The Korea Forest Service said Thursday that South Korea has witnessed the world‘s greatest growth rate in the volume of trees over the past 25 years, according to a report announced at a session held on Monday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Forestry. UN FAO COFO’s biennial session is one of the world’s biggest forestry events that brings together heads of forest services and other senior government officials to share the results of

Industry Oct. 15, 2020

LG Chem said Wednesday it will offer cash dividends of at least 10,000 won ($8.70) per common share over the next three years as part of an effort to promote shareholder value. The South Korean battery giant last month decided to split off its promising battery business division as a wholly-owned subsidiary LG Energy Solution. The decision triggered fierce resistance from retail investors, many of whom invested in LG Chem for its battery business. “To apply the same dividend criteria af

Industry Oct. 14, 2020

Though founded in 1967, Hyundai Motor’s origins date back to 1940s, when entrepreneur named Chung Ju-yung established Hyundai Auto Service in Seoul after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1946. Along with the Hyundai Auto Service, Chung established Hyundai Engineering and Construction in 1947 to help South Korea rebuild and industrialize after the liberation. However, the Korean War broke out in 1950, forcing Chung to abandon his businesses in Seoul and evacuate to B

Industry Oct. 14, 2020

SK Innovation’s battery project in the US has garnered support from a state official who called the project an “economic game-changer.” In a recent column posted on Main Street News by Pat Wilson, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the official endorsed SK Innovation’s construction of two battery plants, worth $2.6 billion, to be completed in Jackson County, Georgia, by 2023, citing the economic opportunities they have already generated and

Industry Oct. 13, 2020

GS Caltex said Tuesday it has combined drones and self-driving robots to establish contact-free logistics platforms for islands and mountainous areas. According to the South Korean refiner, it held a drone delivery test event at its gas station in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, to test the economic feasibility of the automated delivery service. During the test, a customer living in a nearby island placed an order through a mobile app of GS25, a convenience store chain owned by GS Retail. The

Industry Oct. 13, 2020

LG Chem on Monday announced an earnings surprise for the third quarter of this year, posting the greatest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history, as it prepares to break off its globally-leading battery unit later in the year. The South Korean battery giant said in its preliminary earnings report that it would register 7.5 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in revenue and 902.1 billion won in operating profit in the July-September period. If confirmed, the LG Chem will see an 8.8 perc

Industry Oct. 12, 2020

South Korean mobile game developer Com2us said Monday it had acquired a 100 percent stake in German sports game company Out of the Park Developments, the company’s first foreign takeover. Com2us, which already offers sports games officially licensed by Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and Korea Baseball Organization, will expand its footprint into sports management games by utilizing OOTP’s expertise in the genre. Established in 1999, OOTP is best known

Industry Oct. 12, 2020

SK Innovation said Sunday it has successfully extracted solvent and lube base oil from plastic waste to boost environmental, social and corporate governance under SK Group’s Green Balance initiative. According to South Korea’s refining-to-battery firm, researchers of SK Innovation Institute of Technology Innovation heated pieces of plastic waste and obtained high-purity pyrolysis oil by removing impurities in it significantly. With the pyrolysis oil, the researches manufactured s

Industry Oct. 11, 2020

LG Electronics released a teaser Sunday for the “LG Signature OLED R,” the world’s first rollable TV, which will go on sale at the end of this month. The home appliance giant uploaded a 17-second YouTube video that shows the LG Signature OLED R’s rollabe display slowly coming up from the inside of the TV’s base. As of 11:00 a.m. Sunday, the video has garnered more than 140,000 views. The price of the Signature OLED R is reportedly set at over 100 million won

Industry Oct. 11, 2020

The first two units of Hanwha Defense’s K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers have arrived in Estonia, according to a recent release from the country’s armed forces. The first batch arrived in Estonia in late August and the remaining 16 units purchased by the country will be delivered over the course of three years. After modification and refinement, the K9 howitzers will be deployed to the artillery battalion of the 1st Infantry Brigade to replace 155-millimeter artillery. The

Industry Oct. 11, 2020

The bidding for the world’s biggest floating solar farm project is set to begin in South Korea, drawing interest from major domestic solar power companies, according to industry sources. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power currently aims to build a 2.1-gigawatt floating solar power plant worth 4.6 trillion won ($3.97 billion) that would spread over more than 30 square kilometers near the Saemangeum reclamation area in North Jeolla Province. When completed, the plant will be able to supply e

Industry Oct. 7, 2020

GS Caltex said Wednesday it signed an investment agreement with a Vietnamese car wash startup to expand its auto repair and lubricants businesses in the Southeast Asian country. According to the South Korean refiner, it will invest 39 billion dong ($1.6 million) to acquire a 16.7 percent stake in VI Automotive Service, a parent company of VietWash. VietWash is a Ho Chi Minh City-based car wash startup that operates some 50 car wash centers in Vietnam. It also runs car wash centers at some 2

Industry Oct. 7, 2020

The US Air Force has postponed its plan to rent four to eight T-50A advanced trainer jets manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the US, according to industry sources on Tuesday. The Air Force is currently reviewing a plan to rent T-50A jets until its new T-7A Red Hawks arrive from Boeing. The Air Force aims to rent the jets from Hillwood Aviation after the US-based contractor purchases the aircraft from KAI. Though the Air Force was set to offi

Industry Oct. 6, 2020

To make a foray into the fast-growing South Korean console market, currently dominated by Japanese products -- Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch -- Microsoft has partnered with local telecommunications operator SK Telecom to promote its Xbox consoles. Last month, Microsoft and SKT together launched Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in Korea, a video game subscription service modeled after Netflix. By using SKT’s 5G networks, the subscription service supports cloud gaming, allow

Industry Oct. 6, 2020

Korea Power Corp. on Monday held a board meeting and decided to proceed with the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant project in Vietnam, according to the company.　 The South Korean state-run utility will build two 600-megawatt coal power plants in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam. The total cost is $2.2 billion and Kepco will invest 220 billion won ($189 million) to acquire a 40 percent stake in the project from China Light & Power. Samsung C&T and Doosan Heavy Industries will be in charge of engin

Industry Oct. 5, 2020