Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer sees military modernization in Southeast Asia as big opportunity

SK Chemicals Co., a pharmaceutical affiliate of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to sell its patch-type Alzheimer's drug in the United States.SID710, the generic drug referencing Novartis AG's Exelon Patch to treat dementia symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease, received the green light from the FDA, the company said.The approval marked the first time a South Korean company has applied for FDA approval for an A

YEONGJONGDO, Incheon -- BMW Group Korea said Tuesday it will expand its research and development center in South Korea and increase its partnerships with local firms.BMW Finance board member Nicolas Peter told reporters that the German carmaker plans to strengthen its R&D center here by relocating and hiring 13 additional employees to have 29 staff in total.But the company did not clarify the exact scale or funding for the expansion.“We will invest in a new location for our R&D Cen

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday that it held a graduation ceremony for its education support program called Beautiful Classroom earlier this week in Vietnam. The ceremony -- conducted by Asiana crew members -- took place in Hanoi, inviting some 72 graduating students who took courses in job-related curriculum such as Korean, English and accounting, as well as classes like image making and business etiquette. Beautiful Classroom is one of the airliner’s CSR programs. It supports th

SPC Group, the operator of the Shake Shack burger chain in South Korea, said Wednesday that it will offer delivery services starting with its Gangnam and Cheongdam outlets in southern Seoul.The delivery services are available via the Happy Order app operated by the company and delivery app Baemin. There is a minimum order limit of 15,000 won. The group said it will expand the services to other parts of the country. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea’s NCSoft launched Lineage2M, mobile version of the massively multiplayer online role-playing PC game Lineage 2, at midnight Tuesday. The MMORPG is the game company’s first new title in two years that is hoped to boost its annual revenue past the 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) mark to join its competitors Nexon and Netmarble.Prior to the launch, Lineage2M topped the popularity list on both Google Play and App Store. Advance sign-ups for the game notched 7.38 million, a reco

Hyundai Motor Group has received the green light to begin construction of its new headquarters, dubbed the Global Business Center, in Samseong-dong in Seoul in the first half of next year. Targeting for 2026 completion, the automaker said it has reached a phased agreement deal with the Defense Ministry and received municipal approval.The project was initially scheduled to start construction in December 2016 but it hit a snag for years due to concerns over national safety in cases of air-to-

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday clinched a $1.5 billion investment deal with the Indonesian government to construct an automotive plant in Delta Mas in Bekasi, Indonesia, which will be the automaker’s first finished car production facility in the Southeast Asian region.The investment clinching ceremony was attended by President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs

KT, one of South Korea’s leading mobile carriers, said Tuesday it is preparing solutions to support the artificial intelligence-driven transformation of ASEAN countries based on its high-tech capabilities. The company is currently working to build AI-enabled hotels in various Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It also plans to introduce 5G AI factory and autonomous driving solutions that will facilitate the region’s transformation. KT

LG Group said Tuesday it will invest 20 billion won ($17 million) in SoftBank's venture fund focused on artificial intelligence startups. Four affiliates of LG Group -- LG Electronics Inc., LG Chem Inc., LG Uplus Corp. and LG CNS Co. -- will jointly raise 20 billion won ($17 million) for Softbank Ventures' early-stage AI fund of 320 billion won, LG said.   The investment in the Japanese tech giant's venture unit is part of the Korean conglomerate's broader plan to develop advanced AI t

BUSAN -- Leaders of South Korea and ASEAN countries have joined hands to foster the growth of startups at an event held Tuesday on the sidelines of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the ASEAN-ROK Startup Summit took place in Busan to enhance cooperation among startups of Korea and ASEAN. The event was attended by representatives from 40 ASEAN startups participating in a Korean incubation program.President Moon Jae-in said in a speech, “Korea w

BUSAN -- South Korea’s popular business card app provider Drama & Company is seeking to make its mobile platform an “Asian version of LinkedIn” by deploying localized knowledge and sentiments. “Relatively, LinkedIn does not work as well in Asia as in the West. Asians are more reluctant to post their resumes in an open space,” said Drama & Company CEO Choi Jae-ho in a brief interview with The Korea Herald at the ASEAN-ROK Startup Summit held in Busan on Tuesd

Novel epilepsy drug to reach Korean market at later time

British American Tobacco Korea on Tuesday launched Glo Pro that uses an induction heating technology, which is also widely used in kitchens. According to the tobacco maker, Glo Pro contains a battery-powered coil which creates a magnetic field. The heat is generated in the metal tube that holds the tobacco stick called Neo. The technology delivers more robust tobacco taste and faster heating time for the first puff, BAT Korea said. It is also heated at a higher temperature than th

Hyundai Glovis said Tuesday it has been conducting a wide range of corporate social responsibility programs to promote driving safety.The logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group has been running a program for driving safety since 2015, which includes handing out a safety product kit for drivers. It highlights the company’s value in safety as a leading logistics firm, it said.The company has handed out some 11,000 safety kits for drivers by visiting expressway rest stations in collaboration w