[From the Scene] Korean biotech firms take spotlight at BIO International

SAN DIEGO -- South Korea became one of the countries with the largest number of companies taking part in this year’s BIO International Convention, showing how Asia’s fourth-largest economy has become a rising player in the global biotechnology industry. According to a biotech industry official participating in the convention in San Diego, over 3,200 companies from across the globe signed up to attend the event. Of them, 255 are from South Korea. That is the second largest for a cou

June 14, 2022

Cargo trucker strike sparks worries over trade competitiveness

The unionized cargo truckers’ continued strike is putting South Korea’s trade competitiveness at risk, business representatives said Tuesday, stressing that not only big companies, but also small firms, would face a bigger burden.　 “Followed by auto chip shortages and global shipping issues over the Russia-Ukraine war, the price of raw materials has already soared to the top level,” said Yoon Kyung-sun from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association at a press confer

June 14, 2022

Large aircraft return to cover rising overseas travel demand

Large-sized aircraft that can fit around 400 passengers are set to return soon, as airliners are facing rapid growth in overseas travel demand. The country’s largest air carrier Korean Air will bring jumbo jets – the B747-8i and A380-800 -- back for routes connecting Incheon to Los Angeles and New York starting from July, according to Korean Air. The decision to resume flights of large-sized aircraft comes as Korean Air tries to meet the growing demand for international travel. Th

June 14, 2022

6 logistics firms fined over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to impose a combined 6.53 billion-won ($5.06 million) fine on six logistics firms for fixing prices. Industry leader CJ Logistics Corp., Dongbang Transport Logistics and four others colluded to fix price quotes in order to win bids for loading and unloading work at ports that was offered by top steelmaker POSCO between 2016 and 2018, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). They colluded to divide volumes of work in advance

June 14, 2022

Hyosung honorary chairman receives award for bridging Japan, China

Honorary Chairman Cho Seok-rae of South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Group was awarded the 2022 14th YoungSan Diplomat Award on Tuesday for leading economic cooperation between South Korea, Japan and China. 　　 The nonprofit Seoul Forum for International Affairs presents the YoungSan Diplomat Award each year to individuals who have contributed in improving Korea’s image and national interests on the international stage. 　 “As a leader of the business sector and a graduate of engineer

June 14, 2022

LG CNS named top partner for AWS

LG Group’s IT solutions unit LG CNS said Tuesday it has been named as a Premier Tier Partner for US cloud giant Amazon Web Services, a recognition given to the most experienced partners representing their respective markets. AWS offers tiers – select, advanced and premier – to recognize its partners that have proven technical expertise and demonstrated customer experience and the highest premier tier is offered to leaders in their markets in terms of the number of clients and

June 14, 2022

SK Innovation invests in US ammonia fuel cell firm

SK Innovation said on Tuesday it is investing $30 million in a US ammonia-based fuel cell startup for technological cooperation as it taps into new businesses to establish a “green portfolio.” SK Innovation and Amogy signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday in San Jose, California, to work together to develop ammonia-based fuel cell system technology and expand markets. Founded in 2020 by four MIT Ph.D. alumni, Amogy focuses on research and development to produce compact ammo

June 14, 2022

ICT exports up 14% in May on solid demand for chips, displays

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose 13.9 percent in May from a year earlier on brisk overseas demand for chips and displays, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $20.2 billion last month, up from $17.73 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. It marked the highest-ever tally for May since the government began compiling related data in 1996. The country has seen dou

June 14, 2022

Air Busan to expand international routes in July

Air Busan Co., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Tuesday it will open more international flight routes next month in response to eased travel restrictions. In July, Air Busan will newly open three international routes -- Busan-Nah Trang, Incheon-Da Nang, and Incheon-Fukuoka routes -- and reopen the previously suspended five routes from Busan to Ulan Bator, Osaka, Sapporo, Cebu, and Kota Kinabalu of Malaysia, the company said in a statement. The carrier aims to operate a total o

June 14, 2022

Samsung plans to relocate workers of now-closed TV LCD biz to chip unit

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to move around 300 workers from its display business' liquid crystal display (LCD) division to the company's semiconductor unit, sources said Tuesday. The plan comes after Samsung Display, a unit of the tech giant, stopped producing LCD panels for TVs this month due to falling prices, and a supply glut due to competition from Chinese panel makers. Samsung Display has scaled down its TV LCD business since mid-2010. In 2020, the panel maker said it would end

