Kakao's Q2 net nearly quadruples on robust platform, e-commerce

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped nearly three times from a year earlier on the back of robust growth of its e-commerce services based on its messenger platform. Net profit reached a quarterly high of 143.7 billion won ($126.3 million) in the July-September period on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 51.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales jumped by 4

Nov. 5, 2020

S. Korea's current account surplus hits 2-year high in Sept. on export recovery

South Korea's current account surplus hit a two-year high in September as exports rebounded for the first time in seven months on brisk shipments of chips and autos amid the new coronavirus outbreak, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $10.21 billion in September, compared with $6.57 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. It marked the largest surplus since September 20

Nov. 5, 2020

[Advertising Awards] What makes a digital marketer shine?

This is the era of fourth industrial revolution. Traditional marketing platforms are rapidly receding in their stature now that we have big data-based artificial intelligence entering the realm of decision-making. Digital advertisement quotes had already begun to surpass the TV advertisement quotes since 2016, and this year, in 2020, they are expected to account for over 50 percent of the entire advertisement market. Digital marketing refers to the extensive marketing activity of pitching prod

Nov. 5, 2020

Biz community on virus alert after reporter at Lee Kun-hee's funeral tests positive

A number of South Korean business leaders and senior government officials who visited the funeral hall of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee were either tested or planning to undergo tests for COVID-19 on Wednesday after a reporter who covered Lee‘s funeral was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. 　 According to business community insiders, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, both received tests after rec

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] COVID-19 provides financial firms new opportunities to go digital, global

Despite the uncertainties posed by the pandemic, South Korea’s financial industries are met with fresh opportunities to accelerate digitalization in response to the major changes in financial consumers’ behavior, as more people turn to mobile phones instead of brick-and-mortar branches to use financial services in times of COVID-19, said speakers at The Korea Herald’s first finance forum Wednesday. At Korea Herald Finance Forum 2020, held under the tagline “Korean Econo

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] Korea-ASEAN’s strong ties to offer new opportunities for financial firms

Efforts should be made to support Korean financial companies’ entry to Southeast Asian markets to secure sustainable future growth and foster stronger financial ties, a senior researcher said Wednesday. The country’s financial competitiveness along with the development of its economy has grown at large, and it is the time for the local financial industry to seek new opportunities by bolstering economic cooperation with Southeast Asia, said Jeong Young-sik, senior researcher for inte

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] World Bank Korea to establish platform for Korean startups to participate in global projects

World Bank Group Korea Office plans to launch a platform that connects local startups with global projects designed and operated by the international financial institution, special representative to World Bank Group Korea Office said Wednesday. “We plan to establish an ‘Innovation Fund’ to connect global Bank projects and clients with Korean and East Asia Pacific suppliers of innovative and technology enabled solutions,” Soh Hoon Sahib said during the Korea Herald

Nov. 4, 2020

Renault Samsung sponsors ECCK’s fundraising race contest with Twizy

Renault Samsung Motors said Wednesday it had started a race contest with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea involving its electric vehicle Twizy, to encourage donations from ECCK member firms. The automaker said it is participating in the event hosted by the ECCK, as the main sponsor to provide five units of its ultracompact model, Twizy. For the four-day event, the five Twizy cars departed from Seoul and will stop at Daejeon and Daegu before arriving in Busan on Friday. The fundrai

Nov. 4, 2020

Korea asks Vietnam for fair anti-dumping probe into corn syrup

The government said Wednesday it has called for Vietnam to conduct a fair and objective investigation into an anti-dumping case related to high-fructose corn syrup from Korea and pledged to discuss “essential facts” with the country before a final decision is made. Essential facts are crucial facts that form the basis of the investigating authority’s decision to apply anti-dumping duties. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, it held a video conference

Nov. 4, 2020

Kepco issues ESG bonds worth W200b for 2 consecutive years

Korea Power Corp. said Wednesday that it has become the first South Korean energy company to issue environmental, social and governance bonds worth 200 billion won ($176 million) for two consecutive years. According to the state-run utility, the bonds comprise two-year bonds worth 30 billion won, three-year bonds worth 100 billion won and five-year bonds worth 70 billion won. “Kepco issued the ESG bonds at the lowest interest rate out of all ESG bonds that have been issued by public

Nov. 4, 2020

[KH Finance Forum] S. Korea to level playing field for financial companies, tech rivals

