[Monitor] Rise of women in C-suite, still long way to go

Among 6,871 executive-level members of South Korea’s top 100 companies by revenue, 286 of them are women, according to a report by global headhunting firm Unico Search on Wednesday. This accounted for 4.1 percent of the total. It was up 42 from 286 last year. Conglomerates have been moving to increase the ratio of women in their C-suite, such as Samsung Electronics which had pledged in 2011 to raise the proportion to 10 percent.  (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Nov. 5, 2020

LG Chem, Neste sign strategic partnership on renewable sources

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical firm, said Thursday it will collaborate with Finland-based bio diesel producer Neste to develop renewable materials for its chemical products. LG Chem and Neste signed a strategic long-term partnership to develop biopolymers and biochemicals to reduce use of fossil feedstock in the Korean company's manufacturing process. LG Chem has a diversified chemical portfolio ranging from petrochemical products to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

Nov. 5, 2020

Doosan Logistics Solutions to supply Geek+'s logistics robots in S. Korea

Doosan Group's system integrator Doosan Logistics Solutions Co. (DLS) said Thursday that it has signed a deal with Chinese autonomous mobile robot (AMR) maker Geek+ to bring logistics robots to South Korea. Under the deal, DLS will exclusively provide logistics robots made by Geek+ to the local market and maintenance services for them, the company said in an emailed statement. Geek+ is the world's largest AMR maker, having 16 percent share of global AMR market, DLS said. Unlisted DLS, a sy

Nov. 5, 2020

SK Telecom's Q3 net up over 40% on media biz growth, equity gains

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Thursday its net income rose more than 40 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of robust growth in its media business. The telecom operator's net income stood at 395.7 billion won ($350.5 million) in the July-September period, up 44.2 percent from 274.4 billion won the previous year, according to a regulatory filing. Operating income reached 361.5 billion won, up 19.7 percent over the cited period, while sales r

Nov. 5, 2020

Seoul stocks open sharply higher despite US election limbo

The South Korean benchmark stock index opened sharply higher Thursday despite the US presidential election being in limbo, taking a cue from the overnight Wall Street rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 31.13 points, or 1.32 percent, to 2,388.45 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish after a 0.6 percent hike the previous session, as investors rush for giant tech and bio stocks as US election uncertainties continue.  Investor sentiment

Nov. 5, 2020

Meritz Securities Q3 net soars 56% on more fee income

Major South Korean brokerage house Meritz Securities Co. said Thursday its third-quarter net profit spiked nearly 56 percent from a year ago thanks mainly to increased fee income. Net profit came to 162.5 billion won ($142.8 million) in the July-September period, up 55.7 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating income shot up 72.2 percent on-year to 208.1 billion won in the quarter, and sales rose 4.9 percent to 3.39 trillion won. Meritz Securities s

Nov. 5, 2020

Kakao's Q2 net nearly quadruples on robust platform, e-commerce

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped nearly three times from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of its e-commerce services based on its messenger platform. Net profit reached a quarterly high of 143.7 billion won ($126.3 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 51.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales jumped by 4

Nov. 5, 2020

S. Korea's current account surplus hits 2-year high in Sept. on export recovery

South Korea's current account surplus hit a two-year high in September as exports rebounded for the first time in seven months on brisk shipments of chips and autos amid the new coronavirus outbreak, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $10.21 billion in September, compared with $6.57 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. It marked the largest surplus since September 20

Nov. 5, 2020

[Advertising Awards] What makes a digital marketer shine?

This is the era of fourth industrial revolution. Traditional marketing platforms are rapidly receding in their stature now that we have big data-based artificial intelligence entering the realm of decision-making. Digital advertisement quotes had already begun to surpass the TV advertisement quotes since 2016, and this year, in 2020, they are expected to account for over 50 percent of the entire advertisement market. Digital marketing refers to the extensive marketing activity of pitching prod

Nov. 5, 2020

Biz community on virus alert after reporter at Lee Kun-hee's funeral tests positive

A number of South Korean business leaders and senior government officials who visited the funeral hall of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee were either tested or planning to undergo tests for COVID-19 on Wednesday after a reporter who covered Lee‘s funeral was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. 　 According to business community insiders, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, both received tests after rec

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] COVID-19 provides financial firms new opportunities to go digital, global

