Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s largest mobility-as-a-service platform operator, is expected to accelerate its business expansion with a recent investment from Carlyle Group. International investment firm Carlyle Group Thursday agreed to invest $200 million in Kakao Mobility, valuing the South Korean mobility platform operator at 3.42 trillion won ($3.09 billion). Kakao Mobility currently operates Kakao T, the country’s most popular taxi-hailing platform used by around 28 million u

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Friday underscored the importance of cooperation among players in the lithium-ion battery industry during a webinar hosted by the group’s foundation. During the online seminar hosted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, the chairman attributed the recent success of the battery industry to “the longtime cooperation among researchers from the academia and industry.” “Such cooperation is crucial to expand the battery ecosystem i

Apple Inc. is expected to open its second store in South Korea later this month, expanding its presence in the country to compete with local tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. The company said Friday it will hold a press preview event for the store in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 24. While Apple did not specify when the store will be open to the public, it opened its first store in southern Seoul in 2018 just a few days after a press event. The company is reportedly planning to further exp

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Friday it became the best-scoring mass-market brand in this year's J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study results. Kia beat perennial No. 1 Toyota Motor Corp. and 16 other mass-market brands to become the most dependable mainstream brand in terms of problems owners of three-year-old cars have experienced in the United States, the company said in a statement. Kia's Optima (or K5) midsize sedan, Sportage compact SUV and Sorento midsize SUV

　South Korea’s exports of sauces reached an all-time high in 2020 as more people enjoyed cooking at home around the globe amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Outbound shipments of sauces rose 25.8 percent on-year in 2020 to reach $301.7 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association. 　KITA said the growth also came as global consumers became more aware of Korean-style foods following the popularity of Korean cultural content overseas

The prolonged pandemic has intensified a polarization between top South Korean game companies and small and mid-sized ones. While the smaller players took a hit in revenue and employment amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the big three -- Nexon, NCSoft and Netmarble -- have reaped strong earnings and are returning part of them to staff and shareholders with dramatic hikes in salary and dividends. On Feb. 1, Nexon, which breached a 3 trillion-won ($2.72 billion) mark in revenue for the first time t

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading petrochemical, high-tech material and biopharmaceutical company, has set out to innovate its business model as it shifts focus to sustainability. Last year, the flagship LG affiliate announced its sustainability strategy that pivots on carbon neutrality to be achieved by 2050 as the first Korean chemical firm. The company has recently committed to using 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 to join the global clean energy RE100 initiative led by the in

Samsung Electronics will hold a launch show for its TV products, dubbed “Unbox & Discover,” next month. Samsung said Thursday it has sent out invitations to global partners and media for the event set for March 2. “Samsung will share its vision for how the company’s latest innovative products are set to redefine the role of the TV through cutting-edge technologies, beautiful design and impactful partnerships,” it said. The company is expected to unveil

Policymakers raise concerns on heavy blow on labor market, should the troubled carmaker fall

Hanwha Solutions on Thursday announced its first year-over-year results after its launch on Jan. 2, 2020 through the merger of Hanwha Chemical and Hanwha Q Cells & Advanced Materials. According to its regulatory filing, the company’s revenue shrank 2.8 percent to 9.19 trillion won ($8.3 billion) on-year, but its operating profit surged 29 percent to 594.2 billion won, improving its profitability despite economic downturn from the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, net profit saw a whoppin

Prime Minister brings Hyundai Motor chief Chung and LG battery head Kim together for partnership

The invitation-only audio chat application named Clubhouse is surging in popularity around the globe by picking up millions of people on social media. Launched in March 2020, the niche platform facilitates audio conversations between users. Once users are invited to join, they can enter various chat rooms and communicate about those topics. The types of chat rooms are diverse and the most popular ones are operated by a handful of users speaking to a silent audience. The chat rooms range fro

Lotte Chemical said Thursday that the company has developed urethane-based semi-non-combustible insulation product. The company added that the new fire-resistant insulation product can reduce the amount of smoke by 30 percent in case of a fire, compared to conventional urethane-based insulation products. According to the petrochemical affiliate of Lotte Group, it took two years for the firm to conduct research on the new insulation product, using purified isophthalic acid, which is widely u

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it has decided to spend a total of 34.7 billion to build research facilities for robotics and artificial intelligence near Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The central government will inject 24.2 billion won in the project, while the city government and the Gangnam-gu office will invest 2.5 billion won and 7.8 billion won, respectively. The region near Suseo Station has remained idle since December 2019, when the city government decided

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has appointed the institution’s provost and executive vice president Lee Kwang-hyung as its new president, it said Thursday. KAIST held a board meeting to appoint Lee the 17th president of the institution upon approval of Minister of Science and ICT. Lee, who is known as a futurist who introduced convergence studies at the academic institution, is an alumnus who earned a master‘s degree in industrial engineering at KAIST in 198