Prices of memory chips, notably NAND flash and DRAM, are likely to increase significantly in the second quarter of the year, a report showed Thursday, boding well for South Korean chipmakers that dominate the sector. Contract prices of NAND flash are expected to increase by an average of 3-8 percent in the second quarter of 2021 from the previous three months, according to market researcher TrendForce, due to easing of oversupply. "Orders from PC OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) an

　South Korea’s health care and cosmetics exports soared more than 38 percent to an all-time high in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed. 　The country’s overseas shipments of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical devices stood at $21.70 billion last year, up 38.3 percent from the previous year and a fresh high, according to the data from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. 　The pandemic led to a surge in exports of biopharmaceuticals, coronavi

South Koreans are estimated to have spent more than 70 billion won ($62.4 million) for Netflix's video streaming services last month, more than tripling from the previous year, data showed Thursday. Local credit and debit card payments on the video streaming platform reached 72.5 billion won in February, the highest-ever monthly figure, compared with 22.5 billion won the same month the previous year, according to the data from industry tacker WiseApp. Based on the data, WiseApp said there were

Samsung Electronics is apparently shifting its focus to midrange phones from premium ones, announcing three new affordable but high-spec models on Wednesday. During its first online Galaxy Awesome Unpacked event for midrange smartphones, the South Korean smartphone vendor unveiled the Galaxy A52, A52 5G and A72 that boast optical image stabilization cameras, high-refresh rate displays and 5G for the first time among Galaxy A phones. Such a move is aimed at cementing Samsung’s top pos

South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp.'s acute pancreatitis drug has failed to get conditional approval as a treatment for the novel coronavirus. An advisory board consisting of outside experts under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the drug, Nafabeltan. The panel said the drug, currently used as a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment, failed to show effectiveness in treatin

With advanced driver assistance systems and a great price, Volkswagen’s Passat GT stands as the flagship model leading the “democratization” of the imported car market, Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday. The German automaker said the newest model of the eighth-generation Passat GT is a reasonable choice for those looking for a sedan with good value, available at lower prices than its rivals, but not missing out on the latest technologies. In 2018, Volkswagen Korea set a goal

Kumho Tire’s best-selling tire Ecsta HS51 ranked No. 1 in the latest contest for summer tires, and gained an “Exemplary” rating by Auto Bild, the company said Wednesday. Auto Bild, a renowned German publication, recently compared dry and wet braking performances of 53 summer tires sold in Europe. There, Ecsta HS51, which is Kumho’s best-selling model in the European market, was awarded the first place, beating rivals such as Michelin, Continental and Bridgestone, Kum

The US Food and Drug Administration will carry out a pre-approval inspection in May at Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s drug manufacturing facilities and packaging sites in Gyeonggi Province’s Pyeongtaek that produces the novel drug Rolontis, the Korean company said Wednesday. The US FDA was slated to approve Hanmi’s manufacturing of the given drug on Oct. 24 last year, but the schedule was temporarily shelved due to restrictions on overseas business trips amid the escalating COVID-19

South Korean biotechnology company Celltrion said Wednesday that the company‘s breast cancer drug Herzuma reached a market share of 44 percent in Japan last year. Herzuma is a biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster breast cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab), used in treating patients with certain breast and gastric cancers. In the third quarter of 2019, the market share of Herzuma in Japan was just 2 percent, but the figure jumped to 12 percent in the following quarter. Herzuma&rsqu

The South Korean government announced that it would spend 595 billion won ($525.6 million) by 2030 to support the country’s regenerative medicine sector. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the program will start in July this year, focused on supporting the overall research and development of regenerative medicines, exploration of related business opportunities and out-licensing of technologies. The goal is to help local firms develop at least four new regenerative medicines

Korean firms account for majority in global orders, outrun Chinese rivals

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Around 900 shareholders of Samsung Electronics gathered at a convention center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday to attend their 52nd annual meeting. The number of attendees more than doubled from last year, when fears of the COVID-19 pandemic hit especially hard. Samsung has hosted the shareholders meeting at the 2,000-seat Suwon Convention Center since last year. Previous meetings held at its headquarters building in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, were ove

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Wednesday it has successfully delivered a submarine to Indonesia. The 1,400-ton submarine was the third of three submarines that Daewoo Shipbuilding won in a deal worth $1.1 billion in 2011, the shipbuilder said. The 61-meter-long submarine, named ALUGORO, was based on Daewoo Shipbuilding's first-built submarine, the Jangbogo, the company said. The submarine was built in pieces at Okpo shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding in Geoje Island, about

LGES and SKI risk losing VW if they stick to pouch batteries

Coupang’s IPO, Naver and Shinsegae’s stock swap deal are latest examples of structural shift in Korea’s e-commerce market