Korea’s coal power plants to lose profitability before lifetimes end: study

No coal power plants will be profitable in South Korea before the end of their expected lifetimes -- 30 years on average -- indicating coal power plants face a dismal financial future, a study showed Wednesday. An increase in renewable energy penetration in Korea and the newly introduced greenhouse gas emission cap system here are expected to trigger a significant decrease of coal power plant capacity factors, according to a report dubbed “End in sight: How South Korea can force coal off

April 21, 2021

S. Korea to invest W105b in promising digital New Deal companies

South Korea said Wednesday it will invest 105 billion won ($94 million) this year to support budding companies in promising tech sectors, such as 5G networks and artificial intelligence, as part of the country's digital New Deal initiative. Last year, South Korea unveiled the digital New Deal program, which aims to invest 58.2 trillion won to develop key future technologies from smart factories to big data solutions and create 900,000 jobs by 2025. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it signe

April 21, 2021

SMEs' exports hit record high in Q1

South Korea's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports touch a fresh high in the first quarter on brisk overseas demand for medical products and chips, government data showed Wednesday. SMEs' overseas shipments totaled $27 billion in the January-March period, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was the highest-ever amount for the first quarter and exceeded the previous first-quarter record of $25.2 billion in

April 21, 2021

No. of employees in food service sector falls by most amid pandemic

The number of employees in the food service segment declined by the most in the May-October period of last year due to the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of people employed at restaurants and eateries reached 1.54 million in the cited period, 179,000 fewer than the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2013, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Workers in the food service segment accounted for

April 21, 2021

Regulator to accelerate review of SK hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND biz

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it will speed up its review of SK hynix Inc.'s deal to acquire US chipmaker Intel Corp.'s NAND business. Last October, SK hynix, the country's No. 2 chipmaker, signed a deal to buy Intel's non-volatile memory unit for $9 billion, and it submitted an application for approval to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) in January. "We will proceed with the review as swiftly as possible in a way that does not hamper an industry realignment in th

April 21, 2021

Homeplus appoints ‘retail veteran’ Lee Jae-hoon as new CEO

Homeplus has appointed Lee Jae-hoon, currently leading Carver Korea, as its new chief executive officer, the company said Wednesday. According to the South Korean discount chain, Lee is a retail expert who has built his career in the retail and consumer goods industry for about 30 years, spending a third of that time as CEO of many retail companies. Lee, who is currently the CEO of Carver Korea, a cosmetics firm known for its skin care brand AHC, will start in the role at Homeplus in May. L

April 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor says not selling loss-making railway-making affiliate

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday denied rumors that it is considering the sale of its loss-making railway affiliate, Hyundai Rotem. Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory filing that it is not pushing to sell its 33.8 percent stake in Hyundai Rotem. Hyundai Rotem runs businesses in three main areas -- railway vehicles, defense products and industrial plants. Its railway business accounts for nearly half of its sales but has been in the red for the last three years, having pos

April 21, 2021

Listed firms' dividend payouts at 5-year high in 2020

South Korean listed firms' dividend payouts reached the highest in five years last year as their earnings were better than expected and they sought to improve shareholder value, the bourse operator said Wednesday. Combined dividend payments by 529 out of 769 companies on the main bourse, which close their books in December, came to 33.2 trillion won ($29.7 billion) last year, up 60.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). But their average payout ratio, the perc

April 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor resumes production of sedans with eased chip shortage

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has resumed production at a domestic plant for Grandeur and Sonata sedans after two days of suspension following eased chip supply shortages. Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory briefing it reopened the Asan plant, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, which went offline between Monday and Tuesday following a two-day suspension last week. The company estimated production losses of about 4,100 production units this month due to the suspen

April 21, 2021

Doosan Mobility Innovation joins Dutch offshore energy project

Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI), a South Korean drone maker, said Wednesday that it has teamed up with a Dutch government agency to utilize its drones for an offshore energy project in the European country. DMI has joined hands with the Development Agency Noord-Holland Noord (NHN) to take part in the offshore technology innovation program named Maritime Emerging Technologies Innovation Park (METIP), the company said. DMI's hydrogen fuel cell-propelled drones that can fly for more than two hou

