Economy

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  U.S. unmanned store solution company to receive investment from SK Networks SEOUL -- Standard Cognition, an American unmanned store solution startup, will receive $25 million from SK Networks, a trading and retail arm of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group. The unmanned store solution utilizes artificial intelligence to provide quick and convenient transaction service. SK Networks said in a statement on February 23 that the company will invest $25 million in Standard Cognition in Series C funding. The Americ 2021-02-23
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  GS25 partners with outdoor apparel maker to recycle used plastic bottles into clothing SEOUL -- South Korea's major convenience store franchise GS25 has partnered with Black Yak, an outdoor apparel company, to recycle used plastic bottles into clothing. They will co-develop and sell products through offline and online stores. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used to create plastic bottles and containers. Bottles can be collected and recycled into various products. GS Retail, the operator of GS25, said in a statement on February 22 2021-02-22
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  SKT partners with state power company to use renewable energy for 5G control towers SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a unit of South Korea's SK Group, has partnered with KEPCO, a state company, to use renewable energy for 5G communication control towers. The partnership is part of the group's campaign to achieve zero emissions by 2050. SK Telecom (SKT) and KEPCO signed an agreement to use 44.6-gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually for two ICT Infracenters in Seoul and Seongnam, a southeastern satellite city. KEPCO will issue a certificate that v 2021-02-22
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  Medytox acquires 16.7% stake in Daewoong's U.S. partner for ending legal battle SEOUL -- Medytox, a major botulinum toxin (botox) producer in South Korea, has acquired a 16.7 percent stake in Evolus, the U.S. partner of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, as part of a deal to end a protracted legal battle and rescind a U.S. trade panel's decision in December 2020 to order a 21-month ban on Daewoong's products in the American market. Medytox said in a regulatory filing on February 22 that the company and its U.S. partner, AbbVie, purchased a 2021-02-22
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  KCC unveils diversified lineup of bio-paint capable of curbing virus spread SEOUL -- KCC, a top provider of construction materials and paints, has unveiled a diversified lineup of its functional bio-paint that can prevent the spread of infectious diseases caused by pathogenic viruses and microorganisms. KCC released the first model of its functional paint with anti-virus, antibacterial, and anti-fungus performance in December 2020, saying it can eradicate more than 99 percent of viruses within six hours. It is an eco-friendly product that 2021-02-19
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  Syringes for COVID-19 vaccines added to list of 'K-quarantine' technologies President Moon Jae-in inspects a special syringe for COVID-19 vaccination during his trip to a Poonglim Pharmatech plant in Gunsan on February 18. SEOUL -- A home-made special syringe for COVID-19 vaccination has been added to a list of innovative "K-quarantine" technologies that have been benchmarked by many countries. K-quarantine refers to various anti-epidemic products developed by South Korea to combat COVID-19, such as diagnostic devices and a drive- 2021-02-19
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  Hanwha Systems releases intelligent module for thermal imaging cameras SEOUL -- Hanwha Systems, a key defense contractor in South Korea, will release an intelligent thermal imaging engine module called "Quantum Red" that strengthened temperature measurement functions. The company thinks the new module will increase the reliability of thermal imaging cameras for detecting human heat and can be applied to night vision sensors for self-driving technologies. Quantum Red consists of an optical meter, a detector and a 2021-02-18
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  LG Innotek's new investment in optical solution business receives positive market response SEOUL -- A new investment disclosed by LG Innotek, the electric component unit of South Korea's LG Group, to strengthen the competitiveness of its optical solution business has received a positive response from market watchers. The company has produced high-end products such as 3-D camera sensors to meet the global demand for special sensors for smartphones and smart devices. LG Innotek said in a regulatory filing on February 17 that it has earmarked 2021-02-18
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  Hansol develops eco-friendly paper packaging material by recycling cacao bean waste SEOUL -- Hansol, a major paper company in South Korea, has developed an eco-friendly paper packaging material by recycling the by-product of cacao beans, which are discarded after being used as chocolate ingredients, in cooperation with Lotte Confectionary. The packaging material will be used for wrapping chocolate products. Hansol said in a statement on February 17 that it has processed cacao bean waste into powder and mixed them with recycled pulp to 2021-02-17
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  State project launched to popularize biodegradable fishnets and protect environment SEOUL -- South Korean fishermen will be given a new type of biodegradable fishnets along with subsidies in a state pilot project to prevent marine pollution and ghost fishing, a phenomenon in which marine animals get caught by nylon nets that were abandoned or lost. Biodegradable nets are naturally decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms after a certain period of time in the sea. Because of extremely tough characteristics, fishnets made of nylon 2021-02-17
