Industrial power consumption in July hits 4-year low on virus

South Korea's industrial electricity consumption fell to a four-year low in July amid an economic slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Friday. The volume of power consumed by the nation's industrial sector reached 23,468 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in July, down 4.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), South Korea's state-run utility. The figure is the lowest industrial power consumption for July since the 23,238 GWh recorded in

Sept. 11, 2020

Missing in delivery: Korea counts social media purchases gone wrong

An increasing number of consumers who purchased clothes through social media are reporting complaints of unshipped products and merchants suddenly vanishing altogether. According to Korea Consumer Agency on Friday, the state-run institute has received 657 cases seeking remedies for fraudulent fashion business practices on social media in the first half of 2020 -- a 38.9 percent on-year increase for the category. The most prevalent form of malpractice reported was no shipment upon payment, acco

Sept. 11, 2020

[Newsmaker] Celltrion confirms phase 1 trial safety of COVID-19 antibody drug

Celltrion said Friday that it had confirmed the safety of COVID-19 antibody drug CT-P59 in healthy people through a domestic phase 1 trial involving 32 people. Once another clinical phase 1 trial targeting light-symptom COVID-19 patients wraps up, Celltrion plans to proceed to global phase 2 and 3 trials in as many as 12 nations targeting 500 patients. Clinical test designs for these global trials have already been submitted in seven countries, Celltrion said. Although the company refraine

Sept. 11, 2020

Nikola to use GM-LG Chem batteries

Nikola, a startup on electric and fuel cell trucks, will adopt electric batteries co-developed by South Korea’s LG Chem and its US partner General Motors, according to industry sources on Friday. The Arizona-based motor company is expected to equip the Ultium battery made by LG Chem for the Badger electric pickup truck, slated for mass production in 2022. Expectation for the deal was high, as GM and Nikola recently announced their partnership on electric pickup trucks and fuel cell c

Sept. 11, 2020

S. Korean government vows quick process for COVID-19 allowance payment

South Korea‘s government vowed Friday to apply a speedy process to the payment of special disaster relief subsidies so that those heavily hit by the COVID-19 fallout may receive the money before the Chuseok holiday at the end of this month. “We shall simplify the qualification examination standards, and hand out the subsidies first, and carry out the (detailed) verification afterwards,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of finance, in an economic policy meeting at Go

Sept. 11, 2020

Jet fuel consumption falls 40% during first quarter

The consumption of jet fuel in South Korea saw a 40.5 percent year-on-year drop during the first quarter this year, according to the latest data from the Korea National Oil Corporation. With most international flights from Korea canceled due to weak travel demand and international travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the industry consumed just 11.59 million barrels of oil. Overall oil consumption was down 2.9 percent during the same period, standing at around 443.93 million barre

Sept. 11, 2020

Samsung expands dominance in domestic smartphone market in Q2: report

Samsung Electronics Co. further expanded its dominance in the domestic smartphone market in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Friday, thanks to robust sales of the Galaxy A budget line and Galaxy S20 series. Samsung accounted for a 67 percent market share in the April-June period on its home turf, according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research, up 3 percentage points from the previous three months. Apple Inc. came in second with a 19 percent share, up 1 percentage point f

Sept. 11, 2020

S. Korea's money supply grows at fastest clip in nearly 11 years in July

South Korea's money supply grew at the fastest pace in nearly 11 years in July as household and corporate lending grew amid a long streak of low rates and the new coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Friday. The country's M2 stood at 3,092.8 trillion won ($2.6 trillion) as of end-July, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It accelerated from a 9.9 percent on-year gain in June and marked the fastest on-year rise since 10.5 p

Sept. 11, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding to foster ship-related digital technology experts

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Friday that it will nurture digital technology workforces to improve the management and production procedure of its shipyards. A program to be run by the software education center of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will train experts of ship-related digital technologies, the shipbuilder said in an emailed statement. This program will help innovate management and improve productivity in the shipbuilding industry

Sept. 11, 2020

Samsung to benefit from Huawei ban in long run: analysts

Samsung Electronics Co. is likely to benefit from US sanctions on Chinese tech titan Huawei Technologies Co. in the long run, analysts here said Friday. The US sanctions, which ban the supply of semiconductors made with American equipment or software to Huawei without prior approval from Washington, are set to take effect next Tuesday. As US technologies are used in almost all sectors of chip production, Samsung, the world's top memory chipmaker, is expected to halt its semiconductor shipment

