Economy

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  POSCO pushes for new steel plant project thru cooperation with Adani SEOUL -- In cooperation with India's leading energy and logistics conglomerate, Adani, POSCO will push for the construction of a new steel mill in the world's second-most populous country where resistance from local communities prompted the South Korean group to scrap an earlier steel plant project POSCO said it signed a memorandum of understanding online with Adani Group to launch a joint project for the construction of an eco-friendly integrated steel plant. The 2022-01-13
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  Hanwha Solutions localizes production of EBA copolymer for high-voltage power cables SEOUL -- Through five years of research to acquire independent technologies in a market dominated by big foreign firms, Hanwha Solutions, a renewable energy service provider affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, is ready for the commercial production of ethylene-butyl acrylate copolymers, which are an effective insulation material for high-voltage direct-current power cables. Acrylic copolymers are transparent thermoplastic copolymers of ethylene and acrylate with excep 2022-01-13
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  Confectionary maker Orion establishes web-based carbon emission management system SEOUL -- South Korea's confectionary maker Orion has started the operation of an integrated web-based carbon emission management system for the first time in the domestic food industry. The system will be used to manage data including the amount of greenhouse gases emitted at food factories at home and abroad. South Korea, which has a renewable energy dependency rate of 4.8 percent in 2020, is trying to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. During the last few ye 2022-01-13
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  POSCO localizes technology for production of rare gas neon SEOUL -- South Korea's steel group POSCO localized the production of neon gas for domestic semiconductor companies. The demand for neon and other rare gases essential for semiconductor production has increased, but South Korea's semiconductor industry has been heavily dependent on imported products from the United States and other countries. Neon is a raw material for excimer laser gas which is used in semiconductor photolithography, a process of engraving electronic circuit 2022-01-12
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  MCNS works with furniture company to turn waste polyurethane to polyol raw material SEOUL -- MCNS, a polyurethane joint venture between South Korean and Japanese chemical companies, will work with a South Korean furniture company to commercialize an eco-friendly technology that turns waste polyurethane to polyols, which is a kind of liquid-phase synthesis that makes use of multivalent alcohols at high temperatures up to its boiling level. MCNS, founded by SKC and Mitsui Chemical by spinning off their respective polyurethane businesses, will commercialize its re-pol 2022-01-12
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  CJ Olive Young to secure 1 million foreign customers through global online mall SEOUL -- CJ Olive Young, the drug and beauty store franchise of South Korea's CJ Group, will seek to become a "K-beauty" sales gateway for homemade cosmetic products by securing one million foreign customers through its global online shopping mall by the end of 2022. The main target is customers in Canada and the United States. In 2019, CJ Olive Young launched an online shopping mall where foreign consumers can directly purchase South Korean products. The number of re 2022-01-12
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  Samsung works with CJ Cheil Jedang to release more easy-to-cook menus for all-in-one oven SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has worked with CJ Cheil Jedang, the key food subsidiary of South Korea's conglomerate CJ Group, to increase the number of ready-to-cook instant food packages that can be conveniently cooked into a tasty dish using Samsung's all-in-one oven. The collaboration between the two major companies targets single households and young workers who do not have the time to cook. In July 2021, Samsung released "Bespoke Qooker," a multi-functional o 2022-01-12
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  LG Chem breaks ground for cathode material plant with presidential blessing SEOUL -- With presidential blessing, LG Chem, a chemical unit of South Korea's LG Group, broke ground for the country's largest cathode material plant capable of producing some 60,000 tons a year which are enough to produce half a million electric vehicles. The plant will be completed in September 2024 with an injection of 475 billion won ($397 million) to produce a new type of efficient battery with a longer life than conventional ones. The plant in Gumi some 202 kilomete 2022-01-11
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  Hanmi Pharmaceutical to produce ZyCoV-D developed by Zydus Cadila SEOUL -- Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a major drugmaker in South Korea, has been commissioned to produce ZyCoV-D, a new DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by India-based pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila. Up to 80 million doses will be produced annually in a Hanmi plant. The consignment production of ZyCoV-D followed an agreement with Enzychem Lifesciences, a South Korean drugmaker that signed a technology transfer contract with Zydus in 2021. Hanmi said in a statement on January 11 t 2022-01-11
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  Online secondhand market Bungaejangter attracts new investment SEOUL -- South Korea's major online peer-to-peer secondhand trade service Bungaejangter has attracted some 82 million won ($68.6 million) in new investment. The investment will be spent on developing an authentication service for luxury items, strengthening payment and delivery services and recruiting more employees. Data released by Hana Financial Group showed that the domestic secondhand trade market grew from four trillion won in 2008 to 20 trillion won in 2020, with more tha 2022-01-11
