South Korea now should focus on fostering defense academia and young talents to become a leader in the global defense industry, says Kang Eun-ho, former chief of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. “In the past, Korea followed a catch-up strategy (in advancing its defense industry), which was a second-place strategy,” said Kang in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Feb. 5. “For the catch-up strategy, we had to succeed in over 90 or 95 tasks out of 100. I

Industry Feb. 18, 2024

S-Oil has called for continued incentives from the South Korean government to vitalize large-scale projects and investments in the new energy sector. “Expanding incentive supports such as extending the tax credit period for investment in large scale projects that take place over a long period of time is necessary,” said S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi in a meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol and foreign-invested company representatives and heads of Seoul-based commerce chambers in Seou

Industry Feb. 15, 2024

HD Hyundai will develop a commercial large liquefied hydrogen carrier by 2030 in accordance with the hydrogen value chain cooperation with global leaders in the sector, the South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate said Wednesday. According to the announcement, HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding holdings company, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, or HD KSOE, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Woodside Energy, a major Australian energy company, and Hyundai Glovis, a Korea

Industry Feb. 14, 2024

LG Energy Solution on Wednesday announced that it had signed a supply deal with Australian lithium producer Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers, bolstering the supply chain of key materials for producing electric vehicle batteries within the boundaries of the United States' free trade agreement to cope with Washington’s incentive policy under the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the announcement, the Korean battery maker will receive 85,000 tons of spodumene concentrate, a h

Industry Feb. 14, 2024

NCSoft announced an annual revenue of 1.78 trillion won ($1.34 billion) and operating profit of 137.3 billion last week, down 31 percent and 75 percent on year, respectively. Following the earnings announcement, the South Korean game developer held a conference call Thursday to explain last year's financial results. During the call, an analyst castigated the company for a recent change to its reporting practices: “You say that the company is putting efforts together, but it seems that (

Industry Feb. 13, 2024

The US auto safety authorities have closed a probe into engine fire risks on Hyundai Motor and Kia vehicles as the South Korean automakers’ recalls have lowered fire rates, according to Reuters Thursday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the majority of the recalled Hyundai and Kia cars reported lower fire accidents after they underwent the necessary fixes whereas those that had not been repaired showed relatively high fire rates. The US safety authorities first began

Mobility Feb. 8, 2024

General Motors CEO Mary Barra visited South Korea to meet the automaker’s Korean battery manufacturers -- LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI -- to strengthen their partnerships further and discuss the global electric vehicle transition amid slowing EV growth. According to industry sources, the GM chair on Wednesday met with LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung and Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho in Seoul. Barra was spotted at Gimpo International Airport on Tuesday evening. The visit marked

Mobility Feb. 7, 2024

Samsung Heavy Industries scored a 4.57 trillion won ($3.43 billion) order with a Middle Eastern shipowner -- the single largest contract in its history -- to build 15 liquefied natural gas carriers, the South Korean shipbuilder said Tuesday. The 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers will be delivered to the shipowner in phases through October 2028. The previous record for the single biggest contract was the 3.96 trillion won deal signed with Taiwan-based shipping company Evergreen Marine for 16 metha

Industry Feb. 6, 2024

Jesse Lingard, former Manchester United midfielder and England men’s national football team member, arrived at Incheon International Airport on Monday afternoon as he is expected to finalize a deal with FC Seoul of the K League 1, South Korea’s highest professional football league, later this week. If the deal with FC Seoul goes through, the former English Premier Leaguer will become the biggest international football star with the highest name value that the Korean league has ever s

Soccer Feb. 5, 2024

Hyundai Motor India, South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group’s local subsidiary, is planning to float its shares in an initial public offering on the Indian stock market before the end of this year, according to reports Monday. Citing unnamed sources, The Economic Times reported that a group of global investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bank of America, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and UBS came to Seoul last week to present their IPO proposals to Hyundai

Mobility Feb. 5, 2024

LS Electric said Monday that its electric vehicle parts subsidiary LS e-Mobility Solutions has recently completed the construction of an EV parts manufacturing plant in Durango, Mexico to target the North American electric vehicle market. The Durango plant, which covers an area of 35,000 square meters, is capable of producing 5 million EV relays and 4 million battery disconnect units per year. As a typical EV can have 20 relays or more, the plant has the capacity to deliver EV relays for up to 2

Mobility Feb. 5, 2024

South Korean automakers and battery firms are closely monitoring this year's US presidential election and calmly bracing for negative impacts in the case of the Joe Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act possibly being repealed in a second Donald Trump term. The IRA, which is intended to boost American manufacturing and keep China in check, offers incentives to buyers of electric vehicles with certain battery parts and materials secured from US soil or via international partne

Mobility Feb. 4, 2024

EcoPro, a South Korean battery materials manufacturer, has joined hands with US battery recycling firm Cirba Solutions to ramp up its lithium-ion battery recycling business in North America. According to EcoPro on Thursday, the two sides recently signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate to deal with Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act and expand the global supply chain of electric vehicle batteries. In the EV battery sector, the IRA incentivizes domestic manufacturing and require

Industry Feb. 1, 2024

Almonty Industries, a multinational mining company headquartered in Toronto, expects to reopen the Sangdong Mine in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, and begin operations before the end of the year to offer an alternative source for tungsten, a critical material, according to the firm’s CEO Lewis Black. "I think now we’ve finally got a clear path to reopen the world’s largest tungsten mine,” Black said in an interview with The Korea Herald at the office of Almonty Korea Tu

Industry Jan. 31, 2024

Stellantis Korea has named Bang Sil as its new head, the global automaker’s Korean office announced Tuesday. Bang will become the first Korean and female managing director of Stellantis Korea once the appointment takes effect Thursday. The Amsterdam-headquartered automaker established its Korean office in 2021. The new chief has over 20 years of experience in the auto industry, covering areas such as public relations, marketing, sales and networking. She previously served as an executive a

Mobility Jan. 30, 2024