[Weekender] Spending time by yourself? You are not alone

A streamer is broadcasting an online eating show, or mukbang. Fans get their snacks and drinks ready, take photographs and share them on the streamer’s web page with stories and comments. The streamer goes over the photographs and reads comments as if they are having a table talk. The streamer holds up his glass and offers a toast to tens of thousands of viewers. Though they are e-connected, it somehow creates a sense of togetherness. The increasing number of one-person households on

Nov. 21, 2020

KB Financial union’s attempt to hire outside director falls through yet another year

KB Financial Group labor union’s attempt to convince shareholders to appoint two outside directors recommended by them fell through Friday, deflating the union’s yearslong efforts to enter the boardroom. Following a shareholders meeting held in the morning, KB Financial Group said that the appointment of outside director candidates Sustinvest CEO Ryu Young-jae and Seoul National University environmental studies professor Yun Sun-jin was “rejected” based on the votes cas

Nov. 20, 2020

Kospi anticipated to hit all-time high within year on foreign buying

As South Korea’s main bourse hit its yearly high for a third consecutive session on Friday, investors’ expectations have mounted for a fresh yearly high as early as within the year. The Kospi closed at 2,553.50, up 6.08 points or 0.24 percent, from the previous session’s close. It began trading lower at 2,544.06 and experienced a roller-coaster trading session but ended strongly. Retail investors and foreign investors net purchased 123.9 billion won ($111.21 million) and 102

Nov. 20, 2020

Seoul court rules against state health insurer on compensation suit against tobacco firms

After a six-year court battle, a Seoul court ruled against the National Health Insurance Service in the case filed against major tobacco companies, saying there was no direct link with the insurer’s financial burden and the firms’ business activities. NHIS first filed a compensation suit Against KT&G, the leading tobacco manufacturer here, and the local headquarters of British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, claiming that their sales of cigarettes had caused extra costs fo

Nov. 20, 2020

S. Korean banks adopt stricter lending rules for overdraft accounts

South Korean banking groups are set to tighten lending rules for overdraft accounts, lowering borrowing limits amid government efforts to put a brake on the nation’s fast-growing household debt, industry data showed Friday. The five major commercial banks here -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NH NongHyup -- have started lowering limits for their key overdraft account products designed for “high-income individuals and professionals” from an average 200 million won ($179,

Nov. 20, 2020

AstraZeneca vaccine results to be out around Christmas, SK Bioscience already manufacturing

AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s co-developed COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 has shown immune response in older adults enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial of the drug. Phase 3 clinical trial results are anticipated to be released around Christmas, the researchers said Friday. SK Bioscience, the Korean vaccine producer who in July signed with AstraZeneca to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine, confirmed with The Korea Herald on Friday that manufacturing has been going without a glitch. AZD

Nov. 20, 2020

Korean Air to push for employees’ leave of absence instead of restructuring

Korean Air President Woo Ki-hong said the firm would push for employees’ leave of absence instead of cutting headcount once the merger with Asiana Airlines takes place. “Korean Air has never undergone artificial restructuring over the past 51 years,” Woo told reporters after the 22nd Tourism Industry Committee meeting in Seoul on Friday. “In order to increase efficiency after the merger, (some) employees will take a leave of absence until the end of the coronavirus cr

Nov. 20, 2020

USITC postpones final ruling on Medytox, Daewoong’s BTX trade secret suit

The US’ International Trade Commission on Friday once again delayed its final ruling on a trade secret suit between Korean companies Medytox and Daewoong involving a botulinum toxin strain. The ITC did not elaborate on the reason for the postponement, but the agency‘s website indicates that the whole organization is teleworking since March this year due to COVID-19, suggesting that the pandemic may have interfered with its regular workflow. This is the second time the ITC has postp

Nov. 20, 2020

Korean Air's Asiana acquisition faces bumpy road after injunction

Creditors' plan to sell the debt-laden Asiana Airlines Inc. to its bigger rival Korean Air Lines Co. faces a bumpy road as a local equity fund has filed an injunction against the plan. On Tuesday, Asiana's main creditor, the Korea Development Bank (KDB), signed an investment agreement with Korean Air's parent Hanjin KAL Corp. to inject 800 billion won ($723 million) into Hanjin KAL through a rights offering and convertible bonds. Hanjin KAL will then participate in a 2.5 trillion-won stock sal

Nov. 20, 2020

Card spending up 6.3% on-year during nationwide shopping festival in Nov.

