The Minute to Read series provides a quick overview of significant events in Korea from the week, conveniently condensed into a one-minute read. Here’s a recap of what happened this week: Mar. 11-15
S. Korean government to impose controls on international e-commerce platforms
International online e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress, Temu, Amazon, and Q10 will be required to designate a local representative to do business in South Korea in the future. The South Korean government is taking measures under the thought that it is difficult for consumer damages by non-domiciled cross-border platforms to be relieved.
Over 1M Samsung Electronics shareholders sold shares in 2023
Last year, the number of shareholders of companies listed on the South Korean stock markets fell for the first time in nine years. Samsung Electronics shareholders plummeted by 1.16 million in a year to below 6 million. This is due to the shareholders selling their stocks and calling it quit due to unsupportive stock prices. The number of listed domestic companies has been increasing every year since 2014 (392,000), surpassing 14.4 million for the first time in 2022, when COVID-19 sparked an investment frenzy. Last year, the number stood at 14.15 million.
Registration of foreign-brand corporate cars drops by 25% from last year
In the first two months of this year, the number of imported corporate cars registered decreased by about 25% compared to the same period last year. Foreign-brand corporate cars are often luxurious, and as of January this year, corporate cars priced over 80 million won priced over 80 million won registered or re-registered from January must display lime green license plates. The number of imported corporate vehicles registered in the first two months of this year was 10,541, down 24.5% from the same period last year (13,953).
AliExpress to make huge investments in S. Korean market
China’s Alibaba Group will be investing $1.1 billion to expand its e-commerce subsidiary AliExpress into the South Korean market. According to industry sources, the Chinese multinational technology company recently submitted a business plan containing details of the $1.1 billion investment over the next three years to expand its business in the country to the South Korean government. The plan includes an investment of $200 million to build a 180,000㎡ integrated logistics center (fulfillment) in South Korea this year. The scale of the center is equivalent to 25 soccer fields. Alibaba Group will also make a $100 million investment to help South Korean sellers’ (merchants’) cross-border selling.
Samsung Electronics to adjust NAND flash price
Samsung Electronics will reportedly renegotiate prices with major mobile, PC, and server customers in March and April this year. Samsung plans to raise the price of NAND products by up to 20% through the adjustment to restore profitability in the NAND flash business, which was one of the main reasons for the large losses in the semiconductor business last year.
S. Korean government to allocate 80% of medical school seats to provinces
The South Korean government plans to allocate 20% (400) of the 2,000 medical school seats to metropolitan areas and 80% (1,600) to non-metropolitan areas from this year’s admissions, according to officials on Mar. 14. “There is no change in the plan to expand the number of rising medical school quotas to 2,000, which is an essential condition of the government’s healthcare reform,” an official from the presidential office said in a phone call with the Chosunilbo, adding, “The plan is to allocate more seats to non-metropolitan areas as originally planned to revive the crumbling local medical care.” The strategy is to focus on national university medical schools (9), which serve as regional medical hubs, and the “schools with the smallest enrollment (12)” with fewer than 50 seats in non-metropolitan areas to boost competitiveness. The government aims to complete the seat allocation within this month to give students ample time to prepare and to help universities accelerate the admissions process.
S. Korean occult film “Exhuma” grabs overseas attention
“Exhuma,” a movie currently leading the South Korean box office, has been making waves overseas with sales in 133 countries and invitations to international film festivals. Starring Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin, and Lee Do-hyun, Exhuma is an occult mystery film about the strange occurrences faced by a group of a geomancer, a mortician, and shamans who relocate a suspicious tomb for a large sum of money. It is reportedly receiving considerable interest from overseas film industries as well as the domestic box office. Its global rollout has also continued, starting from Mongolia on Feb. 23. Further, the movie received several invitations from international film festivals after being showcased at the Berlin International Film Festival. It has been officially invited to compete in the 26th Udine Far East Film Festival held from Apr. 24 to May. 2.
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