Members of academia and businesses gathered in Seoul on Thursday to discuss how to tackle environment and energy problems through microbial waste management at the 2018 Daesung Haegang Microbes Forum.With the theme of “From Waste to Energy,” the forum was attended by around 120 participants. It is aimed at having experts contribute to the joint development of both the environment and energy fields through discussions about the technical challenges and potential commercialization of cutting-edge

Industry June 21, 2018

Samsung SDS’ small shareholders have voiced their anger at the nation’s antitrust watchdog head, claiming his remarks Thursday drove the firm’s shares to plunge. On Thursday, the Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo had urged the owner families of conglomerates to sell off stocks of non-key affiliates, referring to the businesses of system integration, real estate, logistics and advertising. “Following Kim’s remark, shares of Samsung SDS -- whose main business is system integration -- plun

Industry June 19, 2018

South Korea’s leading telecom operator KT once again faces an escalating “CEO risk” as police sought an arrest warrant on Monday for its CEO Hwang Chang-gyu for alleged involvement in the firm’s illegal donations to lawmakers. Hwang was suspected of creating 1.1 billion won ($1 million) in slush funds from May 2014 to October 2017 and of spending 442 million won of the money for illegal donations to 99 lawmakers. Hwang Chang-gyu arrives for questioning at a police station in Seoul on April 17. (

Industry June 18, 2018

LS Cable & System is slated to advance into the Indonesian cable market by setting up a joint corporation with local company Artha Graha Network. AG Group, one of Indonesia’s top 10 companies, runs businesses in the areas of banks, hotels, construction and resorts. LS Cable & System CEO Myung Roh-hyun (third from right) poses for a photo with AG Group Chairman Panji Winata (fourth from right) after signing an agreement in Seoul on Monday. (LS Cable & System)LS signed an agreement with AG Group i

Industry June 18, 2018

LS Corp. and its affiliates have become the first companies to be sanctioned since antitrust watchdog chief Kim Sang-jo said the Fair Trade Commission would take a tougher stance on conglomerates’ inter-subsidiary dealings Thursday. The FTC said Monday it would impose penalties of a total of 25 billion won ($22 million) on LS Corp. and its affiliates, and report six owner family members to the prosecution.“We decided to impose penalties and report the management to prosecutors after we found the

Industry June 18, 2018

The Korean economy is likely to be hit hard as its two biggest trading partners are on the brink of a trade war following threats to slap each other with hefty tariffs over the weekend. (Yonhap)On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would impose 25 percent tariffs on the Chinese goods worth $50 billion in an effort to protect the US intellectual property and technology. A day later, China responded to the US by announcing 25 percent tariffs on a $34 billion list of the US goods in the

Industry June 17, 2018

The nation’s antitrust watchdog head said Thursday that it would take a tougher stance on conglomerates’ inter-subsidiary dealings, stressing that they benefit the interests of owner families and harm the business ecosystem of small firms and traders. “We will make sure that such unfair practices will no longer be tolerated in the market through strict law enforcement,” FTC Chairman Kim Sang-jo said at a press briefing Thursday.  Kim Sang-jo, head of the Fair Trade Commission (Yonhap)He urged th

Industry June 14, 2018

A male staff member of 3M Korea looked excited and happy at the 14th AmCham CEO Servers’ Night at the Conrad Seoul on Tuesday.After taking a selfie with his company head, he said, “I got up some courage under the influence of alcohol. I am now so happy that I just sent the photo to my parents.”The 14th AmCham CEO Servers’ Night (AmCham)Next to him, 3M Korea President Amit Laroya was busy serving wine and food to around 20 employees, cheering his staff and giving presents to them through small ev

Industry June 13, 2018

Anticipation for economic ties with the North is growing in the South following the milestone US-North Korea summit on Tuesday and the inter-Korean summit in April. North Korea opening its market could be a boost to South Korea’s economy in the long term, as it has already entered a slow-growth stage, but it would come at the expense of hefty costs in the short-to-mid term, analysts said. According to a report released by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in 2015, inter-Korea

Industry June 13, 2018

The South Korean police began an investigation on Monday after Korea’s seventh largest crypto exchange Coinrail lost more than 40 billion ($37 million) in altcoins in an apparent attack by hackers over the weekend. “We secured the access history of Coinrail servers and we are in the process of analyzing them,” said a police spokesperson.  The police said it would figure out whether the leakage of the cryptocurrencies are caused by hacking or computer network problems. On M

Market June 11, 2018

The Korean arm of German automaker MAN Truck & Bus agreed to participate in the German vocational training program Ausbildung in Korea, according to the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday. Ausbildung is a German dual vocational training program that consists of practical training at company sites and academic education at colleges which are acting as vocational schools. The program has the intention of giving young Koreans the possibility to start a sustainable career with

Industry June 11, 2018

It all started from a mere curiosity of Korea and its complex but unfortunate history. In the eyes of Sean Blakeley, CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea, the nation’s dynamic transition from a war-torn country to information technology powerhouse has always been a fascinating subject. The personal interest pushed him to learn more about diverse aspects of the country. But he couldn’t know that he would become a man bridging the two countries in terms of business and trade.“I found Ko

Industry June 8, 2018

The South Korean minister of industry and commerce urged Korean chipmakers Friday to secure global competitiveness in non-memory chip to widen technology gap from Chinese competitors.Paik Un-gyu, the Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy“It is very important for Korean companies to secure global competitiveness in non-memory chips,” said Paik Un-gyu, the Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, adding that non-memory chips are the basis of advanced technologies powered by artificia

Industry June 8, 2018

South Korean financial institutions are getting ready to embrace the future economic ties with North Korea amid cooperative atmosphere following the inter-Korean summit in April and a week ahead of the US-North Korea summit. Samsung Securities said Thursday it set up a research team on investment in North Korea for the first time among the nation’s financial companies. The firm said the team was set up to “provide systematic analysis on North Korea from a long-term perspective as the nation’s ge

Industry June 7, 2018

Korea has attracted around $500 million of investment from Chinese investors in the areas of next-generation technologies, including chips, bio, automobiles and robots, through a ministerial roundtable, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday. The ministerial roundtable was held in Beijing on Tuesday, inviting 12 Chinese investors, including chip firm JCET, bio companies Evercare and Fujian Ruico, automakers BAIC and Siasun Robot and content providers Spearhead and IIE

Industry June 5, 2018