Economy

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  KT Commerce ties up with blockchain company to make foray into metaverse-based ecommerce market SEOUL -- KT Commerce, the ecommerce wing of South Korea's largest telecom company KT, joined hands with blockchain solution company Block Labs, to make a foray into the metaverse-based ecommerce market. Through the cooperation, the two companies will develop a platform where users can experience real world-like shopping malls in virtual reality. Metaverse is a virtual world that can be accessed using smartphones, PCs, or virtual reality headsets. Users can engage in various soc 2021-12-28
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  Kolon TissueGene resumes clinical trials at American hospitals to verify efficacy of cell-mediated gene therapy for degenerative arthritis SEOUL -- The U.S subsidiary of Kolon Life Science, a biosimilar arm of South Korea's Kolon Group, has resumed clinical trials at American hospitals to verify the efficacy of the world's first cell-mediated gene therapy for degenerative arthritis by recruiting some 1,020 patients before domestic stock market regulators take action on delisting over an alleged research mistake. Invossa code-named "TG-C" is a novel cell and gene therapy targeting knee osteoarthritis 2021-12-28
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  Shinsegae Food's vegan meat adopted as official menu at SK Telecom's canteen SEOUL -- Shinsegae Food, a food company affiliated with South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae Group, has made its first move to establish a bridgehead into the country's canteen food supply chain market with its vegan meat product. The retail giant's alternative meat product was adopted as an official menu at mobile carrier SK Telecom's cafeteria. Shinsegae Food said in a statement on December 27 that its vegan meat-based cold cut ham was used to make sandwiches serv 2021-12-28
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  ​Incheon International Airport to house esports arena in idle area SEOUL -- To prepare for the post-pandemic era, South Korea's main gateway in the western port city of Incheon will house an esports arena in an idle area to hold gaming tournaments and offer visitors a place to spend time playing video games. According to Incheon International Airport, the number of people who used the airport in the first half of 2021 was about 1.1 million, down 97 percent from the same period of 2019. Before the first wave of a coronavirus pandemic hit Sout 2021-12-27
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  Samsung establishes smart home demonstration zone in southern port city SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has visualized a demonstration town cluster of 56 smart homes equipped with 15 kinds of connected home appliances including a refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, and an organic light-emitting diode display TV. Using the electronics maker's smart home hub system, residents of the smart home cluster can wirelessly control home appliances and receive communal notifications. The smart home demonstration zone was established as a pilot demonstration pro 2021-12-27
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  LG Display to unveil transparent OLED solutions at CES trade fair SEOUL -- At a trade fair in Las Vegas, LG Display, a major flat panel maker in South Korea, will unveil new transparent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions that can provide differentiated customer experiences in various spaces such as shopping malls, offices, and homes. Transparent OLED screens display black content as transparent, allowing designers to overlay digital content such as images, text and video onto real-life objects placed behind the transparent screen. LG of 2021-12-27
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  Hanwha Q Cells consortium selected for state project to commercialize new solar cells SEOUL -- A consortium led by Hanwha Q Cells, a leading manufacturer of photovoltaic solar cells in South Korea, has been selected for a three-year state project to develop and commercialize perovskite crystalline silicon solar cells with high durability and high efficiency by using tandem cell technology that builds perovskite on top of silicon solar cells. Tandem solar cells can be individual cells or connected in series, which are simpler to fabricate but the current is the same t 2021-12-27
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  Doosan Fuel Cell to build plant for hydrogen power generator fuel cells SEOUL -- Doosan Fuel Cell, the clean energy wing of South Korea's Doosan Group, will build a manufacturing plant for power generation hydrogen fuel cells. The construction is to be completed by 2024. Hydrogen fuel cells use hydrogen as fuel to produce electricity. Small-sized cells are installed in eco-friendly vehicles such as full-size sport utility vehicles while larger cell systems are used in hydrogen power generators. Doosan Fuel Cell said in a statement on Decemb 2021-12-24
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  KT to establish smart fire monitoring system at Coupang's logistics centers SEOUL -- South Korea's top telecom service operator KT will establish an integrated fire monitoring system at logistics warehouses operated by ecommerce giant Coupang. The smart fire monitoring system called "FPS24" is capable of monitoring fire equipment in real-time and detecting fires 24 hours a day. KT said in a statement on December 24 that the telecom company signed a cooperation agreement with Coupang to provide the smart fire monitoring system for the ecommerc 2021-12-24
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  Samsung Electro-Mechanics nurturs Vietnam subsidiary as production hub for flip chip ball grid arrays SEOUL -- Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electric component maker in South Korea, will invest $851 million to nurture its subsidiary in Vietnam as a production hub for flip-chip ball grid arrays which are mainly used for central processing units (CPUs) and graphic processing units (GPUs) that require high-performance and high-density circuit connections. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said its board has approved the proposed investment in Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam, saying the sub 2021-12-23
