Economy

• 
  Hansol develops eco-friendly paper packaging material by recycling cacao bean waste SEOUL -- Hansol, a major paper company in South Korea, has developed an eco-friendly paper packaging material by recycling the by-product of cacao beans, which are discarded after being used as chocolate ingredients, in cooperation with Lotte Confectionary. The packaging material will be used for wrapping chocolate products. Hansol said in a statement on February 17 that it has processed cacao bean waste into powder and mixed them with recycled pulp to 2021-02-17
• 
  State project launched to popularize biodegradable fishnets and protect environment SEOUL -- South Korean fishermen will be given a new type of biodegradable fishnets along with subsidies in a state pilot project to prevent marine pollution and ghost fishing, a phenomenon in which marine animals get caught by nylon nets that were abandoned or lost. Biodegradable nets are naturally decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms after a certain period of time in the sea. Because of extremely tough characteristics, fishnets made of nylon 2021-02-17
• 
  Samsung claims to be 'industry-first' in developing high bandwidth memory integrated with AI processing power SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics claimed to be "industry-first" in developing a high bandwidth memory (HBM) integrated with artificial intelligence processing power that does not require any hardware or software changes, allowing faster integration into existing systems. It can be applied to general products such as smartphones through technology development. Computing systems are mainly based on the von Neumann architecture, which uses sep 2021-02-17
• 
  Hyundai auto group ties up with POSCO steel group for hydrogen business cooperation SEOUL -- As the prime motive power for the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem, South Korea's Hyundai auto group forged a strategic alliance with POSCO to cooperate in hydrogen vehicles and power generation as well as the development of related technologies. The steel group has presented a business goal to nurture green hydrogen as one of its new growth engines. Hyundai will develop hydrogen commercial trucks for use at steel mills, while POSCO will 2021-02-16
• 
  LG Chem to raise $1.09 bln thru corporate bond offering for new investment SEOUL -- LG Chem will issue a total of 1.2 trillion won ($1.09 billion) in corporate bonds to make new investments and improve the financial status of its new business structure following the spin-off of its battery wing which made its official debut as a separate entity in December 2020. The amount was based on a positive response shown by institutional investors in an earlier demand forecasting survey LG Chem said that some 820 billion won would be issued in e 2021-02-15
• 
  Samsung shipyard wins $707 mln order to build five LNG-powered container ships SEOUL -- Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has secured an order worth 781.2 billion won ($707 million) from an unidentified Asian client to build five container ships powered by liquefied natural gas and equipped with eco-friendly and energy-saving solutions. The ships will be delivered sequentially by July 2023. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said in a regulatory filing on February 15 that the 15,000-TEU ships woul 2021-02-15
• 
  Samsung's Neo QLED TVs introduce AMD's latest technology to strengthen gaming function SEOUL -- Neo QLED, a new Samsung TV model that allows gamers to enjoy a wider field of view and quickly monitor and adjust critical aspects of play, is armed with the latest version of FreeSync, an adaptive synchronization technology developed by Advanced Micro Devices, an American semiconductor company. Samsung said that it would introduce AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro in the entire lineup of Neo QLED TVs to greatly strengthen game functions. &qu 2021-02-15
• 
  Eco-friendly plates made of seaweed byproduct pulp to hit S. Korean market in March SEOUL -- Eco-friendly plates made of marine algae byproducts will hit the market in March in South Korea, which strengthens environmental regulations and nurtures a white biotechnology industry to develop eco-friendly replacements for plastics and other non-degradable materials. Seaweed-based products are 100 percent biodegradable within 90 days and durable. Marine Innovation, a social venture supported by SK Innovation, uses marine algae to produce bio 2021-02-10
• 
  Samsung shipyard to test remote autonomous system with 9,200-ton ship SEOUL -- A 9,200-ton ship installed with a remote autonomous system developed by Samsung Heavy Industries will make its test run probably in August on a coastal sea route. If the test is successful, it would be the world's first case to apply remote autonomous operation technology to a large vessel. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has tried to commercialize its remote autonomous system called Samsung Autonomous Ship (SAS). The shipbuilder wi 2021-02-10
• 
  U.S. Match Group acquires Seoul-based social discovery and video technology company SEOUL -- Match Group, an American dating product provider, will acquire Hyperconnect, a lucrative video and AI technology company in South Korea, for $1.72 billion. The deal comes on the heels of Hyperconnect's rapid advance based on instant video communication and AI technology in the ever-growing social discovery app market. Hyperconnect runs Azar, a real-time video chat app that connects instantly with millions of like-minded people by translating 2021-02-10
