Economy

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  Hyundai shipbuilding group acquires Doosan Infracore to create dominant player in construction equipment market SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group acquired Doosan Infracore, a major construction equipment maker that has been up for sale, faute de mieux, as part of efforts by its debt-stricken parent company to secure liquidity in return for a bailout loan from creditors. The deal would lead to the creation of a dominant player in South Korea's construction equipment market. In a regulatory filing on February 5, Hyundai Heavy Industries Hold 2021-02-05
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  Hyundai Oilbank launches premium car wash service for busy workers SEOUL -- Targeting workers who are too busy to provide adequate care for their cars, Hyundai Oilbank, a major gas station chain operator in South Korea, has launched a premium car wash service that utilizes a nationwide network of some 2,500 gas stations. Because many South Koreans live in apartments with no backyards, many normally clean their cars using tunnel-type automatic car cleaner machines at gas stations after refueling. Self-service car wash fa 2021-02-05
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  LG's OLED monitors for diffusion brand win certification from state watchdog SEOUL -- A new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) monitor developed by LG Electronics as a diffusion brand has been certified by a state regulatory body. With its clear image quality, the OLED monitor is suitable for games that require fast movement, but LG has yet to decide on prices and other details. LG's 32 and 27 inch OLED monitors have secured certification from the National Radio Research Agency, heralding an ear of OLED monitors targeting v 2021-02-05
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  Five-year state project on track to localize production of magnesium-based ceramic materials SEOUL -- South Korea launched a five-year state project to localize the production of magnesium-based ceramic materials to reduce its heavy dependence on imports. It is a principal fireproofing ingredient. Government data showed that Chinese and Japanese products accounted for more than 90 percent of South Korea's domestic demand that stood at 2640,000 tons in 2019. Magnesium oxide (MgO) also known as magnesia with high 2021-02-04
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  Direct selling company Atomy selected among top 100 best workplaces in S. Korea SEOUL -- South Korea's direct selling company Atomy was selected by the Seoul branch of Great Place to Work, a global organization that promotes good workplace culture, as one of the top 100 best workplaces in the country. "By creating a synergy of principle and innovation, we will become a company which everyone wishes to work at," Atomy Chairman Park Han-Gill said during a Great Place to Work (GPTW) award ceremony that was held online on January 28 2021-02-04
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  Samsung shipyard wins $206 mln order from Oceanian client SEOUL -- Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has secured an order worth 230 billion won ($206 million) from an Oceanian client to build two large container ships equipped with eco-friendly and energy-saving solutions. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said in a regulatory filing on February 4 that the two 13,000 TEU ships would be delivered sequentially in the first quarter of 2023. The twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is an inexact unit 2021-02-04
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  S. Korean pet food exports up sharply thanks to growing demand in Asia SEOUL -- Exports of South Korean pet food saw a dramatic increase in 2020 thanks to growing demands in Japan and Southeast Asian countries, government data showed. South Korea's pet food industry has been growing due to the consumption of high-quality products. According to a market report jointly released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp (aT) on February 3, South Korea's pet food st 2021-02-03
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  Hyundai Glovis develops dedicated container to transport different types of spent batteries SEOUL -- Hyundai Glovis, the logistics wing of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, has developed a dedicated platform for the transportation of different types of spent electric vehicle batteries in one container. Multi-stage loading is possible and it can be loaded into cargo ships. The company aims to establish a systematic monitoring system capable of finding the location of containers in real-time. The patented container will serve as South Korea 2021-02-03
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  German company Wacker acquires Helixmith subsidiary in $120 mln partnership deal SEOUL -- Wacker Chemie AG, a chemical company based in Germany, established a strategic partnership with Helixmith, a biotechnology company in South Korea, and acquired its DNA manufacturing subsidiary in San Diego in a deal worth up to $120 million. Helixmith, which works on DNA and protein-based therapeutics, has launched its U.S. subsidiary, Genopis, for the full good manufacturing practice (GMP) production of Engensis, a plasmid DNA gene therapy codenamed 2021-02-03
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  Thru cooperation with Intel, Hanwha Techwin develops new AI surveillance system. SEOUL -- In cooperation with Intel, a U.S. technology giant, Hanwha Techwin, a surveillance and optoelectronics company in South Korea, has developed a new network video recorder equipped with artificial intelligence function, along with a security solution that can analyze human faces. Usually, AI security solutions analyze videos based on clothes, glasses and bags. Hanwha Techwin said its face recognition solution can recognize and distinguish human f 2021-02-02
