Economy

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  S. Korean firms concerned about possible deterioration in business environment in Vietnam: survey SEOUL -- South Korean companies doing business in Vietnam have concerns about a potential deterioration in the business environment in the Southeast Asian country, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) and the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam (Kocham). Out of 326 surveyed Korean firms, 49.7 percent said they predict that the business environment there will get worse down the road. And 38 percent of them cited t 2023-02-06
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  India to benefit from US-China great power rivalry: BOK SEOUL -- The Bank of Korea (BOK) said February 5 that India is likely to benefit from the ongoing great power competition between the United States and China. The central bank said in a report that if China's role is reduced in the global supply chains due to conflicts between the U.S.-led Western democracies and authoritarian countries such as China and Russia, India could emerge as a beneficiary of the rivalry. The BOK took an example of Taiwan's Foxconn, the world 2023-02-06
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  Papa John's Korea releases first vegan pizza products in S. Korea SEOUL -- Targeting South Korea's steadily growing vegan population, the South Korean office of American pizza restaurant chain Papa John's has rolled out vegan pizza products for the first time among domestic pizza brands. The plant-based pizzas will be sold through more than 220 Papa John's stores across the country. South Korea's vegan meat market has been rapidly growing to meet demands from some 2 million vegans. Data released by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & F 2023-02-06
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  Fuel prices surge 31.7% in January, hitting highest level since April 1998 SEOUL -- Fuel prices skyrocketed more than 30 percent in January, driven by high global energy prices, according to the Korea Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). The state data portal said February 5 that the fuel price index surged 31.7 percent year-on-year to 135.75 last month, hitting the highest level since it soared 38.2 percent in April 1998 in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Electricity charges jumped 29.5 percent, the highest since they climbed 2023-02-06
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  [Weekly Stock Market] Foreigners' buying spree likely to support market rally SEOUL -- Last week, the KOSPI initially began in negative territory with selling pressure experienced during Samsung Electronics’ investor earnings call which provided negative headline newsflow denoting no plans to reduce ca 2023-02-05
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  S. Korean economy to face 'serious slump' due to lack of growth momentum: think tank SEOUL -- The Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) has revised down its 2023 economic outlook for South Korea to 1.5 percent from its previous projection of 1.9 percent. In a recent report, the institute affiliated with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) warned that the South Korean economy could enter the stage of a "serious slump" due to a lack of growth momentum. The think tank said the country will experience a lower growth, hit by sagging domestic dem 2023-02-03
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  Dutch semiconductor equipment firm ASM to invest $100 million in South Korea SEOUL -- Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASM has agreed to invest $100 million to set up a new factory and expand its research and development center in South Korea, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ASM on the latter's investment plan in Korea. The MOU was initialed between Trade and Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and ASM CEO Benjamin Loh at a Seoul hotel on February 2 2023-02-02
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  Foreigners buy 6.5 trillion won worth of local stocks in January, expecting economic recovery SEOUL -- Foreign investors rushed to buy South Korean stocks worth 6.48 trillion won ($5.3 billion) on a net basis in January on the back of the weak U.S. dollar and growing expectations of a global economic recovery, according to data released by the Korea Exchange (KRX) on February 2. The monthly net purchase by foreigners was the largest since they bought 6.95 trillion won in January 2012. Their net buying reached an all-time high of 8.46 trillion won in September 2013. Fo 2023-02-02
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  LGES to supply battery modules to commercial EV battery pack maker Freudenberg SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution, the battery-making wing of South Korea's LG Group, signed a supply deal with a U.S.-based commercial electric vehicle battery pack maker called "Freudenberg e-Power Systems" to supply battery modules. Battery modules consist of cells, which are basic units of batteries. Battery cells are put together in a frame to form a module that can protect cells from external shock and heat. When modules are bundled up, they become battery packs, the 2023-02-02
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  SK C&C forges partnership with Microsoft targeting global AI-based healthcare solution market SEOUL -- SK C&C, the software solution-making wing of South Korea's SK Group, partnered with Microsoft's branch in Seoul to establish a bridgehead into the global artificial intelligence-based digital healthcare solution market. SK C&C's cerebral hemorrhage-detecting solution will become available through Microsoft's cloud healthcare platform. AI combined with big data is found to be extremely effective in image-based medical diagnosis as the robots can anal 2023-02-02