April 21, 2021

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals to invest W400b to expand chemicals production

Kumho Mitsui Chemicals Inc. said Wednesday it will invest about 400 billion won ($358.1 million) to expand its chemical manufacturing factory in South Korea's southwestern region. The joint venture between Korean synthetic rubber maker Kumho Petrochemical and Mitsui Chemicals of Japan said its shareholders approved the investment plan to scale up a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) factory in Yeosu, 455 kilometers southwest of Seoul. MDI is a core material of polyurethane, which is used

April 21, 2021

Hanwha Q Cells to supply solar modules for Angola's solar project

Hanwha Q Cells, a solar solutions unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Wednesday it will provide solar modules for a 370-megawatt solar farm project in Angola. Hanwha Q Cells said it will supply photovoltaic modules for the project that plans to build seven solar farms in the South African nation, without elaborating on the amount of the contract. The solar project aims to provide electricity to 2.4 million residents in Angola, and will cut 940,000 tons of carbon emissions a ye

April 21, 2021

[Graphic News] Mobile game transactions hit record W1.66tr in Q1

　Transactions on mobile games in South Korea reached a record high in the first quarter of this year, data showed, amid the pandemic-driven online gaming trend. 　Mobile game transactions stood at 1.66 trillion won ($1.48 billion) in the January-March period this year, compared with 1.48 trillion won the previous year, according to local mobile app tracker IGAWorks, which reviewed data from 40 million mobile devices running on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. 　IGAWorks said the

April 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor, BTS collaborate for Earth Day campaign

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has collaborated with K-pop icon BTS to suggest people take eco-friendly actions in their daily lives to protect the environment in a campaign film celebrating Earth Day. In the one-minute YouTube video themed "For Tomorrow We Won't Wait," BTS raises awareness on the importance of sustainable practices and promotes hydrogen as a source of clean energy. It was Hyundai Motor's second Earth Day video starring BTS, following the

April 21, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on valuation pressure

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday after the benchmark stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session, increasing the valuation pressure. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 23.07 points, or 0.72 percent, to 3,197.63 points. The Kospi quickly fell through the 3,200-point mark with the opening bell as foreign and individual investors sold stocks to lock in gains. The stock index gained for the past six days until Tuesday amid expectations of a global econo

April 21, 2021

Exports jump 45.4% in first 20 days of April

South Korea's exports jumped 45.4 percent on-year in the first 20 days of April as shipments of chips, autos and oil products remained solid amid an economic recovery, customs data showed Wednesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $30.9 billion in the April 1-20 period, compared with $21 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 31.3 percent on-year to $33 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2 billion during the cited period

April 21, 2021

S. Korea's kimchi exports hit new high in Q1

South Korea's exports of kimchi touched an all-time high in the first quarter of the year thanks to its popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Overseas shipments of kimchi came to $46.57 million in the January-March period, up 54.3 from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It represents the largest-ever quarterly figure and breaks the previous yearly record of $42.08 million registered in the second quarter of last

April 21, 2021

S. Korea guards against potential jitters in housing prices: finance minister

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government is guarding against potential instability in the housing market as home prices in Seoul picked up amid expectations for eased rules on redevelopment housing projects. The minister also said the government plans to unveil measures next month to overhaul the Korea Land and Housing Corp., the public housing developer at the center of a land speculation scandal involving public officials. Housing prices in Seoul recently jumped after new M

April 21, 2021

Wine imports more than double in Q1 amid pandemic

South Korea's wine imports more than doubled in the first quarter of the year as more people enjoyed drinking at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy imported $109.7 million worth of wine in the January-March period, up 115.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. It represents the first time for the value of first-quarter wine imports to exceed the $100 million mark. The volum

April 21, 2021

Producer prices up for 5th month in March

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.9 percent on-month in March due to a modest rise in oil prices, extending their monthly gains for the fifth straight month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 106.85 in March, compared with 105.91 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index advanced 3.9 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods fell 2.1 percent on

April 21, 2021