8 units of SK Group to join global renewable energy campaign

Eight units of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group will participate in a global renewable energy campaign also joined by Google Inc. and Apple Inc., the group said Sunday. The SK firms will be the first South Korean companies to take part in the RE100 campaign that calls for companies to meet their entire electricity demand with renewable energy such as wind power and solar power by 2050. About 260 companies, including Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Ikea, have already joined the c

Nov. 1, 2020

Former presidential economy secretary tapped as FSC vice chairman

President Moon Jae-in’s former secretary for economic policy, Doh Kyu-sang has been tapped as new vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Doh, a 53-year-old veteran bureaucrat, is well known for his career and expertise in economic policymaking. He joined the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 1991 after passing the civil servant exam and built his career both at the ministry and the FSC while taking key roles. Doh served as the main spokesperson

Nov. 1, 2020

COVID-19 irony: Banking groups set to break records in pandemic

While the global economy seems to be largely struggling under coronavirus woes, South Korea’s major banking groups are projected to see record-high earnings for this year, analysts said Sunday. “There has been an increase in core interest revenues due to a growth in won-denominated loans and a narrow on-quarter decline of the banking groups’ net interest margins by 0.01 percentage point,” a recent note released by local brokerage BNK Securities said. “Their brok

Nov. 1, 2020

[From the scene] Getting on a ‘flight to nowhere’

On a Saturday morning in October, an Asiana Airlines flight carrying 250 passengers took off at Incheon Airport in the midst of a pandemic. The destination? Nowhere, although it flew over Gangneung, Pohang, Gimhae and Jeju Island during the nearly two-hour flight. As odd as it may sound to those who dread the idea of going to the airport, the destination-less flights, or “flights to nowhere” have become a hit of some sort with avid flyers in 2020 -- a year when commercial flying ha

Nov. 1, 2020

Kospi records first monthly fall after March

South Korea’s main bourse Kospi saw a monthly dip in October, discontinuing its winning streak following March, when the market hit its rock bottom over market fears on the coronavirus and started a seven-month rebound. Despite the index heading south, retail investors have flocked to high-risk leveraged exchange-traded funds, betting on the local stocks’ recovery, data showed Sunday. According to the nation’s sole securities exchange operator Korea Exchange, Kospi closed at 2

Nov. 1, 2020

Hyundai Heavy fined for subcontractor's technology misuse

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. has been fined 246 million won ($216,800) for misusing a subcontractor's technologies, the country's antitrust watchdog said Sunday. Hyundai Heavy shared the design of a subcontractor's lighting equipment with another subcontractor without permission to help it make the same equipment from April 2017 to April 2018, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said. The shipbuilder was found to have delivered the design of five ship engine parts provid

Nov. 1, 2020

Hyundai Mobis strengthens competitiveness of future car software

Since 2018, Hyundai Mobis has been operating the “Mobis Software Academy” that allows employees and researchers to complete specialized software training at a technical institute in Yongin City, a move to reinforce the firm’s software development capabilities. The biggest feature of the academy is to focus on convergence software processes specialized for autonomous driving, such as sensors and technologies for the vehicles’ “cognition,” “judgment,&ldq

Nov. 1, 2020

Hyundai Motor sells over 380,000 units of Genesis overseas

Hyundai Motor Co. sold over 380,000 units of its premium brand Genesis in overseas markets over the past five years since the brand launched in November 2015, industry sources said Sunday. Sales of Genesis came to a combined 384,471 units in September this year, showing its steady sales in the global passenger car market, they said. The current Genesis lineup is composed of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans and the GV80 SUV. In the first nine months, sales of the all models of Genesis were talli

Nov. 1, 2020

Exports decline again in Oct. on fewer days; virus lockdowns set to weigh down shipments

South Korea's outbound shipments dipped 3.6 percent in October from a year earlier on fewer working days and virus resurgence, snapping the previous month's brief rebound, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments came to $44.9 billion last month, compared to $46.6 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports moved down 5.8 percent to $39 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.9 billion. The latest figure roughly falls in line

Nov. 1, 2020

Seoul shares face high volatility in coming week; US elections, COVID-19 in focus

South Korean shares are likely to face high volatility in the coming week, with key political developments, including the US presidential election and new coronavirus outbreaks, expected to roil global financial markets, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,267.15 points on Friday, down 3.97 percent from a week ago. Local analysts said the KOSPI could receive an upward push in the coming week from hopes for third-quarter earnings hikes a

