Insurance firms’ performance in alternative investment under par

Although the insurance industry fared well overall last year in terms of profit amid the coronavirus pandemic, its performance in the foreign alternative investment segment was disappointing, according to data announced Wednesday. Mirae Asset Life Insurance saw its operating profit drop 17.7 percent on-year to 115.8 billion won ($104.56 million) in 2020, although it secured a market share of more than 50 percent in the variable insurance segment. Its profit fell as the value of its alternati

Feb. 17, 2021

Zero Pay mulls partnership with China’s UnionPay

Zero Pay, a mobile payment app developed by Seoul City, is considering a partnership with China’s financial platform UnionPay International, the company’s official said Wednesday. “We’re negotiating with UnionPay and other payment apps abroad but it is very early stage,” an official from Korea Easy Payment Foundation, which operates Zero Pay, said. “But it is our firm goal to expand our network beyond Korea so that users can pay with our app overseas,&rdqu

Feb. 17, 2021

Samsung ranks 2nd in Russia's Q4 online smartphone market: report

Samsung Electronics Co. was the second-largest vendor in Russia's online smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2020, a report showed Wednesday, amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. The South Korean tech giant accounted for 27 percent of online smartphone shipments in Russia in the last three months of 2020, up from 24.9 percent a year ago, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. Samsung was the top brand in the overall Russian smartphone market in the October-Decemb

Feb. 17, 2021

FSC chief denies political consideration on short selling ban extension

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo said Wednesday that there were no political considerations at play in the regulator’s latest decision to extend its temporary ban on short selling, stressing that the practice a “necessary” trading tactic. “Even tough retail investors have voiced against short selling, the authorities reached a conclusion that short selling is a necessary trading tactic in the stock market,” Eun said at a parliamentary briefing,

Feb. 17, 2021

Mr. Pizza operator’s stock trading suspended again

Shares of MP Group, the South Korean company that controls pizza restaurant franchise Mr. Pizza and coffee chain Manoffin, have been suspended from trading, nearly two months after resuming transactions on the nation’s secondary bourse. The Korea Exchange’s Kosdaq Market Committee decided Wednesday to halt trading of MP Group shares as the firm has been suffering operating losses for six consecutive years. The decision came to “protect investors from a possible delisting,&rdqu

Feb. 17, 2021

Regulator to file complaints against 4 steelmakers over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it will file complaints with the prosecution against four steelmakers for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. Last month, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to fine seven steelmakers, including No. 2 player Hyundai Steel Co., a combined 300 billion won ($270 million) for price fixing. The corporate watchdog said it has decided to file complaints with the prosecution against Hyundai Steel and three other steelmakers, n

Feb. 17, 2021

Samsung launches kiosk machine highlighting security, hygiene features

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday said it has launched a kiosk machine in South Korea that highlights advanced security and hygiene features as the South Korean tech giant enters the self-service machine business amid the pandemic-induced contactless trend. Samsung Kiosk is an all-in-one self-service machine that allows consumers to select, order and pay for services and products at restaurants, marts and pharmacies. Samsung said its first-ever kiosk machine will be globally available in th

Feb. 17, 2021

Kia teases exterior design of all-new K8

Kia Corp. South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, on Wednesday revealed the exterior design of the new large sedan K8, the first model that bears its new brand logo. The K8 is a successor of K7, better known as Cadenza in the United States, which has sold over 500,000 units globally since its launch in 2009. Its new corporate image features elongated 5,015 mm body with a low roofline, which combines sportiness and sleek exterior design. At the front sits a new signature frameless tiger nose grille that

Feb. 17, 2021

SK Telecom enters AI-based video security business

SK Telecom Co., the country's largest mobile carrier, said Wednesday it joined hands with its security subsidiary ADT Caps Co. and local video management solution company Innodep Inc. to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based video analysis services. Under an agreement, the three companies will develop such services to effectively manage video surveillance systems in the growing local market in the private and public sectors, according to SK Telecom. The mobile carrier said it will optimiz

Feb. 17, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply lower on tech, auto losses

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Wednesday amid strong institutional and foreign selling, led by tech and auto losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 27.65 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,135.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a lackluster start as the KOSPI's three-day gain increased valuation pressure, in addition to the yield hike concerns on Wall Street. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 1.41 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix she

