Economy

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  Seoul partners with Kakao's AI solution wing to digitally transform city government SEOUL -- Seoul has partnered with Kakao Enterprise, the artificial intelligence-based enterprise solution wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao, to digitally transform its administrative structure into an AI-based process automation system that will manage information and help government workers through robot collaboration. Digital transformation is an optimization process for a company, an organization, or an administrative system to throw away outdated aspects and ado 2022-04-07
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  France's Bureau Veritas works with Korean Register in certification of floating offshore wind farms SEOUL -- Bureau Veritas, a French company specializing in testing, inspection and certification, will cooperate with South Korea's maritime classification society in the certification of floating offshore wind power plants which have drawn foreign and domestic companies seeking to accumulate technologies or prove their prowess through their participation in plenty of green energy projects in Northeast Asia. Bureau Veritas (BV) and Korean Register (KR) have signed a memor 2022-04-07
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  German company Aquila sets up renewable energy joint venture with Topinfra in S. Korea SEOUL -- Aquila Capital, an investment management company based in Germany, set up a joint venture with Topinfra, a renewable project development and construction company in South Korea, for their joint participation in renewable energy projects such as solar power, wind power, and battery energy storage systems. Topinfra CEO Jung Hyun-cheol said that the joint venture named Aquila Development Partners would provide an opportunity for Topinfra to grow by learning about Aquila' 2022-04-06
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  [FOCUS] Doosan Enerbility awaits new energy roadmap from next president Yoon SEOUL -- Faced with an inevitable change in the political environment, Doosan Enerbility took a composed posture, awaiting a national energy roadmap to be drawn up anew by South Korea's next leader Yoon Suk-yeol after putting aside its reputation as the designer of the country's first homemade H-class gas turbine capable of producing some 270 megawatts of electricity. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction changed its name to Doosan Enerbility on March 29 with renewed 2022-04-06
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  Convenience store chain CU makes foray into S. Korea's meal kit market through private brand products SEOUL -- South Korea's largest convenience store chain CU has made a foray into the rapidly growing ready-to-eat packaged meal market, projected to reach five trillion won ($4.2 billion) in 2022, by releasing its own meal kit brand. Meal kits are convenient heat-and-eat food packages that provide processed ingredients and seasonings so that consumers can easily complete the dish just by following the simple cooking instructions using a stove or a microwave oven. Demands for me 2022-04-06
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  Hyundai Oilbank joins hands with Samsung C&T to chemically recycle waste plastic and sell eco-friendly chemical products SEOUL -- Hyundai Oilbank joined hands with Samsung C&T, a trade, investment and construction arm of Samsung Group, to chemically recycle waste plastics and develop markets for eco-friendly chemical products. Chemical recycling breaks down and returns plastic to its pure, raw material form. Hyundai Oilbank, a refining unit of South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group, is responsible for producing eco-friendly chemical materials, while Samsung C&T is in charge of discoverin 2022-04-05
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  Kakao's Japanese webtoon subsidiary acquires cryptocurrency exchange SEOUL -- Kakao Piccoma, the Japanese webtoon subsidiary of South Korea's web service giant Kakao, has acquired a cryptocurrency exchange company in a bid to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency and non-fungible token systems to webtoon services. Webtoon, also known as web cartoons, is popular content enjoyed by teenagers and young consumers. Japan has the world's largest comic book and animation market, which would stand at $36.26 billion by 2025, according to Grand Vi 2022-04-05
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  SK hynix and U.S. subsidiary produce new SSD using Intel's technology SEOUL -- SK hynix has unveiled a new enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, using flash memory. It was the first collaborative product with Solidigm, a U.S. subsidiary launched in December 2021 after the South Korean company acquired Intel's NAND and SSD business. Through collaboration with Solidigm, SK hynix said it would enhance its NAND flash business competitiveness. NAND flash memory is a type of non-volatile s 2022-04-05
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  Prototype drone production center to be established in Jeonju City SEOUL -- South Korea's southern city of Jeonju will establish a prototype drone production center to help small and medium-sized enterprises save costs and time when manufacturing test products before mass production. Building a prototype model is much more expensive than manufacturing a mass-production model. Building and testing a prototype is essential for the development of electrical devices as parts' compatibility and stability are monitored and tested through the 2022-04-04
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  Daewoo shipyard works with classification society to develop autonomous ship technologies SEOUL -- South Korea's maritime classification society will work with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to jointly develop technology for autonomous ships ahead of competitors. The shipbuilder aims to launch a large autonomous commercial ship installed with its smart ship platform in 2025. DSME and other shipbuilders are trying hard to develop autonomous ship technologies that can replace crew decisions with intelligent and autonomous systems integrating artificial 2022-04-04
