South Korea’s SK Group is bolstering the expertise and inclusivity of board directors across its affiliates by adding more females and current and former top executives to the boardroom as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance more responsible management. Ahead of their shareholders’ meetings later this month, the group said Tuesday its 12 key affiliates, including SK Inc., SK hynix, SK Telecom and SK Innovation, have nominated final candidates for outside directors. Of the 12 new c

South Korean commodities trader Posco International announced Tuesday that it will foster the carbon capture and storage business by establishing a new commercialization team. CCS is a technology that collects and stores carbon dioxide emitted from industries and permanently isolates them from the atmosphere. The collected carbon dioxide is stored underground and is used in artificial seismic wave exploration, exploration drilling and carbon dioxide injection to determine a suitable stratum stru

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee said Tuesday that the tech giant was in talks to secure a greater stake in Rainbow Robotics, a local humanoid robotics company, in an apparent move to ramp up its presence in the burgeoning robotics market. At a press event held to introduce Samsung’s new Bespoke home appliances lineup in Seoul earlier in the day, Han noted that the company has a strong appetite to acquire Rainbow Robotics and related talks are on the way “l

South Korean information technology service provider LG CNS said it launched cloud cost optimization service FinOps Clinic, which assesses clients’ cloud usage to offer the optimal budget and reduce overall cloud spending. More companies are using multiple cloud services from multiple service providers, and the new service is aimed to allow clients to effectively manage their costs by identifying mismanaged or abnormal cost occurrences, LG CNS said. FinOps -- formed by combining "fina

Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday unveiled an artificial intelligence-based automotive charging robot. According to the carmaker’s test video, the robot communicates with the Ioniq 6 electric sedan and controls the charging process, from parking to opening and closing the charger port cover. Details about the robot’s mass-market debut were not disclosed immediately.

South Korea's exports fell 17.4 percent on-year in the first 20 days of March, data showed Tuesday, amid the protracted downcycle in the global semiconductor industry. The country's outbound shipments stood at $30.9 billion in the March 1-20 period, compared with $37.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports decreased 5.7 percent on-year to $37.3 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.3 billion. In February, the count

Mergers and acquisitions by South Korean firms decreased 7.7 percent in 2022 from a year earlier amid economic uncertainties, data showed. The number of mergers came to 1,027 cases last year, down from 1,113 cases tallied in 2021, according to the Fair Trade Commission. They were valued at 325.5 trillion won ($245.9 billion), down 6.7 percent over the period. It marked the first time since 2016 for the number of M&As to decrease on-year. The figure, meanwhile, still hovered above 1,000 for t

Hyundai Motor Group’s Kia on Monday unveiled the concept of its full-electric midsized sport utility vehicle EV5 in China, renewing its sales push in the all-important market where it has struggled to elevate its shrunken market share. The carmaker held the Kia EV Day event, its first media event this year, in Shanghai. Earlier, Kia said it would produce the EV5 in China for both domestic and global sales. The car is the smallest of its EV lineup. Since the 2021 debut of the EV6, its fir

Kakao Brain, an artificial intelligence technology research and development subsidiary of Kakao, said Monday it has temporarily suspended its generative AI-based chatbot service, within a day after its open beta release, due to technical glitches. At around 4 p.m. on Monday, Ddmm was unexpectedly closed after too many users flocked to try out the service. By the time Kakao had suspended the service, some 13,000 users had added the service to their mobile messenger, KakaoTalk. The exact date for

GI Innovation, a local biotech firm, said Monday its initial public offering price has been set at 13,000 won ($9.90), lower than the minimum price range that the company targeted. The IPO price was determined after GI Innovation conducted a two-day book-building process targeting institutional investors last week. A total of 563 institutions, including 46 foreign entities, joined the process, the company said. The overseas institutions reserved some 13.77 million shares, while local institution

IRA-backed US state plans to set up liaison office in Seoul to bolster ties with battery makers

Lunit, a provider of artificial intelligence-powered cancer solutions, said Monday that it has received approval from the European Union for the commercial launch of its AI-based medical software used in detecting breast cancer. The solution, dubbed Lunit Insight Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, is an AI-based software solution to help identify suspicious lesions with 3D mammograms. “(Lunit) has laid the groundwork for sales in European countries by earning the CE marking in around one month

By Nam Sung-hyun Today is the International Day of Forests. Forests account for 31 percent of the land surface area of the Earth. They play a crucial role in responding to climate change as they absorb 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly as a major terrestrial carbon sink. Forests also provide habitats to 80 percent of terrestrial species, proving to be the cornucopia of biodiversity. In other aspects, approximately 1 billion people worldwide obtain essential nutrients from forests

Korean lender bets big on burgeoning manufacturing sector in Southeast Asia’s largest economy

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong on Monday vowed that the antitrust regulator will seek ways to protect Korean consumers from the possible negative influence of the EU’s new law targeting global big tech companies. The EU’s Digital Market Act, which will come into force this year, aims to prevent global tech giants from abusing their market power and ensure a higher degree of competition. This law includes tighter restrictions on collecting data. If companies fa