Over 300 Korean companies serve as building blocks of Nuri success

Tight collaboration of all parties concerned is key to a rocket launch, as a minor technical glitch could botch years of efforts. Behind Tuesday’s successful launch of South Korea’s first homegrown rocket Nuri were the joint efforts of over 300 companies at home. Korea Aerospace Industries, based in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, was the effective leader of the pack. KAI has been in charge of the assembly of all rocket parts supplied since joining the Nuri project in 2014. K

June 21, 2022

SK chairman to be awarded French Legion of Honor

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won is to be awarded the French Legion of Honor, France‘s highest civilian order of merit, during his trip to Paris later this week, according to news reports Tuesday. Chey, who has spearheaded South Korean capital investment in France, was reportedly recognized for his contributions to French-Korean economic cooperation. A week prior, SK Group’s subsidiary SK Geo Centric announced plans to partner with French environmental service provider Suez and Canadian

June 21, 2022

Inspire Entertainment Resort signs MOU with tech firms for LED signage

Inspire Entertainment Resort said Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Futurenet to build a high-end LED signage system in its resort under construction in Incheon, South Korea. The agreement established a consortium between Samsung and the Hyundai Department Store Group’s ICT platform unit, Hyundai Futurenet, on Monday to offer dynamic and futuristic ICT experiences for vacationers. As part of the consortium, Samsung Electronics

June 21, 2022

Nuri rocket ready to launch Tuesday

South Korea’s homegrown rocket Nuri is ready for blastoff on Tuesday, with hopes to deliver a complete and successful launch this time to officially signal the country’s entrance into the global space race. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute said Monday that Nuri, also known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, has been erected on the launch pad at Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung, South Jeolla Province. “Starting around 11 or 11:30 a.m. tom

June 20, 2022

LG Chem to build hydrogen plant for net-zero goals

LG Chem said Monday that it is building its first hydrogen plant in South Korea as part of efforts to become carbon neutral throughout its petrochemical production. The plant, to be located in its Daesan complex, some 75 kilometers southwest of Seoul, will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of hydrogen by the second quarter of 2024, with the construction work to start early next year. The facilities for cracking naphtha at a high temperature, known as naphtha cracking centers,

June 20, 2022

Naver, Qualcomm join hands for 5G drones

Naver’s cloud computing arm Naver Cloud said Monday it has partnered with US chip giant Qualcomm and local drone developer Argosdyne to build the nation’s first drones running on the 5G wireless network. Under the partnership, Naver Cloud will build the 5G network infrastructure for drone services, while Argosdyne will develop drones that can be operated to run on Qualcomm’s Flight RB5 5G platform. Flight RB5 5G is the world’s first artificial intelligence- and 5G-ena

June 20, 2022

Daewoo E&C to develop wearable robots for construction workers

South Korean construction company Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Monday that it is developing wearable robots that can be used at construction sites to prevent injuries while maintaining productivity. The company was chosen Tuesday in a contest held by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement to work in cooperation with local robotics startup WIrobotics and the Korea Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Center to develop a smart work care service involving wearable robots. The

June 20, 2022

[Herald Interview] ABL Bio moves up the ranks with $1b Sanofi deal

SAN DIEGO -- Over 250 Korean companies participated in this year’s BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotechnology industry gathering that took place in person for the first time in three years. Except in the cases of big companies such as Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, most of the small biotech companies were scrapping to present their pipelines and technologies to the global market in hopes that investors and global big pharmaceutical companies will take notice.

June 19, 2022

SK chairman calls for evaluation system for corporate value

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won called on group executives to revamp a corporate valuation tool to better communicate with shareholders against the backdrop of global supply chain disruptions and monetary tightening, the company said Sunday. In an extended management meeting held Friday, Chey stressed how the new corporate valuation tool -- designed to incorporate nonfinancial elements into financial performance measurement -- can reflect the business status of an SK Group affiliate with higher accura

June 19, 2022

KT, Hanmi invest in developer of digital therapeutics

KT and Hanmi Pharmaceutical have jointly invested in digital therapeutics developer Digital Pharm, officials said Sunday. With the investment, KT will be in charge of developing platforms for digital therapeutics, drafting business strategies and providing pipelines. Meanwhile, Hanmi plans to maximize synergetic impact through hospital-specialized marketing and supporting the authorization of digital medical devices. Digital Pharm’s first projects are in digital therapeutics and electro

