[Monitor] Online shopping volume breaks record in August

South Korea’s online shopping volume reached 14.38 trillion won ($12.4 billion) in August, the highest since records began in 2001. Mobile shopping volume was 9.32 trillion won, surpassing by far the money spent through online shopping on PCs. Online shopping also accounted for a record breaking 28.6 percent of overall retail sales, up 7.7 percent from the same time last year. While food delivery services and ready-made meals helped drive sales up as people spent more time at home foll

Oct. 8, 2020

S. Koreans spent nearly 30 hours on YouTube in Sept.: data

South Koreans are estimated to have spent nearly 30 hours on YouTube in September, a report showed Thursday, far surpassing other popular social media apps. South Korean users spent an average of 29.5 hours on Google's video-sharing app last month, compared with 12 hours on KakaoTalk, the country's top messenger app, according to data from local market tracker IGAWorks. Local users spent an average of 11.7 hours on global social media app Facebook, followed by 10.2 hours on Naver, South Korea'

Oct. 8, 2020

[Graphic News] Duty-free sales up for 4th month in Aug. but still below pre-pandemic level

　Duty-free sales in South Korea rose for the fourth straight month in August on increased purchases by Chinese vendors, but revenues remained below the pre-pandemic level, industry data showed. 　Combined sales at duty-free shops here reached 1.44 trillion won ($1.23 billion) last month, up 15.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. 　It marked the fourth straight month of gains since April, when sales fell below the 1 trillion-won threshold for

Oct. 8, 2020

BTS, S. Korean biz lobby win Van Fleet Award

South Korean K-pop boy band BTS won the 2020 Van Fleet Award for its contribution to strengthening ties between South Korea and the United States, South Korea's leading business lobby group said Thursday. The two other recipients are the Korean War Veterans Association and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), according to the KCCI. The KCCI became the first Korean organization to earn the award. In 2014, KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan received the same prize as an individual. The

Oct. 8, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from U.S. stock rallies over stimulus hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.88 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,399.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a strong start, bolstered by optimistic signals by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over an airline-relief bill in talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Investor appetite for risk also hiked on the back of the Federal Open

Oct. 8, 2020

S. Korea lags behind in hydrogen charging infrastructure

South Korea needs to further expand the country's hydrogen charging infrastructure as it lags behind advanced countries amid growing interest in zero-emission vehicles, a business association said Thursday. South Korea has emerged as a major player in technologies involving hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles and fuel-cell battery-based power generation in recent years. But the country still is behind developed nations in hydrogen charging stations and the production, storage and transport o

Oct. 8, 2020

Samsung logs largest operating profit in 2 years

Samsung Electronics on Thursday announced an earnings surprise for the third quarter of this year, posting the largest operating profit in two years. The South Korean tech giant said in its preliminary earnings report that it would register 66 trillion won ($57.01 billion) in revenue and 12.3 trillion won in operating profit for the July to September period. It was a surprise, since the financial market’s forecasts hovered around 10 trillion won. If confirmed, the Q3 revenue will hav

Oct. 8, 2020

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 4th month in Aug.

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the fourth straight month in August as exports declined at a slower pace than imports amid major economies' reopenings after the pandemic-caused lockdowns, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $6.57 billion in August, down from $7.45 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The current account has been in the black since the

Oct. 8, 2020

Seoul's trade minister among 2 finalists in race for new WTO chief: report

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee has made it onto the shortlist of two finalists in a race to become the new chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a news report said Thursday. The South Korean candidate will now compete with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria for the top seat, Reuters reported, citing three unidentified sources. The WTO earlier said the candidates for the final round of the selection process will be announced later Thursday (Geneva time). Member states will reac

Oct. 8, 2020

Nobel Prize for chemistry awarded to Charpentier and Doudna

REUTERS -- Scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of a method for genome editing, the award-giving body said on Wednesday. “Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement on awarding the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.1 million) prize. “This technology

Oct. 7, 2020

CJ Logistics considers selling Chinese unit CJ Rokin

CJ Logistics, the logistics unit of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ, has been considering selling one of its Chinese units, CJ Rokin, a company official said Wednesday.  The move is a part of the company's adjustment of its business portfolio in China, according to the official.  CJ Rokin was set up in 2015 after CJ Logistics acquired a 71.4 percent stake in Rokin, then the biggest refrigerated shipment service firm in China.(Yonhap)

