[Newsmaker] Time to take the 'human' out of HR?

Looking to get hired? Your next job interview could be with a robot. As artificial intelligence applications grow across industries, it is increasingly being used in human resources. According to a survey conducted by Saramin, an online recruiting company, in 2022, nearly 2 out of 3 local companies said that AI recruiting programs have helped them save time and human labor. At present, AI is mainly used by recruiters to save time and give more chances to more candidates by screening a lot more r

TechnologyFeb. 17, 2023

LG Chem invests $75M in US lithium firm for car battery business

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical firm, said Friday it has invested $75 million to acquire a stake in US-based Piedmont Lithium Inc. for a stable supply of the key material for electric vehicle batteries. With the equity investment, LG Chem owns about 6 percent of Piedmont common shares, LG Chem said in a statement. LG Chem also signed a deal to receive a total of 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate from Piedmont's jointly-owned North American Lithium for four years

IndustryFeb. 17, 2023

Seoul shares open lower amid rate hike woes

Seoul shares opened lower Friday as traders assessed the impact of more hotter-than-expected US inflation data on the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening policy down the road. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.92 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,456.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed down, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.26 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.78 percent. The S&P 500 retreated 1.38

MarketFeb. 17, 2023

LG Uplus CEO apologizes for data breach, vows to triple security budget

LG Uplus Chief Executive Officer Hwang Hyeon-sik apologized Thursday over the recent controversy surrounding the company’s data breaches and the internet connection failure caused by cyberattacks, pledging to beef up information security capabilities. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the data leakage incident and internet connection failure,” Hwang said in a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul. &

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

[Newsmaker] ChatGPT not to be trusted on Korean names

Artificial intelligence-powered chatbot ChatGPT is all the rage, with the potential to change the way many people work. But for those hoping to get quick answers about Korea from the AI platform, it is not to be trusted, at least for now. As of Thursday, the bot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI gives error-ridden answers to some basic questions about Korea, starting from the profile of Korea’s current President, Yoon Suk Yeol. For the question, “Who is President Yoon Suk Yeol?&rd

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2023

Seoul shares end higher on institutional buying amid rate woes

Seoul shares ended higher Thursday tracking Wall Street gains, as institutional investors scooped up large-cap stocks amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's further rate hikes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 47.58 points, or 1.96 percent, to close at 2,475.48. Trading volume was moderate at 378.9 million shares worth 8.97 trillion won ($6.98 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 671 to 213. Overnight, the Dow Jones Indu

MarketFeb. 16, 2023

Posco International reaps profit with Sudan biopharmaceutical biz

Posco International's pharmaceutical joint venture in Sudan reported a profit in 2022, logging sales of 30.1 billion won ($23 million), up 36 percent increase from the year earlier, the firm said Thursday. In its earnings report, the company said General Medicines Co., the Sudanese joint venture it established with Shinpoong Pharmaceutical recorded an operating profit of 10.3 billion won, a 42 percent increase on-year. According to Posco International, its sales were buoyed by GMC's sa

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

Banks under fire for ‘insufficient’ contribution to Korean society

Local banks are hurriedly laying out plans to carry out profit-sharing corporate social responsibility activities after President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned them for enjoying hefty bonuses even as people suffer under higher interest rates. But the efforts appear to be falling short of quelling public criticisms. According to the Korea Federation of Banks on Wednesday, its new social corporate responsibility project will bring a support effect of around 10 trillion won ($7.8 billion) to society ov

MarketFeb. 16, 2023

LG CNS, Kyung Hee University team up for 5G development

Information technology service provider LG CNS said Thursday it is joining hands with Kyung Hee University to jointly develop and expand a 5G network system that can be applied in manufacturing plants and logistics. Earlier in the month, the IT service provider inked an agreement to jointly develop a 5G-based smart factory predictive maintenance solution, the company said. Predictive maintenance refers to a technique that uses data analysis to detect anomalies or defects in industrial operations

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2023

[Photo News] Robot guide in museums

Kids watch an LG CLOi GuideBot translate sign language at the Gongju National Museum in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province. LG Electronics said Thursday it is introducing its multipurpose customer service robot at the national museum in Gongju and National Assembly Constitution Memorial Hall in Seoul.

