AfreecaTV will aim to expand communication with global users through esports content, the Korean video streaming service said Wednesday. According to the company, AfreecaTV currently operates a total of six firms in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the US, Thailand and Hong Kong to provide various streaming content in different languages so that overseas users can watch it without any communication barriers. The Korean video streaming service has held a number of esports competitions abroad, with

esports Jan. 12, 2022

ABL Bio has signed a contract worth up to $1.06 billion (1.27 trillion won) with French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi to co-develop ABL301, an antibody treatment candidate for degenerative brain diseases including Parkinson’s disease, the Korean biotech company said Wednesday. ABL Bio will receive $75 million in down payments, according to the deal. The Korean biotech company will also be able to rake in up to $985 million depending on the success of clinical trials, regulatory approval and

Technology Jan. 12, 2022

Naver D2 Startup Factory has made a follow-on investment in local e-commerce data startup Datarize, the IT giant said Wednesday. Stonebridge Ventures led the series A funding of Datarize with co-investments from Weventures, Korea Development Bank and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. The total funding amounted to 11.5 billion won ($9.6 million). Naver D2 Startup Factory had previously taken part in the seed investment of Datarize in 2020. Datarize developed an all-in-one growth solution for onl

Industry Jan. 12, 2022

Hanmi Pharmaceutical will begin producing ZyCoV-D, the plasmid DNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by India’s pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila, starting in the second quarter of this year, the company said Tuesday. Hanmi Pharmaceutical on Friday signed a contract with local biotech company Enzychem Lifesciences for a consignment manufacturing agreement of the Indian vaccine. Previously, Enzychem Lifesciences signed a license-out deal with Zydus Cailda at the end of last year. The two Korean

Industry Jan. 11, 2022

SK Pharmteco, SK Inc.’s subsidiary of contract development and manufacturing organization, is planning for a pre-initial public offering this year, the group’s holding company SK Inc. said Tuesday.  "SK Pharmteco will hold an advantage in the global industry with its high-quality manufacturing capacity within the leading countries," said Lee Dong-hoon, SK Inc.'s executive vice president and head of the Bio Investment Center. "SK Inc. will be supporting th

Industry Jan. 11, 2022

Amid mounting criticism over Kakao executives forging a block deal to sell massive stakes they received as stock options, the IT giant’s next CEO stepped down voluntarily on Monday, leaving the company‘s management ethics in question. Ryu Young-joon, the appointee for Kakao’s next CEO, expressed his will to resign amid escalating criticism over the mass sale of his Kakao Pay shares, the IT giant said Monday. Kakao Pay is a payment platform which made a market debut in November

Industry Jan. 10, 2022

SK Inc. has invested $350 million (421.4 billion won) in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a Philadelphia-based cell and gene therapy firm, to become the second largest shareholder, SK Group’s holding company said Sunday. With the investment, SK Inc. has secured a strong foothold in the US cell and gene therapies market. The transaction came nine months after the holding company acquired Yposkesi, a French developer and manufacturer of cell and gene therapy products, in March. As a

Industry Jan. 9, 2022

Korean gaming giant Nexon said Thursday it has decided to invest $400 million into US production company Agbo, co-founded by Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Marvel’s global megahits. Through the latest investment, the Tokyo-listed Nexon plans to accelerate the global expansion of its existing and new intellectual property in the film and TV sectors, while Agbo looks to further boost its influence in the global entertainment market by strengthening its production power. Valued at

Industry Jan. 6, 2022

CJ Bioscience, a biotechnology subsidiary of CJ CheilJedang, has been officially launched with its eyes set on becoming a global leader in the microbiome sector, the Korean food giant said Wednesday. The establishment of the biotechnology firm is part of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun’s earlier pledge to strengthen the group’s wellness business, one of the four growth engines he had vowed to cultivate for the future. CJ Bioscience on Tuesday held an inauguration ceremony with key

Industry Jan. 5, 2022

South Korea’s key manufacturers, retailers and service providers on Monday vowed to prepare for a full business recovery from the prolonged pandemic crisis by initiating both technological and organizational innovation to tap into markets that had already gone through tremendous changes for last two years. “The paradigm shift that was brought by the COVID-19 crisis and challenges to overcome it lie ahead of us,” Cho Won-tae, the chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air CEO, sa

Industry Jan. 3, 2022

For Kwon Ju-hyeon, a 30-year-old freelancer living in Gyeonggi Province, the robot vacuum cleaner has become something he cannot live without after a month of using it. Kwon’s robot vacuum cleaner, approximately the size and shape of a pizza, sweeps the floor with just the push of a button on the remote control. Using sensors and drive routines, the autonomous device makes its way around the chairs, tables, couch and drawers inside the house to pick up dust and small particles on the flo

Technology Jan. 2, 2022

The loosening of a fixture that holds a helium tank of the Nuri rocket blocked the country’s first homegrown rocket from a successful launch, officials said Wednesday. After two months of data analysis, government officials and experts concluded that the degree of buoyancy increase during flight was not sufficiently considered when designing the fixture for Nuri’s helium tank. According to the Science Ministry and Korea Aerospace Research Institute, an unusual vibration from Nuri

Technology Dec. 29, 2021

GC Pharma has recently launched a new high-content multivitamin called B-max Meta B. B-max Meta B contains 30 milligrams of bisbentiamine that passes through the blood brain barrier to help the human brain’s metabolism, the company said. The product also has high amounts of vitamin B12, vitamin D, magnesium and zinc to aid people in controlling their health, it added. The new supplementary multivitamin is the latest addition to CG Pharma’s B-max series, which began rolling out in

Industry Dec. 28, 2021

The landscape of South Korea’s game industry has been shaken up in the past year, as newcomers took the market by storm while traditional powerhouses slipped. Krafton, developer of online multiplayer shooter PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds, and Kakao Games, maker of massively multiplayer online role-playing game Odin: Valhalla Rising, saw their sales soar on-year, as the two games gained popularity around the world. Meanwhile, the country’s big three game makers -- Nexon, NCSoft and N

Industry Dec. 26, 2021

The commercial district surrounding Apgujeong Station -- one of South Korea’s richest neighborhoods -- recorded a daily sales average of 13.6 billion won ($11.4 million), the highest in the country, SK Telecom said Thursday. Using its big data analysis platform Geovision, SK Telecom listed the top 100 commercial districts nationwide. Each area’s sales figures were estimated based on credit card transactions, floating population and level of business concentration. The daily float

Industry Dec. 23, 2021