South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is expected to investigate Samsung Electronics over a complaint that the company has exaggerated the performance of its Galaxy smartphones. According to industry sources Tuesday, the Fair Trade Commission received a complaint that Samsung Electronics violated advertisement law when it promoted its Galaxy S22 smartphones. With the complaint filed to the FTC, the watchdog is likely to launch a preliminary investigation soon and look into whether Samsung El

Posco Chemical said Tuesday it will build an electric vehicle material factory with General Motors in Canada. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, the two firms will together invest $400 million to construct the first phase of a cathode production facility in Quebec, Canada. The two parties discussed a joint cathode factory since December. More investment will be made depending on GM’s future EV business. Cathodes are mate

South Korean shipbuilders took the top spot in global new orders in February, far outpacing their Chinese rivals, industry data showed Tuesday. Local shipyards, led by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., clinched 860,000 compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders last month, or 67 percent of the global total at 1.29 million CGTs, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. It represents the first time in three months that South Korean shipbuilders have ranked fir

　Instant noodles captured the top spot in production among food products in South Korea in 2020 on a surge in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The output of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, stood at 1.93 million metric tons in 2020, up a whopping 231 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　Ramyeon’s ranking in terms of production was up 12 notches from the previous year. 　Carbonated drinks ra

  Samsung Electronics said Monday that a recent cyberattack by a hacking group on its system did not cause major harm to its business and customers. In a statement posted on the company's internal forum, Samsung said no personal information of its customers and employees was stolen and there will be no impact on its business operation. "There has been no personal data breach, although leaked information includes some source codes necessary to run the Galaxy phones," Samsung said

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it will make a $1 million donation to the Red Cross to aid their support for people in war-hit Ukraine. “As the humanitarian situation worsens in Ukraine, it is clear many vulnerable people and communities are in need of urgent assistance,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement. South Korea conglomerates like Samsung, SK, Kakao earlier announced that they have made contributions to aid Ukraine. By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

Tesla’s new tab-less cylindrical battery cell has the potential to become a game-changer in the electric vehicle industry, according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). The KATECH released an industry trend report on Monday that said the EV market must prepare for what is to come after Tesla starts mass producing its 4680 batteries. Tesla’s 4680 battery is 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters in length, and offers six times the power of the carmaker&rsqu

Hyundai Motor, South Korea‘s largest carmaker, made its entry to the local secondhand car market official on Monday, after facing opposition from small- and medium-sized dealers in the market for years. The company will only sell high-quality certified used cars that have been driven less than 100,000 kilometers and owned for less than five years for customer satisfaction, it said. All cars to be sold must go through performance tests and maintenance service provided by the automaker and

Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci said Monday it will put on a metaverse exhibition and sell fashion items for avatars on Zepeto, Korean tech giant Naver’s metaverse platform. The fashion house has opened a virtual space on Zepeto, where users can enjoy a metaverse version of “Gucci Garden Archetypes,” an ongoing multimedia exhibition in Seoul. Gucci and Zepeto, following its first partnership last year, agreed to bring nine out of 13 offline exhibition spaces to Zepeto. Use

No company has a pay gap in favor of women across all sectors

Korea’s inflation hits 3.6%; OECD average inflation 7.2%

Samsung Electronics is facing accusations that it exaggerated the performance of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 series. The controversy revolves around an application called game optimizing service, or “GOS.” When users play games with Galaxy S22 smartphones, GOS is activated and adjusts the performance of smartphones to help batteries last longer and prevent overheating issues. Gamers have complained about GOS for some time because the app, which cannot be switched off by th

Samsung Electronics Co. is widely expected to launch its entry-level Galaxy smartphones later this month in response to the March 8 release of Apple's new iPhone SE, industry sources said Monday. Samsung's mid-low tier Galaxy A series is forecast to come in various new models -- A73, A53, A33 and A23 -- a product line the company said would provide "cutting-edge innovations, services and features at an accessible price." Apple is expected to announce the next-generation version of the

South Korean steelmaker SeAH Besteel Corp. said Monday it will deliver three dry casks used to store spent nuclear fuel to a US nuclear logistics company. The delivery comes some six months after SeAH Besteel signed a deal for 17 casks with Orano TN, which provides total system solutions for used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management. SeAH Besteel said it marks the first time for a South Korean firm to export finished casks for spent nuclear fuel to the US market. The three casks will be

The number of newly registered electric taxis has surged to some 5,000 last year, as more taxi drivers are increasingly opting for EVs with better driving range. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Sunday, a total of 4,991 EV taxis were registered last year, which is a 453.9 percent jump from a year ago. The number increased rapidly last year compared to previous years. The number of new EV taxis was 1,018 in 2019 and 901 in 2020. The business lobby cited increase