Samsung Electronics Co.'s second-quarter earnings could be better than expected, analysts here said Monday, as its robust chip business is likely to offset losses in its smartphone and display businesses amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Samsung was expected to log 53.39 trillion won ($44.4 billion) in sales in the April-June period, down 5.5 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit was estimated to drop 2.3 percent on-year to 6.44 trillion won over the period, according to data

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Monday it will extend a temporary cut in consumption tax on passenger cars by another six months to boost consumption and support the auto industry hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The cut in consumption tax on passenger cars had been set to end Tuesday, but it was extended until Dec. 31 this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said. The 30 percent cut in tax rate reduced consumption tax on passenger cars to 3.5 percent. The ministry sai

South Korea lags far behind advanced countries in terms of the amount of government support for the airline industry during the coronavirus pandemic, a business lobby group said Monday. The government plans to extend a total of 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) to South Korean airlines -- 2.9 trillion won to full-service carriers and 300 billion won to low-cost carriers -- to help them ride out the COVID-19 impact. The amount is far less than the United States' planned 30.4 trillion won suppo

Korean millennials pay attention to game companies’ carefree atmosphere and striking benefits

South Korea’s low cost carriers have been opening more domestic routes to prepare for the upcoming summer holiday season, but the profitability of operating such routes remains questionable due to fierce competition over price, industry sources said Sunday.  After the latest COVID-19 outbreak, budget carriers have been focusing on expanding more domestic routes as part of an effort to secure liquidity in the short run.  Market data showed that the combined cashable assets of f

The latest forecasts about Korean technology companies’ profits in the second quarter suggest they have at least avoided the worst-case scenario amid the protracting COVID-19 pandemic, due to the semiconductor industry’s outperformance, according to industry sources on Sunday. The newest figures released by local stock brokerages show that Samsung Electronics is estimated to report around 53.6 trillion won ($44.5 billion) in sales and 6.4 trillion won in operating profit for the A

Chairman marks second year with pragmatism, ‘choose-and-focus’ management style

The retail industry is seeing sales recover, owing to the ongoing nationwide discount promotional event to revitalize the domestic economy, which has been suffering dampened consumer sentiment amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Major retailers saw sales grow during the first weekend of the government-led K-Sale period, locally dubbed “Donghaeng,” which kicked off Friday. According to Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of Lotte Group, sales of Lotte Department Store rose 21 percent from Fri

South Korea said Sunday it plans to bolster ties with neighboring countries in the field of marine shipping to overcome the pandemic-caused challenges, by utilizing smart technologies and promoting non-contact cooperation. South Korea will take part in a virtual ministerial meeting for logistics slated for Monday, and plans to request China and Japan to bolster shipping industry ties to cope with the virus pandemic, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "South Korea, China,

South Korean duty-free stores saw their sales rebound slightly in May after dipping below the 1 trillion-won ($804 million) mark in April amid the new coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Sunday. Combined sales of local duty-free shops rose 3 percent on-month to reach 1.02 trillion won, rebounding from 986.7 billion won in April, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The number of visitors to duty-free outlets came to some 466,000 last month, up from 354,000

Japanese automakers are suffering an extended slump in South Korea amid a protracted trade row between the two Asian neighbors and the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Sunday. Honda Korea reported an operating profit to 1.98 billion won ($1.64 million) in the 2019 fiscal year that ended in March, plunging 90 percent from 19.6 billion won a year earlier, according to its audit report. Its sales also plunged 23 percent to 363.2 billion won from 467.4 billion won over the cited period.

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to launch two new foldable smartphones in the second half of the year, with an affordable foldable handset model likely to come out next year, industry sources said Sunday. Samsung is projected to unveil the Galaxy Fold 2 and the 5G variant of the Galaxy Z Flip at an event in August, along with its flagship phablet Galaxy Note 20 series, according to the sources. But its affordable foldable smartphone, presumably named the Galaxy Fold Lite, is not likely t

South Korea's major mobile carriers are expected to report improved bottom lines in the second quarter on the back of a rise in subscribers to 5G network services amid the pandemic, analysts said Saturday. The combined net profits of the country's three major carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- are estimated at 711 billion won ($591 million) in the April-June period, compared with 561 billion won from the previous year, according to a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financia

Samsung Group heir apparent Lee Jae-yong was granted a respite Friday in a legal battle over his alleged role in a controversial merger and fraudulent accounting, as an independent panel of experts concluded that prosecutors should not indict him.    The panel, made up of civil activists, legal experts and others, concurred that the investigation into Lee unwarranted.    Early this month, a few days ahead of a court ruling over his detention, Lee, vice chairman at Samsun

Companies doing business in Korea have shared their best practices and lessons learned amid the pandemic in a seminar hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Friday. On the day, AmCham hosted the “Doing Business in Korea Seminar 2020,” which was attended by around 100 distinguished guests, including officials from the US and Korean governments and CEOs of foreign companies. In his congratulatory remarks, AmCham Chairman & CEO James Kim highlighted the need fo