Academics and leaders in the industrial and public sectors around the world underscored Tuesday the significance of research and development in securing sustainable, mutual growth.Around 500 officials and experts in science and technology from more than 10 countries took part in the Global R&D Forum 2011 hosted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in Seoul.  International scholars and experts atte

Industry June 7, 2011

Hyundai Heavy Industries set sights Thursday on the top three spots in the booming global robot market with its new plant ready to enter full-swing production.The world’s top shipbuilder said it has remodeled and expanded existing production lines three times at its headquarter in Ulsan, a major industrial port city on the southeast coast of Korea, which began in September to meet surging demand f

Industry June 2, 2011

Philip Morris International Inc., the multinational tobacco group, said Wednesday it has appointed Chong Il-woo as managing director for the Korean unit.Chong, 49, will oversee management and orchestrate the unit’s strategy and business, the company said. Chong Il-wooPrior to the new post, Chong headed the Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indochina operation for the U.S.-based conglomerate. He st

Industry June 2, 2011

Park Se-pill (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The fabricated cloning research by Hwang Woo-suk in 2006 remains a painful memory for Koreans, who had taken pride of their nation’s edge in a field that promised to transform medicine. No one agonized more over the fraud case than Park Se-pill, Korea’s top stem-cell researcher. Research in the area was brought to a virtual standstill as the government

Industry June 1, 2011

Korea is poised to stimulate the market for solid gold rings as the popularity of the traditional first-birthday gift has slackened in the face of skyrocketing commodities prices, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Tuesday. Gold prices per “don,” a Korean measure equivalent to 3.75 grams, have surged more than four-fold in six years to roughly 230,000 won ($213), the ministry said in a stateme

May 31, 2011

Merck Korea, the local unit of German-based Merck KGaA, is looking to broaden ties with Korean companies to spearhead new technologies for future growth, its president Juergen Koenig said Tuesday. The world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical group has been expanding its sphere into new fields such as electronics, biotechnology and renewable energy in recent years. As part of its growth strategy,

Industry May 31, 2011

NHN Corp., Korea’s portal giant operating Naver and Hangame, proved itself a formidable advertising platform as its stake in the lucrative market reached 14 percent last year, a report showed Monday.According to the report by Digieco, a think tank affiliated with KT Corp., NHN’s ads sales topped 1.1 trillion won ($1.02 billion) last year, outstripping traditional leaders like newspapers and broadc

Industry May 30, 2011

S-Oil Corp., the country’s third-largest oil refinery, said Sunday its expanded plant for paraxylene and benzene is now in full operation, taking a step forward in cultivating the petrochemical business as a future growth engine. Paraxylene and benzene are aromatic hydrocarbons generated by catalytically reforming naphtha, a petrol derivative. The two substances are key for production of polyester

Industry May 29, 2011