SK Shieldus, the cybersecurity service arm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, is poised to use the proceeds from its imminent initial public offering to pursue cross-border mergers and acquisitions, its Chief Executive Officer Park Jin-hyo told reporters Tuesday. Cloud computing security firms would be the major target for a strategic investment, which would allow the nation‘s No. 1 security service firm to make a foray into overseas markets, Park said. “We are pr

Korean red ginseng improves stress resistance and alleviates fatigue, especially effective in relieving stress among the under-energetic who experience chronic fatigue and have low blood pressure, studies showed on Tuesday, At the 2022 Spring Ginseng Conference held last week by the Korean Society of Ginseng, a series of studies showed that the regular intake of red ginseng products showed an improvement in stress and fatigue management. According to a comparative study by a local family medi

South Korea plans to invest 397.5 billion won ($318 million) in building charging stations for electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles this year in an effort to foster the next-generation car industry, a senior government official said Tuesday. The government also plans to focus on building the infrastructure and developing technology for self-driving vehicles this year, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "The government will continue to craft policy support for the next-

An Australian logistics company has agreed to pay $6.13 million to settle a potential civil liability for apparent violations of US sanctions against North Korea, Iran and Syria, according to the US Treasury Department's website Tuesday. Toll Holdings Limited, a Melbourne-based international freight forwarding firm, made the settlement with the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for nearly 3,000 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs, the department said in

South Korean fried chicken chain Genesis BBQ Co. said Tuesday it has recently opened six new shops in the United States as part of efforts to tap deeper into the American market. Genesis BBQ said it launched three stores in Aurora, Denver and Inglewood in the US state of Colorado. A new shop was also opened in North Quincy, Massachusetts, with two more outlets starting operations in Walnut and Rowland Heights, California. Genesis BBQ now has 150 shops in 19 US states, up from 100 at the end of S

US semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research Corp. opened a technology center in South Korea on Tuesday, which the company hopes will serve as a key hub of its global research and development (R&D) network. Lam Research completed its Korea technology center at an industrial site in Yongin, about 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in February this year after breaking ground in July 2020. Lam Research, the world's No. 3 chip equipment maker, said some 100 researchers will work at the center, w

The daily average of air travelers is expected to be around 81,000 in July, which is around 40 percent of air travelers from the same period in 2019, right before the pandemic hit the world, according to the operator of South Korea‘s major air gateway Incheon Airport, on Monday. After November, Incheon International Airport Corp. anticipates a 70 percent recovery of the daily average air travelers and is gearing up for normalization of its operations in phrases, officials said in a regula

  Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Monday its first-quarter net profit fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier due to one-off costs amid global chip shortages. Net profit for the three months ended in March fell to 1.032 trillion won (US$825 million) from 1.035 trillion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. Particularly high deferred corporate taxes were factored in the bottom line in the first quarter, a company spokesman said ove

The market for in-car subscription services such as high-end functions like autonomous driving and entertainment systems could be more profitable than selling new cars for carmakers, market data showed Monday, illustrating reason why major carmakers are moving to develop their own software and in-car programs. According to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH) report, the world’s top 11 finished carmakers and EV maker Tesla have garnered an average of $109 billion of their a

President-elect visits SK Bioscience as drugmaker announces final trial result of the nation’s 1st homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

South Korean researchers have developed a computer that can save data even after the power is turned off, facilitating ways to reduce electric power consumption, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said Monday. The research team led by Jung Myoung-soo, an electrical engineering professor at KAIST, has invented the Lightweight Persistence Centric System or Light PC, which can retain data regardless of power supply, according to KAIST. KAIST said most existing computers use d

Five South Korean lobby groups on Monday called for a presidential pardon to be issued to Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the family-owned electronics giant, with businesses saying the leadership void is taking a toll on the group even after Lee was released from prison on parole last year. The plea for Lee’s clemency was submitted to Cheong Wa Dae and the Justice Ministry, in hopes that it would make it onto the list of incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s l

Exports of Korean instant noodles, or “ramyeon,” last month broke the $70 million mark for the first time amid continued global popularity of Korean pop culture and the pandemic. March exports of ramyeon grew 20 percent from a year ago to $71.58 million, up 35.8 percent from February, according to the Korea Customs Service and food industry sources. The previous monthly record for ramyeon exports was $66.66 million in December last year. The export volume of ramyeon also surpassed

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will reopen the route to India this week as eased virus restrictions unleash pent-up demand. Asiana will offer one flight a week on the Incheon-Delhi route starting Friday after it suspended the route 33 months ago on July 8, 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. The company will also expand the number of flights on routes to Sydney, Los Angeles, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and M

Major South Korean credit card issuer Samsung Card Co. said Monday that its earnings rose more than 16 percent in the first quarter of the year on the back of a recovery in consumer confidence. Consolidated net income stood at 160.8 billion won ($129.2 million) in the January-March period, up 16.2 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit climbed 16.8 percent on-year to 216.4 billion won, with revenue increasing 1.4 percent to 930.8 billion won. Samsu