Economy

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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
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  KT partners with hotel service reservation operator Yanolja to release AI-based room management solution SEOUL -- South Korea's top telecom company KT has partnered with Yanolja Cloud, the cloud solution wing of the online accommodation reservation service operator Yanolja, to release an artificial intelligence-based unmanned hotel room management solution. KT said in a statement on December 20 that Mercury, a wireless communication infrastructure developer, and Y FLUX, a smart hotel management solution company, were also involved in the project to establish a smart room managem 2021-12-20
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  HMM's container ship makes successful trial voyage using bio-heavy fuel SEOUL -- A container ship run by HMM, a major shipping company in South Korea, has made a successful trial voyage using marine bio-heavy fuel. It was South Korea's first demonstration of applying bio-heavy oil used in domestic power plants to a ship as a fossil fuel substitute. During a 10-day trial voyage that began on December 1 from South Korea's southern port city of Busan to the Panama Canal, HMM said the 13,000-TEU HMM Dream tested a diesel generator powered by bio h 2021-12-20
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  KT releases combined subscription plan for online music and audio book library services SEOUL -- South Korea's top telecom company KT will release a new monthly subscription plan for consumers who enjoy reading digital books and listening to music for the first time in the domestic industry. KT's combined book and music subscription service was first released four months after the telecom company's online music subscription wing acquired a controlling stake in Millie's Library in August 2021. Genie Music invested 46.4 billion won ($39.2 million) to acq 2021-12-17
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  Lotte Chemical expands production of ethylene oxide adduct at domestic plant SEOUL -- Lotte Chemical, a major chemical company based in South Korea, will invest 250 billion won ($211 million) to expand the production of ethylene oxide adduct, a construction specialty material that reduces the use of water in concrete by 30 percent, improves strength, and maintains fluidity for long-distance transportation. Ethylene oxide adduct (EOA) is a high-value-added raw material for water-reducing agents used in concrete when constructing large structures such as hig 2021-12-17
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  SK Materials launches joint project to produce construction aggregates thru carbon mineralization SEOUL -- SK Materials, a unit of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, joined hands with a public electricity supplier for South Korea's first project to produce construction aggregates by mineralizing carbon dioxide contained in the exhaust gas discharged from a power plant. After a pilot operation, the two companies would push for commercialization. Carbon mineralization is an emerging approach to remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the form o 2021-12-17
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  Hyundai's joint venture teams up with Uber to launch self-driving delivery service SEOUL -- Motional, a joint venture between South Korea's Hyundai auto group and Aptiv, an Ireland-based American mobility technology company, will launch an autonomous delivery service by partnering with the world's largest mobility service company Uber Technologies. Modified versions of Hyundai IONIQ 5-based robotaxis will be used to carry out the self-driving delivery service. In September 2021, Motional unveiled the basic design of a robotaxi featuring level 4 autonomous 2021-12-17
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  GS Caltex uses drone to demonstrate fuel delivery service in Seoul SEOUL -- GS Caltex, a major refiner in South Korea, has demonstrated a drone-based fuel delivery service in Seoul. It is rare for drone-based service companies to operate or demonstrate their services in the capital city that restricts about 90 percent of its sky as a no-fly zone for drones for safety and security reasons. The refiner said in a statement that a drone delivered kerosene from a gas station to a park that is about one kilometer (0.62 miles) away at a government-hosted 2021-12-17
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  Kakao Entertainment acquires web novel service company Wuxiaworld to grab N. American readers SEOUL -- In a strategy to expand its global presence based on rapid growth in some Asian countries such as Japan and Thailand, Kakao Entertainment, a content and entertainment subsidiary of South Korea's web service company Kakao, acquired Wuxiaworld, a U.S.-based Asian fantasy web novel platform, which maintains a strong base of male fantasy readers, to grab North American readers. Wuxiaworld, founded in 2014 by former U.S. diplomat Lai Jingping who goes by his pen name Ren Wo 2021-12-16
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  Korean Air demonstrates world's first drone-based aircraft symmetry check solution SEOUL -- South Korea's flag carrier Korean Air has demonstrated an unprecedented aircraft symmetry check solution using a platoon of specially designed drones. The new system has the potential to change the paradigm of the airplane hull check method that requires human workers to examine the integrity of the body of airplanes. It will reduce the maintenance time by about 60 percent. The symmetry and alignment check process is one of the most important pre-flight checks done on 2021-12-16
