The Korean government will order 140 liquefied natural gas ships, worth 1 trillion won ($880 million), from the nation’s small and midsized shipbuilders by 2025, and provide 1.7 trillion won in financial assistance, officials said Friday.“In order to set small and midsized shipbuilders apart from their rivals from China and Japan, it is necessary for them to be first movers in the eco-friendly shipbuilding market,” said Yoon Sung-hyuck, chief of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s shipb

French carmaker Renault has opened a vehicle test center in Daegu, southeast of Seoul, in partnership with the city government and the Korea Intelligent Automotive Promotion Institute, the company said in a statement.The center, Renault’s first test unit in Asia, will test vehicles under development in the Asia-Pacific region, it added. Renault Samsung CEO Dominique Signora speaks at the opening ceremony of Renault’s vehicle test center in Daegu, Friday. (Renault Samsung)Vehicles to be tested in

Victims urge Samsung to compensate other workers from its affiliates

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group’s home shopping operator Lotte Home Shopping unveiled on Friday its plans to step up as a world-leading media commerce company by 2025.  Lotte Home Shopping employees participate in a ceremony in Seoul to celebrate the company’s vision for the future. (Lotte Home Shopping)According to Lotte Home Shopping, it will strengthen its business fundamentals by developing its mobile shopping platform and will offer consumers an advanced shopping experience by introdu

Samsung Electronics Co. made a formal apology Friday to all victims of work-related diseases who were employed at the company's chip and display production lines, settling the long-standing dispute that lasted for more than a decade.Samsung Electronics President and CEO Kim Ki-nam, who heads the tech giant's crucial device solution division, expressed deep regrets on behalf of the company to the victims, claiming that Samsung will make every effort to comply with the compensation plan prepared b

South Korean automotive conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it is moving to list its information and communications technology (ICT) affiliate on the local stock market in a bid beef up its overall competitiveness going forward. The business group said it submitted an application for a preliminary review for the listing of Hyundai AutoEver Corp. with the Korea Exchange, Seoul's main bourse operator. Hyundai AutoEver's headquarters in southern Seoul (Yonhap)The company, first set up in

‘Samsung gradually being pressed by clients to use renewable energy’

Air Busan Co., one of South Korea's low-cost carriers, won approval on Thursday for its planned initial public offering on the country's main exchange, the bourse operator said. (Yonhap)After conducting a preliminary screening, the Korea Exchange said it found Air Busan suitable for going public on the KOSPI market.The approval cleared the way for the budget unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., the country's second-biggest full-service carrier, to debut on the market either in December or early next ye

Yuhan-Kimberly, a South Korean manufacturer of sanitary products, said it was joining forces with the Mongolian government to restore a forest and open an observatory tower there. According to the company, the work to restore deforested areas of Mongolia’s Tujin Nars forest began in 2003. The forest had sustained severe damage after two fires before the local government formally asked Yuhan-Kimberly to take part in the project in 2001.Since that time, over 10 million trees have been planted.  An

LG Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Jo Seong-jin and suppliers pose for a photo at a workshop held at LG Science Park in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)LG Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Jo Seong-jin said the company will promote automation of suppliers’ manufacturing units as part of efforts to strengthen business partnership. At a meeting with a group of suppliers here, Jo said the company would share innovative features with them, such as building an IT system, to increase efficiency in produ

South Korea’s strict prenatal education, ‘taegyo,’ under spotlight in low-birthrate, aging society

South Korea’s birthrate has been in free fall in the past several years, but either despite or because of this, the interest in prenatal care among mothers-to-be is on the rise. The result has been increased consumer demand for baby products and prenatal care services.The industries that are benefiting from the prenatal care market boom are retailers and hotels, with a rising number of customers looking for premium baby products or staycation products in line with the popular “babymoon” trips.Lo

South Korea opened a nuclear industry support center Thursday to back the local industry's efforts to tap into the global market and maintain the supply chain under the country's nuclear phase-out plan, the government said.Nuclear subsidiaries of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., including the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. and KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company Inc., as well as construction companies and parts makers, gathered for the opening of the center in southern Seoul. (Yon

South Korea announced Thursday a package of measures to help ease the hardships of small and mid-sized shipbuilders who are struggling from a lack of new orders.The shipbuilding industry, once a cornerstone of the South Korea's economic growth and job creation, has been reeling from mounting losses caused by an industrywide slump and increased costs.  This file photo shows Shina Shipbuilding Co.`s abandoned yard in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. (Yonhap)Recently, South Korea's three major

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, on Thursday unveiled interior photos of the upcoming third-generation SOUL box car after releasing an initial teaser image last week.The carmaker said the new version of SOUL will debut at the Los Angeles auto show later this month before it is launched in the domestic market early in 2019. Shown in this image, released by Kia Motors Corp. on Nov. 22, 2018, shows the new steering wheel used on the next-generation SOUL box car. (Yo