Samsung wins W815b order to build 4 LNG ships from Africa

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's second-biggest shipbuilder by orders, said Wednesday it has won a 815 billion-won ($734 million) order to build four liquefied natural gas ships for an African customer. Samsung Heavy plans to supply the ships by May 2024, the company said. Since Monday, the company has won orders to build eight LNG carriers with a total value of 1.6 trillion won. The shipbuilder has so far won $5.5 billion worth of orders this year, which accounts for around 65 perce

Dec. 23, 2020

Presidential committee lays out first ethical standards for AI

South Korea drew up its first-ever ethical standards for artificial intelligence, with a focus on humanity-centered technology. On Wednesday, the government’s presidential committee on the “fourth industrial revolution approved the AI ethical standards, which were proposed by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Information Society Development Institute. Under the main theme “AI for humanity,” the ethical standards recommend following three pillars when using

Dec. 23, 2020

Korean millennials say buying a house is difficult using only income

Amid soaring house prices, seven out of 10 South Koreans born in 1980s and 1990s believe having their own house is necessary but were pessimistic about purchasing residential property only with their income, a survey showed Wednesday. According to the survey, conducted by Mirae Asset Investment and Pension Center and Hankook Research in May, 70.6 percent of respondents said buying a house is necessary, while 73 percent said they think it is difficult for the young generation to do so with their

Dec. 23, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] Genesis G70 lives up to expectations

Expectations were high for Genesis’ second compact luxury sports utility GV70. When the car was unveiled online in early December, the website temporarily went down as consumers flocked to check out the mid-sized successor to the brand’s first SUV, GV80, launched here in January to rave reviews and strong sales. It turned out Hyundai Motor, the Korean carmaker behind the Genesis brand, has done quite well in meeting those expectations. The GV70 offers a fine driving experience an

Dec. 23, 2020

Retail sales up in Nov. on nationwide sales event

Retail sales in South Korea moved up 6.3 percent in November from a year earlier on the back of the nationwide consumption-boosting events aimed at overcoming the economic jitters from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.41 trillion won ($11.2 billion) last month, up from 11.68 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The annual Korea Sale FESTA kic

Dec. 23, 2020

Daewoo E&C wins $455m deal from Mozambique

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major builder in South Korea, said Wednesday it has won a $455 million order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) production trains in Mozambique. Under the deal signed with CCS joint venture, Daewoo E&C will handle steel structures, mechanics, piping works and electronic instruments in the project at the Afungi Industrial Complex in northern Mozambique. The joint venture, a special purpose company set up for the project, is composed of US o

Dec. 23, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on tech advances

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, backed by strong advances by giant tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.59 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,748.27 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index rebounded after a 1.6 percent plunge the previous session, as optimism for a better corporate environment next year pushed up tech stocks. On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 0.51 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average close

Dec. 23, 2020

S. Korea to control abuse of chemicals in meat, fishery products

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to adopt the positive list system (PLS) to regulate the maximum residue limit of chemicals in meat and fish products in 2024. Under the measure, South Korea will set the ceiling of 0.01 milligrams per kilogram concerning the use of any types of drugs other than those from the positive list, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "The new rule is designed to prevent the misuse or abuse of unauthorized animal drugs and to enhanc

Dec. 23, 2020

Hyundai Motor takes over GM plant in Russia

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has acquired General Motors Co.'s auto plant in Russia to step up its vehicle production in the nation. The South Korean automaker finalized the deal in early November to buy the American carmaker's assembly line in Saint Petersburg, a company spokesperson said, without elaborating on the amount and production schedule at the plant.The GM plant, which has an annual production capacity of around 100,000 vehicles, opened in 2008 but suspended operations in 2015

Dec. 23, 2020

Samsung to remain top global TV seller for 15th year: report

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to remain the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on brisk demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. The South Korean tech behemoth is forecast to sell 49.02 million TVs this year after shipping 33.92 million units in the first three quarters of the year, according to the report from market researcher Omdia. The estimate is up 11.2 percent from the previous year and marks the largest annual sales number sinc

Dec. 23, 2020

Dongbu-led consortium picked as preferred bidder for Hanjin Heavy

A consortium led by construction company Dongbu Corp. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for the controlling stake of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the troubled shipbuilder said. A group of Hanjin's creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, reached the decision during a meeting earlier in the day, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. The Dongbu consortium beat two competitors, including a group led by SM Line Corp, to acquire a 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy

