The United States International Trade Commission said Tuesday that it will open an investigation into global tech giants including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Apple over claims of touch-screen patent violations. The complaint was filed in February by purported Irish “patent troll” Neodron, in which the company claimed that the companies infringed on its patents related to touch-screen devices. It is not the first time Neodron has targeted such global tech firms. Last

Bando chairman reportedly demands honorary post

Samsung Biologics said Tuesday it has signed a deal to develop Taiwanese bio firm Aprinoia’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Aprinoia Therapeutics is a bioventure with specialized technology in diagnostic devices and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It is a leader and pioneer in the development of monoclonal antibodies against the tau protein, known to be the key trigger of Alzheimer’s. The tau protein is what binds and stabilizes the internal structures within br

Celltrion Healthcare launched breast cancer and stomach cancer treatment Herzuma in the US market through local partner Teva Pharmaceutical. The company said Tuesday that Herzuma (trastuzumab) will be 10 percent cheaper than the original Roche drug, Herceptin. The cost of the drug to US patients will vary depending on their individual insurance plans, Celltrion Healthcare said. The trastuzumab market in North America was worth 3.8 trillion won ($3 billion won) as of the third quarter of 2019

Kia Motors on Tuesday launched its fourth-generation midsized sport utility vehicle Sorento, with a new design, larger size and improved driving assistance functions.  The automaker said the new Sorento has kept its design identity of strong image under the concept of “refined boldness,” but gave a new look by connecting the front radiator grille and LED head lamp to offer wide, stronger design.  The new model has a vertical-type LED rear combination lamp and horizontal-

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker, said Tuesday it has begun mass-producing the industry's fastest mobile storage. The 512-gigabyte (GB) embedded universal flash storage (eUFS) 3.1 is in mass production for use in flagship smartphones, according to Samsung. The latest product delivers three times the write speed of its previous mobile memory, the 512GB eUFS 3.0, with performance of 1,200 megabytes per second (MB/s), it added. Samsung's 512GB eUFS

LG Chem has rolled out its plan to crack the top 5 global chemical company list by 2024 through change and innovation in its four key business areas. LG Chem ranked 10th best chemical firm in C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical companies of 2018, published by American Chemical Society. Also, the company’s brand value surpassed 4 trillion won ($3.22 billion) for the first time, maintaining fourth place for two consecutive years, according to Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2020 report.

South Korean carmakers are likely to post poor earnings results for the first quarter due to the escalating fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, analysts said Tuesday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- have already suffered several weeks of output disruptions after suppliers in China halted production amid the spread of COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic prompted many countries to impose

The South Korea-US free trade agreement -- which went into effect 2012 -- has led to an increase in trade volume by 32 percent, data from the Trade Ministry and Korea International Trade Association showed. Bilateral trade increased from $101.8 billion to $135.2 billion last year, even though Korea’s overall international trade volume dropped 8.3 percent. Automakers and chipmakers gained the most from the trade deal over the eight years, with the volume of auto exports to the US increa

JTI Korea said Monday it is recruiting talented youth to participate in the global internship program “Make It Bright” at its global headquarters in Geneva. The company’s Make It Bright internship program is currently being run in 33 countries. Selected trainees can choose one of the given topics to participate in the local and global presentation competition, from which they can receive professional mentoring and hands-on experience, the company said. After several stage

South Korean chemical firm SKC said Monday it has secured about 1 trillion won ($814.9 million) by liquidating its stake in its chemical business to expand investment in mobility and chip businesses. SKC said Monday it has transferred a 49 percent stake in its chemical business to Petrochemical Industries Company in Kuwait and received 565 billion won Tuesday. The move will create a joint venture SK picglobal and both companies will cooperate to establish a production capacity of 100 metric

Kakao founder and Chairman Kim Beom-su sold a building located in Seoul’s Yeoksam-dong in Gangnam-gu for 38.2 billion won ($31.2 million) last year, according to local reports Monday. The building was used as Kakao’s first headquarters. Kim purchased the building for 29 billion won in 2011 together with Chun Yang-hyun, executive chairman of Cocone. In 2013, Kim bought Chun’s share in the building for 17 billion won and became the sole owner. Kakao’s headquarters moved

Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Monday that they have successfully developed nanofabric mask filters that can withstand at least 20 washes and used for a month. Masks have become a high priority in South Korea since the outbreak of COVID-19. Their scarcity and the opportunistic profiteering that ensued have made the government put a cap on exports, and ration the filter mask purchases to two per person on a weekly basis. With more people resorting t

South Korean internet giant Kakao has sold part of its stake in Hanjin KAL, having previously been expected to support Cho Won-tae in a family feud over the control of Hanjin Group, according to industry sources Monday. KaKao’s stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding entity of Hanjin Group, is now lower than 1 percent, down from a previous 2 percent, according to the sources. Kakao said that the sale of several stock items was a way to counter potential uncertainty in the market amid the coro

Innocean Worldwide said Monday that it has opened new overseas offices in Singapore and Indonesia to strategically target the Asia-Pacific market.  The global marketing communication unit of Hyundai Motor Group said that the two units will help it expand outside South Korea and create synergies in global markets.  Innocean currently operates overseas offices in India and Australia. The company said the Indonesian office will respond to Hyundai Motor’s sales and marketing serv