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  Hyundai Elevator unveils new N:EX lineup with non-face-to-face technology SEOUL -- Hyundai Elevator, a leading elevator maker in South Korea, released a new elevator with the brand name of N:EX applied with non-face-to-face technology such as smartphone or motion call button calls. The brand used an ionizer air purifier installed with high-efficiency filters capable of preventing the spread of airborne bacterial and viral organisms. For residential applications, Hyundai Elevator said that the N:EX brand enables elevator cal 2021-02-02
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  SK hynix opens new microchip plant using new processing technology SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won speaks at a ceremony to open a new microchip plant in Icheon. SEOUL -- SK hynix, a chip-making unit of South Korea's SK Group, opened a new plant using new technology to produce high-performance microchips. This is the company's largest plant dedicated to the production of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips. The plant called "M16" was built at Icheon about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Seoul with 2021-02-01
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  CJ Logistics develops AI-based cargo tracking system for shipping SEOUL -- South Korea's major logistics service operator CJ Logistics has developed an artificial intelligence-based tracking system that can accurately track cargo and calculate the estimated time of arrival. The system will allow the logistics service company to seamlessly plan and link delivery schedules in different countries to save time and costs. CJ Logistics said in a statement on February 1 that it has commercialized the "CJ Logistics C 2021-02-01
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  LG Electronics shows good performance in 2020 earnings despite poor smartphone sales SEOUL -- LG Electronics made a good record in earnings in 2010 partly thanks to a trend of social distancing triggered by a COVID-19 pandemic that boosted sales of home appliances, premium TVs and IT devices worldwide. However, its smartphone business was still mired in the quicksand of perennial slump with no other exits but to think about a new way. In 2020, LG Electronics posted a tenfold increase in its net profit to two trillion won ($1.78 billion). 2021-01-29
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  SK Innovation earmarks new money for third battery plant in Europe SEOUL -- SK Innovation, a unit of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group, will build a third battery plant in Europe by injecting some 1.26 trillion won ($1.13) through its subsidiary in the European country. The company has expanded the production of batteries for electric vehicles in an effort to secure a solid position in the global market. SK Innovation (SKI) said in a regulatory filing on January 29 that it would invest 1.26 trillion won in its 2021-01-29
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  Hyundai Construction Equipment ties up with Chinese forklift company SEOUL -- Hyundai Construction Equipment, a construction equipment maker in South Korea, established a strategic tie-up with UN Forklift based in Zhejiang, a province in eastern China, to produce forklifts targeting emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Australia. Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE), affiliated with South Korea's leading Hyundai shipbuilding group, said that it would produce 10 forklift 2021-01-28
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  SK Global Chemical partners with Brightmark to introduce pyrolysis oil technology SEOUL -- SK Global Chemical will introduce pyrolysis oil technology from Brightmark LLC, a San Francisco-based company that provides clean energy generation solutions. Pyrolysis oil, sometimes known as bio-crude, is a synthetic fuel obtained by heating dried biomass without oxygen. SK Global Chemical said in a statement on January 28 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brightmark, on the commercialization of pyrolysis oil and facility 2021-01-28
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  SK group invests in domestic producer of silicon carbide power semiconductors SEOUL -- South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group made a strategic investment in Yes Powertechnix, the only domestic producer of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors, which are seen as essential parts of electric vehicles and hydrogen cars, saying it would form an ecosystem to reduce reliance on foreign products. SiC is a compound semiconductor containing silicon and carbon. It provides a number of advantages over silicon, making it the 2021-01-28
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  S. Korea unveils new strategy to cultivate cosmetics industry as global brand SEOUL -- South Korea unveiled a new national strategy to cultivate its cosmetics industry through customized government support so that it can become a global brand, buoyed by brisk sales in 2020 that owed much to the growing popularity of Korean pop music and dramas among global fans. Despite a global lockdown caused by a COVID-19 pandemic, exports of South Korean cosmetics products, dubbed K-beauty, hit a record high of $7.5 billion in 2020. No far from conten 2021-01-27
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  KEPCO KDN signs deal to build solar-based energy system at three Indonesian airports SEOUL -- KEPCO KDN, an electric power grid IT service provider in South Korea, signed a business agreement to build a solar-based energy system at three airports run by PT Angkasa Pura I, a state company that provides air traffic services and business airports in Indonesia. Under a deal with Angkasa Pura Properti that develops and maintains airport facilities in Indonesia, KEPCO KDN will establish 60 mega-watts of solar-based energy facilities at Ngurah Rai, El Tar 2021-01-27