It seemed South Korea’s overwhelming dominance in StarCraft would last forever, until American Protoss player Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft came out of nowhere and became the champion of the KeSPA Cup in 2016, becoming the first non-Korean in 16 years to win a premier StarCraft tournament on Korean soil. Cho “Trap” Sung-ho, who fell to Neeb in the KeSPA final, became the first Korean pro gamer to concede a trophy to a foreigner on home turf in the history of the StarCr

More Sports Feb. 9, 2021

Major South Korean firms are willingly accepting “green premium,” a price tag for tackling green issues, to accentuate their sustainability efforts. According to SK Innovation Tuesday, its subsidiary SK IE Technology will run its domestic operations 100 percent with renewable energy. SKIET, which manufactures separators for electric vehicle batteries, purchased 180 gigawatt-hours of electricity generated by renewables through the Korea Electric Power Corp.’s Green Premium p

Industry Feb. 9, 2021

South Korea‘s biggest live streaming platform AfreecaTV saw its revenue and operating profit hit new highs in 2020, the company said Monday. According to a regulatory filing, the company’s revenue and operating profit soared 17.1 percent and 37.3 percent on-year to 196.6 billion won ($175.7 million) and 50.4 billion won, respectively. Its net profit rose to 36.4 billion won, a 6.5 percent increase on-year. AfreecaTV also enjoyed record quarterly results in the fourth quarter. I

Industry Feb. 8, 2021

Kakao Games, the gaming unit of South Korea’s leading messenger app operator Kakao, registered 495.5 billion won ($442.9 million) in revenue last year, the best figure since the company started business. According to a regulatory filing Monday, the company’s revenue and operating profit in 2020 spiked 27 percent and 90 percent on-year to 495.5 billion won and 66.6 billion won, respectively. Its net profit skyrocketed 659 percent to 67.3 billion won. “Kakao Games enjoyed r

Industry Feb. 8, 2021

Hyosung TNC, the fiber production unit of Hyosung Group, said Monday that it has launched a clothing brand to showcase garments made of recycled plastic and organic cotton. The first product from the new brand, G3H10, is a hoodie that will come in three colors -- charcoal, ivory and olive. The hoodies will be a blend of Regen, Hyosung TNC’s eco-friendly fiber made of recycled plastic, and organic cotton grown without the use of synthetic pesticides. “As a business-to-business co

Industry Feb. 8, 2021

To usher in the hydrogen economy, South Korea passed the world’s first hydrogen law. It centers on the development of an ecosystem for a hydrogen economy and expanded public access to the alternative fuel. The Economic Promotion and Safety Control of Hydrogen Act, which came into effect Friday, mainly deals with three key areas -- hydrogen vehicles, charging stations and fuel cells. First, the hydrogen law is intended to bring transparency to the nation’s hydrogen pricing system

Industry Feb. 8, 2021

SK Innovation said Sunday it is considering initiating international arbitration proceedings against the Peruvian government for blocking the company’s exit from Camisea Gas Project in Peru. The South Korean battery-to-petrochemical giant inked a deal with Pluspetrol in September 2019 to sell its 17.6 percent stake in two Camisea gas fields in the Cusco region of Peru to the Argentine firm for $1.05 billion. However, the Peruvian government still hasn’t endorsed the transaction, th

Industry Feb. 7, 2021

LG Chem is the only firm among the world’s top seven chemical companies that saw its brand value grow amid the pandemic. According to the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2021 report, the South Korean chemical giant’s brand value stands at $3.62 billion this year, a 2.9 percent growth on-year, maintaining the fourth position. Compared to $2.42 billion in 2018, LG Chem’s value has grown more than 50 percent just in three years. Meanwhile, the other six companies in the top seven

Industry Feb. 7, 2021

South Korean companies have become familiar with using mobile devices in their businesses, but only a handful of them are utilizing new information and communication technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing. According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices i

Industry Feb. 7, 2021

As part of President Moon Jae-in’s Green New Deal initiative, South Korea is rolling out solar farms more than ever before. Last year, the country installed 53,454 new solar farms worth 4.1 gigawatts, a record annual increase, according to the Korea Energy Agency. The record is set to be broken, as another 4.4 GW are planned this year. Despite the country’s bold ambitions, experts say Korea lacks grid infrastructure, clear rules and proper incentives to support the staggering q

Industry Feb. 4, 2021

SK Materials and Hyosung Chemical’s NF3 gas is enjoying an unprecedented boost in sales as demand for semiconductors and displays have spiked amid the pandemic. NF3, short for nitrogen trifluoride, is a special type of gas used during the manufacturing process of semiconductor, display and solar panels. The gas removes residue left on inner walls of the manufacturing chamber. “Thanks to the recovery of global chip and display industries, NF3 is currently selling like hotcakes,&rd

Industry Feb. 4, 2021

Coupang said Wednesday it has launched an exclusive pre-order promotion event for its customers ahead of the launch of Xiaomi’s smart watches “Mi Watch” and “Mi Watch Lite” in South Korea. According to the e-commerce giant, the promotion is intended for consumers interested in health and exercise, as the hashtag #WOD, short for “workout of the day,” has been trending lately amid the pandemic. The event will give Coupang customers the chance to get

Industry Feb. 3, 2021

From Apple to General Motors, global tech giants and automakers are in a tight race to develop or utilize electric vehicles to catch up with market champion Tesla. Against this backdrop, the size of the global EV battery market is set to reach 182 trillion won ($167.5 billion) in 2025 from last year’s 38.8 trillion won. For Samsung SDI, the battery manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Group, its EV battery business road map is anticipated to take flight in the upcoming years, save for a

Industry Feb. 3, 2021

LG Chem said Wednesday it will inject 30 billion won ($26.9 million) to add another customer technical support and development center in China. South Korea’s leading chemical firm signed an agreement with the city of Wuxi, China to build a local tech support center. LG Chem will invest about 30 billion won while Wuxi will provide the land and the infrastructure for the center, which will break ground in the first half of this year and begin operations in May next year. “The tech

Industry Feb. 3, 2021

S-Oil said Wednesday that it has achieved 6 million man-hours without an accident, maintaining a safe operational environment for 471 days from Oct. 22, 2019. “Our Ulsan plant has safely conducted three major maintenance operations during that period despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the third time S-Oil has accomplished 6 million man-hours without a disaster since the company started business,” the company said in a release. To ensure the safety of empl

Industry Feb. 3, 2021