Despite the uncertainties posed by the pandemic, South Korea’s financial industries are met with fresh opportunities to accelerate digitalization in response to the major changes in financial consumers’ behavior, as more people turn to mobile phones instead of brick-and-mortar branches to use financial services in times of COVID-19, said speakers at The Korea Herald’s first finance forum Wednesday. At Korea Herald Finance Forum 2020, held under the tagline “Korean Econo

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] Korea-ASEAN’s strong ties to offer new opportunities for financial firms

Efforts should be made to support Korean financial companies’ entry to Southeast Asian markets to secure sustainable future growth and foster stronger financial ties, a senior researcher said Wednesday. The country’s financial competitiveness along with the development of its economy has grown at large, and it is the time for the local financial industry to seek new opportunities by bolstering economic cooperation with Southeast Asia, said Jeong Young-sik, senior researcher for inte

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] World Bank Korea to establish platform for Korean startups to participate in global projects

World Bank Group Korea Office plans to launch a platform that connects local startups with global projects designed and operated by the international financial institution, special representative to World Bank Group Korea Office said Wednesday. “We plan to establish an ‘Innovation Fund’ to connect global Bank projects and clients with Korean and East Asia Pacific suppliers of innovative and technology enabled solutions,” Soh Hoon Sahib said during the Korea Herald

Nov. 4, 2020

Renault Samsung sponsors ECCK’s fundraising race contest with Twizy

Renault Samsung Motors said Wednesday it had started a race contest with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea involving its electric vehicle Twizy, to encourage donations from ECCK member firms. The automaker said it is participating in the event hosted by the ECCK, as the main sponsor to provide five units of its ultracompact model, Twizy. For the four-day event, the five Twizy cars departed from Seoul and will stop at Daejeon and Daegu before arriving in Busan on Friday. The fundrai

Nov. 4, 2020

Korea asks Vietnam for fair anti-dumping probe into corn syrup

The government said Wednesday it has called for Vietnam to conduct a fair and objective investigation into an anti-dumping case related to high-fructose corn syrup from Korea and pledged to discuss “essential facts” with the country before a final decision is made. Essential facts are crucial facts that form the basis of the investigating authority’s decision to apply anti-dumping duties. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it held a video conference

Nov. 4, 2020

Kepco issues ESG bonds worth W200b for 2 consecutive years

Korea Power Corp. said Wednesday that it has become the first South Korean energy company to issue environmental, social and governance bonds worth 200 billion won ($176 million) for two consecutive years. According to the state-run utility, the bonds comprise two-year bonds worth 30 billion won, three-year bonds worth 100 billion won and five-year bonds worth 70 billion won. “Kepco issued the ESG bonds at the lowest interest rate out of all ESG bonds that have been issued by public

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] S. Korea to level playing field for financial companies, tech rivals

  South Korea is slated to unveil policy packages to promote fair competition between traditional financial giants and emerging tech players as the pandemic accelerates the digital transformation in the local finance industry, a senior official said Wednesday. Responding to the rise of tech giants in the sector, the Financial Services Commission will construct a legal framework to supervise those firms’ presence in the finance market and ease regulatory imbalances between convention

Nov. 4, 2020

Foreign Company Day awards 44 firms for economic contribution

A total of 44 medals were awarded to foreign-invested companies and related organizations who contributed to the Korean economy, at the 2020 Foreign Company Day held on Tuesday in Seoul, according to the Korea Foreign Company Association, or FORCA. Inaugurated in 2001, the Foreign Company Day marks its 20th anniversary this year. The ceremony is held annually under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and FORCA. At the event, medals were given to a total of 44 investm

Nov. 4, 2020

[Photo News] SsangYong unveils brand new version of mid-size SUV Rexton

Automaker SsangYong Motor unveiled its brand new mid-size SUV Rexton at a showcase event on Wednesday in Seoul. The event was attended by former national football team goalkeeper Kim Byung-ji (far left), presenter Lee Hye-sung (second from left), popular trot singer Lim Young-woong (second from right), who is the carmaker’s brand ambassador, and racecar driver Seo Ju-won. With a 2.2-liter diesel engine, the new SUV model boasts the horsepower of 202 and the maximum torque of 45 kilogram-m

Nov. 4, 2020

Seoul shares close higher amid US election vote count

South Korean shares closed higher Wednesday as investors kept a watchful eye on the ongoing vote count of the US presidential election. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.01 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,357.32. Trading volume was high at about 972.9 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 441 to 377. Foreigners offloaded a net 218.3 billion won of local stocks

Nov. 4, 2020