Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in November as more people bought products via e-commerce platforms amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.8 billion) in November, up 17.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The use of online shopping increased amid the protracted pandemic as people refrained from visiting offline stores on concerns about infection risks.

Major shipbuilder Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Tuesday it has obtained a 900 billion-won ($823 million) order from an Asian shipper to build six container ships. The vessels will start being delivered in the first half of 2023, Korea Shipbuilding said in an emailed statement. Of the six 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers, four will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a unit of Korea Shipbuilding, and the other two will be construc

South Korea's two electronics giants, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., will highlight products with enhanced customized features at the world's largest tech expo next week, industry insiders said Tuesday, signaling they will have a fierce competition in the home appliance market this year. Samsung announced Tuesday it will showcase its upgraded BESPOKE refrigerator and artificial intelligence-supported washers and dryers at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, which is set

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker, will build its first overseas hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in China as it seeks to enter the local hydrogen market, industry sources said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor aims to build the hydrogen fuel cell systems plant in Guangzhou within this year as it has recently obtained government approval for the investment plan, a person familiar with the matter said over the phone. "Hyundai Motor is in talks with a Chinese company to form a joint compan

South Korea's pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. is expected to release the outcome of its second phase clinical study of anti-COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment later this month, company officials said Tuesday. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is currently reviewing conditional approval of CT-P59, also known as Regdanvimab, a move that could potentially lead to manufacturing and sales of the first homegrown treatment. This submission was based on the data from the global phase

South Korean shipbuilders are expected to take the top spot in new global shipbuilding orders for 2020 despite the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Tuesday. Local shipyards' new orders came to 7.98 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) as of Dec. 28 last year, ranking first worldwide, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. Chinese shipbuilders came in second with 6.73 million CGTs. Global new orders totaled 17.92 million CGTs

For business, Lee makes SoC chips top priority, raising expectations for more investments ahead

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South Korean carmakers' sales fell 5 percent last month from a year earlier as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on demand, industry data showed Monday. The five carmakers in South Korea -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor -- sold a combined 658,550 vehicles in December, down from 694,988 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales fell 8 percent to 133,061 units in December from 144,839 a year ago, while ov

Samsung Electronics will introduce its new flagship smartphone Galaxy S21 on Jan. 15, the company announced Monday. The first launch from the global smartphone giant this year, the Galaxy S21 series comprises a 6.2-inch S21, 6.7-inch S21 Plus and 6.8-inch S21 Ultra, which have been drawing expectations for their upgraded specs and designs. The models to be launched in North America are expected to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor, while those for Europe and South Korea will

Hyundai Motor said Monday it has selected Samsung SDI as one of the final candidates to supply batteries for its electric vehicles to be rolled out in 2023. South Korea’s largest automaker is currently shopping for the third batch of batteries for its EVs to be assembled using its platform E-GMP. Designed by Hyundai Motor, E-GMP is a platform dedicated to EVs that allows the carmaker to load batteries under the car’s floor instead of engine bay. If selected, Samsung SDI, toge

Korea Western Power said Monday it will invest 250 billion won ($231.3 million) to construct three fuel cell-based electricity generation facilities. In a recent board meeting, Kowepo, which aims to increase its renewable power generation capacity to 6.1 gigawatts by 2030 from 490 megawatts as of 2019, decided to establish three fuel cell power plants, in Iksan, North Jeolla Province; Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province; and Goryeong, North Gyeongsang Province. The 15-megawatt plant in Iksan will

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday that its auto sales tumbled 46.9 percent last month from a year earlier as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on demand for its models. The South Korean unit of Renault SA sold 9,016 vehicles in December, down from 16,965 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales decreased 19.7 percent on-year to 8,010 units last month, while exports tumbled 85.6 percent to 1,006 units over the cited period, the firm said. For the whol

Global shipbuilding behemoth Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH) will be able to complete the acquisition of smaller local rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) within the first half of this year, the company's chairman said Monday. "The review of the business combination (between HHIH and DSME) has been a little delayed but is expected to be completed within the first half of this year," HHIH's chairman Kwon Oh-gap said in his New Year's message. The

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) will be reviewed for potential approval in South Korea within the next 40 days, Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Monday. According to the Drug Ministry, AstraZeneca Korea has submitted applications for approval for its vaccine to be manufactured locally under a contract with SK Bioscience and for more of the vaccine to be shipped from manufacturers in Italy, the US and the UK. AstraZeneca is required to submit further doc