Oct. 7, 2020

Former Lime Asset executive gets 5-year prison term in fund scam case

A former executive of Lime Asset Management, a scandal-ridden hedge fund based in Seoul, was sentenced to five years in prison by a local court on Wednesday for illegally investing about 20 billion won ($17.3 million). The Seoul Southern District Court convicted the former Lime executive, surnamed Kim, who served as head of the fund's alternative investment division, of breach of trust and other crimes and handed down the five-year prison term and a fine of 3.5 billion won. Kim was arrested in

Oct. 7, 2020

KB Securities, NCSoft, December & Co. join hands for AI-based securities services

Brokerage firm KB Securities and gaming company NCSoft have recently joined forces with December & Company, an asset management company offering customized services, to provide stock trading services using artificial intelligence technology, according to the companies on Wednesday. Under the partnership, KB and NCSoft will invest 30 billion won ($25.9 million) each to December for development of an AI-powered stock trading platform. December will use its asset management platform Fint, an

Oct. 7, 2020

BMW to launch blockchain-based reward program

BMW Korea announced Wednesday that the company would soon launch a blockchain-powered reward program called BMW Vantage in South Korea. The reward program is the company’s new membership scheme that will allow customers to collect reward points and use them to pay or get discounts on services that the program offers. Korea will be the first country to launch the new reward platform before rolling it out globally, BMW Korea said. The automaker’s office here is currently running a

Oct. 7, 2020

More than half a million 5G network users returned to 4G: report

The number of 5G network users who returned to 4G network services has surpassed half a million, according to data released by a local lawmaker, Wednesday. The figure -- 562,656 users who downgraded from their 5G subscriptions -- accounts for 6.5 percent of the total 5G network subscribers in South Korea, according to the report by Rep. Hong Jung-min, who belongs to the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the National Assembly. The number of 5G network users as of end-

Oct. 7, 2020

Meditoxin doctors’ most preferred wrinkle remover: Medytox

Meditoxin, South Korea’s first botulinum toxin product, was selected by dermatologists and plastic surgeons as the most preferred product for smoothing wrinkles, developer Medytox said Wednesday. In the first issue of the journal Aesthetics, published by the Korean Association for Laser, Dermatology and Trichology, Meditoxin received 51.6 percent of the votes, winning the top spot among Korean botulinum toxin products. Hugel’s Botulax came in second at 32.5 percent and Daewoong Pha

Oct. 7, 2020

CEOs of 3 brokerage firms informed of disciplinary action over Lime fiasco

South Korea’s financial watchdog has informed top executives at three securities firms of its plan to impose disciplinary action over the misselling scandal involving Lime Asset Management, according to Financial Supervisory Service officials and industry sources Wednesday. The FSS gave prior notice to Shinhan Investment, KB Securities and Daishin Securities on Tuesday that they will be reprimanded for misleading consumers by providing them with inaccurate information about Lime’s

Oct. 7, 2020

S. Korea’s forex reserves extend 6-month uptrend in Sept.

South Korea’s foreign reserves continued to rise in September for the sixth straight months, mostly on the back of the country’s sale of foreign exchange stabilization bonds and partly due to investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The foreign reserves totaled at a record high of $420.6 billion as of the end of September, up $1.59 billion from a month earlier, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The given figure comprises securities and deposits denomin

Oct. 7, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] Mercedes-Benz keeps up game in rising compact SUV market

Maintaining its position as a favorite foreign car brand in South Korea, Mercedes-Benz has geared up for the competition of sports utility vehicles, presenting a lineup of entry-level, compact SUV models last month. The automaker has been leading the imported vehicle market here with its premium family sedan E-Class selling best for a couple of years. In the first half of this year, Mercedes-Benz kept its place by selling 47,613 units, shaking off the runner up, BMW, standing at 36,498 units,

Oct. 7, 2020

LS Cable buys land in Poland for possible expansion of plants

LS Cable & System Ltd., South Korea's leading wire and cable manufacturer, said Wednesday it has purchased a 30,000-square-meter plot of land in Poland for a possible expansion of its operations. A company official said no decision has been made yet on building production facilities on the new site, which is next to LS Cable's second plant in the southwestern Polish town of Dzierzoniow. The second plant, which is yet to be completed, will produce parts for electric vehicle batteries. Last

Oct. 7, 2020