Hahn & Co., one of the largest private equity firms in Korea, announced Tuesday it had signed a definitive agreement with SKC, a semiconductor material arm under SK Group, to acquire its fine ceramics business for 360 billion won ($267 million). The company said SKC is a major player in the semiconductor industry with its fine ceramics business producing high-purity quartz and silicon carbide consumable materials crucial for manufacturing advanced chips. “SKC’s fine ceramics busi

Meta Platforms Ireland Inc. has lost a legal battle to defy the South Korean data protection watchdog's decision to slap a fine for providing users' personal information to other operators without consent, officials said Monday. In November 2020, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) fined Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc., 7.8 billion won ($5.78 million) after its probe found that the personal information of at least 3.3 million out of 18 million Facebook users in

South Korea's science ministry said Monday its project to develop a homegrown spacecraft to the moon has passed through a preliminary feasibility study and will officially begin next year. With the passage of the 530 billion won ($392.9 million)-project, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to develop a 1.8-ton spacecraft to land on the moon in 2032 as part of the country's plan to begin exploring lunar resources under its ambitious road map for a "future space economy." The

Korean Air Co., South Korea's No. 1 flag carrier, said Monday it has placed an order for 20 additional Airbus A321neo aircrafts as part of its fleet modernization plan. Korean Air had already ordered 30 units of the model and so far has received eight units in December of last year. The latest order brings the company's total A321neo orders to 50. Korean Air is operating the next-gen Airbus fleets on its short and medium-haul routes to Southeast Asia, China and Japan. Korean Air said i

BARCELONA, Spain -- Lotte Biologics will begin antibody-drug conjugate manufacturing at its site near Syracuse, New York, starting in the first quarter of 2025, according to CEO Lee Won-jik, who also goes by Richard Lee. The company expects its ADC production to account for some 10 percent of its total sales in 10 years, Lee added. “Lotte Biologics is building an ADC facility within its Syracuse facilities. The company expects the construction to be completed by 2024 and the operation to b

South Korean brokerage house Korea Investment & Securities has partnered with global private equity firm Carlyle Group, seeking to globalize its investment portfolio. The Korean firm said Monday it signed a strategic partnership with Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm with $385 billion of assets under management as of June. Korea Investment & Securities CEO Jung Il-moon and Harvey Schwartz, CEO of Carlyle Group, attended a signing ceremony held Friday in Seoul. Through the par

LG Uplus and Hyundai Motor Group have teamed up to develop an ecosystem of communication infrastructure for robot-friendly buildings to secure core technologies required for automation, the companies said Monday. According to the announcement, the mobile carrier and automaker agreed to collaborate in crafting total solutions for robotics, such as providing communication services tailored for robots and developing standard and certification systems that can assess robot-friendly buildings’

Long-term concerns remain for imbalance in labor supply, aging population

South Korean steel giant Posco faces the threat of a strike -- the first in its 55 years of history -- after months of wage talks between management and the company's labor union failed to reach an agreement. In a vote held over the weekend, nearly 80 percent of Posco's unionized workers voted in favor of a strike, marking the first time a Posco union has approved a strike since the firm’s establishment in 1968. Of the 11,145 union members, 10,756 people, or 96.51 percent, partic

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang announced Monday that cumulative sales of its frozen fried rice products manufactured in the US have surpassed 100 billion won ($74 million) in the country, on the back of the rising popularity of Korean food among American consumers. The figure is expected to rise to some 130 billion won by the end of the year, the food giant added. The upbeat earnings are attributed to the acquisition of major US food firm Schwan's Co. in 2019, which helped it secure

LG Electronics said Monday it held the Global IT Challenge, a five-day IT skills competition for youth with disabilities, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, last week. Since its launch in 2011, more than 5,000 students from 40 countries have participated in the competition, which aims to enhance their accessibility to IT services and help them advance into society. (LG Electronics)

Mercedes-Benz Korea on Monday unveiled the Mercedes-Maybach S 680 4MATIC Haute Voiture Edition, a limited special edition model inspired by high-end fashion, for the first time in the country. Only 150 units of the special edition of the German automaker's most prestigious vehicle have been produced worldwide. Of them, 20 have been allocated to Korea, the world's second-largest market for the Maybach. The luxury vehicle's price begins at 590 million won ($437,000). (Mercedes-Benz

Hyundai Rotem, a railway, defense and plant systems provider under Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that it has successfully commercialized an LTE-based train control system for the first time in the world. Called Korean Train Control System 2, or KTCS-2, the latest system will be installed on the Jeolla Line spanning 180 kilometers from Iksan in North Jeolla Province to Yeosu in South Jeolla Province. Based on the ultrafast wireless communication network, the technology transmits data in real t

S. Korean automaker focuses on improving brand’s image and leading digitalization for car buyers

Uncertain impact of Apple Pay on attracting new customers complicates card firms' decision