After the government flew the first chartered flight using Korean Air’s B747 to Wuhan and brought 368 South Koreans here on Friday morning, the future use of the plane has come under public scrutiny, despite assurances by doctors about very low possibility of getting infected. According to the real-time air traffic tracker Flight Radar 24, Korean Air’s 22-year-old B747 which has tail number HL7461 was used to evacuate Koreans based in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbrea

Asiana Airlines said Friday that it has sent relief goods including masks and medical products worth 40 million won to support the people in Wuhan, China, as well as authorities’ effort to contain the virus.  The products will be delivered to people in need in China, the air carrier said, adding that it has sent the items on OZ331 flight bound for Beijing and OZ323 bound for Chengdu. By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

LG Display announced Friday it has posted an operating loss of 1.35 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in 2019 -- largest in eight years -- going into the red amid ongoing business restructuring efforts.  Overall, the world’s biggest provider of organic light-emitting diode panels posted 23.5 trillion won in sales and 1.36 trillion won in operating loss last year, according to its earnings report for the final quarter of 2019. Compared to 2018, the annual sales dropped 8 percent, while th

John Rim, Samsung Biologics’ Korean American executive, emphasizes human resources, helping CMO clients provide public with better drugs

South Korea's overall industrial output gained 1.4 percent in December from a month earlier despite a slight tumble in the service sector, data showed Friday. From a year earlier, the overall industrial output grew 3.2 percent, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 3.5 percent from a month earlier, while that of the service sector edged down 0.1 percent. The production, retail sales and investment

Malaysia International Halal Showcase, the world’s largest halal trade fair, will be held in Kuala Lumpur from April 1 to 3, the event’s organizers said Thursday. According to Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, this year’s MIHAS, themed “Expand Your Halal Horizon,” will feature over 1,200 booths of companies from countries around the world, including halal-certified and trade-ready manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and distributors. T

New CEO helmed with task to enhance mobile division performance

Hyundai Motor Group’s key affiliate Hyundai Mobis said Thursday that its operating profit hit 2.35 trillion won ($1.9 billion) last year, up 16.5 percent year-on-year, according to the auto parts maker’s regulatory filing.  The company’s sales inched up by 8.2 percent to 38.48 trillion won over the same period, while its net profit recorded 2.29 trillion won, up 21.5 percent on-year.  Hyundai Mobis attributed last year’s improved performance to expanded sales

Bando Engineering & Construction said Thursday that it had started the construction of a mixed-use apartment building in Los Angeles, the company’s first overseas project in nine years. According to the company the Bora 3170 will be an eight-floor building with one floor below ground, about 10 minutes from downtown LA in the Korea Town neighborhood. It is the second overseas project for Bando E&C, which built the Ubora Towers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2011. Led by C

  Samsung Group on Thursday announced follow-up measures to “effectively beef up” compliance monitoring teams across its affiliates, including placing them under chief executives, with the intention of displaying its efforts to improve governance. A total of 11 affiliates -- including Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Heavy industries -- will introduce in-house compliance units at CEOs’ offices away from the current leg

Korea Consumer Agency officials attend a press briefing on their review of the quality of UHD TVs at the government complex in Sejong on Thursday.  Their results showed LG’s organic light-emitting diode TV had better viewing angle and high-definition resolution than Samsung’s quantum-dot light-emitting diode TV. Both products met international standards of contrast modulation, the KCA said. (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

Naver’s annual sales surpassed the 6 trillion won ($5.06 billion) mark for the first time in 2019, but its operating profit decreased due to the sluggish performance of Line and related platforms, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The South Korean internet giant’s annual sales totaled 6.59 trillion won, marking an 18 percent increase. The figure is four times greater than that of 2015, 3.25 trillion won. However, Naver’s operating profit fell to 710 billion won

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Thursday its high blood pressure treatments notched 14 percent revenue growth in 2019, raking in 153 billion won ($129 million) and dominating the market in South Korea. The company said that its 15 types of combination molecules for treating hypertension, all independently developed, accounted for 8.3 percent of the entire Korean high blood pressure treatment market last year which amounted to 1.8 trillion won.  These treatments include the three Amozaltan drug

South Korean companies said Thursday they are lending a helping hand to fight the outbreak of new coronavirus in China, the nation’s top export destination. The nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group was one of the first firms to decide on delivering donations to Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak in Hubei province. The firm said it would deliver medical goods and donations totaling 15 million yuan ($2.2 million) to help Chinese people affected by the ep

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its status as the world's top smartphone vendor last year, industry data showed Thursday, although its fourth-quarter shipments were behind Apple Inc. Samsung shipped 295.1 million smartphones around the globe in 2019, taking a 20.9 percent market share, according to data from market researcher Strategy Analytics. In 2018, Samsung claimed the No. 1 position with a 20.3 percent market share after shipping 291.3 million smartphones. "Samsung continues