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  ​Consumer prices jump 5.2 percent in January, driven by higher utility charges SEOUL -- South Korea's consumer prices jumped 5.2 percent in January from a year earlier, remaining at the 5 percent level for the nineth consecutive month, according to data released by Statistics Korea on February 2. The statistical office said inflationary pressure increased due to rising public utility charges which surged 28.3 percent year-on-year last month, marking the biggest increase since 2010. The upsurge was driven by a hike in the rates of electricity and gas three 2023-02-02
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  South Korea hit by record trade deficit due to steep fall in semiconductor exports SEOUL -- South Korea posted a record-high monthly trade deficit of $12.6 trillion in January due to a steep fall in exports of the country’s key items such as semiconductors, display panels, and steel and petrochemical products, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said February 1. More seriously, the country suffered the trade shortfall for the 11th consecutive month. Such a long period of the deficit was unheard-of since Korea witnessed a deficit for 30 months till 2023-02-01
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  S. Korea to build new LNG terminal in southern industrial town to meet increased demands SEOUL -- South Korea will build a new liquefied natural gas storage terminal with a capacity of 400,000 kiloliters in the southern industrial city of Gwangyang. The construction of the megastructure follows the country's increased demand for gaseous fuel after South Korea revealed a roadmap to reduce its dependency on coal and other fossil fuels for thermal power generation in a bid to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. About 3,700 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was 2023-02-01
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  SK hynix suffers huge operating loss due to slumping memory chip business SEOUL -- SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip producer, suffered an operating loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.37 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, driven by sagging global demand amid an economic slowdown, the company said February 1. It marked the first time since the third quarter of 2012 that the company has posted an operating loss. The loss was in stark contrast to a profit of 4.21 trillion won in the last quarter of 2021. The company’s s 2023-02-01
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  Lotte's ecommerce wing adopts KT's AI-based smart logistics platform for efficient management SEOUL -- Lotte On, the ecommerce wing of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, partnered with KT, the country's biggest telecom company, to adopt an artificial intelligence-based smart logistics platform. The smart platform will help Lotte's logistics services efficiently reduce carbon emissions by managing the routes and daily schedules of delivery trucks. AI and big data are widely used in the logistics sector to optimize the operation of facilities, transports, and manp 2023-02-01
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  Samsung Electronics not to slash investment or production this year SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has made it clear that it will not reduce investment or production this year in the face of its deteriorating performance and falling global demand for semiconductors. The clarification came on January 31 when Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker, announced its disappointing earnings results for 2022. The company said that its sales hit an all-time high of 302.23 trillion won ($245.55 billion) last year, up 8.1 percent 2023-02-01
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  ​Bio-venture unicorn GI Innovation prepares for stock market debut SEOUL -- Bio-venture unicorn GI Innovation is preparing for the company's debut in South Korea's stock market in March. The bio-venture said it will submit registration document to the Financial Services Commission and start the listing process in February. The bio-venture unicorn has two main pipelines -- "GI-101," an immunotherapy agent, and "GI-301," an allergy treatment drug candidate. The company forged license agreements with Yuhan, a pharmaceuti 2023-01-31
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  US utility company AEP to receive $86 mln worth of transformers from Hyundai Electric SEOUL -- Hyundai Electric, a domestic electrical equipment manufacturer and energy solution provider, has clinched an order worth 106.2 billion won ($86 million) to supply transformers to American Electric Power (AEP), a U.S.-based electricity utility company that oversees power distribution in 11 states. A total of 3,500 transformers crucial in power grids for residential areas will be provided to the U.S. company with some 5 million customers. Data cited by Hyundai Electric showe 2023-01-31
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  IMF slashes South Korea's 2023 economic outlook to 1.7 percent SEOUL -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its 2023 growth projection for South Korea to 1.7 percent from its earlier figure of 2 percent. The fund made the 0.3 percentage-point downward revision in a quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook report released in Singapore on January 31. It also revised down its 2024 outlook for Korea to 2.6 percent from the previous prediction of 2.7 percent. The lowered projection is in contrast to the IMF’s upward revi 2023-01-31
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  Industrial output falls 1.6% in December amid economic slowdown SEOUL -- Industrial production in South Korea decreased 1.6 percent in December 2022 from a month earlier as the manufacturing sector took the brunt of an economic downturn, according to data released by Statistics Korea on January 31. The fall was the steepest since industrial production declined 1.8 percent month-on-month in April 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It came after industrial production increased 0.4 percent in November. Industrial productio 2023-01-31