Dongbu-led consortium picked as preferred bidder for Hanjin Heavy

A consortium led by construction company Dongbu Corp. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for the controlling stake of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the troubled shipbuilder said. A group of Hanjin's creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, reached the decision during a meeting earlier in the day, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. The Dongbu consortium beat two competitors, including a group led by SM Line Corp, to acquire a 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy

Dec. 22, 2020

Bibigo frozen dumplings log W1tr sales in 2020

Sales of Bibigo frozen dumplings have exceeded 1 trillion won this year, the company behind the brand said Tuesday. Bibigo owner CJ CheilJedang said sales of Bibigo dumplings stood at 1.03 trillion won ($930 million) in 2020, with 65 percent of the revenue coming from overseas. Bibigo’s sales of dumplings have shown steady growth in Korea and in other countries, and this year’s sales were double from that of 2017, when the combined sales in domestic and overseas markets was 506 b

Dec. 22, 2020

Samsung scions to be liable for record-high inheritance tax

Samsung shares came under the market spotlight as the amount of inheritance tax was set at a record 11.03 trillion won ($9.96 billion) based on closing prices of the stocks on Tuesday. Among shares held by late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee are those of tech giant Samsung Electronics, IT solutions developer Samsung SDS, construction firm Samsung C&T, and insurer Samsung Life Insurance. According to the nation’s sole securities exchange operator Korea Exchange, the value of Lee&rsquo

Dec. 22, 2020

G+FLAS Life Sciences selected as a preliminary unicorn company

Biotech company G+FLAS Life Sciences, Inc. has been selected as a preliminary unicorn company eligible for special guarantee support by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The special guarantee for preliminary unicorns can be applied for by companies with proven innovation, growth potential, and market evaluation, or companies with a corporate value of 100 billion won or more and with high grades in technology evaluation. G+FLAS was one of the 15 finalists selected through a national recommenda

Dec. 22, 2020

Daesung chief wins top honor in yearly energy award

Kim Young-hoon, chairman of South Korean energy conglomerate Daesung Group, has received top-grade recognition for his contribution to the country’s energy efficiency, the company said Tuesday in a release. The businessman was awarded the Distinguished Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service at the 2020 Korea Energy Awards, held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel. The newly added Silver Tower is the highest acclaim for the Korean energy sector, outrunning the Bronze Tower,

Dec. 22, 2020

Business groups protest against industrial accident bill

South Korea’s business circles protested Tuesday against the ongoing legislative move to enhance their safety management responsibilities and to hand down sanctions, including the possible imprisonment of a top official. “We fully agree to the legislative intent to better protect workers’ safety and to prevent industrial accidents,” said the country’s key business groups in a joint rally held at the Korea Federation of SMEs headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul.

Dec. 22, 2020

Government to supply 460,000 housing units in 2021

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday that the government will provide 460,000 housing units next year, while strengthening monitoring on manipulation attempts in the real estate market. “If the plan is implemented without any hitches, we expect it will help stabilize the market as (we are set to) supply more new homes than the average amount,” Hong said during a meeting on the real estate market with the chiefs of related ministries at the Seoul Government Complex. Over

Dec. 22, 2020

Will COVID-19 treatment be Celltrion founder’s retirement legacy?

Late on the front of coronavirus vaccine development and procurement, South Korea is pinning hopes on one particular company to provide the much-needed relief in this dark, pandemic winter -- Celltrion. The company is expected to announce in coming days results of its global clinical phase 2 trial of an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, CT-P59. Celltrion’s media-friendly founder and chairman Seo Jung-jin has said plenty of times that its drug, if approved, would &l

Dec. 22, 2020

SK Materials invests $17m in US startup for battery-enhancing tech

SK Materials said Tuesday it has invested $17 million in a US-based startup developing advanced materials that can enhance the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 50 percent. According to the South Korean manufacturer of special gases and IT materials, the investments, which were made together with US-based venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners, will allow Group14 Technologies to ramp up its pilot production facility and help with the startup’s groundbreaking of a large-scale

Dec. 22, 2020

Samsung, SKT and Kakao join hands for pandemic-forecasting AI

Samsung Electronics will join forces with South Korea‘s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and the country’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao to develop an artificial intelligence platform that alerts users of coronavirus risks in advance. According to the companies Tuesday, a joint research and development group has been formed with an aim to introduce the platform by early next year. The current emergency text alert system, run by the government, offers information of confirm