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2023

Startups Ministry to carry out tech mediation on Lotte, Algocare

South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday it will carry out a mediation on a technological theft dispute between Lotte Healthcare and Algocare. The ministry plans to form a coordination group composed of three to five lawyers and other experts as early as this week to hold a technological dispute resolution proceeding for the two companies. Algocare, a local health care startup, recently raised suspicions over Lotte Healthcare’s showcase of an automatic nutrition

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

Uncertainty ahead for Lotte's venture into CDMO

Lotte Group, the country's fifth largest conglomerate, hopes its biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing arm will become a future engine of growth, following in the footsteps of Samsung. But the road ahead remains uncertain as Lotte is still in the early stages of the business. According to industry sources, Lotte Biologics is expected to face a myriad of challenges when it comes to finding a foothold in the market, with issues from price competitiveness to talent recruitment. In 2022, t

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2023

Samsung introduces reusable photocatalytic air filter

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it has developed a new technology for a single air purification filter that simultaneously removes fine dust and harmful gases, and can be used for up to 20 years through simple water washing. Researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology implemented a filter technology that applies photocatalysts such as copper oxide and titanium dioxide -- the first development to be introduced anywhere in the world, according to Samsung officials. Before the lat

TechnologyFeb. 16, 2023

S. Korea sends economic delegation to Austria, Croatia for World Expo bid

South Korea sent an economic delegation involving Samsung Electronics Co., LG Energy Solution Ltd. and other major companies to Austria and Croatia for talks on ways to enhance economic and investment ties, and to drum up support for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, the industry ministry said Thursday. The delegation, led by Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, began a three-day visit to the two European nations Wednesday as part of South Korea's plan to send a delegation to 13 Europea

EconomyFeb. 16, 2023

High energy prices, weak chip demand, China slump behind export fall: finance minister

South Korea's extended export slump is attributable to higher energy prices, falling chip shipments and lower demand from China, the finance minister said Thursday. "When we analyze the latest trade deficits, most of them, roughly 95 percent, are attributable to three elements, namely energy, chips and China," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said ahead of a closed-door meeting with economy-related ministers. In January, Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered an all-time monthl

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

US agricultural exports to S. Korea reach all-time high in 2022: U.S. data

WASHINGTON-- Shipments of American agricultural products to South Korea reached a record high of over $10 billion last year, US data showed Wednesday. US exports of agricultural products to South Korea came to $10.05 billion in 2022, up 2 percent from $9.85 billion a year before, according to the data from the US Department of Agriculture. The 2022 total also marks a whopping 67.3 percent spike from $5.97 billion in 2013. The top 10 export items to South Korea included dairy products, corn, wh

IndustryFeb. 16, 2023

Seoul shares open higher on US gains amid rate woes

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, amid concerns over the US Federal Reserve's continued rate hikes to tame inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 22 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,449.90 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 percent to 34,128.05 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to 12,070.59. Investors now await US employment data to be released Thursd

MarketFeb. 16, 2023

AI chatbot services will boost chip demand, says SK hynix chief

The proliferation of chatbots using artificial intelligence will become "killer applications" in boosting demand for advanced memory chips, SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho said at a symposium Wednesday. Park, who also serves as the chief executive officer of the world's second-largest memory chip maker, said memory chips will always be at the center of innovation as the era of artificial intelligence unfolds. "As the era of AI unfolds, unsolved challenges of the past will

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

Business-friendly environment for foreign firms vital for trade: KITA

In order to improve Korea's suffering trade deficit, a Korean trade lobby group on Wednesday called for the government to ease regulations for foreign businesses. “Korea's export industry, which is mainly composed of intermediate goods and semiconductors that are sensitive to economic fluctuations, is one cause of the sluggish exports. But fundamentally, the global export market share is the key problem,” KITA Vice Chairman Jeong Marn-ki said during a press conference held

IndustryFeb. 15, 2023

SK Biopharmaceuticals makes big sales pitch in US

SK Biopharmaceuticals on Wednesday said its subsidiary SK Life Science is holding sales meetings in the US this week to boost sales of its seizure medicine cenobamate in the all-important market. Cenobamate, which is sold under the brand name of Xcopri, was approved in 2019 for partial-onset seizures in adults. The company has held the promotional event traveling across the US for the fourth consecutive year with an aim of strengthening its sales network and sharing its business plans with partn

TechnologyFeb. 15, 2023