Hanjin Transportation Co., a South Korean logistics company, said Friday it will buy back 20 billion won ($17.7 million) worth of its shares to improve shareholder value. Hanjin's board of directors approved the plan to buy its shares for six months ending on Sept. 12, the company said. Hanjin said the company made the decision as its shares were believed to be undervalued despite its robust earnings last year. "The parcel delivery business improved profitability thanks to a sharp hike i

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Friday that it had signed orders worth 1.95 trillion won ($1.73 billion) to build 10 very large crude carriers, signaling an uptrend in the nation’s shipbuilding industry. The announcement comes nearly three months after a letter of intent was signed in December. The completed vessels will be delivered to buyers in Asia, Europe and the Americas by the second half of 2023. The dual-fueled VLCCs, which use both diesel and natural gas, joi

Major South Korean builder DL E&C Co. said Friday it has signed a 327.1 billion-won ($290 million) interim deal to upgrade an oil refinery in Russia. Under the deal with Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, DL E&C will build a plant for adding and cracking hydrogen at Gazprom Neft's refinery southeast of Moscow. Completion is scheduled for the second half of 2024, and the two sides plan to seal a formal contract within three months, DL E&C said. Gazprom Neft is a subsidiary of Russi

South Korea’s leading content provider Ridi Corp. said Friday that its global webtoon service Manta has achieved 300,000 accumulated downloads on the back of its popular response in the North American market. The online cartoon app, which provides various genres at a set monthly price, kicked off in North America in November last year, and soon rose to become the second most popular cartoon app on the Google app store in the US. The top title was “Under the Oak Tree,” a roman

Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo won a second term to lead the South Korean steel giant for another three years, Posco said Friday. The decision at the company's annual shareholders meeting came as Posco has been pushing to boost production capacity of key components for electric vehicle batteries as part of a diversification strategy. Earlier this week, Posco International Corp. said its steel processing unit, Posco SPS, will produce 10,000 tons a year of fuel-cell bipolar plates by 2027, which

LG Electronics Inc. said Friday its joint venture with Swiss-based software firm Luxoft has been launched as the South Korean company eyes to expand its presence in automotive solutions. Their joint venture Alluto is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and will provide solutions for digital cockpit, in-vehicle infotainment, passenger-seat entertainment and ride-hailing systems based on LG's webOS Auto platform, according to the company. LG and Luxoft, now owned by US IT service firm DXC

LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Friday it will invest 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) by 2025 to expand its battery production capacity in the United States to meet growing demand in the key market. The battery subsidiary wholly owned by LG Chem Ltd. said the investment will increase its US manufacturing capacity to 75 gigawatt hours (GWh) and help create 10,000 jobs, including 6,000 subcontractors. LG Energy Solution operates a lithium-ion battery factory in Michigan and is building a new factory

WASHINGTON -- South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. made a splash in its landmark debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at an initial public offering price of $35 each. The IPO price is higher than an earlier proposed range of $32 to $34. With 130 million shares offered, Coupang raised $4.6 billion in public offering. According to Yahoo Finance data, the company's value stood at around $88.65 billion after its first closing, making it one of the most valuable startups in the Un

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it will launch another budget smartphone model in South Korea this week as the global tech giant eyes beefing up its handset sales against rivals. The Galaxy A32 will be released in South Korea on Friday with a price tag of 374,000 won ($330). The budget smartphone is already available in select markets in Europe and India. The LTE-supporting model comes with a quad rear-camera setup with a 60-megapixel (MP) main shooter, 8MP ultra wide lens, 52MP depth sen

Lee Jae-yong’s trial on leadership succession resumes amid suspicions of illegal drug use

Korea Aerospace Industries said Thursday it will utilize virtual and augmented realty technologies in its jet trainer system. 　 South Korea’s sole aircraft developer will develop the live-virtual-constructive system, which offers live maneuvering simulation, war game and virtual and constructive trainings. KAI has supplied 50 sets of training systems to 16 countries. Since 2016, the company has conducted and commissioned independent research and developed ways to integrate jet, simula

Choi likely to extend term, lead group’s eco-friendly transition: market observers

This is the first installment of a three-part series looking into SK Innovation’s struggles to rise to the global leadership of lithium ion batteries, which have become a key enabler for a global shift toward sustainable mobility. The articles are sponsored by SK Innovation. - Ed.  SK Innovation is pushing the boundaries of nickel ratio inside electric vehicle batteries to the extreme, taking initiative in the global nickel cobalt manganese, or NCM, battery market. According to

SK Innovation said Thursday that its board of directors had ordered the establishment of a “complete global compliance system” in response to the ongoing battery dispute with LG Energy Solution in the US. At an audit committee meeting, held Wednesday and attended by all the company’s outside directors, board members lashed out at the management, saying the company’s “lack of experience in global disputes” had resulted in its defeat in the US’ top tra

SK Bioscience will develop an all-in-one vaccine targeting COVID-19 variants, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the South Korean firm said Thursday. SK Bioscience would receive funding from CEPI, worth up to $14.2 million, for the research and development. The South Korean vaccine developer could receive additional funds of as much as $12.5 million for building manufacturing facilities. For the new vaccine, the company hopes to build on its experience with n