Gov't to launch 'early warning system' on key raw materials amid supply shortage woes

The government said Thursday it will launch a system to monitor some 20 key raw materials, such as magnesium and tungsten, to ensure stable supplies and prevent the recurrence of a crisis similar to the urea solution supply crunch. The "early warning system" for the designated raw materials is aimed at prioritizing the supply management of materials highly dependent on imports so as to prevent shortages. The system intends to expedite the process in which the government takes necessa

Nov. 18, 2021

POSCO unveils ‘Space Walk’ in Pohang

Posco on Thursday unveiled Korea’s largest walkable art installation named Space Walk in the southeastern port city of Pohang, where the company is based. The 333-meter curved steel track that looks like a roller coaster stands in the city’s Hwanho Park, and the Pohang steel mill, Youngil Bay and Youngildae Beach can be seen while walking on it. Some 317 tons of steel, all produced by Posco, were used to create the sculpture by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth. Space W

Nov. 18, 2021

GS Caltex, LG Chem to co-work on mass production of eco-friendly raw materials

Energy company GS Caltex and leading chemical firm LG Chem are jointly developing technology to mass produce eco-friendly raw materials, the firms announced Thursday. The top officials of the two companies met at LG Science Park in Seoul to sign a joint development agreement aimed at developing and mass producing a biodegradable plastic material called 3HP (Hydroxypropionic acid). 3HP is an eco-friendly substance produced through microbial fermentation of glucose and amorphous glycerol. It i

Nov. 18, 2021

Shinhan Financial chief joins UNEP FI’s Leadership Council

South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung was elected as a member of the Leadership Council, under the United Nations sustainability initiative between the organization and the global finance sector, the firm said Thursday. The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative was created in 1992 between the UNEP and the financial sector to better encourage the adoption of sustainability in financial institutions around the world. So far 450 global financial in

Nov. 18, 2021

[Photo News] Samsung meets Moderna

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Moderna, at the headquarters of Flagship Pioneering, a biopharmaceutical investment firm invested by Afeyan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tuesday.  Lee discussed cooperation measures for the COVID-19 vaccine with the Moderna co-founder, as Samsung Biologics is currently bottling Moderna’s vaccine at its plant in Songdo, Incheon, Samsung said.

Nov. 18, 2021

Samsung unveils foundry tech crucial for 3-nm chip manufacturing

 Samsung Electronics unveiled its strategy to strengthen the foundry industry ecosystem as it announced new design tools and technologies crucial for 3-nanometer process for its foundry customers at a forum on Thursday. At its third annual Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem forum held online, the chipmaker‘s foundry unit said it has also secured over 80 electronic design automation tools and technologies optimized for semiconductor design infra and package solution. It is pivotal

Nov. 18, 2021

Hanwha Solutions invests $160m in US low-carbon polysilicon firm

Hanwha Solutions said Thursday that the company has invested $160 million in securing low-carbon photovoltaic materials amid a growing demand for renewable energy in the United States. The energy affiliate of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group said it agreed to purchase a 16.67 percent stake in REC Silicon for $160 million. The investment will make the Hanwha company a co-leading shareholder of the polysilicon manufacturer along with Aker Horizons, a Norway-headquartered investment fir

Nov. 18, 2021

Hyundai Livart starts operation of Asia’s first smart furniture plant

Hyundai Livart’s first smart furniture production plant and distribution center has begun operations, according to Hyundai Group’s furniture arm Hyundai Livart on Thursday. Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the 85,950-square-meter Smart Work Center hosts an automated furniture production plant and massive distribution facilities. It is the first smart furniture factory not only in Korea, but in all of Asia, the company said. The smart factory is controlled by an IT system t

Nov. 18, 2021

[Contribution] Controversy over ‘same person’ designation by the KFTC

By Myung-Soo Hong, Professor of Law, Myongji University The trade ministers of South Korea and the US are meeting in Seoul for the first time in 10 years on Nov. 18, 2021. During the meeting, it is expected that various economic and trade related pending issues will be discussed. One of the issues which may be discussed is the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s ongoing review of the possibility of designating US corporations and individual US citizens as the “same person” (i.e., h

Nov. 18, 2021

Gangnam fantasy: Land of longing

Kim Young-woo, a 47-year-old bank employee with two teenage kids, has had trouble sleeping in recent months. Kim’s family lives in a posh neighborhood in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, but may not be able to stay there. “My jeonse contract expires in December. I have to look for a new apartment since I was told that my landlord is moving back to this apartment,” he said. Under South Korea’s jeonse system, the tenant pays a refundable deposit to rent a home fo