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  ​S. Korea's expressway operator to construct fuel cell power generation facility on idle space SEOUL -- South Korea's expressway operator has started the construction of a fuel cell power generation facility on an idle space near a highway interchange. The facility to be in operation by December 2022 will generate enough electricity to power some 12,000 households for a year. Fuel cell generation uses hydrogen extracted from fossil fuels to create electricity and heat. Because the hydrogen-based generation method does not get affected by weather, the facility can be op 2022-04-04
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  Hyundai Green Food releases subscripted meal service for diabetes patients SEOUL -- To beef up care foodservice capabilities, Hyundai Green Food, the food ingredient distribution service wing of South Korea's Hyundai Department Store, released a subscription meal kit service for diabetes patients. Care food refers to food products designed for patients or those who need to consume controlled menus because of health conditions such as an allergy or other illnesses. Meal kits are ready-to-eat food packages that need no heating or can be simply heated us 2022-04-04
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  Shinsegae's online shopping wing joins hands with CJ ENM for live commerce entertainment show SEOUL -- The online shopping wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae has teamed up with the country's top entertainment content maker to create new hybrid content of a live commerce shopping show and an entertainment variety show starring a popular comedian. Live commerce is a term that refers to an online shopping content format that is very similar to a TV home shopping show. Show hosts showcase products while interacting with customers' messages in real-time. So 2022-04-04
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  [FOCUS] Arm thrown into spotlight due to SK Group's potential investment SEOUL -- Arm Ltd. became the subject of attention among semiconductor producers in Asia and other regions after South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, SK Group, floated the idea of acquiring the British semiconductor and software design company through a partnership with an unspecified company as part of a group-wide drive to expand its semiconductor business. SK hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip producer affiliated with SK Group, has posted a market notice fo 2022-04-01
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  Omnicell secures deal from Hanmi to distribute innovative automatic devices in Britain SEOUL -- Omnicell, an American provider of medication management and adherence tools for health systems and pharmacies, will distribute JVM's innovative automatic devices in Britain under a business agreement with Hanmi Pharm, a major drugmaker in South Korea. The deal comes on the heels of a rapid increase in remote and non-face-to-face drug delivery due to a COVID-19 pandemic. JVM, a sister company of Hanmi, offers automated solutions for medication dispensing and packaging wi 2022-04-01
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  ​LG Chem partners with industrial city to set up sustainable recycle ecosystem for waste resources SEOUL -- LG Chem, the chemical unit of South Korea's LG Group, has partnered with Siheung City, an industrial city southwest of Seoul, to create a virtuous cycle of recycling waste resources. About 477 tons of waste have been generated daily in Siheung with a population of some 473,000. In 2019, the city dumped a daily average of 88.3 tons in landfills, incinerated 142.9 tons, and recycled 242.9 tons. Regardless of the total waste output, about 50 percent was recycled every day 2022-04-01
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  EOFlow secures 5-year deal with UAE partner to sell wearable insulin pumps to Middle East SEOUL -- EOFlow, a South Korean provider of wearable drug delivery solutions, has secured a five-year deal with its partner in the United Arab Emirates to sell wearable and disposable insulin pumps to Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). EOFlow said that Gulf Drug, a UAE-based distributor of healthcare products and services, has been awarded an exclusive contract worth 48.8 billion won ($40.3 million) to sell EOPatch, the world’s second tubele 2022-03-31
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  LG's smart home appliance plant selected as 3rd "lighthouse" factory in S. Korea SEOUL -- A smart factory run by LG Electronics, a top home appliance producer in South Korea, has been selected by the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental and lobbying organization based in Switzerland, as a new "lighthouse" facility that demonstrates leadership in applying advanced technologies like cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence. LG has transformed its factory complex in the southern industrial city of Changwon into LG Smart Par 2022-03-31
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  CHA Medical & Bio Group breaks ground for major gene biobank facility SEOUL -- CHA Medical & Bio Group, a medical group specializing in gene and biotherapy in South Korea, will build a giant cell gene biobank facility, which will be sized about ten football fields and serve as the group's main research hub targeting Asia's cell and gene therapy market. The medical group has launched a 250 million-dollar project to build its Cell Gene Biobank (CGB) in Pangyo south of Seoul. Construction began on March 30 for completion in 2024. Technologies 2022-03-30
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  Hyundai E&C cooperates with American partner Holtec to participate in nuclear plant decommissioning SEOUL -- Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a major builder affiliated with South Korea's Hyundai auto group, will participate in the decommissioning of defunct nuclear power plants in cooperation with its American partner, Holtec International, starting with the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan in Westchester County. Indian Point's three-unit nuclear power plant station shut down at the end of April 2021 after 45 years of operation. Holtec's decommissioning 2022-03-30