South Korea's two leading duty free operators have decided to give up their bids to operate stores at Incheon International Airport as the novel coronavirus has devastated business at the transportation hub, industry sources said Wednesday. The move by Hotel Lotte and Hotel Shilla comes as the business environment at South Korea's main airport has changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insiders said. The two companies should have signed new 10-year lease deals with Incheon Inter

Three South Korean companies have inked contracts with the US government to export coronavirus test kits, with shipments likely to take place next week, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. The companies won interim approval last month from the US Food and Drug Administration for the exports, after U.S. President Donald Trump voiced hope to import Korean-made medical equipment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic during a phone call with President Moon Jae-in. "The process of the com

The top diplomats of South Korea and Finland held talks on ways to expand cooperation to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday. The phone conversation between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto, came about as Seoul received recognition for effectively coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and sharing its experience with other countries. Haavisto said South Korea has worked closely with his country on matters

An Indonesian man was deported from South Korea after violating rules mandating self-isolation for international arrivals, the justice ministry said Wednesday. The 40-year-old was deported to Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon after he was found to have falsely reported his local address and left the registered self-isolation venue, the ministry said in a press release. Authorities tracked him down at an acquaintance's house in the southern city of Gimcheon, 234 kilometers away from Seoul, a

  Easy access to health services is helping South Korea better navigate through the novel coronavirus crisis, experts suggest.　 More hospital beds mean more patients will likely recover from COVID-19, says preventive medicine professor Shin Ae-sun of Seoul National University College of Medicine. In a recent analysis of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states with over 3,000 confirmed virus cases, those with greater hospital bed capacity tended to have a higher

KT on Wednesday said that it is still considering options to acquire local cable TV operator D’Live. According to a regulatory filing Wednesday, it is still discussing options of acquiring the cable TV operator, but no details have been confirmed yet. The company added it is current exploring various choices to strengthen its pay TV business. The latest official comment on the acquisition of D’Live came in six months since it showed its intention to purchase the local cable TV op

South Korean brokerages are on high alert as funds related to foreign real estate -- and their direct investment in property ownership abroad -- are likely to suffer losses in the novel coronavirus pandemic situation, according to industry sources on Wednesday. As the current crisis sends property values tumbling with market chaos in major countries, the S&P Global REIT index plummeted 31.87 percent from the beginning of the year to Monday, while the S&P 500 plunged 17.55 percent in th

South Korea has unveiled an additional economic relief package worth 53.7 trillion won ($44 billion) in its continued struggle to boost the domestic market and export industries amid the fallout of COVID-19. Of the newly added amount, 36 trillion won will be allocated to trade finance, expanding the insurance and guarantee caps, while 17.7 trillion won will be used to stimulate local consumption. “The global economy is sinking into a severe recession and our export-dependent economy

South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem took the lead in the global electric vehicle battery market in February, accounting for more than one third of global EV battery capacity. According to the latest report from Adamas Intelligence, LG Chem supplied 1,800 MWh of EV batteries for newly sold passenger EVs in February, commanding 34.6 percent of total battery capacity deployed to EVs globally in the same month.  The battery deployment for passenger xEVs (BEV, PHEV, HEV) in February 2

Experts say SsangYong’s weaker exports, product competitiveness lack capital infusion

With oil prices sinking, individual investors in South Korea are increasingly opting for investments linked to oil prices, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday. The stock market operator noted that the combined value of 10 oil-linked exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes that individuals bought last month jumped more than ninefold from the previous month to reach 1.42 trillion won ($1.16 billion). Kodex WTI Crude Oil Futures ETFs, in particular, attracted 421.4 billion wo

South Korea's 31st coronavirus patient, considered a probable "super spreader," has become the country's longest-infected COVID-19 patient, health authorities said Wednesday. The 61-year-old woman, who tested positive for the new coronavirus on Feb. 18, is still receiving treatment at Daegu Medical Center in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). She has been hospitalized for 51 days, the longest of any

South Korea will host an online seminar this week to share its coronavirus containment measures and know-how with foreign countries, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. The video presentation, slated for late Thursday, comes as an increasing number of foreign countries has been seeking to benchmark various quarantine steps South Korea has taken to stem the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. Attending the seminar to be hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute will be som

South Korea’s household and corporate debts saw unprecedented growth last month, data from financial authorities showed Wednesday, as risks stemming from the novel coronavirus continue to weigh on the economy. Bank loans extended to local households, including state-backed mortgage loans, increased by 9.6 trillion won ($7.88 billion) on-month to 901.9 trillion won, the Bank of Korea said. It is the highest figure since the BOK started keeping records on household debt in 2004. The corr

South Korean stocks snapped a four-day rally to end slightly lower Wednesday as foreign and institutional investors offloaded large-cap stocks amid a lack of upside momentum. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.46 points, or 0.90 percent, to 1,807.14. Foreign and institutional investors sold a combined 422.2 billion won ($346 million) worth of stocks, weighing down the bourse. Foreigners continued to offload local stocks f