Economy

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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
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  Online secondhand market Bungaejangter partners with Kakao Mobility to offer quick delivery service SEOUL -- The mobility service wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao has partnered with Bungaejangter, a major online peer-to-peer secondhand market, to provide quick delivery using motorcycles. Currently, people meet with each other or use parcel delivery services that take a day or two to trade secondhand products. According to data released by Hana Financial Group, South Korea's secondhand trade market rose from four trillion won in 2008 to 20 trillion won in 2020 2021-12-13
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  Hyundai E&C woks with Japan's Toyo Engineering to participate in basic design for Indonesia’s petrochemical complex SEOUL -- In cooperation with Japan's Toyo Engineering, Hyundai Construction and Engineering, a major builder affiliated with South Korea's Hyundai auto group, will participate in the basic designing of Indonesia's second petrochemical complex in Cilegon on the island of Java. Hyundai E&C and Toyo Engineering will participate in front-end engineering design (FEED) on Indonesia’s petrochemical company Chandra Asri's second petrochemical complex in Cilegon 2021-12-13
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  Emart attracts picky customers to offline stores with specially selected fresh goods SEOUL -- Emart, the megastore wing of South Korea's retail conglomerate Shinsegae, has set out to attract more customers to its offline stores with a selection of specially-picked fresh goods. Emart said in a statement on December 13 that the company released "Farmer's Pick," a fresh goods brand, to introduce a lineup of specially-selected fresh food products to customers visiting its offline megastores. "We will increase the lineup of Farmer's Pick prod 2021-12-13
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  Online mall Wemakeprice utilizes product data for AI-based curated shopping service SEOUL -- In a bid to attract more customers, Wemakeprice, an online shopping mall operator in South Korea, has adopted an artificial intelligence-based curated shopping service that utilizes information about some 700 million products from about 230,000 online stores. Customers can compare and select products that best match their unique tastes. AI-based curation services have been adopted by South Korean online shopping malls to analyze shopping preferences based on shopping histo 2021-12-13
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  POSCO International acquires 50.1% stake in Senex to develop gas field in Queensland SEOUL -- POSCO International, a trading arm of South Korea's steel group POSCO, teamed up with a local partner to develop a land gas field being explored by Australia's Senex Energy in Queensland. Through a joint investment contract with Hancock Energy, POSCO International will hold a 50.1 percent stake in Senex Energy for 372 billion won ($315 million). Hancock Energy will control 49.9 percent. In a regulatory filing on December 10, POSCO International said the acquisitio 2021-12-10
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  Online apparel retail giant Musinsa to incubate new designer brands SEOUL -- The investment wing of Musinsa, a major online apparel retail giant in South Korea, will launch an incubation program for novel designers who dream of managing their own fashion brands. Selected designers will be given management support and business mentoring sessions. Musinsa started its business in South Korea in 2009 as a mobile-based fashion retail platform. The online apparel store operator was soon recognized as an iconic online shopping channel that provides one-st 2021-12-10
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  Hanwha E&C consortium selected as preferred bidder for mega engineering project in Seoul SEOUL -- A consortium led by Hanwha E&C, a builder affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, was selected as preferred bidder for an engineering project to build a sports, cultural and convention complex together with office buildings, hotels, and commercial facilities in an area encompassing the Jamsil sports center built for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. The construction of a sports and MICE complex in Jamsil, a neighborhood of Seoul's southeastern district of Songpa 2021-12-10
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  KT releases cloud-based GPU computing infrastructure subscription service for developers SEOUL -- South Korea's largest telecom company KT has released a subscription service for companies and developers who need powerful cloud-based computing infrastructure composed of graphic processor units that are efficient in processing large data for artificial intelligence. Using KT's virtual infrastructure, developers will be able to save operational costs. Graphic processor units (GPUs) were originally developed to accelerate graphic processing in computers and other 2021-12-10
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  LG Uplus to develop and upgrade self-driving technology for 5G-connected special-purpose vehicles SEOUL -- South Korea's mobile carrier LG UPlus joined hands with a state industrial technology institute to develop and upgrade autonomous driving technology for slow-speed special-purpose vehicles at a regulation-free zone located near the southern city of Gwangju. Small special purpose vehicles are designed for specific public tasks such as street cleaning, removing garbage from sidewalks, and collecting traffic data. While it is compulsory for autonomous vehicles to have a 2021-12-09
