LG Electronics said Monday it has inked a license agreement with European electronics company Electrolux to provide its patented icing technology for French door refrigerators. French door refrigerators feature a twin-door design up top and a full-width freezer drawer at the bottom. With LG Electronics’ patented icing technology, Electrolux refrigerators will be able to make ice inside the upper fridge as well as inside the bottom freezer so that users won’t have to bend over whe

Industry Oct. 26, 2020

Hyundai Steel said Monday its steel plates have been given an Environmental Product Declaration certification from Sweden, which would help the company respond effectively to the rigorous environmental regulations of Europe and facilitate exports to the continent. An EPD is an independently verified and registered document that gives transparent and comparable information about what a product is made of and how it impacts the environment across its entire life cycle. Hyundai Steel received

Industry Oct. 26, 2020

Today’s Samsung Electronics stands as one of the world’s leading conglomerates, but at the time Lee Kun-hee took the helm of Samsung Group in 1987, the company was in need of radical change. Though Lee was born in Daegu in 1942 as the third son of Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group, it was perhaps his bold instincts for change and survival that made his father change his mind and bequeath the throne to Lee, bypassing his two older brothers. During his childhood, Lee was se

Industry Oct. 25, 2020

LG Chem enjoyed the greatest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history in the July-September period ahead of its controversial battery business split-off, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The South Korean refinery-to-battery firm recorded 7.5 trillion won in revenue ($6.6 billion) in the third quarter, a 8.8 percent increase on-year, while its operating profit jumped 158 percent to 902.1 billion won in the same period. The revenue and operating profit figures would be

Industry Oct. 21, 2020

South Korea’s biggest battery expo, “Inter Battery,” opened Wednesday, the first and the largest expo to be held in Coex, Seoul, since Oct. 12, when the social distancing measures were lowered to Level 1. At the expo, which will be held until Friday, 198 companies are participating, including LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation, to tout their battery technologies. To enter the expo, visitors had to scan their QR codes and wear masks and disposable gloves. As Korea’s

Industry Oct. 21, 2020

Major South Korean firms including LG Chem, Hyundai Glovis and Hyundai Motor have come up with new business models to reuse dead electric vehicle batteries to address approximately 80,000 used-up EV batteries that will materialize by 2029. The plan follows the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s fourth committee meeting on Monday to review regulatory exemptions for new business models, giving the green light to three projects that reuse EV batteries. When an EV batteries’ pe

Industry Oct. 20, 2020

NCSoft is gearing up to enter the fast-growing global console gaming market with its first console title “Fuser,” a DJ rhythm game set for release on Nov. 10. According to the South Korean game company Tuesday, its North American subsidiary NC West will release Fuser for both on PC and three major console platforms -- PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch -- in North America and Europe. NCSoft says its playlist will distinguish Fuser from other rhythm games. While previo

Industry Oct. 20, 2020

Hanwha Q Cells said Tuesday that it has joined hands with Korea Western Power to launch solar power projects in Spain with a total capacity of 150 megawatts. According to South Korea’s leading solar cell and module maker, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kowepo at Plaza Seoul Hotel on Monday agreeing to cooperate on the projects. In September last year, Hanwha Q Cells purchased the business rights from Spanish firm Hive to its 200-megawatt solar power projects. Under the a

Industry Oct. 20, 2020

LG Chem said Monday that it has developed a new material made of 100 percent biodegradable raw materials, the first in the world that is identical to synthetic plastic in its properties and functions. According to the South Korean chemical-to-battery firm, the new material -- made of glucose from corn and waste glycerol generated from biodiesel production -- offers the same properties and transparency as synthetic resins such as polypropylene, one of the most widely produced commodity plastics

Industry Oct. 19, 2020

When solar panels are used for around 25 years, they are defined in Korea as being “dead.” They are typically composed of 76 percent glass, 10 percent polymer, 8 percent aluminum, 5 percent silicon and 1 percent other metals including copper and silver. Once “dead,” they are recycled or sent to other countries for use there. For countries like Germany that have advanced renewable energy ecosystems in place, 70 percent of dead solar panels are reused. In step with t

Industry Oct. 18, 2020

International Shareholder Services, one of the world’s two largest proxy advisory firms, has advised shareholders to vote for LG Chem’s decision to split off of its battery business division as a wholly-owned subsidiary. According to industry sources Sunday, ISS said in a recent report that LG Chem’s split-off is reasonable considering that the company will be able to secure funding to finance the investment required for the expansion of its fast-growing battery business.

Industry Oct. 18, 2020

Korea Gas Corp. said Sunday it would impose a new format for supplying liquefied natural gas starting 2022 to address cherry-picking by electricity suppliers which it says ultimately leads to higher electricity bills. The state-run gas company has long provided supplied LNG to local power utilities at same prices based on the average import costs, dubbed as an “average tariffs” formula. Last year, Kogas imported LNG from about 15 countries including Qatar, Australia and the US an

Industry Oct. 18, 2020

S-Oil, one of the four major oil refineries in South Korea, donated 50 million won ($43,600) to the Mapo Scholarship Foundation at a ceremony held at the Mapo-gu office in western Seoul on Thursday, according to the company. Since 2017, S-Oil has provided scholarships to underprivileged students living in Mapo-gu through the Mapo Scholarship Foundation as part of its corporate social responsibility program dubbed “Sunshine Sharing Campaign.” “During this difficult time of

Industry Oct. 15, 2020

GS Caltex said Thursday it has become the first refinery in South Korea to launch lubricants dedicated for hybrid vehicles called “Kixx Hybrid.” According to GS Caltex, it mixed special additives with high-quality lube-base oil to manufacture Kixx Hybrid to offer improved fuel efficiency and better protection for engine parts. Also, the new product qualifies for the American Petroleum Institute’s new “SP” engine oil standards. “The recent sales of eco-frie

Industry Oct. 15, 2020

Nexon said Thursday it has donated profits from its game The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon to the National Trust for Cultural Heritage to help the organization preserve and retrieve Korea’s national treasures that had been lost overseas. From July 29 to Aug. 7, through e-commerce platform Auction, Nexon sold 150 units of a limited edition item priced at 30,000 won ($26) and 42,316 units of unlimited edition item priced at 100 won to users of the game. On top of 4.5 million won from the sale

Industry Oct. 15, 2020