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  Hyundai Engineering makes equity investment in USNC to secure microreactor EPC rights SEOUL -- Hyundai Engineering, a unit of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, has secured exclusive rights to the global engineering, procurement and construction business of Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, the Seattle-based developer of micro modular reactors, through an equity investment worth $30 million. Hyundai Engineering (HEC) said it has signed an investment and business cooperation agreement with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC). "With this investment, we have se 2022-01-11
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  GS25 adopts remote management solution for unmanned convenience stores SEOUL -- South Korea's convenience store franchise GS25 will adopt a smartphone-based management system for unmanned convenience stores for the first time in the industry. The mobile remote management solution will allow store managers to check who enters and leaves the store in real-time. According to GS25, the remote management app will be adopted in unmanned convenience stores across the country starting on January 11. Using the app, store managers can check who is using 2022-01-10
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  SK Geo Centric and Purecycle agree to complete recycled polypropylene plant by 2024 SEOUL -- SK Geo Centric, the chemical wing of SK Innovation, has tied up with Purecycle Technologies, an American recycling service provider with a solvent extraction technology, to complete the construction of joint venture plant capable of producing 60,000 tons of recycled polypropylene annually for use by clients in South Korea. Recycled polypropylene can be used to manufacture automobile parts. SK Innovation said Geocentric signed an agreement with Purecycle on the sidelines of 2022-01-10
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  LG Electronics joins IBM community to advance quantum computing SEOUL -- LG Electronics joined a community of companies, academic institutions, startups and research labs working with IBM to advance quantum computing. Using IBM's technology, The South Korean company aims to explore quantum computing applications in any areas requiring processing a large amount of data including artificial intelligence, connected cars, digital transformation, internet of things and robotics applications. Binary digital electronic computers are based on tra 2022-01-10
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  SK Pharmteco becomes CBM's 2nd largest shareholder thru $350 mln investment SEOUL -- As part of a strategy to enhance the competitive power of its biotech and pharmaceutical business, SK Inc., an investment-oriented holding company of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, has invested $350 million in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, an American contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) partner. The investment was made through SK Inc.’s American unit, SK Pharmteco headquartered in Sacramento, which would become 2022-01-10
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  Lotte Chemical signs agreement with Indonesia on petrochemical complex SEOUL -- Lotte Chemical, a major chemical company based in South Korea, put on track a megaproject to develop a petrochemical complex in Indonesia. The Indonesian government promised incentives such as lowering tariffs on raw materials and strengthening tax benefits for various facilities and equipment used to build factories. For its LINE project, Lotte Chemical said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesia Investment Authority in an online ceremony on January 2022-01-07
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  ​[CES 2022] Hyundai Heavy vows to become world's top 'future builder' LAS VEGAS -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, the world's top shipbuilder, revealed its future blueprint for the next 50 years at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and vowed to become the "future builder". "Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which have grown for the last 50 years to become the world's top shipbuilder, will change into the future builder that would create new values for mankind," the shipbuilding group's CEO Chung Ki-sun told rep 2022-01-07
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  42air works with Doosan Mobility to develop marine fuel cell drone delivery service SEOUL -- 42air, an American subsidiary of a South Korean startup that specializes in autonomous transport as a service, will work with Doosan Mobility Innovation to develop a marine drone delivery service powered by fuel cells that can provide an extended flight time. The range of multi-copter drones is limited due to their relatively short battery life. Hydrogen fuel cell drones could become a game-changer in the global market for unmanned flying systems. Doosan Mobility Innovation 2022-01-07
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  Software company Caliverse works with Mimic Productions to produce digital humans SEOUL -- South Korea's software developer, Caliverse, tied up with Mimic Productions, a German 3D animation and motion capture studio, to produce digital humans in a business agreement signed at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Mimic focuses on high-quality, photo-realistic digital doubles and 3D characters. Caliverse is a subsidiary of Lotte Data Communication, an information technology service provider affiliated with Lotte Group based in South Korea. The company would seek to implemen 2022-01-07
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  ​[CES 2022] Samsung seeks M&A opportunities in component and finished product industries LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics seeking merger and acquisition deal opportunities with another company, the company's vice president said during a press conference on the opening day of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "We are reviewing M&A opportunities in the component and finished product sectors," Samsung's digital experience division vice chairman Han Jong-hee told reporters without disclosing details on January 6. Regarding the electric ( 2022-01-07