BOK to test-run circulation of digital currency next year

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday it plans to test-run issuing and circulating a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) next year, as the bank will launch a pilot program to study the potential introduction of a new cryptocurrency.   In March this year, the BOK began reviewing legal and technological issues to check its capabilities for the possible issuance of such a currency under its three-step scheme.   The bank plans to establish and activate a pilot program

Oct. 7, 2020

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street losses

South Korean shares opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after US. President Donald Trump said he would postpone talks for a new stimulus plan until after the upcoming US elections. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,354.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index tracked overnight losses on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index

Oct. 7, 2020

[Power Korea] Can stem cells eradicate dementia?

How far has humanity come in preventing -- or rewinding -- neurodegeneration? Designed Cells, a Korean stem cell therapy company, has the ambitious dream of achieving something no one has ever yet succeeded in doing: curing dementia. Dementia, which can be but is not always a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, is a cognitive dysfunction commonly found in aged seniors. However, it is not a normal part of aging -- the destructive effects of dementia go beyond the ordinary forgetfulness that mi

Oct. 6, 2020

Minister fends off criticism over government's fiscal soundness plans

A day after South Korea’s measures to ensure fiscal soundness for 2025 drew immediate flak from experts and the public alike for its time frame and "loopholes," the nation’s fiscal chief came to the defense of the rules Tuesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced Monday that it aims to maintain the national debt-to-gross domestic product ratio below 60 percent, and its consolidated fiscal balance at minus 3 percent in 2025. The rules are to be exempted in a time

Oct. 6, 2020

Top fried chicken franchise Kyochon to go public next month

Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s largest fried chicken franchise, will go public next month, aiming to secure up to 71.3 billion won ($61.4 million) of funding. According to the company’s securities report submitted to the Financial Services Commission on Monday, the fried chicken franchise will issue 5.8 million shares that are forecast to be priced at between 10,600 won and 12,300 won. Based on these share prices, the market capitalization of the company after the IPO is anticipated

Oct. 6, 2020

S. Korea shares experience in combating COVID-19 with ASEAN members

SEJONG -- South Korea held a videoconference with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday during which they shared their experience in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said. The conference was organized by a Southeast Asian office of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. During the conference, South Korea briefed ASEAN members about measures to se

Oct. 6, 2020

KAI’s trainer jet exports to US fumbled by coronavirus

The US Air Force has postponed its plan to rent four to eight T-50A advanced trainer jets manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the US, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The Air Force is currently reviewing a plan to rent T-50A jets until its new T-7A Red Hawks arrive from Boeing. The Air Force aims to rent the jets from Hillwood Aviation after the US-based contractor purchases the aircraft from KAI. Though the Air Force was set to offi

Oct. 6, 2020

SK Telecom, Microsoft team up to create 'Netflix of video games'

To make a foray into the fast-growing South Korean console market, currently dominated by Japanese products -- Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch -- Microsoft has partnered with local telecommunications operator SK Telecom to promote its Xbox consoles. Last month, Microsoft and SKT together launched Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in Korea, a video game subscription service modeled after Netflix. By using SKT’s 5G networks, the subscription service supports cloud gaming, allow

Oct. 6, 2020

Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 5th day on hopes of US stimulus

South Korean shares closed higher to extend their winning streak to a fifth session Tuesday, as investor sentiment was buoyed on hopes for new economic stimulus in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.90 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 2,365.90. Trading volume was moderate at 847 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 426 to 400. Foreigners scooped up a

Oct. 6, 2020

[News Focus] Should stock gains get same tax exemptions as homes?

SEJONG -- South Koreans owning homes worth 900 million won ($775,000) or less have an exemption from capital gains taxes when they sell them, as long as they are not multiple home owners. They pay only property taxes as usual. But Koreans holding stocks of a listed company worth 300 million won or over will likely be obliged to pay taxes on gains from trading the stocks, starting from next year. Further, the tax rates will range between 20 percent and 25 percent of their gains, as t

Oct. 6, 2020

Audi redefines brand, promotes sustainable digital premium mobility

Audi said Tuesday that it is starting a global brand campaign to transform its corporate identity, emphasizing sustainable and digital premium mobility. With the slogan “The future is an attitude,” the automaker said it seeks to show the automotive industry how to realize an electric, digitalized and emotional future. “By refining our brand strategy we give a contemporary definition to ‘Vorsprung (to lead)’ and make ourselves ready for the future -- for a new auto