Dec. 22, 2020

Hyundai to halt local plant for 2 weeks for inventory adjustment

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will suspend one of its domestic plants for two weeks to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, from Wednesday through Jan. 6 due mainly to weak sales of the Sonata model, a company spokesman said. The sale of the Sonata sedan plunged 31 percent to 63,078 units from January to November compared with the same period of last yea

Dec. 22, 2020

Seoul stocks dip over 1.5% on virus concerns

South Korean stocks dipped more than 1.5 percent Tuesday after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high in the previous session, largely on concerns of the spreading COVID-19 cases at home and abroad. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 44.97 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 2,733.68. Trading volume was high at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 19.6 trillion won ($17.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 783

Dec. 22, 2020

Thom Browne to launch perfume line in Korea

US fashion brand Thom Browne said on Tuesday it will launch its perfume line in Korea. A total of six perfumes will be released, including “09.27.65 Eau de Parfum,” also known as Vetyver Absolute, and “09.27.65.01 Eau de Parfum,” which is also called the Vetyver and Cucumber. The fragrances contain a high concentration of Haitian Vetyver oil and its vetyver blend serves as the base signature of the products. The names reference designer Thom Browne’s birthday of

Dec. 22, 2020

KB Kookmin limits personal loan amount to W20m

KB Kookmin Bank, one of five major commercial banks here, has decided to cap the size of personal loans per household to 20 million won ($18,000), sources said Tuesday, marking a drastic move as local lenders have been tightening their grip on lending rules. KB Kookmin plans to maintain the new limit at least until the end of the year, industry sources said. The rule applies to any household that would apply for a new personal loan or seek to increase their loan balance from Tuesday to Dec. 31

Dec. 22, 2020

Retailers cash in on Christmas shopping amid pandemic

Retailers are in a final push for last-minute Christmas shopping in a year marred by the coronavirus pandemic. As the country grapples with a third wave of virus outbreaks, gatherings of five or more people are banned until early January in Seoul and surrounding areas. Despite the dampened mood, retail companies are trying to make the most of the situation, encouraging gift-giving as a way to celebrate the season safe from the virus. Shinsegae Department Store said Tuesday it would offer free

Dec. 22, 2020

[News Analysis] SsangYong Motor halts trading as bankruptcy court grants breather

Stocks of SsangYong Motor halted trading starting Tuesday as the cash-strapped automaker is now under bankruptcy court supervision and has effectively been given a three-month grace period before it enters court receivership. Eyes are on whether SsangYong Motor to avoid the court-led rehabilitation proceedings by soliciting a new investor in that time. On Monday, SsangYong Motor said it had applied for an autonomous restructuring support program, when filing for bankruptcy to Seoul Bankruptcy

Dec. 22, 2020

NH Financial nominates banking unit CEO as new chairman

NongHyup Financial Group has nominated Son Byung-hwan, CEO of its banking unit as the sole candidate for group chairman, officials said Tuesday. If the nomination is approved at a shareholders’ meeting slated for the end of month, Son is set to take the top post, which has been left vacant since late last month. Former Chairman Kim Kwang-soo resigned to serve as the new chief of the Korea Federation of Banks. Son was nominated for his expertise in digital finance as well as his leadershi

Dec. 22, 2020

Galaxy S21 renders draw attention with new camera module, color scheme

With less than a month left to the Samsung Galaxy S21 debut, leaks of renders of the first new phones of 2021 are raising expectations about remarkable changes brought to the Samsung devices. The leaks offered glimpses into some noticeable changes in the Galaxy S21 lineup, such as smaller camera cutouts and greater use of flat displays. While it has been widely known that the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the highest-end model among the lineup, would support the stylus S Pen as an option, the entry mo

Dec. 22, 2020

Producer prices stay flat in November

South Korea‘s producer prices were unchanged in November as a rise in prices of livestock and fishery goods was offset by falling prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.06 in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The flat reading marked a fresh indication of lackluster demand in South Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index fell 0.3 percent, the BOK data showed. In October, So

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea's service sector sales grow 2.2% in 2019

Sales of South Korea's service industry grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2019 due to weaker oil prices and consumer sentiment, government data showed Tuesday. Service sector sales came to 2,188 trillion won ($1.98 trillion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest growth rate since the 0.8 percent increase in 2013 and hovered well below the average annualized increase of 7.2 percent between 2009 and 2019 "In

Dec. 22, 2020