[Advertorial] LG Energy Solution widens battery ‘super gap’ through technology dominance

LG Energy Solution is widening a “super gap” with its competition based on know-hows accumulated throughout 30 years of battery business. According to South Korea’s leading battery firm, it poured more than 5.3 billion won ($4.6 billion) into research and development over the past decade and secured 23,610 battery patents as a result, which is at least 10 times as many as that of a leading Chinese battery player as of last year. Equipped with more than 2,500 R&D perso

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Hanwha secures Korea’s first mixed hydrogen combustion tech

Hanwha General Chemical said Monday that it had become the first South Korean company to own mixed hydrogen combustion technologies. Mixed hydrogen combustion burns natural gas together with hydrogen to generate electricity. This method of generating electricity can cut carbon emissions by more than 30 percent, according to Hanwha Group’s chemicals unit, and can significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, which cause fine dust issues. “Hanwha General Chemical acquired a 100

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

European firms ‘optimistic’ about doing business in Korea: survey

European companies operating here are generally optimistic over Seoul’s growing importance as business venue but also pointed out the rigid regulatory environment, the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday. According to the Business Confidence Survey 2020, 51 percent of respondents said that South Korea’s strategic importance is increasing, while 41 percent replied that its importance remains the same as before. A year earlier, only 34 percent recognized the country&rsq

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

ViGenCell plans IPO in Q3

Biotech firm ViGenCell plans to list its shares on the local bourse in the third quarter of this year in an initial public offering, the company said Monday. Commissioned by the bourse operator Korea Exchange, two independent expert groups have recently conducted a review of the company’s biotech assets, growth potential and business operations and have cleared it for the flotation, ViGenCell said. Following the initial approval, the company plans to apply for the Korea Exchange&rsquo

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid bond yield woes

South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net

MarketMarch 22, 2021

Coupang becomes hottest foreign stock for Koreans in debut week

South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e

MarketMarch 22, 2021

Majority of Koreans pessimistic about job market this year: survey

More than half of South Koreans believe that the nation’s labor market will further deteriorate this year, compared with the conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey conducted by a think tank here showed Monday. Some 77 percent of Koreans said in the survey commissioned by the Korea Economic Research Institute that the nation’s job market is likely to worsen compared with conditions in 2019. Of the 77 percent, 44.6 percent believe that the market will “extremely deter

EconomyMarch 22, 2021

Mando clinches suspension parts supply deal with Volkswagen

South Korean auto parts maker Mando said Monday that it had signed a strategic partnership deal with German automaker Volkswagen to provide some 50 suspension units. It is the single-largest order that Mando has received for the given product category. Starting June next year until 2033, the Korean company will manufacture and supply the parts directly in Europe, with an anticipated annual production capacity of 6 million units. Connecting a vehicle to its wheels, suspension units -- typica

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Household income surplus surges as people cut spending

South Korea’s household income surplus increased sharply last year as people tightened their belts to weather the protracted economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. The nation’s household income surplus rate posted 32.9 percent, 32.3 percent, 30.9 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively, in the first through fourth quarters of 2020, according to a report from Statistics Korea. The figure has surpassed 30 percent only five times since 2003, when the

EconomyMarch 22, 2021

Samsung launches customizable water purifier in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday launched a customizable water purifier in South Korea as the tech giant eyes to expand sales amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Samsung said the BESPOKE water purifier, which was first unveiled at the all-digital Consumer Electronics Show 2021 in January, is now available in South Korea at prices between 739,000 won ($650) and 1.299 million won. The overseas launch schedule of the product has yet to be determined, Samsung added. The new water pu

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Imported commercial car sales fall 24% in February

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 24 percent in February from a year earlier on lower demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 261 units last month from 344 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Sales of all imported commercial vehicles declined last month as COVID-19 containment measures and u

EconomyMarch 22, 2021

LG Electronics still mulling fate of its smartphone biz

LG Electronics Inc. is still mulling the fate of its money-losing mobile business, industry insiders said Monday, amid rumors that the South Korean tech giant may shut down the unit instead of selling it. In January, LG announced its mobile communications division is open to "all possibilities" for its future operations after years of poor performance. LG's mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015. Its accumulated operating losses reached nearly 5 trilli

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

S. Korea to raise W400b for tech innovation fund

South Korea said Monday it plans to raise 400 billion won ($354 million) through 2024 to support businesses seeking to innovate their products and services by utilizing high-end technologies. The first batch of the digital technology innovation fund, amounting to 102 billion won, will be rolled out throughout this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount surpassed the original target of 80 billion won. The fund, raised jointly by the public and private financ

EconomyMarch 22, 2021

S. Korea's pet fish market to grow 35% by 2025

South Korea said Monday it will seek to expand the size of the local pet fish market by 35 percent through 2025 by developing more homegrown species while encouraging the public to adopt them. Under the goal, the size of the local pet fish market will reach 657 billion won ($581 million) in 2025, up 35 percent from 487.3 billion won tallied in 2020, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Over the period, the number of farms raising pet fish will increase to 186 from the current 151

EconomyMarch 22, 2021

Kepco keeps electricity rate amid virus pandemic

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) on Monday said it has decided to maintain the current electricity rate for the second quarter despite increased fuel costs, in line with the country's efforts to ease the burden on the public amid the virus pandemic. KEPCO adopted flexible electricity rates linked to global fuel prices this year, in a move to improve its profitability. South Koreans were previously charged under a fixed-rate electricity billing system. Under the current system,

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

LG Uplus opens first unmanned store amid pandemic

LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Monday it has launched its first store that operates without the help of retail workers, joining other mobile carriers to offer services that minimize physical contact amid the coronavirus pandemic. LG Uplus' new store in Seoul's central ward of Jongno incorporates automation technology, such as digital kiosks that allow customers to change their data plans and buy new phones or USIM cards without the help of store workers. Customers

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

Samsung claims its wireless earbuds effective for people with hearing impairments

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday its study showed its Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earbuds could help people with hearing impairments. The study, which was published last week in Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology (CEO), a renowned scientific journal dedicated to ear, nose and throat research, suggested that the Galaxy Buds Pro's Ambient Sound feature could assist those with mild to moderate hearing loss to better engage in conversation with others, according to Samsung. Its Ambien

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

SK Innovation’s two decades in lithium-ion battery biz

SK Innovation, the battery and new energy affiliate of SK Group, entered the battery market in 1996 and started off with large-storage lithium-ion batteries just two years later. Thanks to two decadeslong coating technologies accumulated at chemicals maker SKC, the company was able to complete world-class coating and assembly technologies for lithium-ion batteries at the time. SK’s focus was on lithium polymer batteries, making them lighter and in new form factors like the prismatic-ty

TechnologyMarch 22, 2021

GS Energy to build LNG-powered plant in Vietnam

GS Energy Corp., an energy unit of South Korean conglomerate GS Group, said Monday it will build and operate a power plant fired by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Vietnam. GS Energy said it will build a 3 gigawatt LNG-fired power plant in southern Vietnam in a deal estimated at 3.5 trillion won (US$3 billion). The Korean company said it will sign a power purchase agreement with the state-run Vietnam Electricity Group to begin commercial production in 2027. In 2019, GS Energy signed an initial

IndustryMarch 22, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on bond yields woes

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors' concerns about the bond yields hike reduced their appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.8 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,037.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks turned lower after a choppy start, due to increasing bond yield concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The yields of the 10-year US Treasury finished last week at the highest levels in about

MarketMarch 22, 2021