Samsung tops Forbes list of world's best employers

Samsung Electronics Co. topped the world's best employer rankings released by US business magazine Forbes, industry officials said Friday. The South Korean tech giant ranked No. 1 on the Forbes list of the world's best employers for 2020 followed by US tech juggernauts Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. Samsung made a big leap in the rankings, jumping from 106th last year. In 2018, the company was ranked 76th on the Forbes' best employer list. Industry officials said Samsung's achievement is meani

Oct. 16, 2020

SKT to spin off mobility business, build joint venture with Uber

SK Telecom announced Friday that the company would spin off its mobility platform and start a new joint venture with US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies. SKT plans to spin off the unit by Dec. 29, according to the regulatory filing. The company’s shareholders would vote on the plan at a general meeting scheduled on Nov. 26. In the spinoff, tentatively named T map Mobility, Uber will invest around $50 million, according to the telecommunications firm. The South Korean telecommunic

Oct. 16, 2020

S. Korea to introduce multiple voting rights for non-listed venture startups

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister said Friday that the government plans to introduce multiple voting rights for non-listed venture startups to help shareholders strengthen their control over companies. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the scheme is aimed at encouraging venture startups to get major investment deals, while defending companies against hostile takeovers. The scheme could allow one stock to give 10 votes if a non-listed venture startup faces a hostile takeover. However

Oct. 16, 2020

Woori Bank sells AU$400m in bonds in Australia

Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Friday it has issued AU$400 million ($283 million) in bonds in Australia as part of efforts to help coronavirus-hit South Korean firms and finance eco-friendly projects. The three-year "Kangaroo" bonds come in two tranches -- floating-rate bonds worth AU$250 million and fixed-rate debt worth AU$150 million, the lender said. The floating-rate bonds carry an interest rate of 0.72 percentage point above the Australian bank bill swap rate, with t

Oct. 16, 2020

BOK chief vows soft monetary policy to bolster virus-hit economy

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will maintain a soft monetary policy to bolster the recovery of the South Korean economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the top central banker said Friday. "The BOK will keep its monetary policy accommodative to help the domestic economy bounce back," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at the start of an annual parliamentary audit of the central bank. In the process, the BOK will keep close tabs on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economies and financial

Oct. 16, 2020

Economic recovery shows signs of delay over virus resurgence: finance ministry

SEJONG -- Economic recovery has shown signs of delay due to a resurgence in new coronavirus infections in mid-August, 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. "Indicators of domestic consumption and employment took a turn for the worse because of a resurgence in COVID-1

Oct. 16, 2020

[Graphic News] S. Koreans spent record on Netflix in September

　South Koreans’ card payments to Netflix reached a fresh high of 46.2 billion won ($40.2 million) last month, data showed, nearly double from a year earlier. 　An estimated 3.36 million people here spent the record amount in September on the popular video streaming platform, according to app tracker WiseApp’s data based on local payments made through credit and debit cards on Netflix. 　Last month’s figure marks a jump from the 24.1 billion won spent in September last year

Oct. 16, 2020

Samsung dominates 5G smartphone market in Western Europe in H1: report

Samsung Electronics Co. dominated the 5G smartphone market in Western Europe in the first half of the year, a report showed Friday, but its market share is likely to decline in the second half as Apple Inc.'s first 5G-supporting handset, the iPhone 12, will go on sale. Samsung captured an 88 percent market share of all 5G smartphones shipped in Western Europe in the first six months of the year, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. "Samsung today is the clear 5G leader acr

Oct. 16, 2020

Seoul stocks open lower on COVID-19 jitters

South Korean shares opened lower Friday as a resurgence of the new coronavirus could dampen hopes of a global economic recovery. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 0.3 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,360.91 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bearish after the KOSPI lost for a third consecutive day the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 0.07 percent, to close at 28,494.2 on Thursday (New York time), with the Nasdaq Composite and

Oct. 16, 2020

SK Telecom partners with Uber in mobility biz spinoff

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Friday it will spin off its mobility platform business into a separate entity as it partners with US ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. in a move to strengthen its focus in the connected mobility sector. The business -- tentatively called T map Mobility Co. -- will be wholly owned by SK Telecom and become a separate company on Dec. 29, the mobile carrier said in a regulatory filing. In a joint statement with Uber, SK Telecom s

Oct. 16, 2020

Job losses extend into Sept. amid pandemic, unemployment rate rises to 3.6%

SEJONG-- South Korea lost about 392,000 jobs in September, marking a decline in the number of the employed for the seventh consecutive month, as the coronavirus pandemic hammered job markets, data showed Friday. The country's jobless rate rose by 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3.6 percent in September, with the number of employed people falling to 27.01 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the longest fall since the eight months of decline posted in 2009 ami

