The South Korean government is seeking to enable department stores and outlets to temporarily sell duty-free stores’ inventory to help the struggling operators, according to local news outlets on Friday. According to news reports, major duty-free operators in Korea, including Lotte, Shilla and Shinsegae, held a meeting last week with officials from the Korea Duty-Free Shops Association and the Korea Customs Service to discuss the sale of bonded goods. During the meeting, the duty-free

Industry April 17, 2020

Representatives of South Korea’s key industries expressed concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and raised their calls for the government to expand support for the sectors reeling. On Thursday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and associations of five industries, including automobiles, steel, petrochemicals, machinery and shipbuilding, jointly held a meeting to listen to the difficulties of the industries and discuss solutions. “The economic impact of coronavirus was

Industry April 16, 2020

Despite public apathy and tougher shareholder censure, South Korea’s chaebol groups are preparing a generational shift in leadership. The Korea Herald looks at different conglomerates and succession scenarios. -- Ed. Satoshi Shigemitsu, 33, who goes by the Korean name Shin Yoo-yeol, is the only son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin. Being a Japanese citizen, he went to Keio University, got a management degree from Columbia University and currently works at Nomura Singapore. Alth

Industry April 16, 2020

Although the continued spread of coronavirus has disrupted many industries in South Korea, those related to “untact” services -- referring to no-contact interaction, which have become an integral part of life -- have fared well and are expected to grow even further, according to industry sources Wednesday. E-commerce companies appear to be the biggest beneficiaries of the prolonged pandemic. Online shopping transactions in Korea amounted to 11.9 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in F

Industry April 15, 2020

Hyosung TNC said Tuesday it will make eco-friendly bags using plastic bottles with its textile brand Regen in a joint project with Jeju Province Development Corp. The textile and trading unit of Hyosung Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a resource circulation system with the Ministry of Environment, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju Province Development Corp. and eco-fashion brand Pleatsmama. Jeju Island Development Corp., which makes bottled water Samd

Industry April 14, 2020

South Korea’s information and communications technology industry could suffer as spending by companies is poised to decline due to the COVID-19 spread, according to research firm IDC Korea on Tuesday. Spending on ICT systems is expected to decline this year due to the rise of companies’ emergency management system and short-term cost reduction, the research firm noted. In a recently published report “Korea ICT 2020 Market Outlook,” IDC revised down its forecast for m

Industry April 14, 2020

Job openings at South Korean companies have fallen by a third in March on-year as businesses are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, according to a local online job portal Monday. Saramin released an analysis of job openings in the first quarter of 2019 and 2020. According to the results, the hiring rate saw a 32.7 percent drop in March as the prolonged COVID-19 spread has increased uncertainties. The number of the companies analyzed was not disclosed. Considering that March is usuall

Industry April 13, 2020

SsangYong Motor will receive 40 billion won ($32 million) in special funds this month from its major shareholder, Indian carmaking conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, to urgently address liquidity issues, the Korean automaker said Sunday. SsangYong said it finalized its plan to raise 40 billion won in new funds at an extraordinary general meeting Friday. Mahindra will first invest in SsangYong as a loan, which will be converted to equity later upon Indian and Korean government agencies&rs

Mobility April 12, 2020

South Korea’s trade-reliant companies should be fully prepared for the possibility of heightened trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies amid the global pandemic and the approach of the year-end US presidential election, according to a local business association Sunday. A new report from the Korea International Trade Association titled “The direction of US-China relations in the post-coronavirus era” said COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China, has

Industry April 12, 2020

Jongmyo is a special shrine for the deceased kings and queens of Joseon. It is the oldest extant royal Confucian shrine, according to UNESCO. In Confucianism, when a person dies, the soul is believed to be separated from the body, with the soul going up to heaven and the body returning to earth. The ancestors of modern-day Koreans thought it was important to have a place for the spirit of the deceased and a place for the body. Jongmyo, located in Jongno district, central Seoul, is adjacent

Culture April 11, 2020

A slowdown in major economies following the global coronavirus pandemic could cut South Korea’ economic growth rate by as much as 2 percentage points, according to a local business research center Wednesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed the impact of the growth rate of three countries -- the US, China and Japan -- on the growth rate of Korea based on data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It found that if the growth rate of the three cou

Industry April 8, 2020

Six out of 10 South Korean workers experience a generation gap in their workplace with the older generation feeling wider disparity, a report showed Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce ＆Industry released a survey of the generation conflict in Korean companies among around 13,000 office workers from 30 large and midsized companies. The survey showed 63.9 percent of the respondents feel the generation gap. By age, 69.4 percent of those in their 40s and 67.3 percent of those in their 50

Industry April 8, 2020

Owners of large South Korean conglomerates have been buying their low-priced shares amid the stock plunge caused by the coronavirus pandemic, raising questions as to whether they are taking advantage of the situation for their succession plans. Over the past two months, Korean stocks have tumbled and major firms have lost their market value by a third. Amid the stock market crash, the repurchase of treasury stocks has been on the rise. The cumulative spending on treasury stocks amounted to aro

Industry April 7, 2020

German companies doing business in South Korea are concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations but are likely to retain their local workforce, a survey showed Tuesday.  The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry released the results of a survey measuring the impact of COVID-19 on its member companies. It was conducted from March 19 to April 2, and 82 companies took part.  According to the chamber, one-third of respondents said the curre

Industry April 7, 2020

Market capitalization of the nation’s top 100 companies has fluctuated widely amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, while that of bio-related companies surged, according to a local corporate tracker Tuesday. Korea CXO Institute surveyed the market cap of more than 2,300 listed companies in the first quarter, noting that the combined market value of the top 100 companies fell 17 percent from 1,218 trillion won ($994 billion) on Jan. 2 to 1,011 trillion won on March 31. Despite the stock

Industry April 7, 2020