• 
  Doosan Mobility partners with Chinese company to develop hydrogen robots SEOUL -- Doosan Mobility Innovation, a drone solution provider in South Korea, has partnered with a Chinese company to develop special-purpose robots powered by hydrogen fuel cells that can be used for fire fighting and monitoring. The two companies aim to produce their products by the end of this year and sell them in China and other countries. Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) said in a statement on February 9 that it has signed a memorandum 2021-02-09
• 
  S. Korea beefs up smart farming to cope with aging population in agriculture SEOUL -- South Korea will beef up its smart farming industry in an effort to fill up a workforce vacuum in the conventional agriculture industry that has been accelerated by an aging society. Smart farm research and development infrastructure will be interconnected to maximize efficiency and speed up tests of new technologies. Government data showed that more than 70,000 farmers chose to retire in 2019 due to old age. About 46 percent of the farming population cons 2021-02-09
• 
  Hyundai shipbuilding group acquires Doosan Infracore to create dominant player in construction equipment market SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group acquired Doosan Infracore, a major construction equipment maker that has been up for sale, faute de mieux, as part of efforts by its debt-stricken parent company to secure liquidity in return for a bailout loan from creditors. The deal would lead to the creation of a dominant player in South Korea's construction equipment market. In a regulatory filing on February 5, Hyundai Heavy Industries Hold 2021-02-05
• 
  Hyundai Oilbank launches premium car wash service for busy workers SEOUL -- Targeting workers who are too busy to provide adequate care for their cars, Hyundai Oilbank, a major gas station chain operator in South Korea, has launched a premium car wash service that utilizes a nationwide network of some 2,500 gas stations. Because many South Koreans live in apartments with no backyards, many normally clean their cars using tunnel-type automatic car cleaner machines at gas stations after refueling. Self-service car wash fa 2021-02-05
• 
  LG's OLED monitors for diffusion brand win certification from state watchdog SEOUL -- A new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) monitor developed by LG Electronics as a diffusion brand has been certified by a state regulatory body. With its clear image quality, the OLED monitor is suitable for games that require fast movement, but LG has yet to decide on prices and other details. LG's 32 and 27 inch OLED monitors have secured certification from the National Radio Research Agency, heralding an ear of OLED monitors targeting v 2021-02-05
• 
  Five-year state project on track to localize production of magnesium-based ceramic materials SEOUL -- South Korea launched a five-year state project to localize the production of magnesium-based ceramic materials to reduce its heavy dependence on imports. It is a principal fireproofing ingredient. Government data showed that Chinese and Japanese products accounted for more than 90 percent of South Korea's domestic demand that stood at 2640,000 tons in 2019. Magnesium oxide (MgO) also known as magnesia with high 2021-02-04
• 
  Direct selling company Atomy selected among top 100 best workplaces in S. Korea SEOUL -- South Korea's direct selling company Atomy was selected by the Seoul branch of Great Place to Work, a global organization that promotes good workplace culture, as one of the top 100 best workplaces in the country. "By creating a synergy of principle and innovation, we will become a company which everyone wishes to work at," Atomy Chairman Park Han-Gill said during a Great Place to Work (GPTW) award ceremony that was held online on January 28 2021-02-04
• 
  Samsung shipyard wins $206 mln order from Oceanian client SEOUL -- Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has secured an order worth 230 billion won ($206 million) from an Oceanian client to build two large container ships equipped with eco-friendly and energy-saving solutions. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said in a regulatory filing on February 4 that the two 13,000 TEU ships would be delivered sequentially in the first quarter of 2023. The twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) is an inexact unit 2021-02-04
• 
  S. Korean pet food exports up sharply thanks to growing demand in Asia SEOUL -- Exports of South Korean pet food saw a dramatic increase in 2020 thanks to growing demands in Japan and Southeast Asian countries, government data showed. South Korea's pet food industry has been growing due to the consumption of high-quality products. According to a market report jointly released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp (aT) on February 3, South Korea's pet food st 2021-02-03
• 
  Hyundai Glovis develops dedicated container to transport different types of spent batteries SEOUL -- Hyundai Glovis, the logistics wing of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, has developed a dedicated platform for the transportation of different types of spent electric vehicle batteries in one container. Multi-stage loading is possible and it can be loaded into cargo ships. The company aims to establish a systematic monitoring system capable of finding the location of containers in real-time. The patented container will serve as South Korea 2021-02-03