Volvo Cars Korea said Monday that it has joined hands with SK Telecom to develop a next-generation infotainment system suitable for South Korean customers. The two sides have signed a contract to develop the system to offer Volvo customers here with a customized infotainment system, which would work as a basis for providing connected services, Volvo Cars Korea said. The automaker aims to gradually apply the next-generation infotainment system to some models launched in Korea from 2022. The n

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it had established a “nontact” -- or non face-to-face -- IT development platform for software and program development tools amid increasing worldwide efforts to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The automaker said the new platform had been applied with a cloud system which allows connections from outside for software development and using the infrastructure and program development tools.  The group’s IT subsidiary Hyundai Au

SK Holdings said Monday it is the lead investor in Singapore-based Hummingbird Bioscience’s $6.5 million Series B extension funding round. Hummingbird Bioscience, founded in 2015 in Singapore by former members of global pharma giant Sanofi, researches for novel antibody drugs. Antibody drugs are immunoproteins that selectively dock on, and attack, malignant proteins that become seeds for tumors and diseases. Hummingbird Bioscience is specially armed with a platform technology called Rat

Production and sales in the service industry in Jeju during the first quarter of the year saw a two-digit rate of decline due to the coronavirus pandemic, data from Statistics Korea showed. Fifteen other regions also saw significant drops in their sales. Only Seoul saw its production rise. In Jeju, the drop in travelers led to a 47 percent drop in sales at duty free shops. Only South Jeolla Province, which do not have major department stores or duty free shops, saw a slight rise in retail sal

A new app from Korean oil refiner GS Caltex will allow charging and payment services at its gas stations without coming into contact with staff, to ensure safety amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. According to GS Caltex with some 330 gas stations here, its non-face-to-face refueling and payment app OWiN saw a 1,000 percent surge in monthly use in March compared to December last year. The number of app users spiked more than 500 percent in the same period. “With OWiN app, customer

SK Energy faces storage dilemma as low demand leads to storage capacity nearing limit

South Korean chemical and battery firm LG Chem said Sunday that the company is considering ways to help the victims of the recent gas leak in India, including a visit by its vice chairman to oversee the efforts. After a gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in southern India on Thursday, which left 12 dead and around 1,000 local residents hospitalized, LG Chem has formed a special task force, promising support for victims and bereaved families. “For a thorough investigation and victim sup

Korean oil refiner Hyundai Oilbank said Sunday it would commercialize a technology that can turn carbon emissions and residual products emitted from refineries into paper and construction materials. Hyundai Oilbank said Sunday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Taekyung BK, a domestic manufacturer and distributor of lime with the technology to make calcium carbonate out of carbon emissions from refineries. Calcium carbonate is a raw material for making cement, paper, plastic

Following news report that Incheon International Airport Corp. plans to initiate building a fifth runway and third terminal, the Transport Ministry said Sunday the plan was yet to be decided. It was reported that the airport would need an additional runway to meet the increasing number of passengers anticipated in the future, though the airport is currently suffering from the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, however, said that the plan

The Korea International Trade Association on Sunday released a report on the growing international education technology market, encouraging the government to help local firms enter overseas markets. The education technology market is an area that offers new educational products and systems -- such as virtual classroom solutions -- by utilizing cutting-edge internet of things technologies to enhance the classroom experience. The international smart education market is expected to grow from $

SK Energy Co. and SK Trading International Co. have donated 4,000 Korean-made coronavirus test kits to Myanmar, the two firms' parent company said Sunday. The test kits worth about $50,000 arrived in Myanmar's commercial capital of Yangon on Saturday, said SK Innovation Co., South Korea's biggest refiner by sales. Suh Sok-won, CEO of SK Trading International, said the company has donated the test kits on humanitarian grounds as the Southeast Asian country is having difficulties diagnosing peo

HMM said Sunday its containership HMM Algeciras departed for Europe from Yantian, China, on Friday with a full load of containers. The world’s largest container vessel entered Busan’s new port in April 28 and departed two days later with 7,156 TEUs, or twenty-foot equivalent units. It later entered Yantian Thursday last week after passing through Ningbo and Shanghai in China, and headed to Europe on Friday with 19,621 TEUs, the largest shipment ever worldwide. Geneva-based ship

The number of disciplinary actions taken by public corporations in South Korea against their employees increased by more than 20 percent over the past two years, according to a local corporate tracker on Sunday. According to a survey conducted by CEOScore, the total number of employees who faced disciplinary action at 36 public companies in 2019 was 705, a 21.6 percent increase from 580 cases reported in 2017. But the penalties imposed were less serious, with only 50 people facing dismissa

Hyundai Electric and Energy Systems Co. said Sunday it has clinched two orders worth 35 billion won ($28.6 million) to supply power transformers and gas insulated switchgears to Saudi Electricity Co. and Saudi Arabia's state oil company Saudi Aramco. Hyundai Electric, a unit of shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., said the state-run utility order came to 23 billion won, while the rest came from Saudi Aramco. The latest contracts raised Hyundai Electric's deals in the oil-rich king

LG Polymers India, an affiliate of South Korean chemical giant LG Chem Ltd., on Saturday expressed condolences over a gas leak that killed 12 people as it vowed to provide an effective care package for the victims. LG Polymers India said it has created a special task force to help victims and families to resolve any issues and provide assistance to the bereaved families. "LG Polymers India would like to express our deepest condolences to everyone who has been affected and hurt by this in