S. Korean bond sales soar 23% in 2020

Bond issuance in South Korea shot up more than 23 percent in 2020 due to a surge in government debt sales to tackle the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Monday. The value of bonds issued in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 844.7 trillion won ($774 billion) in 2020, up 23.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The spike was attributed to sharply increased sales of state and special-purpose bonds designed to h

Jan. 11, 2021

Korea Shipbuilding wins W288b in orders

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday that it has won a combined 288 billion won ($263 million) in orders from three companies in Liberia, Oceania and Asia. Under the deal with a Liberian company, a 174,000-cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to be built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. will be delivered by the second half of 2023, Korea Shipbuilding said. The deal has an option to build two 174,000-cubic meter LNG carriers and one liquefied petroleum g

Jan. 11, 2021

Doosan Infracore's excavator sales up 22% on-year in 2020 in China

South Korea's top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Monday that its excavator sales in China rose 22 percent last year from a year earlier on the back of infrastructure investment expansion by the Chinese government. Doosan Infracore sold 18,686 excavators in the country last year, compared with 15,270 units in 2019, which is its highest annual sales since 2011, when it sold about 16,700 units, the company said. Doosan Infracore sold 21,800 excavators in 2010 in China, whi

Jan. 11, 2021

LG Electronics inks partnership with esports firm Gen.G

LG Electronics Inc. on Monday said it has signed a partnership with the global esports organization Gen.G to better target young consumers amid the pandemic. Under the deal, the two sides agreed to seek various business opportunities in the global esports industry and cooperate in promoting LG UltraGear gaming monitor and notebook products. LG believes the partnership can boost its marketing for the MZ generation, which refers to those born between 1980 and the early 2000s as a combination of

Jan. 11, 2021

[Graphic News] South Korea's eco-friendly car exports jump 40% in 2020

　South Korea’s exports of environment-friendly vehicles jumped 40 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on growing demand for eco-friendly cars, the Trade Ministry said.  　Exports of all-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles climbed to $4.6 billion last year from $3.3 billion a year ago, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　Eco-friendly vehicles accounted for 12 percent of the country’s overall vehicle shipments last year, up from 7.7 perce

Jan. 11, 2021

Seoul stocks open sharply higher on Samsung, Hyundai Motor surge

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Monday on the back of stellar advances by Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, as investors pinned rosy expectations on the top caps' possible partnership with US tech giants. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 55.85 points, or 1.8 percent, to 3,209.03 in the first 20 minutes of trading. Samsung Electronics spiked 5.18 percent, following reports that it is rivaling with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. over a chip outsourcing

Jan. 11, 2021

S. Korea's exports fall 15% in first 10 days of Jan.

South Korea's exports declined 15.4 percent on-year in the first 10 days of January, customs data showed Monday, amid the prolonged fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak. The country's outbound shipments stood at $11.2 billion in the Jan. 1-10 period, compared with $13.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports decreased 22.9 percent on-year to $11.8 billion in the 10-day period, resulting in a trade deficit of $636 million, the data showed. By

Jan. 11, 2021

State bonds worth W48tr to mature this year: govt. data

South Korean state bonds worth nearly 48 trillion won ($44 billion) are slated to mature in 2021, with the amount rising further in the next couple of years due to more fiscal spending to weather the coronavirus fallout, government data showed Monday. Treasurys worth 48.2 trillion won, including state debt and inflation-indexed bonds, are scheduled to come due this year, according to the data from the finance ministry. The value of maturing state bonds is forecast to soar to an all-time high o

Jan. 11, 2021

Hyundai halts plant in S. Korea on coronavirus case

Hyundai Motor Co. said it halted operations at one of its domestic plants Monday morning as an employee was infected with the new coronavirus. Hyundai Motor suspended its Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, at 6:45 a.m., and the suspension will continue until 3:30 p.m., a company spokesman said over the phone. Hyundai has adjusted production at its local plants since early last year when the coronavirus outbreak began to affect vehicle sales. Last month, Hyundai halted

Jan. 11, 2021

Brokerages downgrade Q4 earnings outlook for major listed firms

South Korean brokerage houses have slightly revised down their fourth-quarter earnings outlook for major listed companies amid the coronavirus pandemic, a market tracker said Monday. The combined operating income forecast for 164 major listed firms came to 32.7 trillion won ($29.9 billion) for the October-December period as of Friday, up 52.4 percent from a year earlier, according to FnGuide. Yet it represents a 2.6 percent decrease from their estimate of 33.6 trillion won made a month earlier

