Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's top shipbuilder, have decided to extend their ongoing walkout for another week to up the ante in their wage negotiations with the management as the company urged them to return to work, the labor union said Friday. The unionized workers were to end the strike on the day, which started Tuesday, occupying a shipbuilding crane in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after the wage deal fell through. In response to the walkout,

South Korea's leading steelmaker POSCO estimated Friday its second-quarter operating profit hit the highest point in 15 years on robust demand amid a global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating profit for the April-June quarter jumped to 2.2 trillion won (US$1.9 billion) from 121.2 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a regulatory filing. It marked the highest quarterly operating profit since 2006, when the steelmaker reported its quarterly ea

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it has revealed the wagon version of the G70 under its independent Genesis brand in Britain ahead of its launch in other European countries later this year. Hyundai unveiled the G70 Shooting Brake at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the biggest motoring sporting events, and will begin to sell the model there later this year, the company said in a statement. The company plans to launch the localized G70 model in other European markets to capture a sha

Samsung Electronics Co. is considering launching the upcoming budget model of the Galaxy S21 smartphone in the United States and Europe only, industry sources said Friday, due to global semiconductor shortages. Samsung is reviewing a plan to release the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition (FE) in the U.S. and Europe after skipping the domestic market and other countries following the tight supply of mobile application processors, according to the sources. The Galaxy S21 FE will be reportedly powered by the

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI Co. is considering investment in the United States to meet growing demand for electric vehicles, industry sources said Friday, stoking speculation over potential partnership with major automakers. The battery making arm of Samsung Electronics Co. has been reviewing various options to build a new battery factory in the US to supply potential clients but has remained cautious over its plan despite rising market expectations. "We are considering US inve

Genesis’ first EV variant based on premium sedan G80 launches at the price of 82.8 million won

Hyundai Motor will work with other firms to utilize its car-making expertise and technology for the development of a hydrogen fuel cell system for ships, the Korean automaker said Thursday. Hyundai Motor has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Global Service and the Korean Register of Shipping, a non-profit ship classification body, to jointly develop an FC system package for ships using the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell that is used in cars. The partnership also aims

South Korea on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to consolidate its leadership in the white-hot battery industry, which included a plan by companies to inject over 40 trillion won ($34.9 billion) by 2030 as well tax incentives and other support from the goverment. Dubbed the “K-battery strategy,” the public-private plan resembles one announced in March for the chip industry as Asia’s fourth-largest economy looks to sharpen its competitive edge in the face of growing chall

IT solutions provider IBM Korea has appointed Won Sung-shik as its new general manager, the firm said Thursday. Won replaces former CEO Song Ki-hong, who has moved to supervise IBM’s ASEAN operations and IBM Korea’s global business service. Won joined IBM Korea in 1991 and served in various divisions including hardware, marketing, global technology services and finance. He spent four years working for SK Telecom, but returned to IBK Korea to lead its business in technology, co

Twenty hydrogen taxis operating in Seoul will offer free ride for three days next week, H2Korea, a private-public think tank for the hydrogen economy, said Thursday. The event, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the state-run Korea Automotive Technology Institute, is to promote the sustainable, eco-friendly hydrogen energy as well as the government’s efforts toward carbon neutrality. It will also mark the first-year anniversary of the Korean New Deal, Presiden

South Korean drug firm GeneOne Life Science announced Thursday that the company will begin a phase 2a clinical trial of the company‘s self-developed DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate GLS-5310. The phase 1 clinical trial, conducted at Korea University Guro Hospital with 45 participants, has produced positive results and was reviewed and confirmed by a data safety monitoring board, the firm said. A DSMB is a group of independent experts who monitor patient safety and treatment efficac

Posco Chemical will establish a new cathode plant with an annual production of 60,000 metric tons in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the company said Thursday. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it will invest 600 billion won ($524.1 million) starting next year to construct the cathode plant on a 120,000-square-meter site inside an industrial complex of the coastal city. Once completed, the Pohang plant will be Posco Chemic

A class action lawsuit against SK Telecom, filed by a group of 5G mobile service users in South Korea, formally started Thursday, amid conflicting claims about the quality of the mobile service. In the lawsuit, 237 people who signed up for SK Telecom’s 5G service presented their case at the Seoul Central District Court through local law firm Serim. In February, the law firm recruited Korean 5G users who experienced problems with the service and wanted to join the class action suit. On

South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus has appointed former CEO of McDonald’s Korea Cho Ju-yeon as its new chief marketing officer, in an executive reshuffle announced on Thursday. Cho made headlines in 2016 when she became the first female CEO at the South Korean unit of the fast food restaurant. Hwang Jeong-wook, who formerly served as the chief financial officer at the Korean unit of AstraZeneca, will become the new chief financial officer at Homeplus. The move comes as the company

Samsung Display Co. on Thursday signed a wage agreement with its labor union as some of its unionized workers have been staging strikes for the first time in the company's history. The union on Monday accepted the company's proposal of a 4.5 percent raise, which was approved by 83 percent of its members in a vote. The agreement came after six union representatives began industrial actions on June 21, demanding a 6.8 percent hike in base pay, in the first-ever walkout at the world's largest mob