The Transport Ministry will investigate the cause of a fire involving a recalled unit of Hyundai’s Kona electric vehicle, as well as the propriety of the car maker’s recall measures, the ministry said Tuesday. On Saturday, a Kona EV caught on fire for an unknown reason, while it was charging in a public charging station in Daegu. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the car had been recalled by the automaker. It decided the car should be investigated b

Belgian factory upscaling to yield ‘significantly more doses in the second quarter’

Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical unit of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, said Tuesday its net income increased 18.8 percent on-year in 2020 on the back of improved factory utilization and increased sales. The company's net profit reached 241 billion won ($217.8 million) in 2020, compared with a net income of 203 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income reached 292.8 billion won last year, compared with 91.7 billion a year earlier

Samsung Biologics Co. on Tuesday reported its fourth-quarter net profit of 96.2 billion won ($87 million), down 54.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the October-December period fell 13.4 percent on-year to 92.6 billion won. Sales increased 19.8 percent to 375.3 billion won. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in another message from prison, asked the company’s executives and employees to carry on with planned investments. Samsung’s three CEOs -- Kim Ki-nam, Koh Dong-jin and Kim Hyun-suk -- wrote on the company’s intranet, Samsung Knox, on behalf of Lee, conveying the heir’s message to the employees. “To my Samsung family, I regret that I have caused worries because of my shortcomings,” Lee said. “Samsung fac

Naver opens streaming studio for small businesses in latest boost for live commerce

South Korea's business sentiment inched up for February from a month earlier on decreased economic uncertainty, a poll showed Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 96.6 for next month, up 4.9 points from January, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. KERI said the February confidence got a boost from

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, has expressed an apology to his employees following his imprisonment as he asked workers to maintain their work despite his absence, officials here said Tuesday. Lee was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was put behind bars again less than three years after he was allowed to walk free. In a me

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine seven steelmakers a combined 300 billion won ($272 million) for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers rigged prices and timing to buy the key material between 2010 and 2018, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). It marked the fourth-largest amount of fines levied by the regulator

BMW Group Korea said Tuesday it will invest 60 billion won ($54 million) until 2023 in expanding its local logistics center. The logistics center in Pyeongtaek, just south of Seoul, will be able to accommodate about 18,000 vehicles, up from the current 11,000 with the expansion, the company said in a statement. BMW said it will continue to increase investment here to meet customers' demands and boost sales. The German carmaker said it will establish the infrastructure at the logistics center

South Korea said Tuesday it will invest nearly 28 billion won ($25.3 million) in research and development (R&D) projects for eco-friendly automobiles and self-driving technologies in line with the country's green energy drive. The country plans to allocate 13.4 billion won for research projects for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell cars, along with 14.5 billion won for self-driving systems, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget will be spent on a wide a

Major shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday that it has signed a 229 billion won ($208 million) deal with an Oceania company to build two container carriers. Under the deal with an unidentified customer, the vessels will be delivered by December 2022, Samsung Heavy said in an emailed statement. The container carrier can load up to 13,000 20-foot containers, the company said. With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has clinched deals worth $400 million so far this year. (Yonhap)

LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker in South Korea, released a new air conditioner with upgraded design and hygiene features Tuesday as the company aims to increase sales amid the pandemic. The LG Whisen Tower comes with the company's new design for standing air conditioners that highlights minimal aesthetics after combining characteristics from its luxury brand LG SIGNATURE and its customizable home appliance line LG Objet Collection. It is LG's first standing air conditioner in

Samsung Display Co., a major display maker in South Korea, said Tuesday it has developed a low-power consumption organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel for smartphones. The affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. said the latest OLED display reduces power consumption up to 16 percent compared with its previous smartphone panels. The new OLED panel is already being used in Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone unveiled earlier this month, it added. OLED displays do not require a separate light

South Korea's five state power companies are projected to post large losses this year due to a government push to reduce dependence on coal for electricity generation and low electricity prices, their internal documents showed Tuesday. The five firms -- Korea South-East Power Co., Korea Midland Power Co., Korea Western Power Co., Korea Southern Power Co. and Korea East-West Power Co. -- are predicted to register a combined loss of 1.3 trillion won ($1.18 billion) this year, according to their 2