Retail sales in South Korea moved up 6.3 percent in November from a year earlier on the back of the nationwide consumption-boosting events aimed at overcoming the economic jitters from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 12.41 trillion won ($11.2 billion) last month, up from 11.68 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The annual Korea Sale FESTA kic

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., a major builder in South Korea, said Wednesday it has won a $455 million order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) production trains in Mozambique. Under the deal signed with CCS joint venture, Daewoo E&C will handle steel structures, mechanics, piping works and electronic instruments in the project at the Afungi Industrial Complex in northern Mozambique. The joint venture, a special purpose company set up for the project, is composed of US o

Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has acquired General Motors Co.'s auto plant in Russia to step up its vehicle production in the nation. The South Korean automaker finalized the deal in early November to buy the American carmaker's assembly line in Saint Petersburg, a company spokesperson said, without elaborating on the amount and production schedule at the plant.The GM plant, which has an annual production capacity of around 100,000 vehicles, opened in 2008 but suspended operations in 2015

Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to remain the world's leading TV vendor for the 15th straight year in 2020 on brisk demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. The South Korean tech behemoth is forecast to sell 49.02 million TVs this year after shipping 33.92 million units in the first three quarters of the year, according to the report from market researcher Omdia. The estimate is up 11.2 percent from the previous year and marks the largest annual sales number sinc

A consortium led by construction company Dongbu Corp. was picked Tuesday as the preferred bidder for the controlling stake of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., the troubled shipbuilder said. A group of Hanjin's creditors, led by the Korea Development Bank, reached the decision during a meeting earlier in the day, Hanjin said in a regulatory filing. The Dongbu consortium beat two competitors, including a group led by SM Line Corp, to acquire a 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy

Sales of Bibigo frozen dumplings have exceeded 1 trillion won this year, the company behind the brand said Tuesday. Bibigo owner CJ CheilJedang said sales of Bibigo dumplings stood at 1.03 trillion won ($930 million) in 2020, with 65 percent of the revenue coming from overseas. Bibigo’s sales of dumplings have shown steady growth in Korea and in other countries, and this year’s sales were double from that of 2017, when the combined sales in domestic and overseas markets was 506 b

Biotech company G+FLAS Life Sciences, Inc. has been selected as a preliminary unicorn company eligible for special guarantee support by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The special guarantee for preliminary unicorns can be applied for by companies with proven innovation, growth potential, and market evaluation, or companies with a corporate value of 100 billion won or more and with high grades in technology evaluation. G+FLAS was one of the 15 finalists selected through a national recommenda

Kim Young-hoon, chairman of South Korean energy conglomerate Daesung Group, has received top-grade recognition for his contribution to the country’s energy efficiency, the company said Tuesday in a release. The businessman was awarded the Distinguished Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service at the 2020 Korea Energy Awards, held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel. The newly added Silver Tower is the highest acclaim for the Korean energy sector, outrunning the Bronze Tower,

Envisioned legislation could place top company executive behind bars for major failure in safety management

Results of phase 2 clinical trial of coronavirus antibody agent set to be unveiled

SK Materials said Tuesday it has invested $17 million in a US-based startup developing advanced materials that can enhance the energy density of lithium-ion batteries by 50 percent. According to the South Korean manufacturer of special gases and IT materials, the investments, which were made together with US-based venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners, will allow Group14 Technologies to ramp up its pilot production facility and help with the startup’s groundbreaking of a large-scale

Samsung Electronics will join forces with South Korea‘s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and the country’s top mobile messenger operator Kakao to develop an artificial intelligence platform that alerts users of coronavirus risks in advance. According to the companies Tuesday, a joint research and development group has been formed with an aim to introduce the platform by early next year. The current emergency text alert system, run by the government, offers information of confirm

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Tuesday it will suspend one of its domestic plants for two weeks to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyundai Motor plans to suspend the Asan plant, which produces the Sonata and Grandeur sedans, from Wednesday through Jan. 6 due mainly to weak sales of the Sonata model, a company spokesman said. The sale of the Sonata sedan plunged 31 percent to 63,078 units from January to November compared with the same period of last yea

US fashion brand Thom Browne said on Tuesday it will launch its perfume line in Korea. A total of six perfumes will be released, including “09.27.65 Eau de Parfum,” also known as Vetyver Absolute, and “09.27.65.01 Eau de Parfum,” which is also called the Vetyver and Cucumber. The fragrances contain a high concentration of Haitian Vetyver oil and its vetyver blend serves as the base signature of the products. The names reference designer Thom Browne’s birthday of

From Christmas cakes, tech gadgets to health supplements, businesses rush to seize on year-end gift season