ST Pharm, a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, has received a presidential award for its efforts to improve labor-management relations, the Korea Labor and Employment Service said Wednesday. Founded in 2008, ST Pharm has been involved in the commissioned production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Backed by its contract manufacturing capabilities, the company stepped up as one of major biopharmaceutical companies in South Korea amid the worldwide pandemic. In 2021, the company turne

Social Affairs Dec. 1, 2021

The need to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint is a pressing issue in the textile, fashion and sportswear industries, and a South Korean startup has come up with a way for them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ATKO Planning gained attention in the global market relatively recently as the world’s first company to reuse leather scraps to produce yarn products. “The company’s technology helps reduce carbon footprints by reusing the sheer amount of leather that is dest

Industry Nov. 29, 2021

The rate of COVID-19 infection among those aged 18 and under has surpassed that of adults, according to government data. Amid the increasing number of new coronavirus infections among young people, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae asked parents to get their children vaccinated. The minister’s request came as concerns over children’s infections have mounted, particularly after the government allowed all schools across the country to resume full-time in-person classes this month. Yo

Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2021

The South Korean government has decided to postpone announcing an emergency COVID-19 response plan until Monday, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday. The minister’s announcement followed a government meeting on Thursday, where health authorities discussed the possibility of reintroducing toughened measures to contain the resurgence of the coronavirus. They, however, failed to come to a conclusion and have delayed the announcement. On Friday, the country reported 3,901 new COVID

Social Affairs Nov. 26, 2021

Ansan Urban Corp., a corporation run by the local government of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, is resolving labor-management conflicts and improving workplace culture with the aid of the Korea Labor and Employment Service. The service, a state-run organization under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, offers a wide range of services to help local firms solve a range of labor-involved issues. Ansan Urban Corp. is one of several companies that have successfully improved their labor-management relat

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2021

In South Korea, many firms located outside of Greater Seoul suffer difficulties in recruiting young employees, as they continue to move to the capital and nearby areas to find jobs. Ercohs, a baby food company based in Daejeon, faced the same problem in the past. The company had to deal with problems caused by its aging workforce as well as a high turnover rate for young workers. Due to the high turnover rate for young workers, employees who stayed at the company were burdened with additio

Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2021

SK Bioscience’s contract manufacturing deal to produce AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will expire by the end of this year, according to the company Thursday. The deal greatly helped South Korea secure shots in its early vaccination stage, but as the government has decided to phase out the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, there is no need for the firm to continue producing it, the firm said. As for international supplies, however, the firm remains in talks with AstraZeneca, the fir

Technology Nov. 18, 2021

Streaming giant Netflix announced on Thursday a subscription fee increase of up to 17 percent, its first hike since launching the service in South Korea in 2016. The streaming platform’s standard plan will cost 13,500 won ($11.45) a month, up 12.5 percent from the previous 12,000 won, and the premium plan will go up 17.24 percent to 17,000 won from 14,500 won. The basic plan will remain unchanged at 9,500 won. Local users will be notified of the price changes 30 days before their renewa

Technology Nov. 18, 2021

South Korea will spend 20 billion won ($16.9 million) next year to nurture local industries for materials, parts and equipment for chips, future cars, bio products and nanotechnologies, officials said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, unveiling a road map to identify and strengthen the weakest link in the country’s industrial value chain, said if all goes as planned, the country will see a drastic decline in imports of essential parts and equipment in backbone industries. &ldqu

Technology Nov. 17, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical firm Yuhan said Wednesday that the company’s nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment candidate YH25724 will go through a phase 1 clinical trial in Europe. The test will involve some 80 healthy overweight adults to test safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics of the NASH drug candidate. Yuhan expects that the study to be completed by June next year. With the commencement of the trial, the Korean firm will receive a milestone payment of $10 million from Bo

Technology Nov. 17, 2021

The South Korean government announced Tuesday it will develop hydrogen and ammonia as feedstock for thermal power generation in order to gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the government has launched a public-private council to lead the research, with an aim of introducing hydrogen and ammonia in the fuel mix as early as 2030. The ministry’s plan envisions more than half of South Korea’s coal-fired thermal power plant

Business Nov. 17, 2021

The South Korean government announced Tuesday it will develop hydrogen and ammonia as feedstock for thermal power generation in order to gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the government has launched a public-private council to lead the research, with an aim of introducing hydrogen and ammonia in the fuel mix as early as 2030. The ministry’s plan envisions more than half of South Korea’s coal-fired thermal power pl

Industry Nov. 16, 2021

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion’s Truxima, the first biosimilar of Roche’s blockbuster cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab), has a market share close to 50 percent in major European countries, the company said Monday. According to Celltrion Healthcare, which is in charge of Celltrion’s overseas business, the combined market share of Truxima in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain reached 46 percent as of the second quarter this year. The five countries account for

Technology Nov. 15, 2021

Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor’s future mobility software and component unit, announced Sunday that the company has developed a new driver assistance system, specifically designed to help drivers navigate narrow streets and get in and out of small parking spaces. The company said the Mobis Parking System, the first of its kind in the world, is specialized for countries like South Korea and European countries, which have a lot of urban areas with narrow streets. Hyundai Mobis expects its

Technology Nov. 14, 2021

When Google announced on Nov. 4 that it was changing its controversial in-app payment policy in South Korea to comply with a revision to the Telecommunications Business Act, dubbed the “anti-Google law,” it appeared that Korea had become the first country in the world to check the US tech behemoth’s growing control of the app ecosystem. But, less than a week after the announcement, Seoul officials are finding themselves caught in yet another tussle between Google and local d

Technology Nov. 11, 2021