Samsung Biologics to build new facility for genetic medicines in Songdo

Samsung Biologics has purchased land in Songdo, Incheon, to build a production facility for genetic medicines, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said Thursday. The pharmaceutical firm has signed a deal with the authority, which oversees a plan to develop a bio cluster in Songdo, to purchase 10,000 square meters of land in the city. The site was put up for sale in June. There, Samsung Biologics is expected to construct a new facility to produce materials and drug platforms for genetic

TechnologyNov. 4, 2021

Doosan Heavy completes 18-megawatt wind farm in S. Korea's southern tip

South Korea's top power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday that it has built an 18-megawatt wind farm in the southern tip of the country. The six 3-megawatt wind turbines built in Jangheung, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, could generate enough electricity to power about 12,000 four-member households per year. Doosan Heavy has 3-megawatt and 5.5-megawatt wind turbines and is developing 8-megawatt wind turbines with the aim of commercial production

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Apple Korea’s general manager Brandon Yoon to resign

Apple Korea’s general manager Brandon Yoon will resign from his position, industry sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Yoon tendered his resignation from the position at the company on Thursday. The company refrained from offering a confirmation. Yoon has led Apple Korea since 2018. Before coming to Apple Korea, Yoon worked at Samsung Electronics. He also worked for Microsoft from 2003-2015. Industry sources said Yoon’s resignation is sudden and unexpected, given t

TechnologyNov. 4, 2021

Shinhan Financial chief highlights net-zero goals at COP26

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung vowed to contribute to South Korea’s swift transition into a carbon neutral society with the financial giant‘s net-zero goals at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the firm said Thursday. The chief of Korea’s second-largest banking group by total assets on late Wednesday introduced Shinhan Financial’s own plans to achieve carbon neutrality in finance dubbed the “zero carbon drive

MarketNov. 4, 2021

Seoul looking to tap into industrial urea stockpile for diesel cars

To ease a nationwide shortage of emissions control fluid for diesel vehicles, the South Korean government is getting hold of a key ingredient needed to make it from the industrial sector, officials said Thursday. In Seoul and major cities across the country, diesel exhaust fluid, without which diesel trucks cannot run, is in short supply, triggering fears for disruptions in cargo delivery. There is due to be a sharp drop in urea imports from China, which supplies more than 60 percent of the

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

BTS agency teams up with Korean crypto exchange to venture into NFT market

Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind BTS, said Thursday that it has teamed up with South Korea’s top cryptocurrency exchange operator to establish a joint venture to branch out into the nonfungible token marketplace. The music agency is poised to acquire a 2.48 percent stake in Dunamu for 500 billion won ($423.7 million), as the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit plans to issue 861,004 ordinary shares for third-party rights, offering to invite Hybe as a new shareholder. Dunamu also

MarketNov. 4, 2021

[Battery+] SES aims to become battery world's Tesla

In the battery world, phrases like “next-generation” and ”game-changer” have become cliche. Everyone claims to be developing a dream battery, yet no one has proven themselves with a real product. But leaders may be starting to emerge in the race to replace today’s most prolific, yet fire-prone lithium-ion cells, with cheaper, safer and longer-range batteries that use lithium metal. SES, a Singapore-based battery startup backed by General Motors, on Thursday unvei

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Seoul stocks advance on Fed's comments over tapering

South Korean stocks advanced Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve signaled "patience" in raising interest rates. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.51 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,983.22 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 759 million shares worth some 14.4 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 580 to 295. Foreigners bought a net 326 billion won, while retail investors s

MarketNov. 4, 2021

South Korea seeks cooperation with Visegrad Group in finance, defense and bio

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Thursday that the leaders of South Korea and Hungary and business leaders from South Korea and the Visegrad Group met to discuss cooperation in sectors such as EV batteries and biotechnology. The Visegrad Group, also known as the V4 countries, include Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The V4-Korea Business Forum was held in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday where President Moon Jae-in is visiting on a state visit until Thursday. Dur

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Korean investors commit 90m euros to coinvest with BlackRock's infra fund

South Korean institutional investors have allocated a combined 90 million euros ($104 million) of commitment to a separately structured coinvestment vehicle of a fourth flagship fund by BlackRock Infrastructure Solutions, industry sources said Thursday. Seoul-based investment house IPM Asset Management said Thursday it has created the vehicle for Korean investors, allowing them to implement a coinvestment strategy alongside BlackRock’s fund, dubbed Global Infrastructure Solutions 4. Thr

