Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Moderna, at the headquarters of Flagship Pioneering, a biopharmaceutical investment firm invested by Afeyan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tuesday.  Lee discussed cooperation measures for the COVID-19 vaccine with the Moderna co-founder, as Samsung Biologics is currently bottling Moderna’s vaccine at its plant in Songdo, Incheon, Samsung said.

 Samsung Electronics unveiled its strategy to strengthen the foundry industry ecosystem as it announced new design tools and technologies crucial for 3-nanometer process for its foundry customers at a forum on Thursday. At its third annual Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem forum held online, the chipmaker‘s foundry unit said it has also secured over 80 electronic design automation tools and technologies optimized for semiconductor design infra and package solution. It is pivotal

Hanwha Solutions said Thursday that the company has invested $160 million in securing low-carbon photovoltaic materials amid a growing demand for renewable energy in the United States. The energy affiliate of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group said it agreed to purchase a 16.67 percent stake in REC Silicon for $160 million. The investment will make the Hanwha company a co-leading shareholder of the polysilicon manufacturer along with Aker Horizons, a Norway-headquartered investment fir

Hyundai Livart’s first smart furniture production plant and distribution center has begun operations, according to Hyundai Group’s furniture arm Hyundai Livart on Thursday. Located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the 85,950-square-meter Smart Work Center hosts an automated furniture production plant and massive distribution facilities. It is the first smart furniture factory not only in Korea, but in all of Asia, the company said. The smart factory is controlled by an IT system t

South Korea saw the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic Thursday, just 17 days into its return to normal scheme. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said 3,292 cases were registered in the preceding 24 hours, exceeding the 3,000 mark for the second day in a row. The previous one-day record was 3,270 cases on Sept. 25, in the aftermath of Chuseok holiday season. The new all-time high comes as the country takes its first step toward normal life, wit

By Myung-Soo Hong, Professor of Law, Myongji University The trade ministers of South Korea and the US are meeting in Seoul for the first time in 10 years on Nov. 18, 2021. During the meeting, it is expected that various economic and trade related pending issues will be discussed. One of the issues which may be discussed is the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s ongoing review of the possibility of designating US corporations and individual US citizens as the “same person” (i.e., h

Renters in posh Seoul neighborhoods struggle to stay afoot as housing boom pushes rents to extreme -- but lure of social status remains powerful

BUSAN -- South Korea’s largest gaming convention, G-Star kicked off in Busan Wednesday, showcasing the latest games and technologies by major game-related firms from both home and abroad. Arguably the biggest exhibition held since the “living with COVID-19” scheme took effect earlier this month, G-Star put in its utmost effort to be an example of a successful offline event. G-Star 2021 is a hybrid online-offline event with the participation of leading gaming and tech firms

More than 40% of 61 Bib Gourmand restaurants in Seoul serve noodle dishes

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

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

Hyundai Motor Group is joining hands with six electric vehicle charging stations here to form an alliance supporting the growth of the EV charging industry, the automotive giant said Thursday. Hyundai said it signed partnerships with six Korean EV charging service providers to establish E-pit Alliance and agreed to work together in developing technologies related to E-pit, the automotive group’s ultra-fast charging station. The six EV service providers are Starkoff, Straffic, Jeju Elect

Marking a decade of operating its startup accelerator program, South Korean steelmaker Posco on Thursday vowed to continue supporting the local startup ecosystem, particularly in fields related to its future strategic businesses, including hydrogen, secondary battery and green materials. . “The Idea Marketplace has become a representative accelerator program for startups in the country. For Posco, it will continue to play a role in exploring new business items,” said Posco Chairma

South Korean blockchain research company AMAXG has launched a metaverse platform where people can trade nonfungible tokens, strengthening its initiative for blockchain commercialization. AMAXG recently launched the platform, dubbed BIZA-UVIT, after joining hands with K2SOFT, a metaverse platform and ANISTAR, a provider of cultural content. According to AMAXG, BIZA-UVIT users can trade NFTs in the metaverse, virtual worlds shared by people online, and expand their own virtual worlds. NFTs are

Only Sejong sees negative growth during Moon’s term