Nov. 18, 2021

SK Bioscience-AstraZeneca deal to expire by the end of this year

SK Bioscience’s contract manufacturing deal to produce AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will expire by the end of this year, according to the company Thursday. The deal greatly helped South Korea secure shots in its early vaccination stage, but as the government has decided to phase out the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, there is no need for the firm to continue producing it, the firm said. As for international supplies, however, the firm remains in talks with AstraZeneca, the fir

Nov. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Netflix hikes subscription fees by 17 percent in Korea

Streaming giant Netflix announced on Thursday a subscription fee increase of up to 17 percent, its first hike since launching the service in South Korea in 2016. The streaming platform’s standard plan will cost 13,500 won ($11.45) a month, up 12.5 percent from the previous 12,000 won, and the premium plan will go up 17.24 percent to 17,000 won from 14,500 won. The basic plan will remain unchanged at 9,500 won. Local users will be notified of the price changes 30 days before their renewa

Nov. 18, 2021

Hyundai forms alliance with 6 EV charging stations

Hyundai Motor Group is joining hands with six electric vehicle charging stations here to form an alliance supporting the growth of the EV charging industry, the automotive giant said Thursday. Hyundai said it signed partnerships with six Korean EV charging service providers to establish E-pit Alliance and agreed to work together in developing technologies related to E-pit, the automotive group’s ultra-fast charging station. The six EV service providers are Starkoff, Straffic, Jeju Elect

Nov. 18, 2021

Posco pledges another decade of startup support

Marking a decade of operating its startup accelerator program, South Korean steelmaker Posco on Thursday vowed to continue supporting the local startup ecosystem, particularly in fields related to its future strategic businesses, including hydrogen, secondary battery and green materials. . “The Idea Marketplace has become a representative accelerator program for startups in the country. For Posco, it will continue to play a role in exploring new business items,” said Posco Chairma

Nov. 18, 2021

[Special] AMAXG Group launches NFT-metaverse platform

South Korean blockchain research company AMAXG has launched a metaverse platform where people can trade nonfungible tokens, strengthening its initiative for blockchain commercialization. AMAXG recently launched the platform, dubbed BIZA-UVIT, after joining hands with K2SOFT, a metaverse platform and ANISTAR, a provider of cultural content. According to AMAXG, BIZA-UVIT users can trade NFTs in the metaverse, virtual worlds shared by people online, and expand their own virtual worlds. NFTs are

Nov. 18, 2021

Apple releases updated iOS to fix call drop issue

Apple released an update to its mobile operating system Thursday to fix dropped calls on iPhone devices, including the iPhone 12 and 13. The release of the iOS 15.1.1, an updated version of the iOS 15.1, fixes the call drop performance issue on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 as well as the usual bug fixes, U.S. online website Apple Insider said. iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 users have recently experienced consistent dropped calls on their devices, preventing them from receiving incoming calls. Apple

Nov. 18, 2021

Household income grows at fastest pace in Q3 on relief funds

South Korean household income grew at its fastest pace in the third quarter thanks to the economic recovery and the government's emergency relief funds, data showed Thursday. The average household earned 4.73 million won ($4,000) per month in the July-September period, up 8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year growth since 2006, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Household income rose in the last quart

Nov. 18, 2021

Samsung Heavy demonstrates gas liquefaction technology

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday that it has successfully demonstrated its gas liquefaction technology to sharpen its competitive edge for orders of floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facilities. With the successful demonstration of the gas liquefaction technology named "SENSE IV," Samsung Heavy will be better positioned to beat its rivals in bagging orders for FLNG facilities, the shipbuilder said. The demonstration was attended by officials from global key LNG produce

Nov. 18, 2021

Auto exports dip 18% in October amid extended chip shortage

South Korea's exports of automobiles fell for the second consecutive month in October due mainly to an extended global supply shortage of automotive chips, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 159,520 units last month, down 18.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also decreased 4.7 percent from a year earlier to $3.83 billion, the data showed. It is the second month in

Nov. 18, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on US losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with tech and chemical shares weighing on the market. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.76 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,950.66 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.58 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.33 percent amid concerns about the growing inflation pressure. The Korean stock market opened at 10 a.m., one hour

Nov. 18, 2021