SK Telecom to cancel W2.6tr worth of treasury shares

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday it has decided to cancel 2.6 trillion won ($2.32 billion) worth of treasury shares, over 10 percent of its total floated stocks, in a move to boost shareholder value amid plans to split into two companies later this year. The telecom operator said in a statement that it would retire 8.69 million treasury stocks, or 10.8 percent of its total issued stocks, by Thursday. The cancellation would reduce SK Telecom's total floated sto

May 4, 2021

S. Korea's development of novel drugs lags behind others

A total of 40 novel drugs were approved by Seoul‘s pharmaceutical authorities in 2020, but none were developed by South Korean companies, according to a survey released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Monday. According to the Korean drug safety agency, local companies failed to introduce novel drugs domestically for the second consecutive year. In 2018, there were two novel drugs developed by local pharmaceutical companies that received approvals from the agency. “Laun

May 3, 2021

Celltrion's COVID-19 test kit receives conditional approval in Korea

South Korea‘s pharmaceutical giant Celltrion announced Monday that the company has received a conditional approval for its COVID-19 test kit DiaTrust from the country‘s drug safety agency. DiaTrust, developed jointly by Humasis and Celltrion, is an antigen test kit that can detect the most recent COVID-19 variants from the UK and Brazil. The test kit uses a sterile nasal swab which can identify specific antigens of COVID-19 present in specimens collected from the nasal cavity within

May 3, 2021

LG U+ to launch 5G-based solutions for local seaports

LG U+ has set up a crane remote control system at Busan Port and aims to commercialize 5G network-based solutions for automated seaport infrastructure management, the company said Sunday. The yard cranes at Busan Port are controlled remotely by an operator in an office, using the control system developed by the South Korean telecommunications firm. The tall cranes, equipped with sensors and high-definition cameras, are designed to send live feeds to a control room via the 5G network. The so

May 2, 2021

LG Uplus on lookout for automated seaports with 5G tech

BUSAN -- A towering shipyard crane nimbly moves over stacks of cargo crates at a terminal in Busan Port, South Korea's largest seaport 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to snatch a container box and gently load it onto a truck. While the scene is business as usual for the bustling port that processed over 410 million tons of cargo last year, the crane is unusual in that its driver's seat -- 25 meters off the ground -- is empty. The over 20-year-old industrial machine runs in semi-autonomous m

May 2, 2021

S. Korea begins reviewing 1st blood plasma therapy for COVID-19

South Korea's drug safety agency said Friday that it has begun reviewing a plasma therapy treatment against the novel coronavirus by local biotech company GC Pharma for conditional approval. The plasma therapy, dubbed GC5131A, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. If approved, the investigative drug will be the country's first blood plasma cure for the deadly d

April 30, 2021

S. Korea's 5G users top 14m since commercialization

The number of 5G users in South Korea stood at over 14 million last month, two years after the networks first went live in the country, data showed Friday, as the country pushes to accelerate adoption of the latest generation networks. As of the end of March, 5G subscriptions stood at 14.48 million, accounting for 20 percent of the total 71.1 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea was the first country in the world to co

April 30, 2021

LG Electronics to create W100b fund with Mirae Asset Group

LG Electronics will create a 100 billion won ($90.15 million) fund with Mirae Asset Group, the country’s largest nonbank financial institution, to invest in new businesses including electric vehicles, the companies said Friday. The two business units will contribute 50 billion won each to the fund, which will be operated for 10 years. Chief Strategy Officer Cho Ju-wan of LG Electronics, Chief Executive Officer Lee Man-hee of Mirae Asset Capital and other executives held a ceremony on F

April 30, 2021

S. Korea calls for free movement of data at G-7 digital ministers meeting

South Korea called for the free movement of data to vitalize the digital economy on Thursday in this year's Group of Seven (G-7) meeting of digital and technology ministers. South Korea took part in the intergovernmental ministerial meeting virtually after being invited to this year's G-7 meeting set to be held in the United Kingdom in June. Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young said at the meeting that the movement of data as well as electronic transferable records and internet security a

April 29, 2021

Samsung, LG post record Q1 earnings

Strong sales of home appliances pushed South Korean electronics firms’ sales to a new quarterly high. According to first-quarter earnings results released by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics on Thursday, the tech titans both achieved their highest-ever quarterly sales and operating profits in the first three months of 2021. Samsung posted record-high sales of 65.39 trillion won ($59 billion) in the first quarter, driven by its mobile device and home appliances businesses, despit

