Alex Yu, CTO of US battery developer, says competition encourages advancement of solid-state battery technology

South Korean battery materials maker EcoPro said Sunday it would invest 1.2 trillion won ($910 million) in its Pohang campus in North Gyeongsang Province this year to expand its comprehensive secondary battery supply chain, which covers everything from producing key components to recycling. The company plans to allocate 690 billion won to expanding its precursor plant, with additional funds directed toward increasing production of anode material at 32 billion won, lithium hydroxide production fa

LG Energy Solution on Sunday announced a partnership with Qualcomm Technologies to develop an intelligent battery monitoring system for electric vehicles, aiming to simplify battery management for EV owners. This collaboration merges LG's expertise in battery management with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform, which is a comprehensive suite of automotive solutions including connectivity, digital cockpits and advanced driver assistance systems. The new battery management sys

South Korea’s fruit consumption has diminished by almost 20 percent over the past 15 years amid supply shortages and soaring prices, government data found Sunday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the nation’s per capita fruit consumption declined by 19 percent to 55 kilograms in 2022 after peaking at 67.9 kilograms in 2007. Tangerines and apples topped the per capita consumption with 11.8 kilograms and 11.0 kilograms, respectively, followed by pears (

Samsung Group, South Korea’s top conglomerate, said Sunday that its official recruitment in the first half of this year will start Monday, with 19 affiliates joining the large-scale hiring of entry-level workers. The key affiliates include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung Biologics, Samsung SDS and Samsung SDI, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and The Shilla Hotel. Applicants are required to submit their applications via Samsung’s official recruitment website from

South Korean energy and environmental solutions provider SK Ecoplant announced Sunday that it has partnered with the global wellness company Therme Group to develop a resort and spa in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province. The collaboration was formalized with a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at SK Ecoplant's headquarters in Seoul on Friday, attended by SK Ecoplant CEO Park Kyung-il and Therme Group Chair Robert Hanea. The Austria-based Therme Group, famous for its innovative wellness r

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong highlighted the need to nurture female leaders during the 2024 Shinhan SHeroes Conference held at the group’s headquarters in central Seoul on Friday. The conference celebrated the launch of the seventh class of Shinhan SHeroes, an in-house leadership training program for women. "Female leaders are individuals responsible for promoting diversity," Jin said. "Shinhan will train them to lead changes of the times." The program

Kia's EV9, a large three-row electric SUV launched globally last year, has been named the 2024 UK Car of the Year. The vehicle was recognized by a panel of 30 judges, mainly automotive journalists from publications such as TopGear and Autocar, for its spacious interior that can accommodate up to seven seats, a substantial 489-kilometer maximum driving range, and a sleek design both inside and out, along with its feature-rich information system. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean manufacturer specializing in ships and LNG plants, has recently registered two trademarks for new entities, hinting at its expansion into maritime energy development, according to industry sources, Friday. The registration of these two trademarks -- Hanwha Drilling and Hanwha Haeun (the direct romanization of the Korean term for "shipping") -- indicates the company’s intention to broaden its scope from ship and maritime plant construction to maritime

South Korean pharmaceutical company Handok announced Friday that GX-H9, a long-acting recombinant human growth hormone it co-developed with Genexine, has won orphan drug designation from the country's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Handok said the designation for GX-H9, which it received on Monday this week, will help the company speed up the launch of the medicine. In Korea, when a drug qualifies for the orphan drug designation, the drug is eligible for conditional approval based on res

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Friday that it has promoted Chung Yong-jin, the 55-year-old son of the conglomerate’s Chair Lee Myung-hee, to chair with a mission to address the challenges in the country’s retail sector. "The increasingly competitive retail market is facing a wide variety of crisis factors, making 'strong leadership' even more necessary than in the past,” said Shinsegae in a statement released Friday. The promotion came 18 years af

JB Financial Group on Thursday said it will acquire a minority stake in Vietnam’s retail investing app Infina, in a bid to help the group’s securities affiliate expand its customer base in the Southeast Asian country. In a strategic partnership deal, the group will buy 3.9 percent of Infina's shares and increase its holdings to some 5 percent depending on the results of collaboration between its brokerage unit JB Securities Vietnam and Infina. JB Securities Vietnam, based in H

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group Chair Shin Dong-bin is stepping up efforts to increase the group’s artificial intelligence capability. Lotte Group, on Friday, announced that the company held a conference on AI technology at Lotte World Tower on Thursday. Around 110 officials from the group and its affiliates joined the conference, including Lotte Group Chair Shin, his eldest son and executive Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol, and chief executive officers of the group’s key business

South Korea will take back its sales lead in the global display market by 2027 with its technological edge, Samsung Display CEO Choi Joo-sun said Thursday upon his appointment as the new head of the Korea Display Industry Association. Choi vowed to boost the Korean industry's standing on the global stage through close collaboration with the government during his three-year term. "The Chinese government is spending a huge sum of money to foster its domestic display panel industry. So I

South Korean education provider Vine Group announced Thursday that its Sollute study abroad program has successfully concluded its 2024 winter vacation youth English camps. The winter vacation English camp, which attracted 141 participants, took place throughout January and February, lasting either three or seven weeks ahead of the new academic term. Its primary objective was to facilitate cross-cultural interactions while enhancing English language skills. Conducted in Canada, New Zealand, and