Osstem Implant plans for Kosdaq delisting

South Korea's largest dental implant maker announced Thursday it will discuss the firm's delisting from the secondary bourse Kosdaq at its extraordinary general meeting slated for June 28. Osstem Implant plans to initiate the delisting application process once the resolution is passed at the general meeting that will be attended by private equity funds Unison Capital Korea and MBK Partners, the firm's largest shareholders. The MBK Partners-Unison Capital Korea consortium has acq

May 19, 2023

LG Energy Solution, Green Tech Metals join hands in battery material business

Battery maker LG Energy Solution said Friday it has signed a deal with Green Technology Metals (GT1), a lithium exploration and development business, as part of efforts to establish a supply chain of critical raw materials for batteries in the North American region. Under the deal, LGES will subscribe to 21,739,130 new shares in GT1 at a price of 0.92 Australian dollars ($0.61) per share, for a total of A$20 million. The subscription price represents 7.89 percent of GT1’s ordinary shares o

May 19, 2023

Korean Air: 'No official decision made by US on merger'

Regarding the news that the US government might officially interfere with South Korean national carrier Korean Air's merger with its smaller domestic rival, Korean Air said that the US authorities have not told them of any official decisions, Friday. According to the US news website Politico, the US Justice Department is considering a lawsuit against the Korean Air on the basis that the company's business integration with Asiana Airlines could result in a monopolization that could prev

May 19, 2023

Naver Pay installations surge 186% following partnership with Samsung Pay

Naver Pay app installations soared 186 percent to 470,000 in April, a month after it integrated its payment service with Samsung Pay, according to Naver Financial. "We see that the number of app installations for Samsung Pay's interlinked offline payment service has significantly increased,” a Naver Financial official said in a statement Thursday. "The usage of the payment service has expanded to include a wider range of locations, encompassing not only convenience stores

May 19, 2023

Hyundai Motor resurrects Pony Coupe Concept

Hyundai Motor Company has brought back the Pony Coupe Concept vehicle about 50 years after the original vehicle was first showcased at the 1974 Turin Motor Show in Italy to highlight the automaker’s history and heritage. Hyundai Motor unveiled the restored Pony Coupe Concept at the inaugural event for Hyundai Reunion -- a heritage brand platform that reflects on the automaker’s past and its future direction -- in Lake Como, Italy, on Thursday. "Despite the poor industrial enviro

May 19, 2023

Finance minister discusses bilateral ties with Chinese envoy

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho met with Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming on Friday to discuss economic ties and other bilateral issues, his office said. During the meeting, Choo expressed hope that South Korea and China can continue economic cooperation based on mutual respect and interests, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The finance minister also requested China's support for the preparation of the bilateral economic ministerial meeting scheduled to be held

May 19, 2023

S. Korean, US senior officials discuss AI, tech cooperation

Top officials of South Korea and the United States have discussed ways to bolster technology diplomacy in artificial intelligence and other areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. The director-general-level meeting, held in Seoul the previous day, was attended by Yun Hyun-soo, head of the ministry's bureau for climate change, energy, environment and scientific affairs, and Seth Center, the deputy envoy for critical and emerging technology of the US State Department. The two sides

May 19, 2023

Seoul shares open higher amid eased debt-ceiling woes

Seoul shares opened higher Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight, amid hopes that the US government will be able to avert a debt default. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.5 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,525.9 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to 33,535.91, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.5 percent to 12,688.84. The US government needs to lift the debt ceiling to cover its future spending pl

May 19, 2023

[Lupus & KCR 2023] Lupus, a disease with 1,000 faces

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is often referred to as a disease with thousand faces, reflecting the wide spectrum of diverse clinical manifestations of the disease. It can be fatal with major organ involvement. Basically an autoimmune disease, the immune system that is supposed to protect you turns against SLE patients. While autoimmune diseases are usually organ-specific and usually involve one organ, SLE is typically non-organ specific and can attack any organ and thus can lead to many di

May 19, 2023

[Lupus & KCR 2023] Social determinants play large part in access to health care

Speaking at Thursday's session on “Global Challenges,” Dr. Bae Sang-cheol of Hanyang University pointed out that social determinants account for more than 50 percent of population health. One’s genetic makeup and biology as well as personal behaviors contribute only around 25 percent. Medical care, meanwhile, accounts for about 20 percent. In his presentation titled "Access to Health Care," Bae noted that in lower socioeconomic status areas, lupus management is

