Merck to build bioprocessing plant in Korea

Merck, a leading science and technology company based in Germany, said Wednesday it plans to build a bioprocessing unit in Daejeon, South Korea. Under a three-way memorandum of understanding signed by the firm with Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the government of Daejeon, they will discuss detailed plans for building the international pharmaceutical company’s new bioprocessing unit that can produce raw materials for drugs. The Trade Ministry and the Daejeon city go

May 3, 2023

LG CNS, Microsoft Korea bolster security business ties

Information technology service provider LG CNS said Wednesday it will accelerate business cooperation in the IT security sector with the Korean unit of US tech behemoth Microsoft. The Korean firm said it became Microsoft’s managed security service provider, offering integrated security solutions from consulting to operations. Microsoft considers a firm’s security business capabilities and growth potential to determine its MSSP partner qualification. The news came after the top manage

May 3, 2023

Samsung Electronics may face 1st labor strike over wage deadlock

Samsung Electronics could face its first-ever labor strike as unionized workers have secured the right to legally conduct a walkout after wage talks between the tech giant and unionists fell through. According to industry sources Wednesday, Korea’s National Labor Relations Commission, a government agency under the Labor Ministry, held a steering session to arbitrate the wage deal a day earlier but ended up deciding to stop the talks due to an unbridgeable gap. The Tuesday meeting marks t

May 3, 2023

Samsung bans AI chatbots after leak

Samsung Electronics joined other tech companies in banning the use of ChatGPT and other AI-powered chatbots by its employees, after discovering leaks of sensitive internal codes by its engineers. Taking measures to ban access of generative AI tools on company-owned computers, tablets and phones, Samsung is also reportedly creating its own service tools to support translation and the summarizing of documents, as well as software development. The tech giant confirmed Wednesday it issued a memo las

May 3, 2023

SK E&S, Plug Power pledge W1tr hydrogen investment

SK E&S, a green energy company under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, and Plug Power, a US developer of hydrogen fuel cell systems, will invest 1 trillion won ($747 million) in strengthening Korea’s hydrogen industry, SK E&S said Tuesday. According to the announcement, the investment will be made through the two companies’ joint venture, SK Plug Hyverse, established last year. SK E&S and Plug Power will invest 510 billion won and 490 billion won, respectively, to build

May 2, 2023

Telecom carriers, BMW launch 1st data plan for cars

South Korea's three largest mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT Corp. and LG Uplus -- said on Tuesday that they will launch the country’s first personal embedded subscriber identity module (eSIM) data plans for BMW vehicles. While the German luxury carmaker’s 7 series and above already feature fifth-generation connectivity via eSIM, the new data plans will enable backseat passengers to enjoy a variety of mobile content through built-in monitors without a separate physical chip, ac

May 2, 2023

Boost promised for advanced chip industry

The South Korean government on Tuesday vowed to support the advanced chip industry, highlighting the rise of new technologies, including artificial intelligence. At a gathering of fabless companies hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Vice Trade Minister Chang Young-jin highlighted the importance of advanced semiconductors and its growth potential. “The semiconductor industry has been No. 1 in exports for 10 consecutive years, and is the pillar of our economy and industrie

May 2, 2023

[Photo News] KT's new server robots

South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. unveiled two next-generation artificial intelligence-based service robots Tuesday, bringing the total number of service robots in its lineup to five. The robots, produced by LG Electronics and Bear Robotics, respectively, receive orders and other customer requests using smart order services. Equipped with upgraded suspension systems, the robots are also designed for more stable food and beverage delivery.

May 2, 2023

Chaebol chiefs have hands full after summit

South Korea’s top chaebol chiefs who accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit to Washington last week have returned with their hands full of hot-button issues, including the increasingly protectionist policies in the all-important US market. With no immediate breakthrough in related talks between the two countries, industry watchers say the business leaders seem to be in a rush to study the industrial implications of the summit talks and come up with follow-up measures. After

May 1, 2023

[Herald Interview] Global teamwork key for future pandemic response: AstraZeneca co-developer

Collective efforts from a global network of vaccine developers and manufacturers will be needed to better respond to future outbreaks and pandemics, said a co-developer of a COVID-19 vaccine that has saved millions of lives. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-developer of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, warned that more pandemics will occur in the future. “There needs to be a global collaboration and recognition that we need vaccines for pub

