Vuno, one of South Korea’s leading medical artificial intelligence companies, will make an initial public offering Feb. 26, CEO Kim Hyun-joon said at a press event Monday. Advance subscriptions for Vuno’s stocks will take place Feb. 16 and 17 through underwriters Mirae Asset Daewoo and Samsung Securities. Vuno is newly issuing 1.8 million shares upon going public. At an estimated 15,000 won to 19,500 won per share, Vuno is attempting to raise as much as 35.1 billion won with the li

Google to issue notifications in Korean, provide customer service from local representatives in the future

South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia confirmed Monday that they are “not in talks” with Apple over the manufacturing of the “Apple Car,” denying weeks of speculative reports. While the crucial dealbreaker yet remains uncertain, market observers suggested that this latest case may deliver some impact on the auto group’s credibility when it comes to confidential global deals. In their respective regulatory filings, the two automake

The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Monday that he will donate more than half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "I have pledged to donate more than half of my assets to solve social issues throughout my life," Kim Beom-su said in a message sent to all of Kakao's employees. His assets are estimated to be over 10 trillion won, including 12.5 million shares of Kakao, valued at over 5.7 trillion wo

South Korea‘s biggest live streaming platform AfreecaTV saw its revenue and operating profit hit new highs in 2020, the company said Monday. According to a regulatory filing, the company’s revenue and operating profit soared 17.1 percent and 37.3 percent on-year to 196.6 billion won ($175.7 million) and 50.4 billion won, respectively. Its net profit rose to 36.4 billion won, a 6.5 percent increase on-year. AfreecaTV also enjoyed record quarterly results in the fourth quarter. I

Kakao Games, the gaming unit of South Korea’s leading messenger app operator Kakao, registered 495.5 billion won ($442.9 million) in revenue last year, the best figure since the company started business. According to a regulatory filing Monday, the company’s revenue and operating profit in 2020 spiked 27 percent and 90 percent on-year to 495.5 billion won and 66.6 billion won, respectively. Its net profit skyrocketed 659 percent to 67.3 billion won. “Kakao Games enjoyed r

Hyosung TNC, the fiber production unit of Hyosung Group, said Monday that it has launched a clothing brand to showcase garments made of recycled plastic and organic cotton. The first product from the new brand, G3H10, is a hoodie that will come in three colors -- charcoal, ivory and olive. The hoodies will be a blend of Regen, Hyosung TNC’s eco-friendly fiber made of recycled plastic, and organic cotton grown without the use of synthetic pesticides. “As a business-to-business co

To usher in the hydrogen economy, South Korea passed the world’s first hydrogen law. It centers on the development of an ecosystem for a hydrogen economy and expanded public access to the alternative fuel. The Economic Promotion and Safety Control of Hydrogen Act, which came into effect Friday, mainly deals with three key areas -- hydrogen vehicles, charging stations and fuel cells. First, the hydrogen law is intended to bring transparency to the nation’s hydrogen pricing system

The last batch of smartphones by LG Electronics -- LG Velvet and LG Wing released last year -- are being sold with massive discounts and subsidies through mobile carriers before the company’s final decision on its planned sale of the smartphone business. According to the telecom industry Monday, the actual cost of buying an LG Wing, a dual-display smartphone released last September, has been reduced to around 400,000 won ($357) from 1.09 million won, amid sluggish sales.  Actual p

The Korea Craft Brewers Association and dozens of brewers have called on the government to allow online beer sales to help offset the blow from the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement on Monday, the group said sales of craft beer drastically dropped last year as main sales channels such as restaurants and pubs were forced to close due to social distancing rules. “Sales dropped by half at the minimum and up to 90 percent in worse cases, forcing staff to take a leave of absence or busines

Online e-commerce company WeMakePrice named its former vice president as the new CEO in an announcement Monday. Ha Song, who had been the acting CEO since last August after former CEO Park Eun-sang took a leave of absence for health reasons, will now lead the company. “We plan to strengthen our industry-leading curation service and invest in technology advancement in order to become a competitive platform strictly from the users’ perspective. Ha joined the company in 2015 and has

Rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease can now be treated at home by patient

LG Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea, will make an additional $750 million investment in its plant in Vietnam, news reports showed Monday, as the company eyes expanding OLED panel productions. The city of Hai Phong approved LG Display's latest investment plan for its plant in northern Vietnam, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The expenditure will bring LG Display's total investment for its project in the Vietnamese port city to $3.25 billion, it added. LG Display is

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday it has won a 152 billion-won ($136 million) order from Oceanian companies. Under the deal, two 40,000-cubic meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers will be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. and one 40,000-ton petrochemical carrier will be built by Hyundai-Vietnam Shipbuilding Co., Korea Shipbuilding said. Korea Shipbuilding did not reveal the name of the customer. The deal for the petrochemical carrier has an option to build

Top construction equipment maker Doosan Infracore Co. said Monday that it has won orders of 221 units of construction equipment from emerging markets such as Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America. Doosan Infracore sold 108 units of excavators and wheel loaders in Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam this year, the company said. A total of 27 units of construction equipment were sold in Oman, while 70 units were provided to companies in Morocco and Egypt. In Colombia, Doosan I