Dec. 22, 2020

Bibigo frozen dumplings log W1tr sales in 2020

Sales of Bibigo frozen dumplings have exceeded 1 trillion won this year, the company behind the brand said Tuesday. Bibigo owner CJ CheilJedang said sales of Bibigo dumplings stood at 1.03 trillion won ($930 million) in 2020, with 65 percent of the revenue coming from overseas. Bibigo’s sales of dumplings have shown steady growth in Korea and in other countries, and this year’s sales were double from that of 2017, when the combined sales in domestic and overseas markets was 506 b

Dec. 22, 2020

Samsung scions to be liable for record-high inheritance tax

Samsung shares came under the market spotlight as the amount of inheritance tax was set at a record 11.03 trillion won ($9.96 billion) based on closing prices of the stocks on Tuesday. Among shares held by late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee are those of tech giant Samsung Electronics, IT solutions developer Samsung SDS, construction firm Samsung C&T, and insurer Samsung Life Insurance. According to the nation’s sole securities exchange operator Korea Exchange, the value of Lee&rsquo

Dec. 22, 2020

G+FLAS Life Sciences selected as a preliminary unicorn company

Biotech company G+FLAS Life Sciences, Inc. has been selected as a preliminary unicorn company eligible for special guarantee support by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The special guarantee for preliminary unicorns can be applied for by companies with proven innovation, growth potential, and market evaluation, or companies with a corporate value of 100 billion won or more and with high grades in technology evaluation. G+FLAS was one of the 15 finalists selected through a national recommenda

Dec. 22, 2020

Daesung chief wins top honor in yearly energy award

Kim Young-hoon, chairman of South Korean energy conglomerate Daesung Group, has received top-grade recognition for his contribution to the country’s energy efficiency, the company said Tuesday in a release. The businessman was awarded the Distinguished Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service at the 2020 Korea Energy Awards, held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel. The newly added Silver Tower is the highest acclaim for the Korean energy sector, outrunning the Bronze Tower,

Dec. 22, 2020

Business groups protest against industrial accident bill

South Korea’s business circles protested Tuesday against the ongoing legislative move to enhance their safety management responsibilities and to hand down sanctions, including the possible imprisonment of a top official. “We fully agree to the legislative intent to better protect workers’ safety and to prevent industrial accidents,” said the country’s key business groups in a joint rally held at the Korea Federation of SMEs headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul.

Dec. 22, 2020

Government to supply 460,000 housing units in 2021

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday that the government will provide 460,000 housing units next year, while strengthening monitoring on manipulation attempts in the real estate market. “If the plan is implemented without any hitches, we expect it will help stabilize the market as (we are set to) supply more new homes than the average amount,” Hong said during a meeting on the real estate market with the chiefs of related ministries at the Seoul Government Complex. Over

Dec. 22, 2020

Will COVID-19 treatment be Celltrion founder’s retirement legacy?

Late on the front of coronavirus vaccine development and procurement, South Korea is pinning hopes on one particular company to provide the much-needed relief in this dark, pandemic winter -- Celltrion. The company is expected to announce in coming days results of its global clinical phase 2 trial of an anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment candidate, CT-P59. Celltrion’s media-friendly founder and chairman Seo Jung-jin has said plenty of times that its drug, if approved, would &l

Dec. 22, 2020

SK Materials invests $17m in US startup for battery-enhancing tech

SK Materials said Tuesday it has invested $17 million in a US-based startup developing advanced materials that can enhance the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 50 percent. According to the South Korean manufacturer of special gases and IT materials, the investments, which were made together with US-based venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners, will allow Group14 Technologies to ramp up its pilot production facility and help with the startup’s groundbreaking of a large-scale

Dec. 22, 2020

Samsung, SKT and Kakao join hands for pandemic-forecasting AI

Samsung Electronics will join forces with South Korea‘s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and the country’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao to develop an artificial intelligence platform that alerts users of coronavirus risks in advance. According to the companies Tuesday, a joint research and development group has been formed with an aim to introduce the platform by early next year. The current emergency text alert system, run by the government, offers information of confirm

Dec. 22, 2020