May 1, 2023

Samsung to raise wafer input for R&D

Samsung Electronics, which recently recorded its worst operating profit in the first quarter, is expected to increase its spending to raise wafer input for research and development, according to industry sources on Monday. Kyung Kye-hyun, the CEO in charge of the tech giant’s Device Solutions Division overseeing global memory operations, System LSI, said the company will increase its wafer input to “gain the upper hand in technology for future products,” speaking at a staff bus

May 1, 2023

Exports decline for 7 consecutive months amid chip slump

South Korea’s exports declined for the seventh consecutive month in April, as the chip industry experienced the worst slump of sagging demand and prices, the Trade Ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that the country witnessed its outbound shipments decline 14.2 percent on-year to stand at $49.6 billion in April. While inbound shipments also decreased by 13.3 percent to log $52.23 billion, the country's trade landed in the red for the 14th month, loggi

May 1, 2023

Private lunch with Hyundai Motor chief to be auctioned

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun will join a lunch auction event to better connect with the younger generation, the Federation of Korean Industries said Monday. The business lobby has invited the Hyundai Motor chief, along with car-sharing company SoCar CEO Park Jae-uk and TV celebrity Noh Hong-chul, to take part in the event, similar to billionaire Warren Buffett's famous charity lunch. A total of 30 people will be selected for the power lunches targeted at the “MZ ge

May 1, 2023

SKIET to supply battery separators for EVs to China's Sunwoda

SK IE Technology, an electronics materials maker affiliated with SK Group, said Monday it is supplying battery separators to Chinese battery maker Sunwoda Electronic, paving the way for it to secure a footing in China’s burgeoning electric vehicle market. The two companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding at Sunwoda’s headquarters in Shenzhen, with senior executives of both companies in attendance. A battery separator is one of the key components of EV batteries, as it p

May 1, 2023

Samsung eyeing 25% cut in chip production: analysts

Samsung Electronics is expected to cut its memory chip production by up to 25 percent in an effort to ease inventory woes, according to analysts on Sunday. The projection comes after the world’s largest memory chip maker hinted on an earnings call last week that it would start cutting production of legacy products for which it had already secured sufficient inventory to meet mid- to long-term demand. At the time, the company did not specify the reduction scale. Following the announcement,

April 30, 2023

[Beyond Earth] ‘We are all earthlings after all’

“As a human who has looked at the Earth from space with the naked eye, I’ve come to a position where it is very difficult for me to ignore the problems on Earth. And that is something that all astronauts have in common,” said Yi So-yeon, Korea’s one and only astronaut, in an interview with The Korea Herald on April 25. Yi became the first Korean to travel to space when Soyuz TMA-12, a Russian space mission to the International Space Station, was launched on April 8, 2008.

April 30, 2023

SK Bioscience to invest W2.4tr by 2027

SK Bioscience said Friday that the company will invest 2.4 trillion won ($1.79 billion) over the next five years into new vaccine development and the expansion of manufacturing facilities both here and abroad. “The next five years and the company’s investments made during the period will determine SK Bioscience’s future,” said SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong during a press conference held in Seoul. The size of the latest investment is around five times bigger than investme

April 28, 2023

Hyundai Mobis CEO shares future mobility vision at global forum

Hyundai Mobis CEO Cho Sung-hwan reaffirmed the company's vision to strengthen its key competitiveness in the future mobility sector including autonomous driving and connectivity during a symposium held in Vienna on Thursday. “Hyundai Mobis will deliver a differentiated platform to customers in the electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity sectors based on software with exceptional quality and optimum semiconductors,” Cho said during his speech. The 44th International

April 28, 2023

S. Korea calls on US to resolve legal dispute on nuclear reactor export to Czech Republic

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang called on the United States to make joint efforts to resolve a legal dispute over Seoul’s potential export of nuclear reactors to the Czech Republic, the Industry Ministry said Friday. Lee raised the issue during a meeting with US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in Washington on Thursday, on the sidelines of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit. During the talks, the two sides also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on clea

April 28, 2023

S. Korea, US agree to minimize US CHIPS Act-induced uncertainties

South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo agreed to minimize uncertainties and business burdens chipmakers face over the US’ semiconductor subsidy program, Seoul’s Industry Ministry said Friday. The two sides held their first Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue, or SCCD, in Washington on Thursday and released a joint declaration statement, vowing to work closely together to minimize the impacts of the US’ CHIPS Act and Inflation R

April 28, 2023