Feb. 17, 2021

S. Korea to quicken implementation of home supply scheme: finance minister

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government will focus on accelerating the implementation of the latest housing supply plan in a bid to help stabilize rising home prices. The government said early this month it will ease construction regulations and support redevelopment projects in urban areas to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years. Hong said in a ministerial meeting on the housing market that the country will first select the can

Feb. 17, 2021

Major asset managers log 44% jump in 2020 earnings

Major asset management companies in South Korea saw their earnings soar more than 40 percent in 2020 amid a bullish stock market, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of the country's 10 leading asset managers came to 381.6 billion won ($346 million) last year, up 44 percent from a year earlier, according to their annual earnings reports. Their total operating income stood at 422.5 billion won, up 10.7 percent from the previous year. The figure doesn't include earnings of Kiwoom Ass

Feb. 17, 2021

Kumho Tire union votes to accept wage freeze

Unionized workers at Kumho Tire have voted to accept a wage deal for the year of 2020 amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, the union said Tuesday. The management and labor union reached an agreement early this month on a wage freeze and a cash bonus worth 1 million won ($900) per worker plus a contract to guarantee job security. Its 2,700-strong union approved the deal in a vote held from Monday to Tuesday, union spokesman Kim Seong-jin said. Kumho Tire didn't raise wages for 2018 and

Feb. 16, 2021

Banking group heads ‘agree’ to extend loan deferment for small biz

Heads of five major banking groups here on Tuesday agreed to extend their joint loan deferment program for local businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic for another six months at an exclusive meeting with Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo. “The chiefs of the banking groups agreed to extend the program for another six months,” Eun told the press following a roundtable meeting held with the group executives at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Se

Feb. 16, 2021

[News Focus] More homegrown COVID-19 therapies coming

Following Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, a slew of homegrown therapies is on the way in the first half of 2021. Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical is set to submit application for emergency approval in February, and GC Pharma in April. Under the fast-track review program for COVID-19 therapies and vaccines, the new submissions will hear back in 40 days from application. Treatments are primarily for alleviating the condition in afflicted patients, rather than preventi

Feb. 16, 2021

Hana Financial chief, a year before retirement, seeks 4th term

The incumbent chairman of Hana Financial Group is seeking a fourth term, which would make him, if elected, the longest-serving chief of a financial institution in South Korean history. Hana Financial Group on Monday evening confirmed the nomination of four candidates for the group’s top post, including Chairman Kim Jung-tai, who has been at the helm of the group since 2012. 　 Kim publicly said last year that he wouldn’t be reluctant to give up the chairmanship. But Kim being sho

Feb. 16, 2021

SK Bioscience to manufacture Novavax vaccine for 20 mil population

South Korean vaccine-maker SK Bioscience will manufacture 40 million doses of US’ Novavax vaccines, enough to inoculate 20 million people. Under the agreement signed by SK Bioscience, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Novavax on Tuesday, Novavax will license out its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine technology to SK Bioscience for contract manufacturing purposes. As per this deal, South Korea will have the means to stably secure COVID-19 vaccines domestically, without having to rely on

Feb. 16, 2021

KDB, Environment Ministry to develop framework to foil greenwashing

The state-run lender Korea Development Bank said Tuesday it was working with the Ministry of Environment to foster a standardized framework for its green bond issuance in a bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions.  KDB officials said the move will ensure that issuers, including KDB, will use the green bond proceeds for environmental purposes and prevent issuers from “greenwashing,” in which companies make green gestures without meaningfully improving their environmental impact. KD

Feb. 16, 2021

Employment gap widens throughout COVID-19 fallout

Bearing the brunt of a prolonged COVID-19 fallout, South Korea saw the employment gap widen between top-tier businesses and smaller ones last year, data showed Tuesday. The number of employed people here stood at 25.81 million in January, down 982,000 from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea and Korea Small Business Institute. The steepest dip was observed in small and medium-sized businesses with less than 300 employees, where the employed population contracted by

Feb. 16, 2021

[News Focus] Korean gasoline prices reach 11-month high

SEJONG -- Gasoline prices in South Korea have climbed for 89 consecutive days in tandem with international crude prices, adding to the burdens facing households and businesses. According to the Korea National Oil Corp., the price of gasoline reached 1,461.05 won ($1.32) per liter on Feb. 15. It marked a third consecutive month of rebounding, having previously dipped to 1,317.12 won per liter Nov. 18. Furthermore, the current level marked the highest price point in about 11 months -- since Mar

Feb. 16, 2021