April 29, 2021

Samsung family says no disagreement over estate

The bereaved family of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee is not at odds over who should get what from the late tycoon’s Samsung company shares, worth 19 trillion won ($17.06 billion) in total, officials at Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of the conglomerate, said Wednesday. The late Lee’s equity holdings have immense implications for the group’s ownership structure, influencing the Lee family’s continued grip over the colossal corporate empire, which alone acco

April 28, 2021

SK Broadband present new family plan in time for May, the ‘Family Month’

In time for Parents’ Day on May 8, SK Broadband is presenting a new family plan targeting adults living separately from their aging parents and looking out for them in this coronavirus pandemic. The plan, called “B tv Family,” is a package of services tailored for senior citizens who cannot go out as often as they used to and cannot meet up with their grandchildren and other loved ones. On top of the typical combination of high-speed internet, home Wi-Fi, IPTV and a TV set

April 28, 2021

COVID-19 self-test kits to be available at pharmacies as early as Monday

South Koreans may be able to purchase COVID-19 self-test kits as early as next Monday, industry officials said Wednesday. Coming are two types of home test kits developed by local biotech firms SD Biosensor and Humasis. The test kits will be available at local pharmacies or via online channels, according to the companies. The rollout comes after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last week gave each of them conditional-use approval. The products have been in use in several countries in Eu

April 28, 2021

Genexine signs vaccine supply deal with Indonesia

Local vaccine developer Genexine has signed a contract with an Indonesian pharmaceutical company to supply 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the company said Tuesday. According to the firm, Indonesian pharmaceutical company PT Kalbe Farma will purchase 10 million doses of GX-19N, the vaccine candidate currently in the phase 2 clinical trial stage. Genexine will be provided with royalties based on sales of the vaccine, it added. Sale of the jabs would be possible only after

April 27, 2021

Hyundai Oilbank to transform oil refineries into renewable energy platforms

Hyundai Oilbank said Tuesday that it has partnered with Honeywell UOP, one of the world’s leading technology licensing firms, to repurpose its oil refineries as renewable energy platforms where vital ingredients for solar panels and electric vehicle batteries will be produced. Under the agreement, Honeywell’s crude oil-to-chemical technology will allow Hyundai Oilbank facilities to convert crude oil into high-value chemical products instead of traditional transportation fuels. Th

April 27, 2021

Eyes on Lee Jae-yong’s share in inheritance of Samsung Life

As an official announcement on the biggest wealth inheritance in modern Korean history draws near, all eyes are on how much of the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s assets would be given to his eldest son Lee Jae-yong, who has in effect already inherited the control of the mammoth business conglomerate. According to industry sources on Tuesday, the bereaved family of the late tycoon is anticipated to announce this week, before an April 30 deadline, a final inheritance plan, incl

April 27, 2021

KIST applies chip technology to prevent fires from lithium-metal batteries

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday claimed to have found a new way of curbing lithium-metal battery fires using semiconductor technology. According to its researchers led by Lee Joong-kee, lithium-metal batteries, which use metals for anodes, or the negative side, are more powerful than lithium-ion batteries that use graphite for anodes. However, there is a trade-off. Lithium-metal batteries are more susceptible to fires because of dendrite issues. Dendrites are tiny, r

April 27, 2021

Local company develops smart livestock management solution for pigs

South Korean livestock health management firm uLikeKorea announced the launch of an information and communication technology-based solution to detect symptoms of swine diseases, including African swine fever. Kim Hee-jin, CEO of uLikeKorea, claimed it is the world’s first and only such solution developed for pig farming. According to the firm’s press release, it uses a device that is inserted in a pig’s uterus to keep track of its activities, hormone levels and body temper

April 26, 2021

Samsung's new QLED TV sales top 10,000 units in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday sales of 2021 QLED TV models have topped 10,000 units in South Korea less than two months since its release as the company expects more premium TV sales amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. The world's largest TV maker said new QLED TVs, launched on March 3 here, achieved the milestone twice as fast as its predecessors last year. The domestic sales of total QLED TVs stood at around 40,000 units between March 3 and April 23, according to the company.

April 26, 2021

Samsung to launch new budget smartphone in S. Korea this week

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday its Galaxy M12 budget smartphone will be sold in South Korea this week as the tech giant eyes to expand mobile sales here by introducing more price-competitive models. The M12 will hit local shelves Wednesday through online sales channels at 198,000 won ($180), the company said. The M12 has been already released in select markets including Vietnam, India and Britain. The smartphone with a 6.5-inch screen comes with a quad-rear camera setup, featuring a 48-m

April 26, 2021