June 19, 2022

Auto biz in focus as Samsung's Lee returns to Seoul

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to South Korea Saturday, with a renewed focus on the auto parts business. As the de facto leader of Korea‘s largest conglomerate arrived at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center at around 9:40 a.m., Saturday, he told reporters that he “could feel drastic changes in the auto industry.” The remark came as he met German carmaker BMW, a key battery client of Samsung’s secondary battery arm Samsung SDI, and visited Samsu

June 18, 2022

Repaired rocket Nuri to launch Tuesday

South Korea’s homegrown rocket Nuri is all set for liftoff on Tuesday, six days after a last-minute technical glitch was found.　 The Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday the Korea Aerospace Research Institute has identified the problem in one of the electric components of the sensor in the oxidizer tank and replaced it with a new one. After changing the 1.2-meter-long core component of the sensor, the KARI carried out a series of tests on the rocket and concluded that it is ready for

June 17, 2022

Legal logic takes new twist in SK-Netflix dispute

Litigation in the high court between internet provider SK Broadband and global streaming service Netflix is taking a twist, as Netflix invokes new logic to argue it has no obligation to pay network usage fees to the South Korean company. Legal representatives of Netflix argued in a Seoul High Court trial Wednesday evening that the two companies had consented to the principle that the interconnection of separate internet networks, also known as “peering,” would involve zero payment

June 16, 2022

Samsung chief visits ASML HQ as race for high-end chip intensifies

Samsung Electronics top executives on Tuesday held talks with representatives of chip photolithography equipment maker ASML, including its Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink, the South Korean tech giant said Wednesday. Representatives of Samsung, including Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman and de facto leader; and Kyung Kye-hyun, co-chief executive officer in charge of Samsung’s semiconductor business, visited the headquarters of ASML in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Samsung said in a state

June 15, 2022

Rocket Nuri launch indefinitely postponed due to technical glitch

The launch of South Korea's homegrown rocket Nuri has been indefinitely postponed due to technical glitches found during the final round of preparations before its planned launch on Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday the Korea Aerospace Research Institute found a problem in one of the sensors in the oxidizer tank that measures the amount of oxidizer there. According to KARI, the sensor was failing to point to the correct level of oxidizer in the tank. “Once we ack

June 15, 2022

Samsung chief, Dutch PM discuss chip partnership

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to discuss chip partnership, especially on a stable supply of cutting-edge equipment for making advanced chips. Lee, on his two-week Europe trip that started on June 7, was visiting the Netherlands, home to Samsung’s key suppliers, including ASML, the world’s sole producer of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems. According to industry sources, Lee reportedly asked the Dutch PM to

June 15, 2022

[Market Eye] Samsung at crossroads as chip consortium buying Arm is in offing

Amid growing speculation that the world’s behemoth chipmakers are envisioning a game-changing consortium investing in United Kingdom-based chip design house Arm, all eyes are on whether South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will join the team. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is now on a two-week trip to Europe, and is widely anticipated to be heading to the UK after Germany and the Netherlands. Once Lee’s visit to the UK is confirmed, Arm is speculated to be on

June 15, 2022

LG Display secures $1b funding in renewed push for smaller OLED

LG Display said Wednesday it has secured fresh funding worth $1 billion from multiple global banks with the aim to expand its presence in the smaller OLED market which is dominated by its archrival Samsung Display. LG Display is the world’s largest manufacturer of large OLED panels for TVs, but still remains a distant No. 2 in the smaller OLED market for smartphones and other mobile devices. The firm said it has raised long-term loans from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, HS

June 15, 2022

SK On, Posco Holdings ink strategic partnership on batteries

SK On and Posco Holdings said Wednesday that they have forged a strategic partnership in a move to secure a stable ecosystem for their burgeoning battery business amid deepening worries over global supply chain disruptions. They plan to create a working-level group to work together on global expansion, joint investment in raw materials, a road map for cathode development, expansion of anode supplies and a collection network for used batteries. The extensive partnership comes as both firms are

June 15, 2022

Space rocket Nuri being positioned at launch pad ahead of 2nd launch

South Korea's first homegrown space rocket Nuri was being positioned at the launch pad at Naro Space Center on Wednesday, a day ahead its second attempt to send multiple satellites into orbit. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, was rolled out from the assembly building to the launch pad at the state-run space center operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Goheung, a southern coastal village some 470 kilometers south of Seoul. The three-stage rock

June 15, 2022