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  Samsung claims to be 'industry-first' in developing high bandwidth memory integrated with AI processing power SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics claimed to be "industry-first" in developing a high bandwidth memory (HBM) integrated with artificial intelligence processing power that does not require any hardware or software changes, allowing faster integration into existing systems. It can be applied to general products such as smartphones through technology development. Computing systems are mainly based on the von Neumann architecture, which uses sep 2021-02-17
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  Hyundai auto group ties up with POSCO steel group for hydrogen business cooperation SEOUL -- As the prime motive power for the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem, South Korea's Hyundai auto group forged a strategic alliance with POSCO to cooperate in hydrogen vehicles and power generation as well as the development of related technologies. The steel group has presented a business goal to nurture green hydrogen as one of its new growth engines. Hyundai will develop hydrogen commercial trucks for use at steel mills, while POSCO will 2021-02-16
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  LG Chem to raise $1.09 bln thru corporate bond offering for new investment SEOUL -- LG Chem will issue a total of 1.2 trillion won ($1.09 billion) in corporate bonds to make new investments and improve the financial status of its new business structure following the spin-off of its battery wing which made its official debut as a separate entity in December 2020. The amount was based on a positive response shown by institutional investors in an earlier demand forecasting survey LG Chem said that some 820 billion won would be issued in e 2021-02-15
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  Samsung shipyard wins $707 mln order to build five LNG-powered container ships SEOUL -- Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has secured an order worth 781.2 billion won ($707 million) from an unidentified Asian client to build five container ships powered by liquefied natural gas and equipped with eco-friendly and energy-saving solutions. The ships will be delivered sequentially by July 2023. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said in a regulatory filing on February 15 that the 15,000-TEU ships woul 2021-02-15
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  Samsung's Neo QLED TVs introduce AMD's latest technology to strengthen gaming function SEOUL -- Neo QLED, a new Samsung TV model that allows gamers to enjoy a wider field of view and quickly monitor and adjust critical aspects of play, is armed with the latest version of FreeSync, an adaptive synchronization technology developed by Advanced Micro Devices, an American semiconductor company. Samsung said that it would introduce AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro in the entire lineup of Neo QLED TVs to greatly strengthen game functions. &qu 2021-02-15
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  Eco-friendly plates made of seaweed byproduct pulp to hit S. Korean market in March SEOUL -- Eco-friendly plates made of marine algae byproducts will hit the market in March in South Korea, which strengthens environmental regulations and nurtures a white biotechnology industry to develop eco-friendly replacements for plastics and other non-degradable materials. Seaweed-based products are 100 percent biodegradable within 90 days and durable. Marine Innovation, a social venture supported by SK Innovation, uses marine algae to produce bio 2021-02-10
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  Samsung shipyard to test remote autonomous system with 9,200-ton ship SEOUL -- A 9,200-ton ship installed with a remote autonomous system developed by Samsung Heavy Industries will make its test run probably in August on a coastal sea route. If the test is successful, it would be the world's first case to apply remote autonomous operation technology to a large vessel. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has tried to commercialize its remote autonomous system called Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS). The shipbuilder wi 2021-02-10
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  U.S. Match Group acquires Seoul-based social discovery and video technology company SEOUL -- Match Group, an American dating product provider, will acquire Hyperconnect, a lucrative video and AI technology company in South Korea, for $1.72 billion. The deal comes on the heels of Hyperconnect's rapid advance based on instant video communication and AI technology in the ever-growing social discovery app market. Hyperconnect runs Azar, a real-time video chat app that connects instantly with millions of like-minded people by translating 2021-02-10
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  Doosan Mobility partners with Chinese company to develop hydrogen robots SEOUL -- Doosan Mobility Innovation, a drone solution provider in South Korea, has partnered with a Chinese company to develop special-purpose robots powered by hydrogen fuel cells that can be used for fire fighting and monitoring. The two companies aim to produce their products by the end of this year and sell them in China and other countries. Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) said in a statement on February 9 that it has signed a memorandum 2021-02-09
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  S. Korea beefs up smart farming to cope with aging population in agriculture SEOUL -- South Korea will beef up its smart farming industry in an effort to fill up a workforce vacuum in the conventional agriculture industry that has been accelerated by an aging society. Smart farm research and development infrastructure will be interconnected to maximize efficiency and speed up tests of new technologies. Government data showed that more than 70,000 farmers chose to retire in 2019 due to old age. About 46 percent of the farming population cons 2021-02-09