[Graphic News] Health care exports hit record high amid pandemic

　South Korea’s health care and cosmetics exports soared more than 38 percent to an all-time high in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed. 　The country’s overseas shipments of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices stood at $21.70 billion last year, up 38.3 percent from the previous year and a fresh high, according to the data from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. 　The pandemic led to a surge in exports of biopharmaceuticals, coronavi

March 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open higher as FOMC comments calm investor concerns

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, following the US Federal Reserve's reiteration that rates would remain at near-zero through 2023. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 32.5 points, or 1.07 percent, to 3,080 points as of 9:23 a.m. Stocks started strong as the results from a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting partially soothed market concerns of earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics advanced 1.22 percent

March 18, 2021

S. Koreans' spending on Netflix hits over W70b in Feb.: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 70 billion won ($62.4 million) for Netflix's video streaming services last month, more than tripling from the previous year, data showed Thursday. Local credit and debit card payments on the video streaming platform reached 72.5 billion won in February, the highest-ever monthly figure, compared with 22.5 billion won the same month the previous year, according to the data from industry tacker WiseApp. Based on the data, WiseApp said there were

March 18, 2021

Samsung unveils most competitive midrange Galaxy A phones

Samsung Electronics is apparently shifting its focus to midrange phones from premium ones, announcing three new affordable but high-spec models on Wednesday. During its first online Galaxy Awesome Unpacked event for midrange smartphones, the South Korean smartphone vendor unveiled the Galaxy A52, A52 5G and A72 that boast optical image stabilization cameras, high-refresh rate displays and 5G for the first time among Galaxy A phones. Such a move is aimed at cementing Samsung’s top pos

March 17, 2021

Chong Kun Dang's COVID-19 treatment denied conditional approval

South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp.'s acute pancreatitis drug has failed to get conditional approval as a treatment for the novel coronavirus. An advisory board consisting of outside experts under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the drug, Nafabeltan. The panel said the drug, currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment, failed to show effectiveness in treatin

March 17, 2021

Volkswagen Passat GT at forefront for ‘democratization’ of imported car market

With advanced driver assistance systems and a great price, Volkswagen’s Passat GT stands as the flagship model leading the “democratization” of the imported car market, Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday. The German automaker said the newest model of the eighth-generation Passat GT is a reasonable choice for those looking for a sedan with good value, available at lower prices than its rivals, but not missing out on the latest technologies. In 2018, Volkswagen Korea set a goal

March 17, 2021

Kumho Tire’s Ecsta HS51 receives top award in summer tire test by Auto Bild

Kumho Tire’s best-selling tire Ecsta HS51 ranked No. 1 in the latest contest for summer tires, and gained an “Exemplary” rating by Auto Bild, the company said Wednesday. Auto Bild, a renowned German publication, recently compared dry and wet braking performances of 53 summer tires sold in Europe. There, Ecsta HS51, which is Kumho’s best-selling model in the European market, was awarded the first place, beating rivals such as Michelin, Continental and Bridgestone, Kum

March 17, 2021

Kakao shares soar on expectation of its gain from Dunamu’s performance

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, saw its shares soar on the nation’s Kospi market Wednesday, with market watchers predicting the online giant will benefit from the Bitcoin craze. Shares of Kakao jumped 2.51 percent to 491,000 won ($433) in early morning trading, falling short by only 28,000 won per share from its 52-week high set on Feb. 16. The stock pared part of its earlier gains, but maintained the overall upward movement in the day to close a

March 17, 2021

FDA to inspect Hanmi’s drug manufacturing site in May

The US Food and Drug Administration will carry out a pre-approval inspection in May at Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s drug manufacturing facilities and packaging sites in Gyeonggi Province’s Pyeongtaek that produces the novel drug Rolontis, the Korean company said Wednesday. The US FDA was slated to approve Hanmi’s manufacturing of the given drug on Oct. 24 last year, but the schedule was temporarily shelved due to restrictions on overseas business trips amid the escalating COVID-19

March 17, 2021

Celltrion’s breast cancer biosimilar takes up 44% market share in Japan

South Korean biotechnology company Celltrion said Wednesday that the company‘s breast cancer drug Herzuma reached a market share of 44 percent in Japan last year. Herzuma is a biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), used in treating patients with certain breast and gastric cancers. In the third quarter of 2019, the market share of Herzuma in Japan was just 2 percent, but the figure jumped to 12 percent in the following quarter. Herzuma&rsqu

