Economy

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  Samsung Engineering wins deal from Aramco to build Jafura gas treatment facility SEOUL -- Samsung Engineering, a construction and project management company in South Korea, has clinched a deal from Saudi Aramco to build a gas treatment facility in the package one development of the Jafura unconventional gas field in the Middle East country. Financial and other terms were not given. Samsung Engineering said in a regulatory filing on November 23 that the company has signed a contract on Jafura's gas processing package one project. The deal covers engineerin 2021-11-23
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  ​KT partners with state gas company to develop carbon-free cooling system for data centers SEOUL -- South Korea's top telecom company KT has partnered with a state gas company to develop a carbon-free cooling system that uses the cold energy from liquefied natural gas to cool internet data centers. The solution will help reduce operational costs as well as carbon emissions. An internet data center (IDC) filled with server computers needs a huge cooling system, with its room temperature kept at about 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 degrees Fahrenheit) using air conditioners. 2021-11-22
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  Construction of S. Korea's largest cold chain logistics center to begin in Songdo in 2022 SEOUL -- Construction of South Korea's largest cryogenic cold chain logistics center will begin in the first half of 2022 in Songdo, an international business district built on reclaimed land in the western port city of Incheon. Investors aim to nurture the center as an Asian cold chain hub targeting China and Southeast Asia. A consortium led by EMP Belstar, an operator of cold chain logistics based in New York, would invest some 521.8 billion won ($440 million) by 2024 to bu 2021-11-22
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  7-Eleven starts autonomous robot delivery service in Seoul SEOUL -- The South Korean operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores has started the test operation of an autonomous delivery robot in southern Seoul. The robot uses cameras instead of a GPS system to navigate in urban environments even in hard weather conditions such as rain and snow. Various autonomous robots are being tested in South Korea with a food and grocery delivery market estimated to stand at 23 trillion won ($19.3 billion) to reduce labor costs. Some robots are able to com 2021-11-22
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  Dutch firm ASML concludes deal to create lithography cluster in S. Korea SEOUL -- As a supplier of crucial equipment for the production of high-performance microchips, ASML Holding, a Dutch manufacturer of chip-making equipment, signed a deal to create a lithography cluster in South Korea by investing 240 billion won ($202 million) by 2024. ASML has provided extreme ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet lithography systems to South Korean semiconductor companies. Silicon-based round disks called "wafers" are coated with a light-sensitive substance 2021-11-19
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  French startup Ynsect works with Lotte subsidiary to develop alternative protein sources with edible insects SEOUL -- French startup Ynsect partnered with a food research center of South Korea's retail giant Lotte to carry out joint research for the development of alternative protein sources with edible insects which are emerging as sustainable food with abundant nutrients including protein and minerals. Edible insect species generate less environmental pollution than breeding cows and pigs. They are processed in food products such as snacks and bakery products after being raised as li 2021-11-19
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  Hanwha Solutions to acquire 16.7% stake in Norway's REC Silicon SEOUL -- Hanwha Solutions, a renewable energy service provider affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, will secure a stable supply of raw materials for solar panels in the United States by acquiring a 16.7 percent stake worth $160.5 million in REC Silicon ASA, a Norway-based company that produces polysilicon, a high purity, polycrystalline form of silicon used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry. The date for stock acquisition is January 14 i 2021-11-18
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  Lotte Department Store to create metaverse commerce platform SEOUL -- The department store wing of South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group has partnered with a domestic artificial intelligence and digital twin technology developer to create the metaverse version of the department store's online commerce platform. Using the virtual world platform, customers can shop and try on different products as they would do in the real world. The metaverse allows users to engage in various activities without physical restrictions by offering virtu 2021-11-18
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  Hyundai Oilbank tests eco-friendly naphtha production using waste plastic pyrolysis oil SEOUL -- Hyundai Oilbank, a refining unit of South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group, will produce eco-friendly naphtha by injecting waste plastic pyrolysis oil into the process of refining crude oil. Naphtha is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture produced from petroleum distillates, natural gas condensates and the distillation of coal and peat. Naphtha is used to dilute heavy crude oil, reduce its viscosity and facilitate transport. From November 18, Hyundai Oilbank injec 2021-11-18
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  LG Chem teams up with GS Caltex to develop 3HP mass production technologies SEOUL -- LG Chem teamed up with GS Caltex, a major refiner in South Korea, to jointly develop mass-production technologies of 3-hydroxypropionic acid, which is a biodegradable plastic material produced through a microorganism fermenting process of bio-materials such as glucose and unrefined glycerol derived from vegetable oil. 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HP) is drawing attention as a next-generation platform chemical that can be used as raw materials for a variety of materials inclu 2021-11-18
