South Korea ranks fourth in terms of the number of patents registered in the artificial intelligence sector, but an index showing the impact of the patents shows that the quality of patents from South Korea fell relatively short, according to a report, Tuesday. The report from Clarivate Analytics and KAIST Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy says that the number of patents that South Korea registered in the AI field has reached 6,317 between 2010 and 2019, the fourth highest among the 10

High-end demand favors luxury EV models, despite lack of govt subsidies

SK global chemical received the highest mark on a United Nations environment-friendly certification thanks to its plastic upcycling technology, the company said Tuesday. According to the company, it received the top score for the Guidelines for Reducing Plastic Waste & Sustainable Ocean and Climate Action Acceleration (GRP) certificate, which the Association for Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN announces every May. The GRP certificate is aimed to encourage companies

South Korea plans to provide tax incentives and financial support to makers of automotive chip parts and other key parts and materials, the finance minister said Tuesday. Hong Nam-ki said the country plans to offer support to corporate projects to develop eight key parts and materials, including automotive chip parts and rare-earth permanent magnets used for electric vehicles. Hong said at a meeting on the parts and material industries that the move will help attract private investments worth

E-commerce giant Coupang will introduce a health care program to a select group of its delivery drivers, the company said Tuesday, as the country’s online shopping boom has left delivery workers exposed to even more relentless work conditions. Dubbed as “Coupang Care,” the program will see partakers set aside from their regular assignments and instead receive education on healthy diets, exercise and disease management from experts for four weeks. The drivers, known as “

South Korea's ICT ministry on Tuesday said it has approved LG Uplus Corp.'s plan to phase out its 2G services by the end of June, which will mark the complete termination of the country's old telecommunications network. LG Uplus, the country's third-largest mobile carrier, will begin closing its 2G network here on June 11 following the ministry's approval. SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest wireless provider, ended its 2G services in July last year, while rival KT Corp. shut down 2G operat

Samsung Electronics Co. maintained its status as the world's leading TV vendor with a record market share in the first quarter, a report showed Tuesday, as the tech giant posted robust growth on the back of its QLED and large TVs. Samsung represented 32.9 percent of the global TV market in terms of sales revenue in the January-March period, its largest share for a first quarter, according to data from industry researcher Omdia. Samsung was followed by its South Korean rival LG Electronics Inc.

British home appliance maker Dyson Ltd. on Tuesday launched two new brands of vacuum cleaners equipped with dust-detecting laser technology as the company tries to expand sales here amid the pandemic-induced stay-at-home trend. Dyson's V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum cleaners will be sold in South Korea with price tags of 1.24 million won ($1,100) and 1.09 million won, respectively. The two vacuum cleaners were already launched in select markets earlier this year. Dyson said t

South Korea's exports of kimchi advanced a whopping 35 percent on-year in the first four months of 2021, data showed Tuesday, on the growing demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of kimchi reached $61.1 million over the January-April period, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and hot peppers and is eaten with almost all meals. The fer

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will temporarily suspend its Indian plant due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Motor will halt the Indian plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu for five days starting Tuesday, a company spokesman said over the phone. The decision came after two workers were infected with COVID-19 and several workers staged a sit-in at the plant Monday amid rising virus fears among workers. Tamil Nadu is one of the

SsangYong Motor Co., currently under court receivership, is expected to select a lead manager as early as this week to find a new investor, industry sources said Tuesday. The carmaker didn't confirm the plan to select a lead manager. US vehicle importer HAAH Automotive Holdings Inc. reportedly remains among the potential bidders though it failed to submit a letter of intent (LOI) to a bankruptcy court to acquire the financially troubled carmaker. SsangYong's Indian parent Mahindra & Mah

SK Bioscience said Monday that it will be receiving additional funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The grant of up to $173.4 million will be spent on global phase 3 clinical tests of GBP510, a protein-based vaccine candidate that the South Korean firm is developing in collaboration with the University of Washington. The amount is far greater than what the Oslo-based international organization has provided to

  South Korea’s top steelmaker, Posco, is expanding its social outreach effort to help immigrant mothers and their children. The company said Monday that it is launching a three-year support program in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Institute for Healthy Family. A three-way memorandum of understanding is to be signed Tuesday. The institute, an agency under the auspices of the Gender Ministry that supports the social integration of multi

Hyundai Steel is running an upcycling campaign to find new uses for discarded coffee grounds as part of its social contribution project, the company said Monday. From May 17 to June 16, the steelmaker is putting up advertisements showing eco-friendly products made from coffee waste inside subway stations and on city buses operating in Incheon, the company said. The campaign is designed to promote the idea of upcycling coffee waste. People who take selfies with the advertisements and post th

Kia Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, plans to suspend its factory in the United States for two days later this week due to a semiconductor shortage, company officials said Monday. Kia plans to idle its assembly line in Georgia from Thursday to Friday over a chip shortage, following its two-day factory suspension last month, they said. The Georgia plant, which produces the Telluride, Sorento SUV and K5 sedan, rolled out 70,600 units in the first three months of this year. Kia halted produc