SK Innovation to double EV battery researchers by 2023

South Korean battery maker SK Innovation Co. said Monday that it plans to double the number of researchers to develop electric vehicles (EV) batteries from the current level by 2023. SK Innovation CEO and President Kim Jun made the announcement at a global forum in San Francisco on Saturday (US time). The forum is meant to recruit battery researchers and beef up SK Innovation's network with the US universities and research institutes. SK Innovation did not elaborate on the current level of its

IndustryOct. 4, 2021

Farmland the size of Gangnam converted to solar farms during Moon administration

President Moon Jae-in‘s aggressive push for renewable energy has incentivized increasingly more farmers to repurpose their land as solar farms, drawing concerns over South Korea’s food security. According to Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data obtained by Rep. Yoon Young-seok of the main opposition People Power Party, farmland amounting to the size of Gangnam -- the third largest district in Seoul – has been transformed into solar farms over the past five years. I

IndustryOct. 3, 2021

No nuclear, no coal, but no LNG too?

South Korea’s energy policy faces mounting uncertainties as two ministries appear to hold different views over liquefied natural gas, or LNG. According to industry sources Friday, the Environment Ministry is mulling to exclude LNG from its green classification system set for launch later this year. The classification system aims to evaluate the environmental sustainability of industries and judge which one is green and promote public and private investments. Industries excluded from

IndustryOct. 3, 2021

[Weekender] Standing on their own: North Korean refugees test startup dreams

Ahn Myeong-hee, a 31-year-old defector from North Korea, was overwhelmed by the hardworking people, the rapidly changing social phenomena and the highly competitive environment when she first arrived in the South. “One day I was standing at a subway station and watching people walking fast. It made me think that I’d really have to live my life to the full to become successful,” Ahn said. “At the same time, I appreciated the fact that you can see the outcome as much as t

EconomyOct. 2, 2021

Seoul stocks likely to face volatility next week: analysts

South Korean stocks are likely to face volatility next week amid concerns about energy shortages in China, as well as lingering uncertainties over the bond yield rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 3,019.18 points Friday, down 3.4 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as US political wrangling about raising its debt ceiling weakened investor sentiment. Spiking Treasury yields in the world's largest economy also f

MarketOct. 2, 2021

Solus Advanced Materials‘ bio biz sets off as Solus Biotech

Solus Advanced Materials, formerly known as Doosan Solus, said Friday it had split off its bio division as a wholly owned subsidiary Solus Biotech to target the global mRNA vaccine market. The new bio subsidiary will be led by Seo Kwang-byeok, the current CEO of Solus Advanced Materials, and target an annual revenue of 120 billion won ($100 million) by 2025. Solus Biotech supplies organic compounds to global manufacturers of cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical products. The firm commands 95

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

Korean milk providers start to raise prices

South Korea’s major milk and dairy product providers are set to raise retail prices of their products next week. Namyang Dairy Products said Friday the company will increase retail prices of commercial milk products by an average 4.9 percent from Oct. 14. The firm said the prices of fermented and processed milk products will be risen 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent on average, respectively. For example, two packs of Delicious MilkGT, Namyang’s best-selling product, will be priced

ConsumerOct. 1, 2021

S. Korea’s stocks slump amid China’s Evergrande crisis, US tapering woes

South Korea’s stock market slumped in September on the back of the debt crisis involving Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, and a hint by the US Federal Reserve that it would begin tapering. According to the Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, the benchmark Kospi lost 4.08 percent to 3,068.82 points during September. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 3.88 percent to close at 1,003.27 points during the same period. Kospi’s

MarketOct. 1, 2021

Seoul stocks slump on US inflation worries

South Korean stocks dipped Friday on concerns about early inflation in the United States and the extended virus curbs at home. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 49.64 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at 3,019.18 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 845 million shares worth some 12.8 trillion won ($10.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 779 to 125. Foreigners sold a net 300 billion won, while retail inves

MarketOct. 1, 2021

SsangYong's Sept. sales plunge 40% on lower demand

SsangYong Motor Co. said Friday its sales plunged 40 percent last month from a year earlier on weaker domestic demand. SsangYong Motor sold 5,950 vehicles in September, down from 9,834 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales dropped 53 percent to 3,859 units last month from 8,208, while exports rose 29 percent to 2,091 units from 1,626 during the same period, it said. From January to September, sales fell 17 percent to 61,854 autos from 74,707 during the same period