June 14, 2022

BOK ready to take measures amid market turmoil

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday it plans to "actively" take steps to stabilize the financial market hit hard by fears about the Federal Reserve's more aggressive rate hikes than previously thought. Global financial markets have been roiled this week amid the growing prospect that the Fed may hike interest rates by a larger-than-expected margin of 0.75 percentage point this week to tame high-flying inflation. "As volatility in South Korea's financial markets is expected to

June 14, 2022

LG Energy Solution shares through eco-friendly projects

LG Energy Solution has continued to use its eco-friendly projects to enact positive social change. In late 2020, the company completed the construction of its 410-kilowatt solar power plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The profit from this plant is expected to be 40 million won ($31,000), which the company plans to donate to underprivileged people in the region LG Energy Solution’s team of volunteers at its Ochang plant run a Twin Angel Fund to help those in financial need. S

June 14, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on rate hikes, recession woes

Seoul shares got off to a weak start Tuesday, tracking a sharp plunge on Wall Street, on concerns over more aggressive monetary tightening by the United States to tame inflation and its impact on global economic growth. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 22.72 points, or 0.91 percent, to 2,481.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Monday, the index dipped to a 19-month low amid growing woes over sharper-than-expected rate hikes Overnight, US shares plunged ahead of the

June 14, 2022

Yoon skips hearing session, appoints new tax chief

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday appointed Kim Chang-ki, former head of the tax agency in Busan, as the new commissioner of the National Tax Service, by skipping a confirmation hearing that had been delayed for days. After nominating Kim for the top tax office on May 13, President Yoon submitted a motion to seek parliamentary approval on appointing a new tax chief three days later. Hearings for Kim and other officials have been delayed with two parties locking horns over who should sit on com

June 13, 2022

Kospi hits 19-month low as US inflation skyrockets

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed at 2,504.51 Monday, its lowest level since Nov. 13, 2020 when it fell to 2,493.87, as investors priced in a big US rate hike amid a record annual increase in US consumer prices in May. A month earlier, US consumer prices surged 8.6 percent on-year, the largest gain since 1981 on record-high gasoline prices and soaring food costs, fueling bets on a sharper rate hike than the half percentage point raise the US Fed had indicated. The Fed’s two-

June 13, 2022

LG Energy Solution unveils W730b EV battery plan

South Korean lithium-ion battery cell maker LG Energy Solution on Monday unveiled a 730 billion won ($567 million) plan to expand production of batteries for electric vehicles here, including the next-generation 4680-type cylindrical batteries, which are bigger than current conventional designs. In an apparent bid to supply to carmakers like US electric vehicle giant Tesla, the company will pour in 581.8 billion won from June 2022 until October 2023 by adding a 9 gigawatt-hour pr

June 13, 2022

Manufacturing industry suffers W1.6tr loss from truckers’ strike: ministry

The ongoing strike by unionized cargo truckers which began last week appears to have caused at least 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in losses, the Industry Ministry said on Monday. Carmakers may have seen some 257 billion won in losses as the sit-in protest paralyzed supply deliveries, preventing 5,400 vehicles from being produced. The estimated losses were calculated by setting the price of a sedan at 47 million won. The steel industry has estimated its losses at 697 billion won for the las

June 13, 2022

[Photo News] Meet Torres

A promotional image unveils the entire exterior of SsangYong Motor's new mid-sized SUV Torres. Under the brand slogan, “Adventurous,” the SUV maker mixed retro and future-oriented design elements while securing a large cargo space of up to 703 liters, capable of storing four caddie bags and more.  Other technological features like Lane Keeping Assist and Forward Collision Warning have been added as standard options. The price ranges between 26.9 million won and 30.4 million wo

June 13, 2022

Lee Jae-yong regaining appetite for batteries?

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong reportedly met with BMW Group Chairman Olive Zipse last week in Germany in an apparent move to renew his commitment to Samsung’s electric vehicle battery business, as well as its long-held partnership with the luxury carmaker. According to news reports Monday, the Samsung chief’s first stop of his two-week Europe trip that began last Tuesday was Germany. And he held a meeting with the BMW chief at the carmaker’s Munich headquarte

June 13, 2022

Rate hike fears send Seoul stocks to 19-month low; Korean won sharply dips

South Korean stocks crashed to a 19-month low Monday as high inflation sparked fears of a potential aggressive monetary tightening in the US and a slowdown in global economic growth. The local currency fell sharply against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 91.36 points, or 3.52 percent, to close at 2,504.51, extending losses for the fifth consecutive session. It is the lowest figure since November 13, 2020, when the KOSPI closed at 2,493,97 points. Trading volume

June 13, 2022