June 21, 2018

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Jin Air CEO quits over alleged concealment of engine problem

[THE INVESTOR] The head of Jin Air has quit over allegations that he forced a pilot to go ahead with a flight last year despite an engine problem.　The budget carrier unit of Korean Air said Kwon Hyuk-min resigned on June 19 for personal reasons.　The resignation came four weeks after employees of Korean Air claimed that the No. 1 engine of a B777-200 jet would not shut down despite a pilot’s efforts to turn it off after landing at Guam on Sept. 19 last year.　The plane, however, left for Incheon a

Kakao eyes acquiring Fund Online Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Kakao Pay, Korea’s top mobile messenger firm’s payment service, is joining the race to purchase Fund Online Korea, a local fund supermarket operator, in an attempt to expand its financial service offerings, according to industry sources on June 20. Six firms have shown interest in taking over Fund Online Korea, including Kakao Pay, KG Inicis and other fintech firms. The approximate deal size is unknown. Fund Online Korea is planning to receive letters of intent by early next month

Snow acquires startup Heart it for W2.08b

[THE INVESTOR] Korean IT giant Naver’s affiliate Snow, which operates a camera app, on June 19 announced that it has acquired the entire stake in shopping platform startup Heart it for 2.08 billion won (US$1.87 million).“We acquired Heart it to strategically cooperate, so we will not intervene in its daily operations. Heart it CEO Seo Su-Ah will retain his position in the firm,” a Snow spokesperson told The Investor.Heart it, established in 2015, provides information about influencer’s fashion i

Samsung BioLogics awaits final ruling in accounting fraud case

[THE INVESTOR] The Securities and Futures Commission is wrapping up over a month-long review of Samsung BioLogics’s controversial accounting practices that could put the 27 trillion won (US$24.30 billion) company at risk of delisting. The SFC, auditing and decision-assisting arm of the country’s top financial regulator Financial Supervisory Commission, convened the third round of meetings with Samsung BioLogics and its auditors KPMG and Deloitte Anjin on June 20 before a final ruling is announce

Samsung will ‘most likely’ turn around in Q3: analysts

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ shares have dropped in the past week due to the negative outlook on its lower-than-expected profits in the second quarter caused partly by the slowing sales of its premium smartphone Galaxy S9.Some analysts said, however, the tech giant will “most likely” make a turnaround in the third quarter thanks to several factors, including improving DRAM demand, launch of Galaxy Note 9 and Apple’s new iPhones during the July-September period. Samsung supplies mobile OLE

GC Pharma, Yuhan to collaborate for Gaucher’s disease therapy

[THE INVESTOR] GC Pharma said on June 19 that it has entered an agreement with Yuhan to co-develop rare disease treatments. The drug makers expect GC Pharma’s experience in developing orphan drugs and Yuhan’s new compound synthesis technology will complement each other to create synergies in discovering new drug candidate.  GC Pharma president Huh Eun-chul (left) and Yuhan CEO Lee Jung-heeTheir first project aims at developing a treatment for Gaucher’s disease, an inherited disorder caused by a

JobPlanet launches big data analytics team

[THE INVESTOR] JobPlanet, a crowdsourced corporate data startup, said on June 19 that it has launched a big data analytics team, to gain more insight into corporate HR and consequently offer more reliable information for job seekers.The newly established unit, named HR Labs, will publish reports on a regular basis, highlighting four categories -- corporate culture, brand competitiveness in the job market, salary and employee benefits, and business risks. All the information in its reports will b

SK chairman’s estranged wife under fire for allegedly abusing chauffeurs

[THE INVESTOR] The wife of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won came under fire on June 19 after a news report alleged that she abused and verbally assaulted her former chauffeurs. In an interview with local daily Hankyoreh, the chauffeurs claimed they were subject to frequent mistreatment and tantrums while they were working for Roh So-young since 2007.  SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won and his wife Roh Soh-yeongOne driver said Roh used to lambaste him when tissues or gums were running out at the back

SK Group plans to spin off 11st

[THE INVESTOR] SK Group is planning to spin off its online shopping site 11st from SK Planet, according to industry sources on June 19.SK planet, which currently operates 11st said that it is considering a spin off, but declined to confirm any details.According to sources, the biggest shareholder of SK Group, SK Telecom will hold a board meeting on June 19 to discuss the plan and finish the spin off process before the year-end.The company believes spinning off the e-commerce division can make th

Korea goes ahead with graphic photo warnings for IQOS

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government on June 17 said it has decided to enforce heat-not-burn cigarettes like Philip Morris International’s popular IQOS sticks to carry graphic images -- the first of its kind globally -- amid the ongoing dispute over health hazards of tobacco alternatives here. Currently, HNB products carry a needle image to warn of risks but it will be replaced with more graphic warnings like a picture of cancer-ridden organs from Dec. 23. In other key markets like the US and Ja

Samsung beefs up R&D staff

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics added around 3,000 researchers to its research and development workforce in 2017 as part of its efforts to attract competent engineers in emerging segments, such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, according to the tech giant's Sustainability Report published recently.After the number of R&D researchers reached 70,398 in 2014, the highest of all time, it dropped to 62,546 in line with the firm’s initiatives to shut down and restructure underperfo

LGD bets on OLED to address mounting challenges

[ET NEWS] LG Display has decided to roll out OLED displays at its new manufacturing factory, called P10, in Paju, ditching its original plan to produce large-sized LCDs, according to sources on June 18.The Korean display firm initially planned to produce 10.5-generation LCDs at the new factory first, and then transition the manufacturing lines into those for OLED later. The global LCD supply bottleneck caused by fast-growing Chinese display companies and negative outlook on competitiveness of Ko

Jin Air CEO quits over alleged concealment of engine problem

LG Electronics CEO to talk about AI vision at IFA

Fantagio stocks slump as Gold Finance Korea offloads stake

Samsung BioLogics awaits final ruling in accounting fraud case

Lotte Duty Free mulls acquiring JR Duty Free

SK chairman’s wife under fire for allegedly abusing chauffeurs

Kakao eyes acquiring Fund Online Korea

LG launches BTS theme for smartphones

Samsung ordered to pay US$400m to KAIST over semiconductor tech patent infringement

Naver challenges YouTube with video-strong blogs, but hurdles persist

L’Oreal completes acquisition of Korean online retailer Nanda

[EQUITIES] ‘SK hynix remains strong’

[EQUITIES] ‘CJ E&M clears M&A uncertainties’

[EQUITIES] ‘LG Chem’s earnings to meet market consensus’

Celltrion seeks FDA approval for Herceptin biosimilar again

Medytox to gain Chinese approval for BTX in H2 2019

Over half of Koreans agree on tax hike for HNB cigarettes: survey

Hyundai to set up automotive joint venture

Toss gets US$40m funding from GIC, Sequoia

Pearl Abyss sets up new VC arm

[INTERVIEW] WeWork Labs opens first Asian operation in Seoul

SoftBank, Naver invest US$20m in Indonesian co-working space EV Hive

Why birth order is a big deal at LG

New thinking needed on GM Korea

Fall of the ‘Angel of Death’?

Wherever you end up going