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

S. Korean builder sentiment rebounds in September

South Korea's construction business sentiment bounced back in August from a month earlier due largely to seasonal factors, a poll showed Friday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) came to 94.9 last month, up 5.5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. However, the September figure remains below par. A reading below 100 indicates builders are pessimistic about the current state of the construction industry and

EconomyOct. 1, 2021

Pandemic causes W8.82tr in damage to S. Korean culture, sports, tourism sectors

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a combined 8.82 trillion won ($7.4 billion) worth of damage to South Korea's culture, sports and tourism sectors since it broke out early last year, a government report showed Friday. The amount of consumer spending in the tourism and leisure sector decreased by an estimated 39.3 trillion won from January 2020-June 2021 when Korea's first COVID-19 case was reported, according to the report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted to parli

EconomyOct. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Over half of young Seoulites can’t afford buying house without parents’ support: survey

Over half of young people living in Seoul say they couldn’t buy a home without the help of their parents, data showed Friday. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Institute, a think tank under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 53 percent out of 676 Seoul citizens ranging in age from 18 to 34 said that it would be impossible to purchase a house without financial support from their parents. The nationwide average is 46 percent. While 44 percent of respondents said that they would

MarketOct. 1, 2021

Korea's global battery market share rises, but so does foreign reliance on key materials

South Korea commands almost half of the world’s secondary battery market, but the country‘s reliance on imported materials is growing to an alarming level, data showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data obtained by Rep. Kim Kyung-man, the nation’s share of the global secondary battery market spiked from 34.7 percent in 2018 to 44.1 percent in 2020. The country is home to three of the world‘s major battery producers, LG Energy Solution

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

SK On, SK Innovation’s battery split-off, officially launched with Jee as CEO

SK Innovation said Friday it has officially carved out its battery division into a wholly owned subsidiary, SK On. According to SK Innovation, the firm’s board of directors approved the split-off and appointed Jee Dong-seob as the chief of SK On. Some 1,400 staff and executives who belonged to SK Innovation’s battery business will be relocated to SK On to continue electric vehicle battery, battery-as-a-service and energy storage system businesses. Jee, a former executive of SK

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

SK Inc. invests $55m more in Perfect Day, doubles down on alternatives to animal protein

SK Inc. said Friday it has injected an additional $55 million into a San Francisco-based alternative protein firm Perfect Day to wade further into the global alternative food market. According to the holding firm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, the investment was made together with STIC Investments, a leading private equity fund here. This is SK Inc.’s second investment in Perfect Day, after a 54 billion-won ($45.4 million) investment last year. The invest

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

Siemens Korea appoints Chung Ha-joong as CEO

Siemens Korea announced Wednesday the promotion of Chung Ha-joong to president and chief executive officer. Chung, who served as vice president prior to the appointment, will oversee all businesses of the German technology giant’s Korean unit, effective Friday, while also serving in his current role as head of smart infrastructure and CEO of Siemens Mobility Ltd., Seoul, the firm said. Since joining Siemens Korea in 2000, the new chief has taken up various key roles in energy, mobili

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

New home permits jump 22% in Jan.-Aug.

New home permits in South Korea soared nearly 22 percent in the first eight months of the year amid rising housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 312,860 units in the January-August period, up 21.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 52 percent to 50,638 over the cited period. New home permits issued in

EconomyOct. 1, 2021

Domestic sales of Samsung's new foldable smartphones to top 1m units

Domestic sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s new foldable smartphones -- the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 -- are likely to top 1 million units this weekend, industry officials said Friday, as the tech giant tries to popularize the foldable category. The third generation of the Galaxy Z series is set to surpass the 1 million sales milestone just about a month after its launch on Aug. 27, according to the officials in the telecom industry. Such a sales pace is similar to that of the Galaxy

IndustryOct. 1, 2021

Exports set fresh high in Sept. on solid shipments of chips

South Korea's exports have extended their gains to 11 consecutive months and set a record high level by rising 16.7 percent, data showed Friday, maintaining solid growth despite growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variants around the globe. Outbound shipments came to $55.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The monthly figure was the highest since South Korea started compiling such data in 1956. The previous record was $55.4

EconomyOct. 1, 2021