S. Korea's debt risk premium at lowest since global financial crisis

The cost of insuring South Korea's sovereign debt against default fell to the lowest level this week since the 2008-09 global financial crisis as the country's economy is recovering faster from the pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The spread on credit default swaps (CDSs) for South Korea's 5-year dollar-denominated currency stabilization bonds came in at 19 basis points Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the lowest since April 2007, when the cou

May 6, 2021

KT to form AI lab with IBM Korea and Woori Bank

KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Thursday it has formed business ties with IBM Korea and local major banking firm Woori Bank to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology for financial services. The three will establish an AI lab to develop new services, such as an AI-based language model specifically designed for the financial sector and an asset management system that uses AI technology to make quick and accurate market predictions, according to a statement from the telecom o

May 6, 2021

Online shopping at 2nd-highest point in March amid contactless trend

Online shopping in South Korea continued to soar in March as more people bought goods via e-commerce platforms amid a non-contact consumption trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.9 trillion won ($14.1 billion) in March, up 26.4 percent from 12.6 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The March tally marks the second-highest monthly reading since December last year when the comparable figu

May 6, 2021

Imported auto sales rise 12% in April despite pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 12 percent in April from a year earlier on robust sales of German cars, an industry association said Thursday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 25,578 units last month from 22,945 a year ago despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 250 sedan, E350 4MATIC sedan and GLE 450 4MATIC

May 6, 2021

Tax incentives eyed for chipmakers: finance minister

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Thursday the government will consider expanding tax credit programs for chipmaking-related research and development (R&D) and facility investment to nurture the non-memory chipmaking industry. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government is studying ways to increase tax benefits and policy support for the semiconductor industry to help local chipmakers sharpen their competitive edges. The country plans to set up a 280 billion-won ($248 mill

May 6, 2021

Samsung to maintain 3rd spot in hearables market in 2021: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to stay on as the world's third largest vendor of true wireless stereo (TWS) products, including wireless earbuds, for this year as competition heats up in the fast-growing hearables market, a report showed Thursday. Samsung's market share in 2021 was estimated to stay unchanged at 7 percent and sit behind its rivals Apple Inc. and Xiaomi Corp., according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. The South Korean tech giant, which makes Galaxy Buds in-ear dev

May 6, 2021

Samsung to recapture top spot in Q2 chip sales: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to become the world's top semiconductor vendor in the second quarter of the year beating its US rival Intel Corp., a report showed Thursday, on the back of strong memory demand. The South Korean tech giant was projected to log $18.5 billion in semiconductor sales in the April-June period to outperform Intel with $17.9 billion and recapture the leading position for the first time since the third quarter of 2018, according to the McClean Report from market res

May 6, 2021

Rising home prices amid hoped-for redevelopment in focus: finance minister

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government is guarding against signs of instability in the housing market as prices of some old apartments in Seoul have picked up on expectations for eased rules for redevelopment housing projects. Housing prices in Seoul recently climbed after new Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office last month with a pledge to ease regulations on rebuilding old apartments in the capital. "The growth of apartment prices in Seoul is picking up compared to before the

May 6, 2021

Seoul stocks open tad lower on inflation worries

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Thursday, led by tech drops that stemmed from concerns about earlier-than-expected inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,145.54 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a weak start, tracking the overnight US tech decline. Tech shares retreated in Seoul amid foreign selling, while bank and infrastructure shares advanced. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 0.9

May 6, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves hit fresh record high in April on weaker dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to a fresh record high in April as the US dollar's weakness boosted the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Thursday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $452.3 billion as of end-April, up $6.18 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

May 6, 2021

Government channels W50b into cryptocurrency-related funds

Despite its cautious tone on digital currencies, the Korean government has indirectly invested 50 billion won ($44.4 million) into cryptocurrency-related funds in the past four years, according to data provided by an opposition lawmaker. According to Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the People Power Party on Wednesday, five public organizations put a total of 50.21 billion won into funds that invested in cryptocurrency exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb from 2017 to March 2021, with the Ministry of SMEs

