South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 announced Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Romania's state-run defense company Romarm as it seeks to export its anti-aircraft missiles to the European country. Lee Hyun-soo, LIG Nex1’s overseas business manager, and Florentina Micu, president of Romarm, signed the memorandum in Bucharest, the capital city, with Romania's Economy Minister Florin Marian Spartaru and South Korea’s Ambassador to Romania Rim Kap-so

A year after the country’s introduction of a workplace safety law, more companies have launched teams overseeing safety and gained a better understanding of the controversial act, a report said on Thursday. The latest report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that the number of companies who have launched a team to specifically handle workplace safety and health almost doubled in the past year. The latest survey was conducted in January and the previous one was carried

Korean auto giant retains top spot in hydrogen car sales, dominating more than half the global market

South Korean car manufacturer Renault Korea Motors’ midsize sedan SM6 is a steady seller in the vast domestic automobile market alongside other sizable competitors. This is thanks to the model’s commercial value, which is built on a balance between the carmaker's heritage and advanced technology. The carmaker highlighted the popular sedan’s state-of-the-art features such as a downsized engine, smooth handling and steering system as well as safety functions. In the past, lo

South Korean tech giants are shifting their production operations away from China to India to lessen the damage from the lingering uncertainties surrounding the US-China rivalry and to tap further into the world's fifth-largest economy. Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker in terms of shipments, has recently decided to produce the latest Galaxy S23 flagship smartphones in India for local sales – an unprecedented decision considering India had long remained i

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog imposed a combined 42.3 billion won ($33.5 million) in fines Thursday on three German carmakers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi -- for collusion in the emissions of their diesel-powered vehicles. The carmakers were found to have installed software designed to reduce nitrogen oxide only minimally to just satisfy Korean environmental regulations. The toxic gas causes ozone and acid rain, and is linked to asthma, respiratory disorders and lung disease. The Fa

SK Bioscience will invest a total of 325.7 billion won ($258 million) for the relocation of its research and production base to Songdo, Incheon, according to the company on Thursday. The new complex will have new R&D and production facilities as well as the company's new headquarters. The Songdo Global Research & Process Development Center will be built on a plot of land measuring 30,413.8 square meters, which the company purchased for 41.9 billion won. When the construction is comp

South Korean electric vehicle battery maker SK On confirmed Wednesday its withdrawal from a battery project in Turkey, where it had planned to build a new EV battery plant as part of a joint venture with US auto giant Ford. “We can confirm that the nonbinding memorandum of understanding between Ford, SK On and KOC Holding has been terminated by mutual agreement,” the three parties said in a statement. “We still have a strategic partnership on plants in Hungary and Georgia and o

Canadian clean tech firm to build its first full-scale recycling plant in Korea in joint venture with SK Geo Centric

South Korea's recent hikes in gas rates were inevitable due to high global prices, and the government will continue to raise the rates in line with market factors while extending support to vulnerable groups, Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said Thursday. Lee made the remarks during a parliamentary session amid a public outcry over a recent spike in heating bills. Government data showed that monthly gas rates surged more than 30 percent last month on-year. "Last year, global natural g

Shinhan Financial Group reclaimed the top position among financial firms in Korea by posting net profit outpacing other players last year. According to Shinhan's earnings report released Wednesday, its net profit marked 4.64 trillion won ($3.68 billion) in 2022, surpassing its cross-town rival KB Financial Group’s net profit by more than 200 billion won. Since KB’s net profit outperformed Shinhan for the first time in 2017, the two top-tier banking groups have been running a nec

World’s No. 1 memory chipmaker seemingly takes cautious approach to reduce impact on market sentiment, keeps strategies under wraps

The South Korean unit of international tobacco company Philip Morris Korea said on Wednesday it will release Iqos Iluma One in Korea this month, amid the tobacco companies' heated competition for market share in Korea. "The newly released Iqos Iluma One, which is the latest addition to our flagship heat-not-burn electronic cigarette brand Iqos, is most characterized by its all-in-one design," said PMK managing director Paik Young-jay during a press conference. According to Paik, u

Kim Jong-hoon, chairman of the board of directors at South Korea’s largest energy company SK Innovation, asserted that the company will continue to set a global example on governance structure. In an interview Wednesday with the firm’s official news channel SKinno News, Kim cited the independence and expertise of the board of directors as key to innovating the company’s corporate business structure. “The cultivation of our company value and environmental, social, and gove

South Korean oil refinery company S-Oil announced on Wednesday that it has donated 1 billion won ($793,000) to the Korea National Council on Social Welfare to help vulnerable households affected by the recent spike in winter heating bills. The donation will be used to provide heating cost relief for welfare facilities and households that are in need of energy support as determined by social welfare institutions across the country. Beneficiaries may include grandparents who raise their grandchild