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  Samsung shipyard demonstrates new LNG liquefaction process with high energy efficiency SEOUL -- In an event watched by foreign guests from international classification societies and developers, Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has successfully demonstrated its liquefaction process called "SENSE Ⅳ" that can produce more than two million tons of liquefied natural gas annually and has high energy efficiency. Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said the demonstration was carried out at its shipyard in the southern island of Geoje. SENSE 2021-11-18
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  Norway's Equinor partners with S. Korean company to cooperate for offshore wind power projects SEOUL -- Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company, tied up with Korea East-West Power, a public power generation company, to cooperate for 3.0 gigawatts of offshore wind power projects in South Korea. The partnership underlines Equinor's strategy to take a leading role in developing a pipeline of offshore wind projects in a country that is actively pushing for a green energy campaign to expand the use of renewable energy. Under a memorandum of understand 2021-11-17
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  SK Ecoplant becomes largest shareholder of domestic wind farm subsrtructure maker SEOUL -- SK Ecoplant, formerly known as SK E&C, jumped into the rapidly growing offshore wind power market by becoming the largest shareholder of Samkang M&T, a domestic plant construction company that produces substructures for wind power turbines. The total investment stands at 460 billion won ($388 million). SK Ecoplant said in a regulatory filing on November 17 that it would acquire a 31.83 percent stake in Samkang M&T for 342.6 billion won and invest 116.9 billion 2021-11-17
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  LegoChem secures big licensing agreement with Czech biotech Sotio SEOUL -- LegoChem Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in South Korea, has secured a license and option agreement with Sotio Biotech, a Czech biotechnology company that will obtain rights to deploy antibody drug conjugate technology for up to five therapeutic programs targeting distinct tumor-associated antigens. Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are an important class of highly potent biopharmaceutical drugs designed as a targeted therapy for the treatment of peo 2021-11-17
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  Kakao to create new open online commerce platform with zero referral fee SEOUL -- South Korea's web service giant Kakao will create a new open online commerce platform that will require zero referral fees from sellers. While most referral fees on Amazon, the world's largest online commerce platform, charge up to 15 percent on selling fees, South Korean online shopping malls demand up to 20 percent. Kakao's online commerce platform is integrated with Kakao Talk, the country's most favorite smartphone messenger app with some 45.6 million mo 2021-11-16
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  Kakao's online shopping wing teams up with southern province to promote sales of regional specialties SEOUL -- Kakao Commerce, the online shopping wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao, has teamed up with North Jeolla Province to help local farmers and business operators increase the number of sales channels through Kakao's online shopping platform. Kakao Commerce will hold special events to promote sales of various agricultural products and regional specialties including ginseng. North Jeolla Province said in a statement on November 16 that the local government has 2021-11-16
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  Construction of ultrapure water demonstration plant begins to acquire core technologies SEOUL -- South Korea broke ground on an ultrapure water demonstration plant to acquire core technologies as part of a government campaign to reduce its heavy reliance on foreign products, especially from Japan. Ultrapure water is purified to uncommonly stringent specifications for use in the semiconductor industry and electronics manufacturing. The demonstration plant capable of producing 2,400 tons of ultrapure water a day will be completed in 2025 at the factory of SK Siltron, t 2021-11-16
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  Lotte joins U.S. and South Korean business alliance to demonstrate UAM test flights SEOUL -- Lotte, a conglomerate based in South Korea, joined a business alliance involving U.S. companies to promote demonstration flights for urban air mobility in a project led by the western port city of Incheon to open an air taxi service. Urban air mobility (UAM) is an ecosystem covering personal air vehicles and infrastructure such as a new navigation system, take-off and landing fields and charging technologies. Lotte Corporation, the holding company of Lotte Group, said tha 2021-11-16
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  Government task force launched to commercialize power generation using hydrogen and ammonia SEOUL -- South Korea launched a task force to speed up the commercialization of technologies using hydrogen and ammonia for power generation to reduce the use of fossil fuel for electricity generation. Gas turbines have become one of the most widely-used power generating technologies because they reduce the emission of fine dust and other air pollutants. Ammonia, which is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, contains no carbon but it needs pilot fuel for combustion. Ammonia fuel gen 2021-11-16
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  Solus Advanced Materials acquires land for battery foil plant in Canada SEOUL -- In an effort to establish a bridgehead targeting the North American secondary battery component market, South Korea's electric component maker Solus Advanced Materials has acquired land in Canada to build a 60,000 ton-capacity battery foil factory. The plant will start the mass production of foils as early as 2024. Battery foils made of aluminum and copper are used as anodes and cathodes for secondary batteries. Foils work as the bridge between external components an 2021-11-15