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  SK Group makes strategic investment in U.S. waste-to-fuel specialist Fulcrum SEOUL -- SK Inc., the strategic investment arm of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, teamed up with a domestic private equity fund to jointly invest $50 million in Fulcrum Bioenergy, a U.S. waste-to-fuel specialist that converts household garbage into low-carbon transportation fuels, including jet fuel, diesel, and ethanol. Fulcrum has built a commercial-scale facility that will convert household waste into sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and renewa 2021-12-16
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  POSCO's board endorses $830 mln investment in lithium hydroxide plant in Argentina SEOUL -- South Korea's steel group POSCO will invest some $830 million in producing lithium hydroxide, an inorganic compound used for electric vehicle batteries, from a salt lake in Argentina. Construction of a production plant with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons will begin in the first half of 2022 for completion in the first half of 2024. Lithium hydroxide is a key material for lithium-ion battery cathodes. It is preferred over lithium carbonate because lithium hydroxid 2021-12-16
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  Online fashion platform W Concept opens virtual reality exhibition room SEOUL -- W Concept, the online fashion platform wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, will showcase a virtual reality showroom where customers can try on various fashion items. Various styling guides will be provided in the real world-like virtual showroom. W Concept said in a statement on December 15 that the virtual reality (VR) showroom was designed to allow customers to choose and purchase some 140 apparel items from 50 popular brands. With the theme titled "Fi 2021-12-16
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  Hyundai Glovis secures exclusive shipping space in Bremerhaven port on Germany’s North Sea coast SEOUL -- Hyundai Glovis, the logistics wing of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, secured an exclusive shipping space in Bremerhaven, a port city on Germany’s North Sea coast, to enhance maritime transportation competitiveness and expand its operation for European and other finished car brands. Hyundai Glovis said it would build a dedicated infrastructure such as three berths and a 100,000 square meter yard capable of accommodating about 5,000 vehicles in the port of Bremer 2021-12-15
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  Baedal Minjok starts world's first door-to-door robot delivery service SEOUL -- South Korea's top food delivery service Baedal Minjok has started the world's first door-to-door robot food delivery service in Suwon, a southeastern satellite city of Seoul. The robot uses internet of things technology to communicate with security doors, elevators and other facilities to freely roam about an apartment complex to deliver food. Starting with a one-month demonstration of "Dilly," a six-wheeled food delivery robot, at a university campus i 2021-12-15
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  LG Energy Solution partners with Siemens AG to establish AI-based battery production system SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution, the battery-making wing of South Korea's LG Group, teamed up with German industrial manufacturing company Siemens AG to collaborate in the establishment of a manufacturing intelligence system designed for mass production of high-performance batteries. Manufacturing intelligence is a smart manufacturing system that allows factories to autonomously manage production processes using artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) technologies 2021-12-14
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  KT and KAIST set up joint research center for human-centered AI technologies SEOUL -- South Korea's biggest telecom company KT has joined hands with a state technology institute to jointly set up a research center for next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technologies including human-centered AI designed to enhance the human experience. Human-centered AI is AI-based technology systems or platforms designed to improve people's wellbeing. AI technology works as a bridge that connects machines and humans for seamless interaction. A human-centere 2021-12-14
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  Dongsung Finetec selected for state project to develop insulation materials for liquid hydrogen storage containers SEOUL -- Dongsung Finetec, a leading producer of ultra low-temperature cold insulation materials, has been selected for a state project to develop cryogenic insulation materials for liquid hydrogen storage containers for commercial vehicles powered by fuel cells. Hydrogen is extremely flammable when it is mixed with very small amounts of air. The liquefaction of hydrogen requires cooling to a temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius and subsequent storage in cryogenic containers. Th 2021-12-13
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  GS Retail's online ecommerce platform partners with five-star hotel to offer delivery service SEOUL -- The quick grocery delivery service wing of South Korea's retail company GS Retail has partnered with a five-star hotel in Seoul for customers who wish to party at home instead of going out to enjoy the end-of-the-year season. Food including roast turkey and pork, cooked by hotel chefs, will be delivered on-demand. GS Fresh Mall said in a statement that the quick grocery delivery service operator has partnered with InterContinental Seoul Parnas, a luxury hotel in Seoul& 2021-12-13
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  Kyobo Book Centre opens metaverse-based bookstore SEOUL -- South Korea's top bookstore franchise Kyobo Book Centre has opened a metaverse-based bookstore for customers who wish to explore the digital replica of an actual bookstore located in central Seoul. Using the new platform, book lovers can purchase books and albums without visiting the actual bookstore. Metaverse is a virtual environment where various social and cultural activities take place. Each user can create their own personalized characters called "avatars&qu 2021-12-13