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  Pulmuone partners with global food ingredient developer to develop alternative meat products SEOUL -- Seoul-based food company Pulmuone teamed up with the South Korean office of International Flavors & Fragrances, a U.S.-based food and beverage ingredient developer, to secure competitiveness in the plant-based meat market. Through the cooperation, Pulmuone will develop textured vegetable protein processing technology, which is essential for producing high-quality alternative meat. Pulmuone said in a statement on December 23 that the company partnered with Danisco Nut 2021-12-23
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  LG Display to introduce new flexible OLED solutions at CES in Las Vegas SEOUL -- Following its successful launch of rollable displays that received positive feedback from critics, LG Display, a major flat panel maker in South Korea, will introduce new solutions by utilizing thin and bendable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) at a trade fair in Las Vegas, to create new markets and show innovative form factors. LG Display, affiliated with South Korea's LG Group, has developed bendable, foldable and rollable OLED panels. They are involved in a pr 2021-12-23
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  SK Geo Centric commercializes biodegradable plastic through collaboration with Kolon Industries SEOUL -- SK Geo Centric, the chemical wing of battery maker SK Innovation, commercialized a type of biodegradable plastic called polybutylene adipate terephthalate through collaboration with Kolon Industries, a chemical and textile manufacturing company in South Korea. Polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) is a petroleum-based biodegradable plastic that rapidly degrades through enzyme reactions with oxygen, heat and light. Unlike regular plastic products which take about 100 ye 2021-12-22
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  ​SKT to use AI video analysis solution to provide care for people with developmental disabilities SEOUL -- South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and Seoul National University Hospital will cooperate to develop artificial intelligence-based therapeutic solutions and services for people with developmental disabilities and challenging behavior. The solution will help doctors and guardians monitor for early symptoms of the disability and provide therapeutic services. Challenging behavior is displayed by people who have severe learning disabilities when their needs a 2021-12-22
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  SK Shieldus showcases AI-based video monitoring solution SEOUL -- SK Shieldus, the security service wing of South Korea's mobile carrier SK Telecom, released an artificial intelligence-based video monitoring solution that provides various services including surveillance and big data-based customer analysis. The new solution can be used by store operators to set up marketing strategies based on customer-related information collected by the smart solution. SK Shieldus said in a statement on December 22 that the new solution called &q 2021-12-22
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  Korean Air partners with state defense technology institute to develop stealth drone hull structure SEOUL -- South Korea's flag carrier Korean Air and a state defense technology institute have joined hands to cooperate in the research and development project for low-observable unmanned aerial vehicle hull structure technology. The project aims to develop technologies related to stealth military drones. South Korea is currently developing Kaori-X, a strike fighter-sized low-observable tailless drone that can be deployed independently or as a robot wingman to assist fighter pla 2021-12-22
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  GS Caltex demonstrates utilization of recycled oil in petrochemical refining process SEOUL -- South Korean major refiner GS Caltex has started a demonstration for the utilization of recycled oil made from plastic wastes. Through the demonstration, the refiner will check the efficacy of recycled oil in its petrochemical product manufacturing process. Recycled oil is created through pyrolysis, a technique that involves extreme pressure and heat to break down plastics and vinyl to oil. In July 2021, the southern port city of Tongyeong revealed a plan to build a pyroly 2021-12-22
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  Kakao Entertainment acquires film and advertising studios to beef up storytelling capability SEOUL -- To become the main player in South Korea's commercial video content market, the entertainment wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao has acquired a 100 percent stake in two video studios that create popular content. Kakao will produce new commercial content through the newly-acquired companies. Kakao Entertainment said in a statement on December 21 that the company acquired the two Seoul-based video content production studios -- Dolphiners Films, and STUDIO 2021-12-21
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  UNIST joins hands with domestic smelting company to cooperate in R&D of secondary batteries SEOUL --The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), a state research institute, has joined hands with Korea Zinc, a major non-ferrous metal smelter based in the southern port city of Ulsan, to cooperate in the research and development of secondary batteries that are mainly used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Secondary batteries, also known as rechargeable batteries, consist of metal components including non-ferrous materials such as lead, zinc, 2021-12-21
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  Hyundai shipbuilder to showcase self-sailing technology at CES in Las Vegas SEOUL -- At the CES trade fair in January in Las Vegas, South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding will showcase its self-sailing technology by installing a fully autonomous leisure boat model at its booth and using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to create a virtual ocean voyage. Visitors can experience a sailing simulation game applied with virtual reality technology aboard the six-meter-long boat. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world's largest shipbuilder, and other South Kor 2021-12-20