Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Banks' bad loan ratio hits record low in Q1
The nonperforming loan ratio at South Korean banks declined to a record low in the first quarter due to a drop in overdue corporate loans, data showed Wednesday. The ratio of bad loans to total lending came to 0.62 percent at the end of the first quarter, down 0.02 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. From a year earlier, the ratio fell 0.16 percentage point. In the first quarter, fresh overdue lending to companies reached 1.8
June 2, 2021
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Samsung tops Chilean smartphone market in Q1: report
Samsung Electronics Co. was the top smartphone vendor in Chile in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, although its market share declined after its rivals grew sharply in the South American nation. The South Korean tech titan represented 42.1 percent of the Chilean smartphone market in the January-March period after its shipments jumped 63 percent on-year to a record 1.2 million units, according to the latest report from market researcher Strategy Analytics. "Samsung'
June 2, 2021
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Samsung unveils new enterprise SSD with advanced data management tech
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip supplier, on Wednesday unveiled its new enterprise solid state drive (SSD) leveraging advanced data management technology that offers a longer lifespan. The South Korean tech giant said its new enterprise SSD, the PM1731a, features a Zoned Namespace (ZNS) solution that maximizes available user capacity and bolsters the lifetime of a server system. "These improvements will enable enterprise customers to handle big data and artificial
June 2, 2021
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SsangYong Motor offers unpaid leave, wage cut to employees in self-rescue efforts: sources
Financially troubled SsangYong Motor Co. has offered unpaid leave and a wage cut to its employees in its efforts to stay afloat, industry sources said Wednesday. SsangYong Motor, under court receivership, offered a two-year unpaid leave to half of its 4,732 employees, while demanding them to accept an extension of lower wages and suspended welfare benefits until June 2023, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. The company also offered an additional 20 percen
June 2, 2021
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KT teams up with VR, content developers in 'metaverse' tech
KT Corp., a South Korean telecom giant, said Wednesday it has teamed up with local virtual reality (VR) content and visual effects companies to develop "metaverse" services in a move to boost its efforts in virtual platforms. The metaverse refers to virtual environments, in which users interact with one another often through virtual or augmented reality technology, and is found in the form of online games or social networking services. KT said in a statement it has formed the "M
June 2, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on strong economic data
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as strong economic data fueled expectations of an increase in corporate earnings and quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 6.23 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,228.1 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks were lifted by the announcement that South Korea's consumer price index rose 2.6 percent on-year in May, marking the fastest on-year increase since April 2012. Top cap Samsun
June 2, 2021
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Conglomerates' internal trading dips 8.7% in 2020 on tough rules
Transactions among affiliates of South Korea's major family-controlled conglomerates fell nearly 9 percent in 2020 from a year ago due to tough regulations, data showed Wednesday. The value of in-house transactions by 2,197 units of 54 business groups came to 158.9 trillion won ($143 billion) last year, down 8.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by corporate tracker CEO Score. Internal transactions accounted for 11.7 percent of their total sales in 2020, down from 12.5 percent
June 2, 2021
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Global monitor panel shipments dip in Q1 on Samsung's exit, chip shortage: report
Global monitor panel shipments declined in the first quarter of the year, a report showed Wednesday, mainly due to Samsung Display Co.'s exit from the monitor LCD display manufacturing business and a shortage of semiconductors. The worldwide monitor panel shipments fell 8.6 percent on-quarter to 39.9 million units in the January-March period, according to the latest report from market researcher TrendForce. "TrendForce indicates that SDC will exit the monitor LCD panel manufacturing busin
June 2, 2021
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S. Korean investors' Tesla buying hits 1-year low in May
South Korean investors' purchase of shares in electric vehicle leader Tesla Inc. hit a one-year low in May amid a drop in its price, data showed Wednesday. Domestic investors bought a net $80.8 million worth of Tesla shares in May, the lowest amount in one year, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. It was down 45 percent from the previous month and less than one-tenth of the $939 million in January, when Tesla's share price hit an all-time high. The May tally also repre
June 2, 2021
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Consumer price growth hits over 9-year high in May
South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in more than nine years in May on higher prices of farm and oil products, data showed Wednesday, underscoring that inflationary pressure is building up amid an economic recovery from the pandemic-caused slump. The consumer price index rose 2.6 percent on-year in May, faster than a 2.3 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year increase since April 2012, when th
June 2, 2021
