As demand soars, Yuhan-Clorox offers disinfection tips

South Korean pharmaceutical and chemical company Yuhan-Clorox said Monday that it had posted information on its website about how to use its bleach as a household disinfectant. The company said the tips on “sterilization and disinfection methods to prevent infectious disease” -- posted on March 2 -- were available on the Yuhan-Clorox website in response to an increasing number of customers inquiring about the efficacy of household disinfectants amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The K

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

Seoul airspace lacks unified drone command center

While the use of drones both in the public and commercial realms expands, South Korea has yet to develop a unified position on how to authorize them, particularly in the R-75 zone of restricted airspace in Seoul. According to the Aviation Safety Act, a drone weighing 12 kilograms or less (without fuel) and with a length of 7 meters or shorter doesn’t require authorization for flight as long as it stays under an altitude of 150 meters and keeps out of airport control zones and prohibited

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

Samsung unveils new solid-state battery tech

Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology said Tuesday unveiled its study on longer-lasting all-solid-state battery technology for the first time in Nature Energy, one of the world’s leading scientific journals. All-solid-state batteries, utilizing solid electrolytes, support greater energy density allowing larger capacities, and are safer than current lithium-ion batteries using liquid electrolytes, according to the research arm of Samsung Electronics. The team focused on overcoming th

TechnologyMarch 10, 2020

S. Korea regains top spot in Feb. shipbuilding orders

South Korea overtook coronavirus-hit China to regain the top spot in global shipbuilding orders in February, industry data showed Tuesday. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and other local shipyards won orders of a combined 200,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) to build eight ships in February, or 67 percent of the global total, according to London-based market tracker Clarkson Research Services Ltd. The Philippines came in second with 60,000 CGTs to build four ships, taking up 19 percent of the

IndustryMarch 10, 2020

S. Korea to tighten rules on stock short selling amid market rout

  South Korea's financial authorities said Tuesday they will tighten regulations on stock short selling as part of market stabilization measures amid increased fluctuations sparked by the outbreak of the new coronavirus and a slide in global oil prices. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will temporarily ease its requirements for the designation of certain shares subject to a possible ban on short selling. The decision came in a meeting of economy-related ministers and offi

MarketMarch 10, 2020

Samsung Display asks Vietnam to approve entry of its staff: source

Samsung Display, one of the world's leading display panel makers, has called on Vietnam to permit the entry of engineers for the renovation of its plant in the Southeast Asian country, an industry source said Monday. Vietnam stopped issuing visas for visitors from South Korea on Feb. 29 and has been putting people flying in from Korea into a 14-day quarantine period at designated facilities to check for COVID-19. "Samsung Display has asked Vietnamese authorities to issue visas for some 7

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020

Woori Financial chief files for court injunction against reprimand

The head of South Korea's Woori Financial Group has sought a court injunction against the financial watchdog's recent reprimand over improper selling of derivatives-linked products, people familiar with the issue said Monday. Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-sung filed for the injunction with the Seoul Administrative Court. He also filed a separate lawsuit calling for the nullification of the disciplinary action by the Financial Supervisory Service, they said. Woori Financial Group said

MarketMarch 9, 2020

Renewed coronavirus fear wobbles Korea’s financial markets, volatility increases

Hit by renewed coronavirus fears and investors’ fatigue, South Korea’s financial market took a big hit Monday, with stock and bond prices plunging, and the local currency also getting weaker as foreign investors exited in droves. The main bourse Kospi dipped 4.2 percent from the previous session’s close, the largest drop in 17 months. The index drifted to the lowest since August 2019, when the volatility-prone market was rattled by a trade war between the US and China. Loser

MarketMarch 9, 2020

Samsung’s Vietnam operations may be affected by entry ban

Samsung Group’s affiliates in Vietnam could take a blow from the entry restrictions on travelers from South Korea imposed by the local government due to the coronavirus spread, according to industry sources Monday. Samsung Display was planning to dispatch around 700 engineers, including some from its subcontractors, to support the ongoing ramp-up at its plant for small and midsized organic light-emitting diode panel modules in Bac Ninh, northern province of Vietnam. The OLED modules pr

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020

S. Korea incentivizes mask monopolizers to turn themselves in

In an effort to secure the supply of face masks and curb excessive profiteering, the government on Monday announced it will suspend punishment for monopolizers who voluntarily report themselves within a grace period. The action came on the sidelines of a rationing system that allows people to buy two protective masks per week from pharmacies on designated days. “We judged that the top priority is to secure as many (protective) masks as possible that may be distributed through p

