SK Materials and Group14 Technologies will jointly establish an 850 billion won ($725.7 million) silicon anode plant in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, to gain foothold in the next-generation electric vehicle battery market, SK Materials said Tuesday. The project is to be led by a joint venture set up earlier by the two in a 75:25 ratio, tentatively named SK Materials Group14. The first factory is to break ground in October and kick off commercial operation starting next year. Including f

Volvo Korea unveiled the latest face-lifted version of its flagship sport utility vehicle XC60, equipped with a new smart car system developed in partnership with South Korean mobile carrier, SKT. “Cars no longer only have the function of transportation. It’s a means of one’s lifestyle experience. We hope (the new XC60) becomes a trendsetter in this new wave of change,” said Lee Yoon-mo, CEO of Volvo Cars Korea, during an online meeting with the press on Tuesday. The

South Korea’s exports of information and communication technology products in August surpassed $20 billion for the first time in 34 months, on robust sales of semiconductor products, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the country’s outbound shipments of ICT products last month reached $20.27 billion, up 33.2 percent on-year. It was the best results ever recorded for the month of August, and second-best for any month. With that, the ICT e

South Korea‘s antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine US-based tech giant Google 207.4 billion won ($176.8 million) for abusing its market power with the Android mobile operating system. In addition to the fine, the FTC ordered Google to stop forcing device manufacturers to sign an anti-fragmentation agreement, which has prevented the manufacturers from using operating systems developed by Google’s rivals or other variants of Android. The FTC began investigating ac

Tech firm aims to soothe public anger in face of tightening regulations

World’s sixth AMG Brand Center opens in Seoul to present Mercedes’ high-performance cars

GS Caltex said Tuesday that it has deployed robots to maintenance tasks that entail risks of nitrogen asphyxiation, accelerating its digital transformation drive. According to the South Korean total energy company, its robot has successfully conducted a maintenance operation at the firm’s petrochemicals facility filled with nitrogen. The inert gas reduces fire risks during operation, but puts workers at risk of suffocation. Of 65 cases of workplace nitrogen asphyxiation cases in the la

LG Chem said Tuesday it will form a joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world’s largest corn processors, to produce 75,000 tons of corn-based bioplastic per year starting in 2025. According to an agreement signed Monday between South Korea’s leading chemical firm and the Chicago-based agriculture company, a joint venture will be launched in early 2022 in the US to produce corn-based lactic acid and poly lactic acid, a biodegradable plastic used for food packaging,

Pernod Ricard Korea said Tuesday that Frantz Hotton has been inaugurated as the new CEO of the Korean subsidiary of global wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard Group. Hotton, who is the current CEO of Pernod Ricard Hong Kong & Macao, was appointed to lead the South Korean unit in July. He joined the company as a marketing manager in 1995 and rose to be a professional C-level executive within the group, having served in various marketing and sales-related roles. Under his leadership, the

South Korean chicken burger chain Mom’s Touch said Tuesday it plans to open 100 stores in the United Sates in the next four years. Though the fast food chain opened a test store in the US in 2017, it struck a master franchise agreement with a local business partner and opened its first location in California earlier this year. Following the success of the first store, the company plans to open a drive-thru store sometime this year in the Long Beach area. The first location in California

South Korea's money supply continued to expand in July on increased corporate fund-raising and household loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,443.9 trillion won ($2.94 trillion) as of end-July, up 0.9 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 soared 20.5 percent, the central bank said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday released a new monitor suitable for video meetings as the tech giant aims to expand its presence amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. Samsung's new monitor, S40VA, comes with a pop-up webcam and microphone on the top of its display. It allows consumers to use it only when needed, offering an enhanced design look and security. The 24-inch monitor, which comes with an IPS display panel with a viewing angle of 178 degrees, is also installed with a buil

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it will close one of its Chinese plants due to decreased productivity caused by its superannuated facilities. Samsung Heavy has been in talks with the Chinese government to hand over the land and other assets by Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo Co. early next year, the company said in an emailed statement. Samsung Heavy has two plants in China -- Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo with 150,000 ton production capacity and Samsung

South Korea and the United States have agreed to maintain close ties in the goal supply chain and continue to make joint efforts to speed up the delivery of vaccines around the globe, the trade ministry said Tuesday. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Washington on Monday (US time) and shared ideas on ways to cope with the changing business environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the

Hyundai Motor Co. said it began accepting preorders on Tuesday for the upcoming mini SUV Casper ahead of its launch in South Korea later this month. Hyundai said it is accepting early orders only through its official online channel, the first such attempt by a Korean automaker, to reflect growing demand for contactless car purchases amid the pandemic. In time for its official launch on Sept. 29, Hyundai said it will host a digital showcase event and reach out to customers through various digi