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Auto sales rise 41% on robust overseas demand
South Korean carmakers' sales rose 41 percent last month from a year earlier on strong overseas demand amid a quicker-than-expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a lower base effect, industry data showed Tuesday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 608,430 vehicles in May, up from 432,621 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales fell 13
June 1, 2021
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The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with the lineup of speakers who will discuss solutions to the climate crisis at the H.eco Forum, which is scheduled to be held virtually on June 10 under the theme “We Face the Climate Clock.” – Ed. South Korea is a relative latecomer to renewables. Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, still has time to catch up with its competitors and lead the world in offshore wind power, according to Matthias Bausenwein, who
June 1, 2021
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Google’s updated service terms take effect
Google has brought a wide range of changes to its service terms starting from Tuesday, which industry sources say would help give a significant boost to its company revenue. Google now allows YouTube to place ads on videos made by all creators -- be they big or small. Previously small content creators who don’t qualify for the company’s partner program couldn’t put ads on their videos. The latest policy change would boost the YouTube Premium membership, which gives ad-free
June 1, 2021
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Local app market operator secure $15m funding from Microsoft, Deutsche Telekom
ONE store, South Korea’s homegrown app market backed by all three mobile carriers, announced Tuesday that it has secured 17 billion won ($15 million) of funding from Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom’s venture capital unit. Of the total, 11.3 billion won will come from Microsoft, while Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners Management GmbH will invest 5.5 billion won to acquire shares in ONE store, which is affiliated with SK Telecom. ONE store will issue 414,900 convertible preferred
June 1, 2021
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Late KCC chief’s family donates W200b to promote education, culture
The family of the late KCC Chairman Chung Sang-young has donated over 200 billion won ($180.70 million) worth of stocks, goods and cash to support education and the arts, KCC officials said Tuesday. “The late Chung had always underlined that one of the core functions of a company is to contribute to the nation’s development, and it is in accordance to his wishes that we are returning these profits to society,” the company quoted the family as saying. Of the total, 10 billi
June 1, 2021
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[News Focus] Home prices in Seoul, Gyeonggi still rising despite curbs
SEJONG -- Recent housing prices in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, suggest that a raft of real estate policies from the administration since 2017 to tamp down runaway property prices had little efficacy eventually. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, the average trading price of homes, including apartments, in Apgujeong-dong -- which belongs to Seoul’s Gangnam-gu -- surged by 11.4 percent for the first 21 weeks of this year. Prices in the affluent district climbed to 83.58 million won ($
June 1, 2021
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[News Focus] Samsung SDI lagging behind in battery expansion race?
In the race for leadership in the battery business, it looks like Samsung SDI is the slowest mover. While global competitors, including crosstown rivals LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation, have announced ambitious tie-ups and expansion plans -- even targeting the world’s largest market, the US -- Samsung SDI has produced no such news. Shares in Samsung SDI, traded on Korea’s main Kospi bourse, took a battering this week following a Morgan Stanley downgrade. In its note, the
June 1, 2021
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[Herald Interview] ‘If ESG is a threat, then hydrogen is the answer’
When the world shifted from relying on coal as fuel to oil, the transition reshaped the international order. Now, the world prepares yet another seismic shift -- from oil to renewable energy. South Korea, which is the world’s ninth largest energy consumer and has next to no fossil fuel resources of its own, could step up to take lead in this great transition by facilitating a hydrogen economy, says Lee Seung-hoon, the director of H2Korea, a hydrogen think tank under the Ministry of T
June 1, 2021
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Kepco appoints new CEO, Cheong Seung-il
The Korea Electric Power Corp. has appointed Cheong Seung-il, the former vice minister of trade, industry and energy, as its new chief executive, the state-run utility said Tuesday. At an inaugural ceremony held at Kepco headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla Province, the 21st president of Kepco urged staff and executives to “lead the changing paradigm of zero carbon” and “seriously consider an aggressive transition of the energy system.” During the speech, Cheong sugg
June 1, 2021
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Seoul stocks up for 3rd day on recovery hopes
South Korean stocks advanced for the third consecutive day Tuesday on the back of strong economic data that fueled investor appetite for risk. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.95 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 3,221.87 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.4 billion shares worth some 15.1 trillion won ($13.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 577 to 272. Foreigners sold a net 37 billion won, while
June 1, 2021