May 5, 2021

Financial regulators seek banks' help to grasp full picture of crypto industry

Financial authorities have asked banks to declare their cryptocurrency businesses to figure out the exact numbers of cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country, as it tightens its grip over illegal activities in the industry, according to local media reports Wednesday. The financial regulators asked major banks to provide the current status of their businesses with cryptocurrency exchanges including corporate accounts and banks’ monitoring methods.  “Currently, crypt

May 5, 2021

Acquisition race for S. Korea's second largest food delivery platform begins

The race to acquire South Korean food delivery platform Yogiyo has attracted retail giant Shinsegae, accommodation booking platform Yanolja and big private equity funds, according to industry sources on Wednesday. Yogiyo’s German operator Delivery Hero and sale adviser Morgan Stanley received preliminary bids Tuesday for a 100 percent stake in Yogiyo up for sale. According to the sources, around eight parties have joined the acquisition race, including Shinsegae and Yanolja. South Kor

May 5, 2021

COVID-19 self-test kits to hit local convenience stores shelves

COVID-19 self-test kits developed by local companies are available at convenience stores here, startubg Wednesday. GS Retail announced Wednesday that the company’s convenience store chain GS25 would begin the sale of COVID-19 self-test kits at around 2,000 locations nationwide, the South Korean retail company said. They products would be also available at the company’s grocery store chain GS Supermarket and health and beauty chain Lalavla, starting on Friday. There are two produ

May 5, 2021

Hyundai Motor slips to 2nd place in global fuel cell EV market after Toyota in Q1

As competition is escalating among hydrogen automakers, Toyota Motor topped global fuel cell electric vehicle sales in the first quarter this year, beating Hyundai Motor, which had led the global FCEV market in 2020, research revealed Wednesday. According to SNE Research, global sales of FCEVs jumped 89.2 percent on-year, hitting nearly 4,000 units in the first quarter this year. Toyota, which took 15.1 percent of the FCEV market share in 2020, witnessed a surge in its FCEV sales by nearly

May 5, 2021

[Herald Interview] AI inevitable force to shape education: Riiid

Education has always been slow to adopt new technologies. But with the COVID-19 pandemic and schools forced to move online over infection risks, the time has finally come for it to embrace the artificial intelligence. “COVID-19 is making AI inevitable,” said David Yi, an executive from Riiid, a Seoul-based AI education startup said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “In the US, students are all off campus, students are disengaged and are falling behind. How do we help thi

May 5, 2021

Hanwha Total completes W530b expansion of Daesan plant

Hanwha Total has completed the expansion of its petrochemicals plant in Daesan, South Chungcheong Province, to ramp up the production of polypropylene and ethylene, the company said Wednesday. The 530 billion-won ($472 million) project, which took 28 months for completion, included the building of a new polypropylene factory with annual production capacity of 400,000 metric tons, raising the firm’s total polypropylene production capacity to 1.12 million tons, the biggest scale in South K

May 5, 2021

KT may face class action lawsuit over internet speed

KT, one of South Korea’s big three telecom carriers, faces a potential class action from gigabit internet service subscribers over allegations that the firm signed onto the plans even those living in areas unequipped with the infrastructure to accommodate the high-speed internet services. Kim Jin-wook, an attorney at Seoul-based law firm Joowon, announced Wednesday that he is recruiting prospective plaintiffs through a class action platform Angry People. “According to media rep

May 5, 2021

Retail investors’ stock investment deposits hit all-time high of W77.9tr

South Korean retail investors’ deposits for stock investments reached a record 77.9 trillion ($69.28 billion) as of Monday, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association Wednesday. The outstanding deposits for stock investments marked some 77.9 trillion won, adding a whopping 19.49 trillion won from Friday. It also surpassed the previous record of 74.46 trillion won seen on Jan. 12. Deposits in cash management accounts here also surged by 22.97 trillion won to 68.39 trillion

May 5, 2021

FSS slaps penalty on 19 firms for violation of internal audit reporting

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Wednesday imposed penalties of up to 12 million won ($10,700) on local businesses that violated its internal controls over financial reporting rules in 2018. Following an inspection, the Financial Supervisory Service found 28 cases of violations across 19 companies. It has decided to slap fines ranging from 3 million won to 12 million won on 13 of those cases – five businesses, one representative of a business and seven internal auditors. The F

May 5, 2021