Jan. 11, 2021

S. Korea's power sales dip 2.4% in Jan.-Nov. on coronavirus impact

South Korea's electricity consumption fell more than 2 percent in the first 11 months of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Power sales in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 464,243 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the January-November period, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco). Electricity sales are thus projected to decline for all of 2020 from a year earlier due to sluggish demand stemmin

Jan. 11, 2021

Samsung SDI to reinforce safety for defective battery cells

Samsung SDI is charting a hard course to ward off battery defects, holding a symbolic ceremony to put an end to faulty small lithium-ion batteries. According to a source familiar with the matter, the South Korean battery producer will hold an internal ceremony this week at its facility in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, under the resolute will of CEO Jun Young-hyun to eradicate any lax attitude toward potential fire hazards stemming from faulty batteries. Included will be a kind of vow by

Jan. 10, 2021

[Behind the Wheel] No surprises with VW’s solid new Passat GT

Volkswagen’s flagship sedan, Passat GT, has returned to Korea, with its base in the European model and with smarter technology to assist drivers. Introduced in 1973, the Passat has been one of the German automaker’s global best sellers, with over 30 million units sold around the world. The company introduced the fifth generation Passat in South Korea in 2005. Up to 2018 and through the eighth-generation Passat GT, it has sold 36,000 units of the car here. Both types of Passat,

Jan. 10, 2021

Coway nominates current CFO as co-CEO

Coway has nominated Seo Jang-won, the current chief financial officer and an expert in strategic planning, as the new co-chief executive officer to strengthen its overseas businesses, the company said Sunday. The electronic home furnishing rental firm said Seo’s promotion has been decided in the latest senior executive reshuffle, and the official appointment will be in a board meeting slated in February. With the reshuffle, the company will be led by two chiefs, the incumbent CEO Lee Ha

Jan. 10, 2021

Credit loans soar again amid relaxed rules, bullish market

Credit loans climbed back up in the first week of 2021, fueled by a bullish stock market and eased bank loan rules, data showed Sunday. The total credit loan balance of the major five commercial banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH Honghyup -- stood at 134.1 trillion won ($122.6 billion) as of Jan. 7, adding 453 billion won from 133.6 trillion won at the end of 2020. The number of new credit loans via overdraft accounts almost doubled from 1,048 on Dec. 31 to 1,960 on Jan. 7.

Jan. 10, 2021

[News Focus] Korea strives to branch out into South America

SEJONG -- South Korea has pushed forward signing free trade agreements with major economies around the globe over the past two decades. After the nation’s first free trade agreement with Chile took effect in April 2004, 17 such deals -- with 56 partner countries engaging -- have been implemented. Among them were the pacts with the European Union (effective since July 2011) and the US (effective since March 2012). Four agreements (which include 16 partner countries) with Korea are poised

Jan. 10, 2021

S. Korea to kick-off 3rd round of emergency cash handouts Monday

South Korea plans to kick off a 4.1 trillion won ($3.7 billion) emergency cash handout program Monday to offer up to 3 million won to small business owners, freelancers and special contract laborers hit by the third wave of coronavirus here, the Finance Ministry said Sunday.　 Roughly 2.5 million small business owners and self-employed individuals, or almost 90 percent of the country’s total, are eligible for the cash subsidies. They will be notified via text messages that they have been c

Jan. 10, 2021

340 Korean tech firms take part in 2021 CES

South Korea would be the biggest participating country after the United States at this year’s CES, with more than 300 tech companies set to exhibit their latest products and technologies. The event’s organizer, Consumer Technology Association, said Sunday that as many as 340 firms from South Korea would be taking part in 2021 CES, which kicks off Monday, making Korea the second-biggest participating country after the host nation which will have 567 companies taking part. A total

Jan. 10, 2021

LG unveils bigger, advanced OLED TVs for 2021

LG Electronics on Sunday unveiled its full lineup of TVs for 2021, including the first 83-inch organic light-emitting diode TV model with advanced self-emissive lights, to cement its leadership in the growing OLED TV market. Dubbed “OLED evo,” the new model features an upgraded OLED panel that boasts better contrast ratios and picture quality due to improved lights. It marks the third advancement in LG’s OLED TV technology since its launch in 2013. LG announced 4K High Dyn

Jan. 10, 2021

Samsung Display to ink 1st collective agreement with labor union

The management and labor union of Samsung Display Co. said Sunday that they will sign a collective agreement this week for the first time among the electronic affiliates of Samsung Group, which declared it would scrap its "no labor union" policy last year. A ceremony to sign the agreement will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, they said. The labor union launched in February last year as a member of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of the two largest local labor umbrella

Jan. 10, 2021