LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, topped global electric vehicle (EV) battery sales from January to August, a local market research firm said Monday. LG Chem accounted for a 25 percent share of the global EV battery market, in which a total of 64.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries were supplied during the January-August period, according to SNE Research. In the first eight months, global automakers used 15.9 GWh of LG Chem batteries. Chinese battery maker CATL came second

South Korea said Monday it plans to start its third round of free trade talks with Cambodia this week to outline details, in line with Seoul's efforts to diversify its export portfolio in Southeast Asia. The three-day virtual meetings, with a goal to come up with a finalized draft of the deal by the end of this year, will start Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries held their first round of negotiations in July, which was followed by another gather

South Korea's manufacturing activity gathered ground for the fourth straight month in September but remained below par amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a global market researcher said Monday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector stood at 49.8 last month, up 1.3 points from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. Yet the September figure was below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion. PMI is a

South Korean carmakers' market share in the United States rose above pre-coronavirus levels in the March-August period, helped by new models, an industry association said Monday. Local carmakers accounted for 8.9 percent of the US passenger car market during the cited period, up from the 7.7 percent during the December-February period, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) said in a statement. South Korea reported its first confirmed coronavirus case on Jan. 20, with its tota

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstars BTS, attracted a promising amount of deposits from retail investors on the first day of a two-day subscription for its initial public offering (IPO) next week, probably the biggest share sale on the local market. The IPO subscription runs Monday to Tuesday, prior to the company's listing on Oct. 15. Small investors deposited some 8.6 trillion won ($7.4 billion) on the first day of their subscription. IPO managers said Big Hit E

SEJONG -- South Korea's big conglomerates have reported sales of some 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) from collusion and price-fixing practices over the past six years, a report showed Monday. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) found that 21 business conglomerates colluded a total of 162 times between 2015 and August this year. The conglomerates reported sales of 11.7 trillion won from collusion during the period, the KFTC said in the parliamentary audit report. The KFTC fined them 654

South Korean carmakers are set to launch aggressive promotions to boost sales with new vehicles in the fourth quarter to offset weak sales in the previous three quarters amid the coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said Monday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- reported an 18 percent on-year decline in sales to 4.2 million vehicles during the January-August period. Their domestic sales

South Korean shares opened a tad higher Monday, led by gains in automakers, after a long holiday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.95 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,333.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes for fresh economic stimulus in the United States. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 0.6 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's

The chief of Big Hit Entertainment, the creative force behind K-pop superstar BTS, will become the 14th-richest stockholder in South Korea after his company's initial public offering (IPO) in mid-October. The company is scheduled to open subscription for retail investors Monday and Tuesday at an IPO price of 135,000 won ($115). Bang Si-hyuk holds 12,377,337 shares, or a 36.6 percent stake valued at about 1.67 trillion won based on the IPO price, in Big Hit Entertainment, according to the agenc

An extended slump is expected to undermine South Korean shipbuilders' earnings in the third quarter of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a meaningful recovery in the near future not in sight. According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, global new orders for ships more than halved to 8.12 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in the first eight months of the year from 17.47 million tons a year earlier. "South Korean shipbuilders may log a

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top telecom operator, is eyeing initial public offerings (IPO) for its digital service subsidiaries starting next year, analysts said Sunday, as the company seeks to realign its business structure. The move has been widely expected after the mobile carrier announced its IPO ambitions for its wide ranging digital units of internet protocol TV (IPTV) operator SK Broadband Co. to video streaming service operator Content Wavve Corp. in its second quarter earnings call

Lawmaker blames card operators for taking advantage of low-rate loans, ample liquidity

More than 80 percent of applicants for reverse mortgages in recent years have been owners of high-rise apartments, data from the Korea Housing Finance Corp. showed Sunday, spurring concerns about inequitable access. Reverse mortgages were introduced in South Korea in 2007 and allow homeowners, mainly senior citizens, to receive payments on a monthly basis by borrowing against the value of their homes. From January to August, 6,636 people signed contracts with banks to borrow money by providi

Prolonged pandemic widens gap between flourishing sectors, virus-hit industries

Investors, parties denounce impending rule to lower threshold to W300m from W1b