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  U.S. software company Palantir partners with Hyundai Oilbank for digital transformation SEOUL -- Palantir Technologies, a public software company in the United States, forged a partnership with Hyundai Oilbank, a refining unit of South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group, by purchasing shares worth $20 million. Through collaboration, Hyundai Oilbank will build a big data platform and start digital transformation. Palantir will proceed with the basic work of building a smart factory by dataizing the entire production process of Hyundai Oilbank's plant in Seosa 2021-12-09
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  LG CNS develops mathematical optimization algorithms with Fujitsu's quantum-inspired digital annealer SEOUL -- LG CNS, the information technology wing of South Korea's LG Group, will develop mathematical optimization algorithms based on quantum-inspired digital annealer technology from Fujitsu, an information and communications technology equipment and service corporation in Japan. The combination of mathematical optimization and digital annealer can address problems that could not be solved with supercomputers. Digital annealer is a quantum-inspired digital technology archite 2021-12-09
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  Kakao Mobility acquires urban car park service operator GSPark24 SEOUL -- In an effort to broaden the scope of mobility services based on information communication technology, the mobility service wing of South Korean web service giant Kakao has acquired GSPark24, a major car park service operator with some 400 paid car parks in urban areas. Kakao Mobility is South Korea's favorite mobility service operator that provides various services such as taxi-hailing, car park reservations, long-distance bus reservations, and train reservations thr 2021-12-09
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  SK Gas invests in U.S. startup C-Zero to secure technology for production of turquoise hydrogen SEOUL -- SK Gas, a leading importer and distributor of liquid petroleum gas, made an unspecified amount of investment in C-Zero, an American startup, to acquire technology for the production of turquoise hydrogen, as part of a group-wide strategy to create an ecosystem for hydrogen business. SK Gas, a unit of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, said it has signed an investment contract with C-Zero known for methane pyrolysis source technology that injects natur 2021-12-08
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  CJ ENM partners with ViacomCBS for global content distribution SEOUL -- In a bid to accelerate the global popularization of South Korean media content, Seoul-based entertainment media giant CJ ENM joined hands with American media dinosaur ViacomCBS to cooperate in global content distribution. The American media company will create and distribute content based on CJ's intellectual property through ViacomCBS' online media channels. CJ ENM is South Korea's leading media company which has Studio Dragon, a drama production studio that 2021-12-08
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  EOFlow secures deal to supply wearable insulin pump in Indonesia thru local partner SEOUL -- EOFlow, a South Korean provider of wearable drug delivery solutions, has secured an opportunity to expand its presence in Southeast Asia with a 45.3 billion won ($38.4 million) contract with an Indonesian medical device company to supply EOPatch, the world’s second tubeless, wearable, and disposable insulin pump that enables continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion. Under a deal with PT. Prasasti Nusantara Sukses (PT. PNS), EOFlow will be granted exclusive sales rig 2021-12-08
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  Doosan Corporation to demonstrate green hydrogen production using steam from nuclear power plant SEOUL -- Doosan Corporation, the holding company of South Korea's Doosan Group, will join a major project to demonstrate a green hydrogen production facility based on solid oxide electrolyzer cell technology that would use steam produced at a nuclear power plant in an eastern port town. A solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) runs in regenerative mode to achieve the electrolysis of water by using a solid oxide, or ceramic, electrolyte to produce hydrogen gas and oxygen. Solid ox 2021-12-06
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  Incheon Port to adopt AR-based solar power plant management system SEOUL -- An augmented reality-based management system for solar power plants will be introduced at a major port west of Seoul. The system monitors power plants in real-time and accurately predicts the port's power generation capacity in real-time using internet of things (IoT) sensors and weather information. The port in Incheon handles three million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually. There are five solar power plants with a total generation capacity of 2.9 megawatts 2021-12-06
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  Hypermarket franchise Homeplus picks different path to focus on offline businesses SEOUL -- Unlike South Korea's retail industry that shifts gradually to online and mobile shopping markets, hypermarket franchise operator Homeplus picked a different path to bolster its offline business by opening new supermarkets and renovating old mega-marts to attract customers who wish to buy fresh goods. The retail industry has experienced an epochal change due to a coronavirus pandemic. The offline store market was battered hard by a prolonged social distancing campaign, 2021-12-06
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  Researchers seek commercialization of technology for next-generation microwave ovens SEOUL -- South Korea's government-funded research body will push for the commercialization of its patented technology for next-generation microwave ovens that can heat desired places or objects to as much temperature as necessary. The new heating technology can be used for efficient heating in various production processes such as semiconductors, automobiles, carbon fibers, and diamonds. The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) said its research team led by Jung Su 2021-12-06