  South Korea is slated to unveil policy packages to promote fair competition between traditional financial giants and emerging tech players as the pandemic accelerates the digital transformation in the local finance industry, a senior official said Wednesday. Responding to the rise of tech giants in the sector, the Financial Services Commission will construct a legal framework to supervise those firms’ presence in the finance market and ease regulatory imbalances between convention

Nov. 4, 2020

Foreign Company Day awards 44 firms for economic contribution

A total of 44 medals were awarded to foreign-invested companies and related organizations who contributed to the Korean economy, at the 2020 Foreign Company Day held on Tuesday in Seoul, according to the Korea Foreign Company Association, or FORCA. Inaugurated in 2001, the Foreign Company Day marks its 20th anniversary this year. The ceremony is held annually under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and FORCA. At the event, medals were given to a total of 44 investm

Nov. 4, 2020

[Photo News] SsangYong unveils brand new version of mid-size SUV Rexton

Automaker SsangYong Motor unveiled its brand new mid-size SUV Rexton at a showcase event on Wednesday in Seoul. The event was attended by former national football team goalkeeper Kim Byung-ji (far left), presenter Lee Hye-sung (second from left), popular trot singer Lim Young-woong (second from right), who is the carmaker’s brand ambassador, and racecar driver Seo Ju-won. With a 2.2-liter diesel engine, the new SUV model boasts the horsepower of 202 and the maximum torque of 45 kilogram-m

Nov. 4, 2020

Seoul shares close higher amid US election vote count

South Korean shares closed higher Wednesday as investors kept a watchful eye on the ongoing vote count of the US presidential election. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.01 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 2,357.32. Trading volume was high at about 972.9 million shares worth some 14.7 trillion won ($12.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 441 to 377. Foreigners offloaded a net 218.3 billion won of local stocks

Nov. 4, 2020

[Herald Interview] Secret behind Danish COVID-19 response: Health tech solutions

A survey in August showed that people in Denmark were happier than people from any other advanced economy about their government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. They were more satisfied than South Koreans. 　 Some 95 percent of Danes believed their government was doing a good job of handling the pandemic, while 86 percent of Koreans felt the same way about their government, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. 　 Though Denmark is also grappling with a resurgence of COVI

Nov. 4, 2020

COVID-19 a fork in the road for Korean pharmas’ conflicting Q3 report

　South Korean pharmaceuticals and biologics companies produced conflicting third-quarter reports, some of them boosted by their involvement in COVID-19-related pipelines. 　GC Pharma, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical, Boryung Pharmaceutical, Daewoong Pharmaceutical and Yuhan Corp. reported stellar performances, while Dong-A ST and Hanmi Pharm saw their figures falter. 　 　The companies that fared better than the others had flu vaccines and treatments for chronic illnesses in their portfolios. Both

Nov. 4, 2020

Hyundai signs MOUs to supply 4,000 hydrogen trucks to China by 2025

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday it has signed two separate initial deals with Chinese companies to supply 4,000 hydrogen trucks by 2025 in a move to enter the Chinese hydrogen commercial vehicle market. Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shanghai Electric Power Co., Shanghai Sunwise Energy Systems Co., and Shanghai Ronghe Electric Technology Financial Leasing Co. to supply 3,000 hydrogen fuel-cell electric trucks in the next five y

Nov. 4, 2020

SK hynix reaps 175% growth in Q3 operating profit despite price falls

SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory provider, achieved a 175 percent on-year growth in its operating profit in the third quarter of this year, despite adverse market conditions including declines in prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. According to its earnings results announced Wednesday, the chipmaker posted 8.13 trillion won ($7.2 billion) in revenue, while obtaining 1.3 trillion won in operating profit during the period between July and September. Revenue and operating profi

Nov. 4, 2020

Nongshim expects record overseas sales with flagship instant noodles

Nongshim, a South Korean food company, said Wednesday that it expects record-high overseas sales of $990 million this year with its flagship instant noodle brand Shin Ramyun. According to Nongshim, the overseas sales forecast is up about 24 percent on-year, as the demand for instant noodles jumped across the world in the wake of COVID-19. By year-end, sales of Shin Ramyun will reach about $390 million, Nongshim said. Shin Ramyun has been chosen as one of the world’s best instant noodl

Nov. 4, 2020

Online shopping hits new high in Sept. on virus, Chuseok holiday

SEJONG -- Online shopping in South Korea soared to a new high in September due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Chuseok holiday, data showed Monday, The value of online transactions stood at 14.72 trillion won ($12.9 billion) in the month, up 30.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was also the largest monthly amount since the agency began tracking related data in 2001. The surge was attributed largely to the pandemic that prompted more shoppers t

Nov. 4, 2020