Sept. 11, 2020

[Monitor] Hiring in retail, restaurants plunges

The number of employees working in retail, wholesale, restaurants and lodging has dropped drastically over the past eight months, data from the Korea Small Business Institute showed Thursday. These are industries with large proportions of self-owned businesses. The plunge in hiring in these sectors was most significant as COVID-19 infections increased between March and May. The monsoon season and consecutive typhoons have also affected the businesses, the institute said.   (khnews@heraldc

Sept. 11, 2020

Google pledges $500,000 for virus self-checkup site developed by S. Korea's military

Google has pledged $500,000 to help expand a coronavirus self-diagnosis website developed by the South Korean military's Medical Command in cooperation with government and private experts, officials said Friday. The COVID-19 checkup site helps users decide whether to visit hospitals depending on the symptoms they experience, according to the Armed Forces Medical Command. The support system also helps doctors decide on hospitalization or intensive care needs for patients through remote monito

Sept. 11, 2020

Consumption shows signs of slowing down over virus resurgence: finance ministry

South Korea's consumption has shown signs of slowing down due to a recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections, but the pace of decline in exports eased, the finance ministry said Friday. In a monthly economic report, called the "Green Book," the Ministry of Economy and Finance also flagged the economy's continuing uncertainty stemming from the virus resurgence. "South Korea's indicators of domestic consumption took a turn for the worse because of a resurgence of COVID-19

Sept. 11, 2020

Exports fall 0.2% in first 10 days of September

South Korea's exports fell 0.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Friday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $14.9 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $15 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 10-day period dropped 11.9 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trade and halted production around the globe, wi

Sept. 11, 2020

Seoul stocks open tad lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean shares opened slightly lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.73 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,392.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI's decline is largely attributed to the US tech retreat and unimproved jobless benefits data from last week. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite fell 221.97 points, or 1.99 percent, to 10,919.59 on Thursday (New York time). The Dow Jones Industrial Average l

Sept. 11, 2020

S. Korea bans German pork imports after report of African swine fever

South Korea banned imports of pork from Germany on Thursday after an African swine fever (ASF) case was confirmed in the European country. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Rural Affairs said German authorities verified that samples taken from a wild boar from the state of Brandenburg tested positive for the highly infectious animal disease. The ban on imports is in line with standing guidelines for food and animal safety and will affect products that have been shipped on Thursday. Pork from

Sept. 10, 2020

KDB chief wins 2nd term amid looming collapse of Asiana deal

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Thursday its chairman Lee Dong-gull has been named to lead the South Korean policy lender for another three years. Lee's second term, which is set to begin on Friday, comes amid a series of stalled corporate sell-off deals, including how to normalize Asiana Airlines Inc. Major property developer HDC Hyundai Development Co. had sought to acquire the country's second-biggest airline, but the 2.5 trillion-won ($2.1 billion) deal appears likely to c

Sept. 10, 2020

S. Korea to permit export of protective face masks

South Korea will allow the export of face masks that can be used to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Thursday. The move comes as supplies of surgical and anti-droplet masks in the country have stabilized and earlier shortages have been resolved, the state administration said. Seoul had banned mask exports as it experienced acute shortages amid a spike in COVID-19 cases earlier in the year. Under the changes that will go into effe

Sept. 10, 2020

Rebound unlikely in sectors reeling from COVID-19

Domestic industrial sectors that are reeling from the coronavirus fallout in South Korea are unlikely to see a drastic rebound and probably face longer-lasting financial strain, officials of credit rating agency the Korea Investors Service said Thursday. Korean businesses dedicated to auto parts manufacturing, oil refining, hotels, duty-free shops, theaters and aviation are seeing a negative credit outlook and facing heightened financial pressure, making them subject to credit downgrading in t

Sept. 10, 2020

Hyundai Card issues W450b green bonds

Hyundai Card, the credit card company under automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it has issued 450 billion won ($379 million) in green bonds to fund alternative energy and environmental projects. The won-denominated bonds that mature in one year and two months to 10 years are sold only to Korean institutional investors. The company issued the same bonds in August last year. Proceeds from the green bonds will be used in providing financing for eco-friendly vehicles, such

Sept. 10, 2020