May 19, 2023

[Lupus & KCR 2023] KCR focuses on younger generation of rheumatologists

The 43rd Korean College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting and 17th International Symposium running Wednesday through Saturday at Coex, southern Seoul, features two special sessions aimed at fostering a younger generation of rheumatologists. Dr. Bae Sang-cheol and Dr. Yoo Dae-hyun, both from Hanyang University shared their expertise and experience as leading clinicians and researchers in the field of rheumatology during the Presidential Plenary session on Thursday. The lectures aimed to i

May 19, 2023

[Lupus & KCR 2023] Lupus patient shares her journey

At 23, Kim Jin-hye was diagnosed with lupus three days after she was brought to a hospital in an ambulance. “I was bleeding heavily from everywhere, even my ears,” she said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday. The very quick diagnosis is very unusual. Most lupus patients often suffer years of complex symptoms -- ranging from fatigue, rashes and joint pain to organ failure -- before they find out what has been ailing them. When Kim told the doctor that her younger sister h

May 19, 2023

[LUPUS & KCR 2023] Four-day lupus congress kicks off to discuss how to ‘end war' against the disease

The 15th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, the 43rd Korean College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting & 17th International Symposium kicked off Wednesday evening, shedding light on how greater social awareness and new drugs can end the “war” against lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease. This year’s event is held under the theme, “Stairway to the End of the War" to prepare the ground for putting an end to the disease. The first edition

May 18, 2023

[From the Scene] Renault’s Busan plant aims to become key export base

BUSAN -- Renault Korea Motors seeks a bigger presence as its Busan plant aims to become a regional export base for the French auto giant. On Tuesday, the carmaker held a media event at its Busan plant to unveil its cost-effective shipping know-how and longer-term export strategy. At the plant, Renault’s top-selling compact SUV XM3 Arkana was being loaded into a container box before shipment from Busan New Port to Le Havre, a northwestern coastal city in France. Three Arkana cars were loa

May 18, 2023

Kumho Tire touts successful TCR World Tour sponsorship in Portugal

Kumho Tire announced Thursday it has successfully sponsored the opening race of the Touring Car Racing World Tour, a renowned motorsport competition promoted by WSC Group that took place April 29-30 at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. Signing a three-year title sponsorship deal with WSC last February, Kumho sponsored all the racing tires in the drivers’ cars for the competition, leading to dynamic races. Prestigious carmakers such as Audi, Honda and Hyundai Motor have shown t

May 18, 2023

Seoul shares at over 2-week high on eased US default woes

South Korean stocks rose to an over two-week high Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed by rising hopes that Washington would reach a deal on the debt ceiling. The Korean won gained ground against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 20.74 points, or 0.83 percent, to finish at 2,515.4. It is the highest closing point since 2,524.39 on May 2. Trading volume was moderate at 558.3 million shares worth 7.64 trillion won ($5.72 billion), with winners far outnumberin

May 18, 2023

Samsung starts mass production of most advanced DRAM chips

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chip maker, said Thursday it kicked off the mass production of its 16-gigabit DDR5 DRAM, which utilizes the industry’s most advanced 12 nanometer-class process technology. Boasting a maximum speed of 7.2 gigabits per second, which translates into speeds that can process two 30 gigabyte UHD movies in about a second, Samsung’s newest DRAM lineup will support a growing list of applications including data centers, artificial intellige

May 18, 2023

[K-Food] Ourhome tests potential of Korean food catering services on global stage

Riding on a wave of momentum for the soaring popularity of South Korean food among global consumers, "K-food" institutional food service businesses are gaining traction at overseas cafeterias. Ourhome, a Korean food catering giant, says it has been steadily increasing the proportion of its global sales since starting its first overseas business on 2010 -- with its on-site food catering service performances in cafeterias abroad largely buoyed by its decision to organize nearly half of

May 18, 2023

LG, Trudeau seek breakthrough on halted battery plant in Canada

LG Energy Solution’s top management and Canada’s top leadership including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed ways to resolve the issue of the halted construction of a joint battery plant between the South Korean battery maker and Stellantis in the Canadian province of Ontario, according to an industry source Thursday. “The Canadian prime minister and Canadian government officials sat down with LG Energy Solution’s high-ranking officials to figure out a breakthrough f

May 18, 2023

LG Chem to join Israel’s massive desalination project

LG Water Solutions, the arm of LG Chem specializing in manufacturing seawater reverse osmosis membranes, has secured an exclusive supply agreement for the Ashdod Rehabilitation Project in Israel, aiming at strengthening the company's presence in the Mediterranean desalination market. Under the agreement, LG Water Solutions will supply a total of 30,000 SWRO membranes to the Ashdod plant throughout the year. With a capacity of 336,000 m3/day, this can generate clean water for approximately 1

May 18, 2023