Oct. 31, 2020

NPS reaps 5% return as measures to boost gains are underway

South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, said Friday that it has reaped a 5.07 percent return on its total investments from January to August this year. The nation’s largest institutional investor, overseeing 789.9 trillion won ($695.3 billion) worth of assets, also unveiled measures to pursue additional gains by wooing more hedge fund partners and enhancing its foreign currency management. At a meeting Friday of the NPS’ Fund Management Committee, We

Oct. 30, 2020

NH NongHyup to operate mobile banking business via Naver Cloud Platform

NH NongHyup Bank said Friday that it has partnered with Naver Cloud Platform to use a public cloud system to operate its mobile-based financial services, becoming the first company in the local banking industry to do so.   Under the partnership, the lender will employ a financial public cloud system offered by NCP -- the cloud affiliate of South Korea’s leading internet portal operator, Naver -- when running its own mobile banking application All One Bank, which offers savings and d

Oct. 30, 2020

GM Korea’s workers to go on partial strike

Unionized workers at GM Korea decided to go on a partial strike after they failed to reach an agreement with the company in wage negotiations, according to the union Friday. The union will proceed with a four-hour walkout on Friday and next Monday, it said. GM Korea and its unionized workers held 21 rounds of negotiations beginning in July. The last one ended after 10 minutes, according to the related parties. The partial strike is expected to weigh on GM Korea as it will deepen productio

Oct. 30, 2020

LG Electronics Q3 net nearly doubles on strong TV, home appliance sales

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its net profit nearly doubled in the third quarter from a year earlier on the back of strong global demand for its TVs and home appliances amid the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean tech giant said its net income reached 649.2 billion won ($573.6 million) in the July-September period, up 87.8 percent from 345.7 billion won the previous year. Its third-quarter operating income stood at 959 billion won, up 22.7 percent on-year, while sales reached 16.9 trilli

Oct. 30, 2020

Seoul stocks sink over 2.5% on massive foreign sell-offs

South Korean shares plunged more than 2.5 percent Friday, as major tech giants suffered a slump from massive foreign sell-offs. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 59.52 points, or 2.56 percent, to close at 2,267.15. Trading volume was high at about 775 million shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 753 to 123. Stocks widened losses following a weak start, led by a retreat in

Oct. 30, 2020

Golfzon introduces new version of indoor golf simulator

Golfzon, South Korea’s leading screen golf operator, said Friday that it has launched a new version of its indoor golf simulator. The latest version comes with new features that are designed to improve the player experience, according to the company. For instance, it allows players to make changes to putting green soils, which can influence how a golf ball lands and how it rolls on the ground. The users can also adjust the speed of a golf ball rolling on a putting green, according to t

Oct. 30, 2020

LG Chem stays No. 1 in EV battery market this year

LG Chem Ltd. was the world's biggest supplier of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the first nine months of this year thanks to robust demand from global automakers, a market research firm said Friday.  South Korea's largest chemical company accounted for a 24.6 percent share of the global EV market in the January-September period, with 19.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery production capacity, according to SNE Research. China's CATL came next with a 23.7 percent share, and Japan's Pana

Oct. 30, 2020

Korea Shipbuilding swings to loss in Q3 on stronger won

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Friday that it swung to a net loss in the third quarter from a year ago due to the stronger local currency. Net losses came to 77 billion won ($68.3 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 20.4 billion won a year earlier, Korea Shipbuilding said in an emailed statement. Sales fell 5 percent to 3.46 trillion won in the three-month period and operating profit rose 34 percent to 40.7 billion won. "The appreci

Oct. 30, 2020

Cigarette sales rise 5.6% in Jan.-Sept. period

SEJONG -- Sales of cigarettes in South Korea rose 5.6 percent on-year in the first nine months of this year, data showed Friday, thanks to robust sales of traditional cigarettes. South Korean smokers purchased 2.75 billion 20-cigarette packs in the January-September period, compared with 2.6 billion packs in the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Still, the nine-month reading represented a 15.1 percent drop from the same period in 2014

Oct. 30, 2020

LG International’s operating profit up 19.5% in Q3

LG International said its operating profit in the third quarter of this year was estimated at 34.9 billion won ($30 million), up 19.5 percent from the same period last year. Sales rose 14.3 percent year-on-year to 3.1 trillion won. Net profit rose 358.9 percent to 41.3 billion won. LG International explained that the rebound was the result of an increase in trading volume -- for example, for palm oil and information technology parts -- and a strong performance in the logistics sector. &ld

Oct. 30, 2020