The number of companies in which the National Pension Service (NPS) holds 5 percent or more in equity showed an increase this year, but the total value of the pension operator's shareholdings in these companies evaporated by more than 19 trillion won (US$17.06 billion), according to a recent sur
Global leading companies are expanding investment in the Songdo Bio Cluster in Incheon to supply their products to South Korean biotech firms. They are flocking to Songdo as it is the manufacturing base of Samsung BioLogics Co. and Celltrion Inc., which have already grown into global biotech compani
SsangYong Motor Co. has launched its first direct overseas sales company in Australia, announcing a new start to expand global sales, the company announced on Dec. 5.SsangYong Motor held a brand launching ceremony on Nov. 29 and 30 (local time) at the Crown Metropol Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, at
An increasing number of companies are entering the specialty coffee market to popularize specialty coffee.According to industry sources, Lotte Department Store and Lotte Food recently launched specialty roastery cafe brand ONDE. Run by Lotte Food, the brand makes its debut at the Lotte Premium Outle
As the South Korean government has decided to reduce credit card commission rates in order to lessen the burden of small business owners from an increase in minimum wages, credit card companies claimed that they would be at the end of their survival rope by losing 1.5 trillion won (US$1.36 billion)
Il-yang Pharmaceuticals announced on Dec. 4 that it introduced the long-term efficacy and safety of its leukemia treatment ‘Supect’ (ingredient name: radotinib) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) held in San Diego, USA from Dec. 1-4.Professor Do Young-rok of the Department of Hemato-oncolog
Samsung Electronics and Verizon, the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., will launch a 5G smartphone in the U.S. in the first half of next year, the two company has announced. According to U.S. IT media reports, Samsung Electronics and Verizon will take the wraps off a 5G concept device at Qualcomm&
A conflict between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is developing into an emotional fight.The labor union of the FSS issued a statement on Dec. 3 to request President Moon Jae-in to dismantle the FSC which, in its view, “unfairly helps Korean chaebo
As the public cloud market in the financial sector is set to open in January next year, global cloud companies, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), are taking aim at the South Korean finance cloud market. AWS and Microsoft (MS) already hold nearly 70 percent of the domestic cloud service market.How
Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, which rank 1st to 3rd in the global virtual currency exchange rankings, are actively advancing into the Korean market.Following Huobi Korea's official declaration that it will open a market where virtual currencies can be traded in Korean won by the end of this
Samsung Electronics’ QLED TV and LG Electronics’ CineBeam Laser 4K Projector have been included among the "Best Inventions 2018" chosen by Time magazine.Each year, Time selects 50 smart inventions in 10 categories: accessibility, architecture and design, fashion & beauty, food & drink, gear & gadget
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Dec. 1 to temporarily stop their trade war for 90 days.Earlier, the U.S. president said that tariffs on Chinese products worth US$200 billion in total would be raised from 10% to 25% from Jan. 1, 2019. China, which imposed retali
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are expected to record the highest-ever market shares in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and Mexico this year.According to the automobile industry on Dec. 2, Hyundai and Kia sold 1,101,215 units in the four major emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India a
Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. have executed more than 70 percent of their investment plans for this year.According to the business community on Dec. 2, Samsung Electronics spent 22.3 trillion won (US$19.88 billion) on its facilities as of the end of third quarter. The figure is abo
Korea Exchange (KRX) has decided to put the listing eligibility of Samsung BioLogics Co. under deliberation of the Corporate Evaluation Committee. As a result, the trading suspension of the company's shares will be prolonged.KRX announced on Nov. 30 that it would form the committee within 20 bus
South Korea’s exports topped US$50 billion in November for the seventh consecutive month. This year’s total exports are highly likely to exceed US$600 billion for the first time ever.The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on Dec. 1 that exports totaled US$51.92 billion last month, up 4.5
The competitive landscape of blockchain platforms is now reorganizing as new platforms under development by South Korea’s major information technology (IT) companies are expected to start commercial services soon.In the past, the completely-open blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum and EOS, attrac
A seminar on trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan and China will be held in Songdo, Incheon, on Dec. 3 under the theme “Present and Future of ROK-Japan-China Trilateral Cooperation.” The semina takes place for the first time at the initiative of the South Korean government. A track-1.5 me
South Korea’s industrial loans in the third quarter, including owner-operator loans, expanded at a pace similar to that during the global financial crisis. In particular, corporate loans in the service sector, which had a high ratio of independent business, showed the largest ever growth. As interes
Four South Korean startups from the Creative Economy & Innovation Centers – VPIX Medical, BA Energy, SB Solution and Doctor's Fab – have been selected for “SLUSH 100,” a startup contest hosted by Europe’s largest startup conference SLUSH.The companies, all incubated by the Creative Economy & Inn