The market capitalizations of biopharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics and chemical-to-battery firm LG Chem have soared over the past six months, reflecting market interest in IT and bio sectors amid the coronavirus pandemic. Samsung Biologics’ market cap came to 55.7 trillion won ($47 billion) as of Wednesday, the third-largest in Korea‘s main stock bourse Kospi, data by the Korea Exchange showed Wednesday. This was followed by the fourth-largest LG Chem, whose market cap stood

The government plans to launch a joint inspection of dams and weirs installed in the nation’s four major rivers for their possible flood control effectiveness, following President Moon Jae-in’s earlier call for the effort. The Ministry of Environment said Wednesday it will join forces with civilian experts to verify whether the so-called four rivers project helped mitigate flood risks during the recent torrential rains, as claimed by the conservative opposition United Future Party.

Foreign brands operating in South Korea are lending a helping hand to recovery efforts during the record-breaking monsoon season. McDonald’s Korea said Wednesday it will donate burgers and drinks for 5,000 volunteers and soldiers who are working to combat the flood damage in provinces hit hardest by the heavy downpours. The burger chain will distribute Big Mac burgers and drinks for those helping recovery efforts in seven regions including Cheorwon and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, Ch

Motional aims to make driverless vehicles ‘safe, reliable and accessible reality’

Fiat Chrysler Korea announced Wednesday that it has appointed Jake Aumann as its new president and managing director. Aumann served as managing director of the automaker’s China branch for the past two years, successfully leading Alfa Romeo, a subsidiary auto brand, the company said. The new president will start his duties Monday. Since joining FCA Group in 1999, Aumann gained work experience in various sectors in the company, including administration, change management, marketing, sal

Lenders’ ESG investment expansion, however, feared to press their financial capacity under pandemic

The South Korean government said Wednesday that it will soon announce the results of its inspections into illegal transactions involving expensive real estate in Seoul and the surrounding areas. “Having tracked transactions of expensive houses reported earlier this year, state agencies found some irregularities, and the government will announce the final results in August,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki at a meeting with related ministers. “The

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday named new senior secretaries for public relations, and social policy, continuing the reshuffle that began last month. For the post of social policy senior secretary, Moon named Yoon Chang-yul, who currently heads the planning and coordination office under the Prime Minister’s Office. The current senior social policy secretary Kim Yeon-myung is not among the six senior aides who offered their resignation on Friday, and speculations have risen that Moo

A British man is facing prosecution in Korea for illegally filming sexual footage of Korean women and selling it online, local authorities said Wednesday. According to the police, the man is accused of secretly filming at least 10 women he approached while visiting downtown Seoul for 10 days in early August 2018, and of selling the footage to paid members on his website for $27. He is also alleged to have sexually assaulted some of the women after taking them home. Police launched an inve

Cho Seung-woo returns to the small screen once again as the righteous and lonely prosecutor Hwang Si-mok, in the second season of tvN’s crime thriller drama “Stranger.” “There are still four days left until the 15th, so I’d be grateful if people reviewed the first season,” said Cho at Tuesday’s online press conference as he struggled to fully explain his character to those who had not watched the show. The first season is gaining renewed popularity on

Hanwha Q Cells said Wednesday it has received a prestigious award in Germany, taking the first place in the electrical industry category, topping major local players including R. Stahl and Dehn und Söhne. Arranged by German publication Focus Money, the award commissioned the Institute for Management and Economic Research to analyze 15.7 million online customer responses on some 5,000 companies across 270 industries and chose the most reputable companies evaluated by various categories. P

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Wednesday that it has requested 14 organizations to cancel their plans for mass rallies on Aug. 15 Liberation Day in a bid to keep COVID-19 from spreading. Seoul City said that should the organizations go ahead with their rallies, it will use all means including an order that prohibits rallies to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. “Various organizations are planning to hold mass gatherings downtown. ... We have officially requested them yes

The number of digital driver’s license app users in South Korea has surpassed 1 million, according to major telecommunications firms here Wednesday. Personal smartphone authentication app Pass was developed in June, as a collaboration between SK Telecom, KT, LG U+ and the Korean National Police Agency. The digital driver’s license is currently used as to show driver’s qualification and as identification at convenience stores. The local mobile carriers said they plan to incr

South Korean telecom firm KT on Wednesday announced the launch of its subscription-based game service that streams computer and console games on smartphones. The streaming service will be up against rivals SK Telecom and LG U+, who have joined hands with Microsoft and Ndivia, respectively, for a similar service. KT said it has decided to offer a platform that is more flexible and fits the demands of local users. The company started its beta tests of the cloud-based gaming service GameBox sev

South Korean stocks extended their gaining streak to an eighth session on Wednesday on hopes for COVID-19 vaccines and optimism for a quick economic rebound from the impacts of the new coronavirus pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.68 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 2,432.35. Trading volume was high at about 753 million shares worth some 16.4 trillion won ($13.8 billion), with losers