Behind the surprise bid of Jungheung for the control of a much-larger rival, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, is a self-made entrepreneur little known outside the construction field: Jung Chang-sun, the chairman and founder of Jungheung Group. Jungheung, founded in the southern city of Gwangju, grabbed headlines on Tuesday after it was selected as the preferred bidder of Daewoo E&C, the nation’s sixth-largest builder with a proud but checkered history. Local media put Jungheung

Shutdown system sparks a storm of controversies over Minecraft and Korea’s age-based restrictions on gaming

LG Group’s material and components maker LG Innotek has been recognized for the quality of its auto parts supplied to General Motors, the company said Tuesday. The South Korean firm received the 2020 GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award, marking its fourth consecutive win dating to 2017. GM recognizes partners that meet standards of zero quality defects and strict quality control for automotive components with the award, as quality control is directly related to the safety of drivers,

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on Tuesday launched an electric vehicle standardization forum to establish ground rules for five industries based on future technology, including wireless charging and water-cooled rapid chargers. Formed by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Industry Ministry, the industry-academia-research cooperation platform will also lead standardization efforts in vehicle-to-grid technology, electric motorcycles and solid-state batteries.

South Korea needs nuclear energy to achieve its decarbonization goal and go in tandem with the global low-carbon drive, as the country has conditions unfavorable to rely mainly on renewables, the Federation of Korean Industries said Tuesday. In a statement, the nation’s major business lobbying group cited the World Economic Forum’s energy transition index -- which benchmarks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems across various aspects -- to highlight Ko

Hyundai Rotem Co., a South Korean railway system and plant equipment maker, said Tuesday it has received a 335.4 billion-won ($297 million) order for electric locomotives and electric multiple units in Tanzania. Hyundai Rotem will supply 80 electric locomotives and 17 electric multiple units to the Tanzanian railway corporation by 2024, the company said in a statement. It is the first time for the company to win an order in Tanzania. Hyundai Rotem expects to win further deals as the local gove

Imported carmakers are planning to introduce 53 all-electric models in South Korea by 2023 as they quickly move toward future vehicle technologies amid toughened regulations, the chief of a trade association of foreign automakers here said Tuesday. They also plan to launch 46 mild hybrid electric vehicles, as well as 32 hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, for the next three years, Rene Koneberg, chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA), said in a

South Korean shipbuilders saw their new orders rise over sevenfold in the first half of the year from a year ago, and they have achieved more than half of their annual order targets for the year, industrial data showed Tuesday. During the January-June period, Korean shipbuilders bagged new orders totaling a combined 10.47 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), up more than seven times compared with 1.35 million CGTs the previous year, according to data provided by global market researcher Clark

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday the country reported 78 ransomware attacks in the first half of the year in the latest sign of growing cyberattacks. Ransomware is a type of malware that holds a target's data hostage or locks up its systems until a ransom is paid. It is not immediately clear whether the targeted companies paid ransoms to hackers in return for restoring access to their data. The latest figure represents a rising trend, compared with 22 in 2018, 39 in 2019 and 127 cases

The Seoul metropolitan government said Tuesday it is developing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) platforms to enable the public to virtually experience a government office and historical palace rituals from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The city government will develop the platforms in partnership with the Cultural Heritage Administration, Woomi Construction Corp. and Cheil Worldwide Inc. under an agreement signed Tuesday, and unveil them to the public next year. The project w

LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it will expand cloud-based call centers to offer better customer care services and protect its workers from the novel coronavirus outbreak. With its recently launch of cloud-based call centers in the United States, LG said they will be also available in 10 more countries, including Brazil, France, Vietnam and South Korea, by the end of this year. Cloud-based call centers allow employees to work wherever internet is connected, which will promote a work-from-home

　Nearly 8 out of 10 South Korean consumers have increased their online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed. 　The survey of 1,000 local consumers, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed 78.4 percent of the respondents saying their online purchases have risen since the outbreak of COVID-19. 　About 71 percent of them said they have purchased more foodstuffs and beverages online, followed by dining out and other food services, kitchen and daily goods an

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday its independent brand Genesis' domestic vehicle sales jumped 33 percent in the first half compared to a year earlier amid tougher competition with imported brands and the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai sold 72,710 Genesis vehicles from January to June, up from 48,886 units a year earlier, the company's sales data showed. Genesis models accounted for 19 percent of Hyundai's domestic sales of 386,095 units in the first six months of this year. On the overseas front, t

LG Group, South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, is apparently looking to beef up its business relationship with Apple Inc., industry insiders said Tuesday, amid rumors that its electronics affiliate may sell the US tech titan's products at its retail shops. LG recently held a special promotion for iPhones, iPads and other Apple products on Lifecare, its online shopping mall for group employees, according to the sources. This was reportedly the first time that the group offered mobile devic

The labor union of Samsung Display has reached a wage agreement with management and will end its two-week partial strike soon, union officials said Monday. Six union representatives went on strike on June 21, demanding a 6.8 percent hike in base pay, in the first-ever walkout at the world's largest mobile display maker. In the latest negotiation, the union withdrew its demand and accepted the company's proposal of a 4.5 percent raise, and the agreement was approved by 83 percent of its members