MarketNov. 4, 2021

Hyundai teases electric SUV ahead of US launch this month

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday released a teaser for the electric SUV concept "Seven" ahead of its unveiling in the United States this month. The large-size SUV concept built on Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated EV platform, called E-GMP, comes with the group's IONIQ battery EV brand's signature design elements, the company said in a statement. The IONIQ brand's design elements include Parametric Pixels, the smallest unit of digital imaging. Hyundai plans to unveil the concept car at

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

KT&G Q3 net jumps 29% on currency gains

KT&G Corp., South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit jumped 29 percent from a year earlier on foreign-exchange-tied gains. Net profit for the three months ended in September rose to 359.2 billion won ($300 million) from a profit of 277.7 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. "The won's weakness against the dollar drove up the value of the company's dollar-denominated assets and helped the quarterly bottomline,&qu

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Daewoo Shipbuilding develops virtual experience platform for ship construction

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Thursday that it has developed a virtual experience platform for ship construction for the first time in the local shipbuilding industry. The platform is mixed reality combining technologies of virtual reality and augmented reality, which allows for the experience of all processes of shipbuilding, Daewoo Shipbuilding said. Daewoo Shipbuilding said the platform will help win more orders for ships as it will be able to show shippers virtual

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Google to provide alternative payment system at its app store

Google Inc. has pledged to provide an alternative payment system at its app store in South Korea, the telecommunications regulator said Thursday, in what could be a concession amid a tug-of-war over lucrative payment systems in the app market. The commitment is part of follow-up measures to a new South Korean law that restricts app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing their in-app payment systems on developers. Wilson L. White, Google's public policy and government relations s

TechnologyNov. 4, 2021

Starbucks to expand reusable cup program to Seoul

Starbucks Korea announced Thursday that a dozen of its locations in Seoul will get rid of single-use plastic cups as part of the chain’s ongoing efforts to reduce plastic waste. Starting Saturday, 12 Starbucks stores in Seoul will serve beverages only in mugs, tumblers or reusable cups. These include the City Hall Station, Seosomun-ro and Eulji-ro branches in the city center. Seoul is the second location where the coffee chain has decided to move away from single-use plastic cups, aft

ConsumerNov. 4, 2021

Blockchain firm AMAXG enters NFT business

Blockchain company AMAXG said on Thursday it has entered the nonfungible token platform business to trade unique and noninterchangeable data stored on digital ledgers. AMAXG said it recently opened a digital asset NFT transaction platform named BIZA-UVIT, and built strategic partnerships with the Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations of Korea (FACO), the Global Medical Aesthetic Exchange Association (GMAEA) and the Korea Blockchain Enterprise Promotion Association. FACO plans to di

MarketNov. 4, 2021

Number of Koreans outside labor force down 0.6% in 2021

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans outside the labor force edged down 0.6 percent from a year earlier amid signs of an economic recovery, data showed Thursday. The number of non-economically active people, or those who have no willingness to work, came to 16.76 million as of end-August, down 106,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. People outside the labor force accounted for 37.2 percent of all South Koreans aged 15 and older, down 0.4 percentage point from

EconomyNov. 4, 2021

Doosan Heavy mulls unloading stake in construction affiliate

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday it is considering selling a stake in its construction subsidiary Doosan Engineering & Construction Co. to improve its financial health. A local media company reported that Doosan Heavy, the country's largest power equipment maker, is looking at the option of unloading its stake in Doosan Engineering. In a regulatory filing, Doosan Heavy confirmed the report but said, "Nothing has been decided yet." Doosan Heavy has b

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

Netflix aware of 'network usage fee' controversies in S. Korea: VP

The vice president of Netflix Inc. said Thursday the global streaming giant is well aware of controversies surrounding costs from increased network traffic due to a surge of viewers in South Korea. The US-based streamer has been under criticism by local internet service providers (ISPs) and regulators for refusing to pay for the use of the network. President Moon Jae-in earlier also said global platforms and content providers should meet their responsibilities. "We fully agree with what P

IndustryNov. 4, 2021

S. Korea launches task force on economic security amid supply chain disruptions

South Korea has established a new task force at the foreign ministry to support the pan-governmental campaign to build resilient supply chains of key items and tackle pandemic-driven economic challenges, Seoul officials said Thursday. The "economic security" team was launched earlier this week to collaborate with other government agencies in helping local companies' efforts to resolve ongoing supply chain issues, which has emerged as a hot-button global issue, especially amid the prot

EconomyNov. 4, 2021