumer Reports were LG Electronics’ organic light-emitting diode TVs, according to a report on Wednesday. The LG OLED TV 65-inch C9 and CX models received the highest scores in the high definition and ultra-high definition categories, the report said. The three-dimensional sound effect offered by Dolby Atmos was also recognized. The other two best TVs were Sony’s OLED TV and Samsung Electronics’ QLED TV (Q90). Sams

Nov. 11, 2020

Renault bets on SUV models to revive sales in S. Korea

GAPYEONG -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault SA, will focus on promoting SUV models to revive sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company's country manager said Wednesday. Renault Samsung has suffered a sharp decline in sales this year in Asia's fourth-biggest economy due to lack of new models and the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on production and sales. "We don't really know about the market because of the coronavirus, but the QM6 SUV and the XM3 SUV (set

Nov. 11, 2020

Union of Hyundai Mipo begins strike vote on wage dispute

Unionized workers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. launched a strike vote Wednesday after failing to bridge a wide gap with its management on a wage and collective agreement. The 2,000-strong union members of the shipbuilder, a unit of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., began casting votes over whether to authorize a strike. The strike vote is set to end Friday. On Oct. 28, the union asked the regional office of the National Labor Relations Commission in the southeastern industria

Nov. 11, 2020

[Monitor] New employment insurance subscriptions bounce back to pre-pandemic levels

The number of individuals covered by state employment insurance increased 2.6 percent, or 364,000 people, on-year in October, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s data. The increase followed the creation of new service sector jobs by the central and local governments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. New state employment insurance subscriptions have now recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to the ministry. In February, the number stood at 376,000. The figure, however,

Nov. 11, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on vaccine hopes, export increase

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking Dow's continued gain related to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine test results and improved chip exports. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.05 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,465.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came to a strong start after a straight seven-day gain. Investors remained optimistic about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine test results, backed by positive comments by top US infectious disease speciali

Nov. 11, 2020

Exports rise 20.1% in first 10 days of Nov.

South Korea's exports rose 20.1 percent on-year in the first 10 days of November, customs data showed Wednesday, amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The country's outbound shipments stood at $14.1 billion in the Nov. 1-10 period, compared with $11.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also gained 12.1 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports increased 7.8 percent on-year to $13.3 billion in the 10-day period, according to the dat

Nov. 11, 2020

S. Korea's trade volume feared to miss $1tr mark this year

South Korea's trade volume is unlikely to pass the $1 trillion mark in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a Sino-US trade row, sources said Wednesday. The gloomy projection comes as South Korea's trade fell sharply in the first 10 months of the year from a year ago, pounded by the double whammy. South Korea's exports and imports totaled $798 billion in the January-October period, down 8.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the industry an

Nov. 11, 2020