EconomyMarch 9, 2020

Kolon Industries, SKC finalize stake sale of PI film company

Korean chemical materials manufacturers Kolon Industries and SKC have sold their stakes in SKC Kolon PI, a polyimide film maker, for some 300 billion won ($250 million) in a bid to acquire seed funding to nurture new businesses, according to the two companies on Monday. Kosdaq-listed SKC Kolon PI is a joint venture established by Kolon Industries and SKC in 2008. It is the world’s largest polyimide film company, with 30 percent market share in the sector. PI film is utilized in variou

MarketMarch 9, 2020

Daelim Industrial completes acquisition of US-based Cariflex

South Korean construction company Daelim Industrial has completed the takeover of Carliflex, a chemical business unit of Kraton, a US firm that produces specialty polymers and chemical products derived from pine wood pulping byproducts. Through the acquisition, worth $530 million, Daelim has gained Carliflex’s operations and workforce overseas, in the US, Germany, Belgium, Japan and Singapore. “The production technology for high-performance butadiene-based rubber that the compa

MarketMarch 9, 2020

Refiners face double whammy of low demand, plunging crude prices

South Korean oil refiners are facing a double whammy of sluggish demand and tumbling international crude prices that will make a big dent in their first-quarter earnings, industry sources said Monday. Since the coronavirus outbreak, local refineries have been struggling to cope with falling refining margins and weaker demand for their products both at home and abroad. A refining margin, a key measure of refiners' profitability, is the difference between the total value of petroleum products an

IndustryMarch 9, 2020

Starbucks shuts down stores in Daegu area

Starbucks Korea said Monday it will temporarily close 39 stores among the 74 in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province region, hit the hardest by the coronavirus outbreak. According to the coffee chain, 39 stores will be closed from Monday to March 22 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Nine will extend the closures since-February. Only 35 drive-thru stores in the region will operate normally and the company will conduct disinfection regularly, it added. The company plans to introduce social di

ConsumerMarch 9, 2020

Renault Samsung launches XM3, 8,542 units presold

Renault Samsung Motors said it started delivering its new premium sport utility vehicle unit XM3 on Monday, with 8,542 preorders -- which opened on Feb. 21. The company is of the view that its TCe 260, a high-performance1.3-liter gasoline turbo engine co-developed by Renault Group and Daimler Automotive Group, has captivated customers, taking up 84 percent of the preorders so far. The carmaker has introduced two versions for the new SUV line -- TCe 260, and a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, GTe.

MobilityMarch 9, 2020

Battlegrounds creator to head both PUBG, Krafton

  PUBG Corp. said Monday that CEO Kim Chang-han, developer of its eponymous game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, will take on the dual role as head of Krafton. 　The appointment is viewed by the game industry as Krafton Chairman Chang Byung-kyu’s strategy to raise the company’s market valuation for its rumored year-end initial public offering. 　Krafton is the parent company of game studios PUBG, Bluehole, Pnix, Red Sahara, Delusion and En Masse Entertainment. 　Chairman C

IndustryMarch 9, 2020

KCCI calls for W40tr extra budget to revive economy

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan said Monday that the supplementary budget currently being discussed at the National Assembly should be expanded to 40 trillion won ($33 billion) as the coronavirus damage is likely to continue for a considerable period of time. “This is the time for bold policies,” Park pointed out in an unscheduled press briefing, adding that “the country should drastically expand the extra budget to change the direction of the s

IndustryMarch 9, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘South Korea’s renewable energy initiative in right direction’

Renewable energy -- utilizing wind, solar, ocean tides and geothermal heat -- has been in the limelight for mitigating global climate change over the past decade.  South Korea also joined the global move by announcing “Renewable Energy 3020” in 2017, which aims to increase power generation from renewable resources to 20 percent. As of 2017, its renewable energy proportion was 7.6 percent. According to professor Miranda A. Schreurs of Environmental and Climate Policy at Techni

IndustryMarch 9, 2020

LG Chem unlikely to spin off EV battery biz this year

LG Chem, a leading lithium-ion battery supplier, seems unlikely to push ahead with plans to spin off its battery business this year, a news report suggested Monday. The report said the company’s task force team responsible for the battery spinoff had concluded last week that it would not be profitable due to various business hurdles and difficult market conditions. The South Korean battery maker said last year in a regulatory filing that the company was seeking to enhance the competit

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020

[Herald Interview] Virus data from Korea ‘to be of great value globally’

South Korea is the country with the highest number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus outside China, accounting for about 6.9 percent of the 105,586 infections worldwide. Since the first case was reported Jan. 20, Korea has tested 196,618 people and confirmed 7,382 cases, according to the latest official tally published Monday. Its death rate stands at 0.7 percent. In discussing some of the most frequently asked questions about the new virus, Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitc

TechnologyMarch 9, 2020