Oct. 16, 2020

BTS' label becomes Korea's largest entertainment company in strong market debut

Shares of Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop sensation BTS, nearly doubled as the company made a strong market debut on South Korea’s main bourse, Kospi, Thursday, becoming the biggest entertainment company by market capitalization here. With the opening price set at 270,000 won ($235.80) per share, twice the offering price, Big Hit shares spiked by the daily permissible limit of 30 percent to 351,000 won soon after the bell rang. But the stock closed at 258,000 won,

Oct. 15, 2020

With sound three quarters, Volkswagen Korea unveils new Jetta

Volkswagen Korea unveiled the new seventh-generation Jetta at a press show on Thursday as it posted sales of over 10,000 units during the first three quarters of 2020. The new model comes at a price of around 27 million won ($23,600), while its prestige model is priced at just over 29 million won. The Jetta, since its birth in 1979, has sold 17.5 million units around the world. Of them, 17,000 have been sold in South Korea. As for its Korea operation overall, Volkswagen Korea said its sales w

Oct. 15, 2020

Ediya Coffee’s delivery revenue jumps nearly sevenfold amid pandemic

South Korean coffeehouse chain Ediya Coffee said Thursday that revenue from its coffee delivery service increased around 660 percent over the last year, compared with a year before. According to data from the company, the number of delivery orders made between last October and September this year stood at 1.1 million, up 612 percent. from the same time last year. Ediya Coffee saw a sharper increase in order volume between April and June this year, during which the company saw a near 1,000 perc

Oct. 15, 2020

Amazon Global Selling Korea to ramp up support for sellers

Amazon Global Selling Korea said on Thursday it is ramping up support to help sellers and businesses branch out into the international market. Speaking at a livestreamed press event, Lee Sung-han, head of the South Korean unit of the e-commerce giant’s export program, praised South Korea’s handling of the pandemic as he unveiled plans to assist businesses in the country. “Despite the pandemic this year, we thank many sellers in South Korea who worked with Amazon to provide hi

Oct. 15, 2020

Hyundai chairman’s first stop: Hydrogen economy

Starting his first day as Hyundai Motor Group’s chairman on Thursday, Chung Euisun attended the government’s hydrogen economy committee meeting, riding there in his company’s first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Nexo. Prior to the meeting, Chung had agreed to establish a joint entity with the government to expand the number of hydrogen charging stations across the country, clearly showing his commitment to creating a hydrogen ecosystem. During the meeting, Hyundai Motor s

Oct. 15, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] Will Chevrolet Colorado attract Korean adventure enthusiasts?

Pickup trucks, which often top the list of bestselling cars in the US, were not always so popular in the South Korean market. However, with the recent increase in the number of people enjoying outdoor activities such as camping, fishing and surfing, pickup trucks are being reevaluated by adventure seekers. The local pickup truck market, which used to be dominated by local brand SsangYong Motor, is now expanding with the entry of imported brands such as the Chevrolet Colorado and the Jeep Gl

Oct. 15, 2020

S-Oil donates scholarship worth W50m to underprivileged students

S-Oil, one of the four major oil refineries in South Korea, donated 50 million won ($43,600) to the Mapo Scholarship Foundation at a ceremony held at the Mapo-gu office in western Seoul on Thursday, according to the company. Since 2017, S-Oil has provided scholarships to underprivileged students living in Mapo-gu through the Mapo Scholarship Foundation as part of its corporate social responsibility program dubbed “Sunshine Sharing Campaign.” “During this difficult time of

Oct. 15, 2020

GS Caltex launches lubricants for hybrid vehicles Kixx Hybrid

GS Caltex said Thursday it has become the first refinery in South Korea to launch lubricants dedicated for hybrid vehicles called “Kixx Hybrid.” According to GS Caltex, it mixed special additives with high-quality lube-base oil to manufacture Kixx Hybrid to offer improved fuel efficiency and better protection for engine parts. Also, the new product qualifies for the American Petroleum Institute’s new “SP” engine oil standards. “The recent sales of eco-frie

Oct. 15, 2020

Nexon donates game profits to retrieve Korea’s national treasure

Nexon said Thursday it has donated profits from its game The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon to the National Trust for Cultural Heritage to help the organization preserve and retrieve Korea’s national treasures that had been lost overseas. From July 29 to Aug. 7, through e-commerce platform Auction, Nexon sold 150 units of a limited edition item priced at 30,000 won ($26) and 42,316 units of unlimited edition item priced at 100 won to users of the game. On top of 4.5 million won from the sale

Oct. 15, 2020