The prosecution put Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong on trial after 21 months of investigation. The business community expressed concerns with the investigation deliberation committee and expert opinion collection, which were regarded as minimum safeguards, having failed to block the i
South Korean banks’ BIS capital adequacy ratio fell due to an increase in lending related to the COVID-19 situation.The Financial Supervisory Service announced on Aug. 31 that the ratio was 14.53 percent at the end of June this year, down 0.91 percentage point from the previous quarter. The ratio ha
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the global business strategies of South Korean financial companies, which are now focusing more on risk management and digital banking rather than market expansion and growth. In addition, they are expanding their collaboration abroad with the domestic market stagna
South Korea’s industrial production, consumption and facility investment are showing signs of rapid deterioration. The three indices improved without exception in June, but those for August are likely to have been seriously affected by the second wave of COVID-19 and this summer’s exceptionally long
South Korea and Cambodia hold their second round of FTA negotiations from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. The two governments declared the initiation of negotiations on July 9 and the first round was from July 30 to 31.The ongoing video conference covers the five items of commodity market opening, place of orig
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at jy.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We believe that business conditions for apparel OEMs are sound in 3Q20. At Hansae, US-based orders are climbing at a double-digit pace (y-y) thanks to higher sales volumes for masks/protective cloth
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the definition of an economic crisis by widening gaps between industries. Under the circumstances, it is pointed out that assistance from the government needs to be more target-specific rather than universal.The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KI
The Financial Services Commission, which decided on Aug. 27 to extend its stock short selling ban, said on Aug. 30 that the extension is a temporary measure to respond to the impact of COVID-19 and this point will be adequately explained to foreign investors so that their negative view can be minimi
Last year, the number of those aged 65 and over accounted for more than 15 percent of the total population of South Korea for the first time. With the working age population and the young population continuing to decrease on the contrary, a rapid decline in labor input is predicted to affect South K
Kolmar Korea’s 30-year R&D efforts are bearing fruit. The original development manufacturer (ODM) currently has a total of 422 registered patents along with 774 that have been applied for. The figures are the highest in the cosmetic ODM industry of South Korea. R&D personnel accounts for more than 3
The Bank of Korea froze the key rate at 0.5 percent on Aug. 27, saying that any excessive liquidity expansion should be avoided although the key rate can be cut depending on the magnitude of the second wave of COVID-19.Earlier, the central bank cut the benchmark rate from 1.25 percent to 0.75 percen
KT Corp., South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, has showcased the country’s first drive-in commencement ceremony for 2019 graduates who could not have a traditional celebration because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.The contactless ceremony was held at the Seoul campus of Hongik Univer
The author is a strategist of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at yh.kim@nhqv.com. – Ed. On Aug 2, 2019, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), an arms control agreement between the US and the Soviet Union to eliminate all intermediate-range nuclear and
Korea Exchange announced on Aug. 26 that individual investors bought 134.4 billion won of KOSDAQ stocks in just four days and the KOSDAQ trading value hit an all-time high of 17,090.8 billion won that day. In KOSPI, the investors’ net buy totaled 192.6 billion won that day, the first buy since Aug.
Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull and HDC Hyundai Development Company chairman Chung Mong-gyu met with each other on Aug. 26 to resume the sale of Asiana Airlines.According to industry sources, the bank offered an acquisition price of 1.5 trillion won, including old share purchase and pa
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi announced on Aug. 25 that the ministry may implement regulations in order to block foreigners’ speculative real estate transactions.That day, United Future Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon pointed out at the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastruct
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Han Joon-ho has asked the South Korean government to take measures against Google’s coercive payment fees.“Google, which accounts for no less than 73.38 percent of the South Korean market, is planning to impose the 30 percent fees by forcing in-app purchase,” he sa
The South Korean government announced that a partial amendment to the Commercial Act, a full amendment to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and a legislative proposal for the Financial Group Supervision Act were approved at the cabinet meeting on Aug. 25. The government is anticipating that
The International Contractors Association of Korea announced on Aug. 24 that the value of orders South Korean builders received abroad this year totaled US$17.8 billion, up 30 percent from a year ago.Specifically, the value includes US$8 billion derived from the Middle East whereas it was US$4.2 bil
LG Chem and Malaysian chemical company Petronas Chemical Group (PCG) will jointly build a nitrile butadiene (NB) latex plant in Malaysia.PCG announced on Aug. 24 that it has signed a contract with LG Chem to build an NB latex plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons at the Pengerang Petrochemic