March 17, 2021

S. Korean govt. initiates W600b program to nurture regenerative medicine

The South Korean government announced that it would spend 595 billion won ($525.6 million) by 2030 to support the country’s regenerative medicine sector. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the program will start in July this year, focused on supporting the overall research and development of regenerative medicines, exploration of related business opportunities and out-licensing of technologies. The goal is to help local firms develop at least four new regenerative medicines

March 17, 2021

S. Korean shipbuilders stand out amid eco-friendly gas-fueled vessel demands

After years of sluggish market trends, South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is now warming up on the back of increased demand for eco-friendly gas-fueled vessels in the post-coronavirus era, data showed Wednesday. According to Clarksons Research, the leading information provider for global shipping, orders have been made for 254 ships so far this year, of which gas-fueled vessels account for 54 units or 21.3 percent. That figure was 10.1 percent in 2019 and 14.9 percent in 2020. Also,

March 17, 2021

Samsung chief’s fate in focus at shareholders meeting

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Around 900 shareholders of Samsung Electronics gathered at a convention center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to attend their 52nd annual meeting. The number of attendees more than doubled from last year, when fears of the COVID-19 pandemic hit especially hard. Samsung has hosted the shareholders meeting at the 2,000-seat Suwon Convention Center since last year. Previous meetings held at its headquarters building in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, were ove

March 17, 2021

Finance minister confident of job recovery on falling figures

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday expressed confidence in the recovery of the nation’s job market, despite pessimistic figures that showed the number of employed people declining for 12 months, marking the longest losing streak in 22 years. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, 26.36 million people had jobs in February, a decline of 473,000 compared to a year prior. But the fiscal chief asserted that the employment index would improve in March with the launch of the COVID

March 17, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding delivers submarine to Indonesia

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Wednesday it has successfully delivered a submarine to Indonesia. The 1,400-ton submarine was the third of three submarines that Daewoo Shipbuilding won in a deal worth $1.1 billion in 2011, the shipbuilder said. The 61-meter-long submarine, named ALUGORO, was based on Daewoo Shipbuilding's first-built submarine, the Jangbogo, the company said. The submarine was built in pieces at Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding in Geoje Island, about

March 17, 2021

Seoul stocks finish lower ahead of FOMC results

South Korean stocks finished lower Wednesday on selling by foreigners and institutions amid rising uncertainties ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.67 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 3,047.5 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 803 million shares worth some 13.2 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 430 to 409. Foreigners s

March 17, 2021

VW poses a dilemma for LGES and SKI

Volkswagen’s latest announcement that it will transition to “prismatic” batteries from “pouch” batteries starting from 2023 poses a dilemma to South Korean battery developers LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation, which have been supplying pouch-type cells to the world’s No. 1 automaker. According to industry experts Wednesday, LGES and SKI are hesitating on moving forward with the development of prismatic batteries even if it means losing VW, because the p

March 17, 2021

[News Focus] Four-way race for E-bay Korea acquisition

The race to acquire a controlling stake in eBay Korea is shaping up to be a four-way battle, with big-name players in retail all in for a deal valued at 5 trillion won ($4.42 billion). According to industry sources, Lotte Group, Emart Inc., SK Telecom Co. and private equity firm MBK Partners have been chosen as the preliminary bidders to buy the South Korean unit of the e-commerce giant, which operates some of the country’s major online shopping platforms including Gmarket, Auction and G

March 17, 2021

S. Korean banks’ average capital adequacy ratio slightly up in 2020

South Korean banks’ average capital adequacy ratio inched up last year from the previous year, indicating improved financial health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the financial watchdog showed Wednesday. The average ratio of 19 commercial and state-run lenders gained 1.08 percentage points to 15 percent on-year as of end-2020, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The capital adequacy ratio, based on the Switzerland-based Bank of International Settlements’ guidel

March 17, 2021

Fiscal chiefs of S. Korea, US agree on continuing expansionary measures

Finance ministers of South Korea and the US have shared their views on efforts to continue expansionary fiscal policies in reviving virus-battered local economies and supporting underprivileged groups, the ministry said on Wednesday. During a phone call between South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his US counterpart Jane Yellen, the two also agreed to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change crisis, officials added. The top e

March 17, 2021