Oct. 6, 2020

Consumer inflation recovers to 1% in September

South Korea’s consumer prices increased 1 percent on-year in September, marking the sharpest rise in six months, data showed Tuesday. This was driven largely by the impact of the record-long rainy season, which caused prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries goods to rise at the steepest rate in almost a decade. The Consumer Price Index for September stood at 106.20, up 1 percent from a year earlier and returning to the 1 percent level for the first time since March, according

Oct. 6, 2020

Doosan to expand presence in unmanned forklift market

Doosan Corp., the holding company of South Korea's Doosan Group, said Tuesday that it will increase sales of unmanned forklifts in the country. Industrial Vehicle, a business division of Doosan, has been discussing ways to provide its automated guided forklifts to about 20 companies, Doosan said. Last year, Doosan launched its first-ever unmanned forklifts in the local market. "To meet growing demand for automated forklifts, we plan to expand our product lineup to pallet trucks known

Oct. 6, 2020

Green Cross to export ‘twindemic’ test kits to Europe

Green Cross Medical Science Corporation, the diagnostics kits affiliate of GC, signed a $19 million deal to export diagnostic devices that will simultaneously and separately detect COVID-19 and influenza. GCMS will provide Polish company Handprod with $11 million worth of blood sugar measurement devices and glycated hemoglobin evaluation systems; and provide Swiss firm Medysis with $8 million worth of a combined diagnosis kits for COVID-19 and influenza, as well as an immunofluorescence antigen

Oct. 6, 2020

W58.4tr flows into BTS agency’s stock preorders

Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, closed a two-day retail subscription Tuesday for its long-awaited initial public offering. Retail investors had submitted some 58.42 trillion won ($50.26 billion) in deposits for stock preorders. Despite anticipation by market watchers who thought the K-pop agency would set a record for subscription deposits, the accumulated amount was a little less than the figure seen during the public subscription of Kakao Games -- some 55.55 tri

Oct. 6, 2020

Hyundai Glovis enters Kazakhstan logistics market

Hyundai Glovis said Tuesday it set up a new branch in Kazakhstan and signed a seven-year transportation business deal with local beverage firm RG Brands, its first move to target the logistics market in Central Asia. RG Brands, established in 1994, ranks second in the local beverage market. Under the partnership, Hyundai Glovis is set to carry out transportation business in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, and major cities such as Almaty and Shymkent. Its main task is to deliver produc

Oct. 6, 2020

SK hynix rolls out DDR5 chips as world’s first

South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix announced Tuesday the company will launch the fifth generation of DRAM chips, DDR5, as the first in the world. Compared to its predecessor DDR4, the latest edition is 1.8 times faster and consumes 20 percent less power, making it optimal for big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. SK had embarked on development of the first 16-gigabit DDR5 in November 2018 and sought cooperation from customers like Intel to complete verificat

Oct. 6, 2020

Naver faces 26.7b-won fine, accused of manipulating algorithms

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator on Tuesday accused Naver Corp., the nation's biggest search engine, of manipulating search algorithms in favor of the company's online shopping site and imposed a 26.7 billion-won ($22.9 million) fine. The fine, announced by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), is the nation's first that the regulator has levied on a technology platform operator for making algorithmic changes that favor a certain business. The accusation is also expected to unde

Oct. 6, 2020

LS Cable & System completes 5G parts factory in India

LS Cable & System said Tuesday it completed construction of its second telecommunications plant in India and has doubled production capacity of communications parts.　 LS Cable plans to foster LS Cable & System India, or LSCI, as a specialized production base for communications harness to respond to India’s rapidly growing domestic market and target overseas markets such as Europe and North America. A communications harness is a cable component that connects mobile communications

Oct. 6, 2020

Seoul stocks set to extend winning streak on Trump's discharge from hospital, stimulus hopes

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning heading toward a fifth consecutive day of gains as investor sentiment was spurred by an overnight rally on Wall Street after improvements to US President Donald Trump's condition and stimulus hopes in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 13.17 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,371.17 as of 11:20 a.m. Wall Street rallied overnight after uncertainties cleared over reports of Trump, who tested

Oct. 6, 2020