Creditors of Korean Air Lines Co. have demanded the cash-strapped airline raise capital of 2 trillion won ($1.62 billion) by end of the next year in return for fresh financial support, officials familiar with the issue said Thursday. The Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) recently signed an agreement with South Korea's biggest national flag carrier to extend 1.2 trillion won in new liquidity to help the company hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Th

South Korea's trade minister said Wednesday the country will continue to promote open trade amid growing protectionism in the aftermath of the new coronavirus pandemic, calling for major trade partners to join efforts to normalize the virus-hit global supply chains. "In the post-pandemic era, the global environment for trade and commerce will change drastically," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during a videoconference with experts around the globe, hosted by the Korea Internationa

South Korean ICT company specializing in smart livestock health management uLikeKorea said Wednesday it has successfully developed a COVID-19 body patch system that can monitor symptoms, activity level and location related to the virus in real-time. According to uLikeKorea, the system was made with non-toxic and environmentally friendly materials that can be attached to the chest. It can detect temperature, pulse, activity level and location in real-time, it said. “ULikeKorea used the

Hyundai Heavy Industries Chairman Kwon Oh-gap (first from right) visits Hyundai Oilbank’s Daesan plant in South Chungcheong Province to inspect its regular maintenance on Wednesday. 　　 (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea’s three major telecommunications firms have submitted nonbinding indicative offers to acquire Hyundai HCN, the nation’s fifth-largest cable TV operator owned by Hyundai Department Store Group, according to industry sources Wednesday. The three local firms -- KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus -- are expected to compete for acquiring the cable TV operator, which has a 4 percent market share with 1.3 million subscribers. The cable TV unit’s total revenue last year was 292

Hanwha Q Cells continues lonely battle against cheaper Chinese solar modules

Korea’s No. 1 game company Nexon said Wednesday it was positively reviewing whether to provide its first-person shooter game Sudden Attack on Steam in response to an online petition calling for the game to be made available globally. Steam is a global digital platform where users can install PC games online directly to their cloud drives after purchase. On May 23, a US-based fan called Fox R. launched an online petition on Change.org, requesting “Sudden Attack be made available

South Korean oil refiner GS Caltex said Wednesday it would begin the operation of its first all-in-one pump station that can accommodate all types of vehicles running on gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity and hydrogen, starting Thursday. According to GS Caltex, it has recently added a hydrogen charging station, jointly constructed with Hyundai Motor in Seoul, completing its 3,305-square-meter hybrid charging station in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul. The hydrogen station is th

INCHEON -- BMW Korea unveiled revamped models of the 5 and 6 series sedans on Wednesday, holding the first world premiere event in the country as a foreign carmaker, which was also BMW Group’s first official event since the COVID-19 pandemic. The carmaker displayed three new versions of the 5 Series and the 6 Series Gran Turismo: BMW New 523d, BMW New 530e and BMW New 640i xDrive. The 5 Series will be presented with a lineup of six gasoline and diesel engine types, including 4-cylinde

Toss Lab, the maker of innovative collaboration tool JANDI, has established itself at the top of South Korea’s growing work communication platform market. The fledgling company, in just six years, has managed to go head-on with not only domestic competitors such as Flow and Collabee but also global companies like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Ironically, however, these direct competitors offer far less of a challenge than that of the immensely popular messenger service KakaoTalk, in JANDI

LS Group said Wednesday it is strengthening its digital capabilities by increasing research and development in automation, big data and artificial intelligence technologies in response to digital transformation amid the pandemic. “It will be difficult for the time being as uncertainties in achieving this year’s management goals have increased due to the pandemic, but I hope you will take an extraordinary step forward,” LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol said in a recent message to

Auto parts manufacturer to pursue 2,000 R&D projects

Kia Motors’ European subsidiary said Wednesday it plans to launch a micro-size electric vehicle that can replace public transportation amid increased preference for use of private vehicles following the COVID-19 pandemic. “People want to feel safe today. We saw that very clearly from a survey that was done after the coronavirus outbreak in China. People started shifting from public transport to private vehicles. They safer in their own car compared to public transport,” KIA M

Hanwha Techwin announced Wednesday the launch of the world’s first 8K closed-circuit TVs, featuring the highest resolution. The South Korean surveillance solution provider said it will roll out the CCTVs with 8K network camera featuring 33 million pixels. The 8K CCTVs provide images that are four times clearer than those of current 4K CCTVs, the company said. It enables recognition of a person sitting about 150 meters away in a baseball stadium, the firm explained. It is possible to

South Korean pharmaceutical companies have joined the global race to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, but none of them have received approval for clinical trials for a vaccine or treatment candidates from the country's drug safety agency. Celltrion Inc., a major pharmaceutical giant, has announced that it plans to develop a "super antibody" candidate that can help prepare for potential future pandemics. Celltrion was earlier selected as a preferred developer for a monoc