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

South Korea's science ministry said Monday it will invest 615 billion won ($549 million) in space projects this year, including launching its long-awaited first homegrown rocket and developing new satellites. The country plans to launch its first locally built Nuri rocket in October this year, committing 189.7 billion won this year to acquire technology to independently build space launch vehicles, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. While the country sent its 140-ton Naro rocket int

South Korea's ICT ministry said Monday that US tech giant Google will take measures to provide stable services, becoming the first company to come under the country's revised law that holds online content providers accountable for service errors. On Dec. 14 last year, multiple Google services, including YouTube, Gmail and Google Calendar, went down for around an hour globally, prompting the Ministry of Science and ICT to look into the matter. According to the ministry, Google experienced an au

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its drug Remsima SC for the treatment of autoimmune diseases has begun sales in the country. The subcutaneous (SC) version of Remsima, a biosimilar copy of Janssen Biotech Inc.'s Remicade, will hit the shelves domestically following approval a year earlier. Remsima, administered through intravascular injections, is used in the treatment of a number of diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn's disease, Celltrion said. The

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Monday they are not in talks with Apple Inc. over an electric car manufacturing project in response to reports of their suspended discussions. In separate regulatory filings, Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, said they are "not in talks with Apple over developing an autonomous vehicle." The carmakers said they are considering forming a partnership with foreign companies in regard to self-dr

Samsung Electronics’ plans to build semiconductor foundry plants in the US could yield $8.9 billion in the local economy, according to analysis by Impact DataSource, quoted in Samsung Electronics’ letter of intent to the Texas authorities. According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics sees the high tax rates in Texas as an obstacle to its plans for larger business in Austin, and is reviewing alternatives such as New York, Arizona and Korea for is future investment. An official

SK Innovation said Sunday it is considering initiating international arbitration proceedings against the Peruvian government for blocking the company’s exit from Camisea Gas Project in Peru. The South Korean battery-to-petrochemical giant inked a deal with Pluspetrol in September 2019 to sell its 17.6 percent stake in two Camisea gas fields in the Cusco region of Peru to the Argentine firm for $1.05 billion. However, the Peruvian government still hasn’t endorsed the transaction, th

LG Chem is the only firm among the world’s top seven chemical companies that saw its brand value grow amid the pandemic. According to the Brand Finance Chemicals 25 2021 report, the South Korean chemical giant’s brand value stands at $3.62 billion this year, a 2.9 percent growth on-year, maintaining the fourth position. Compared to $2.42 billion in 2018, LG Chem’s value has grown more than 50 percent just in three years. Meanwhile, the other six companies in the top seven

South Korean companies have become familiar with using mobile devices in their businesses, but only a handful of them are utilizing new information and communication technologies including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing. According to “2020 Yearbook of Information Society Statistics” released Sunday by the National Information Society Agency, as of December 2019, 58.3 percent of 222,218 private companies with 10 or more employees in Korea used mobile devices i

In a positive sign for the Korean beauty industry, South Korea’s cosmetics exports enjoyed a 16.1 percent year-on-year increase last year despite the coronavirus pandemic. Korea’s total cosmetics exports reached $7.57 billion in 2020, the latest data from the Korea Customs Service and the Korea Cosmetic Association revealed on Sunday. The country’s cosmetics exports had enjoyed double-digit growth rates every year since 2012 until the figure dipped to 4.2 percent in 2019. W

Shinsegae Department Store said on Sunday that gifts for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday have logged the company‘s best-ever sales this year, boasting a 51.3 percent year-on-year increase. The figure shows sales generated from Seollal gifts between Jan. 4 and Feb 5. The department store said the jump in sales reflects the growing demand for premium gifts this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the country’s decision to loosen its anti-bribery rules that cap

Member of K-pop girl group Fin.K.L becomes latest star to roll out cosmetics line

  　Samsung Electronics will launch the Galaxy A12 phone in South Korea on Tuesday at a price of 275,000 won ($246).   　The Galaxy A12 has four cameras on the back, with a 5,000-milliamp-hour battery designed to last the full day and support 15-watt fast charging.   　The rear quadcamera features a 48-megapixel main camera with live focus function, a 5-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens, a 2-megapixel depth camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The front camera has 8 megapixels. &nb

South Korean mobile carriers are expanding services integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) technology as they shift focus from telecommunications to find new growth drivers. Last week telecom giant KT Corp. joined hands with Hyundai Home Shopping Network Corp. to establish an AI call center at the retail company's headquarters in Seoul. The service incorporates voice recognition and text analysis technology so that AI can help customers with simple questions and can carry out tedious tas