Card spending made during a massive nationwide annual shopping festival earlier this month rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry said Friday, amid the new coronavirus outbreak. Card spending amounted to 37.4 trillion won ($33.5 billion) in the Nov. 1-15 period, when the country held the annual Korea Sale FESTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The shopping festival involving major retailers, manufacturers and traditional markets drew a total of 1,784

Nov. 20, 2020

[Monitor] Price gap widens for planned towns around Seoul

Despite the two towns having been planned and built around the same time in the early 1990s, the price gap between apartments in Bundang and Ilsan is getting wider each year, showed a report by KB Kookmin Bank’s real estate services platform Liiv On and real estate information service 10000-Lab. Bundang and Ilsan are among the five “new town” projects announced in 1989 by the Roh Tae-woo administration to help with real estate price stabilization and housing supplies. The comm

Nov. 20, 2020

Apple, mobile carriers release new iPhone 12s in S. Korea

Apple Inc. and South Korea's three major telecom operators started shipping the iPhone 12 mini and the 12 Pro Max on Friday. The launches of the smallest and the largest versions of Apple's latest devices follow the release of the standard 12 and 12 Pro models in the local market late last month. The iPhone 12 mini comes with a 5.4-inch screen, compared with the standard model's 6.1-inch display, while the 12 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch screen. Apple's latest generation of smartphones are the comp

Nov. 20, 2020

Big firms gird for tougher social distancing amid virus surge

Big businesses in South Korea are taking preemptive steps to brace for tougher social distancing due to a recent surge in new coronavirus cases, sources said Friday. Seoul on Thursday raised its five-tier social distancing scheme by one notch in the greater Seoul area and some other areas where COVID-19 infections have soared recently. The Level 1.5 alert is largely aimed at limiting the number of people in closed areas and mass gatherings to rein in the spread of the flu-like virus. Accordin

Nov. 20, 2020

BOK expected to freeze key rate at record low next week: poll

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to freeze its policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent next week, as it will likely gauge the impact of the protracted pandemic on the economy, a poll showed Friday. In a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, all 14 analysts polled predicted the BOK will freeze the base rate at its rate-setting meeting next Thursday. They also forecast the BOK to stand pat on the rate during the remainder of the year and even throughout

Nov. 20, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, taking a cue from overnight Wall Street tech gains despite an increase in the new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.9 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,550.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks started off with a mild gain after the index hit a nearly three-year high the previous session. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 0.87 percent, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging u

Nov. 20, 2020

Producer prices fall for 1st time in 5 months on farm goods

South Korea's producer prices declined for the first time in five months in October, mainly due to falling costs of agricultural, livestock and fishery goods, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, fell 0.5 percent in October from the previous month, slowing from a 0.1 percent on-month gain in September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first monthly decline since June. The index rose on a monthly basis for the l

Nov. 20, 2020

KDB says PEF-led injunction could halt KAL-Asiana merger

Top officials of the state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Thursday that the proposed merger of South Korea’s two flag carriers, Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines -- largely orchestrated by the creditor of the two -- may be scrapped if the court grants an injunction grinding the blockbuster deal to a halt. If the injunction is granted, the state lender has no choice but to go back to square one and pursue a plan that could cost it 5.4 trillion won ($4.8 billion) by 2027 to keep

Nov. 19, 2020

Hyundai Steel to hold online conference on H-Solution next month

Hyundai Steel said Thursday it will hold online conferences to introduce its automobile brand H-Solution and the technologies on future mobility next month. The South Korean steelmaker said it will hold four online conference sessions from Dec. 2-10 to present the automotive steel brand H-Solution and its technologies and products relevant to future mobility. On the first day of the conference, the steelmaker will discuss prospects for the materials used in producing electric and hydrogen f

Nov. 19, 2020

KakaoTalk users to be able to make multiple profiles

Kakao said Thursday that the company will add a new visibility setting to its messenger application KakaoTalk to protect the privacy of users. The new visibility setting is to allow users to control what others see about you across KakaoTalk services. KakaoTalk users in the future will be able to set up several messenger profiles and select who on KakaoTalk can see which profile. KakaoTalk’s public beta testing of the new feature will begin during the first quarter next year. Previous

Nov. 19, 2020

LG Innotek partners with KIPO on info protection

LG Innotek, the high-tech parts making unit of LG Group, said Thursday that the company had signed an agreement with the Korean Intellectual Property Office and partner firms to increase cooperation to safeguard confidential business information. Under the latest agreement, LG Innotek will provide its partners with education and policy consultations to improve the protection of confidential information. The company added that it would help its partners to build systems to protect business secre

Nov. 19, 2020