Following a gas leak at LG Polymers plant in southern India that has left at least nine dead and more than 300 of local residents hospitalized, LG Chem said Thursday that it will take all necessary measures to investigate the cause and prevent further damage to residents and workers. The accident occurred on Thursday at LG Polymers plant in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh state, according to news reports citing local police. “The gas leak at the factory has been contained a

Industry May 7, 2020

South Korea’s leading refiner and chemical company SK Innovation on Wednesday said it has swung to red with an operating loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the first quarter -- its worst performance amid the sharp slump in global demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company recorded revenue of 11.1 trillion won, a 12.6 percent drop on-year. Its operating loss was triggered by its ailing petrochemicals business, which lost 1.6 trillion won in the first quarter. “Due t

Industry May 6, 2020

Korean game company Nexon has changed the paradigm of shooting game by adopting a subscription model for its shooting game Sudden Attack. According to Nexon on Sunday, its first-person shooter game is offering a subscription service called “Sudden Pass,” in which subscribers can receive exclusive characters and items as they level up. Currently, users can buy the subscriptions for 12,800 won ($10.4) and participate in the second season of Sudden Pass, which is from April 9 to Jul

Industry May 5, 2020

Food products were the most sought items and health supplements saw the biggest increase in demand by South Koreans, while achromatic colors continue to be the favorite hues, big data released by a logistics firm showed Tuesday. The findings were revealed by logistics firm CJ Logistics in its latest consumer trend report. After analyzing big data on 1.3 billion deliveries made in 2019, CJ Logistics -- which commands 47.2 percent market share -- gave details of consumers’ taste in five

Industry May 5, 2020

South Korea is pushing to expand its electric vehicles market, vowing to use massive subsidies to get 350,000 of them on the road by 2022, but is it feasible? The plan comes without specific guidelines on how to collect and retrieve the vehicles’ key components -- EV batteries -- when they are dead. As per regulations, since December 2018, when drivers of subsidized EVs scrap their cars, they must return dead batteries to municipalities they received subsidies from, according to the Mi

Industry May 5, 2020

Korea Petroleum Association Chairman Kim Hyo-seok died at the age of 70 on Saturday from chronic illness. He was born July 15, 1949 in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province. The location of the funeral is Seoul St. Mary’s Funeral Hall. The burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Yongin Rodem Park in Gyeonggi Province. The three-term lawmaker was appointed as the chairman of KPA in November 2017. After earning bachelor’s degree in business administration in Seoul National Uni

Industry May 3, 2020

The Korea International Trade Association on Sunday released a report defining the new consumption trend amid the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging local companies to prepare accordingly. Defining the new trend as “five Fs,” KITA said the market trend would revolve around fun, fitness, family, economic freedom and faith. The report pointed to the physical and psychological weariness caused by the pandemic. “Amid the virus outbreak, fake news reports increased rapidly, whi

Industry May 3, 2020

The Fair Trade Commission Sunday added five more business groups to its list of corporations with total assets of 5 trillion won ($4.1 billion) or more to its watch list, but said the firms’ net profits had almost halved since last year. According to FTC Sunday, the business groups suffered a 48.1 percent on-year plunge in net income in 2019, from 92.5 trillion won to 48 trillion won, citing sluggish sales in semiconductors and petroleum products The groups’ total revenue dipped

Industry May 3, 2020

Nexon Korea is upping its game by bringing actors and actresses who starred in “Itaewon Class” -- a webcomic-turned-TV drama -- into first-person shooter game Sudden Attack. Nexon Korea said Wednesday it has introduced game characters modeled on Park Seo-joon, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Dong-hee, Kim Da-mi and Kwon Nara, who play Park Sae-ro-yi, Jang Dae-hee, Jang Geun-soo, Jo Yi-seo and Oh Soo-ah in “Itaewon Class,” respectively. The final episode of “Itaewon Class&r

Industry April 29, 2020

The South Korean government said Wednesday it had arranged two chartered cargo flights to help businesses facing difficulties in sending or receiving deliveries to and from China and Indonesia. The flights were each assigned for delivery to Chongquig in China and Jakarta in Indonesia, the routes of which have been disrupted amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The measure was jointly prepared by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association. The roundt

Industry April 29, 2020

Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis said Wednesday its second research and development center in India has begun full operation, working on the development of automotive software for driverless vehicles. According to Hyundai Mobis, the second R&D center has been established in a new IT industrial complex adjacent to the company’s existing R&D center in Hyderabad, India, to focus on the development of a control system for self-driving cars and recognition algorithms for sensor techno

Industry April 29, 2020

South Korea’s SK Innovation said Tuesday it will invest $727 million for the construction of its second battery plant in Georgia. The battery maker will begin construction of its second electric vehicle battery plant with 11.7-gigawatt-hour capacity in Georgia in July and initiate mass production starting 2023, it said. “While the global community faces challenging times, SK Innovation believes it is important to continue making strategic investments to drive economic growth and

Industry April 29, 2020

Korea Aerospace Industries said Wednesday it has donated 10,000 coronavirus test kits to Indonesia as a sign of solidarity amid the global pandemic. The defense company and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering together donated 10,000 coronavirus test kits to Indonesia, which was the first export destination of KAI’s KT-1 and T-50 trainer aircraft. Also, it is the first country DSME exported submarines to. “Korea and Indonesia maintain an amicable relationship in various

Industry April 29, 2020

The novel coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the power dynamics of the trade relationship between European automakers and South Korean battery makers, according to industry sources and market watchers. Though electric vehicle battery manufacturers are typically in a position to lure orders from automakers, the recent shortage of battery supplies exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak has given Korean battery giants -- LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation -- more bargaining power at the neg

Industry April 28, 2020

South Korean chemical and battery firm LG Chem on Tuesday reported a swing to operating profit of 236.5 billion won ($192.7 million) in the first quarter by minimizing losses in its battery business. The Korean battery manufacturer cut its operating loss in the battery business by 80 percent to 51.8 billion won in the first quarter from 249.6 billion in the fourth quarter last year despite factory shutdowns from automaker clients amid the coronavirus epidemic. “Though the effects of

Industry April 28, 2020