Hanwha Corp. and Hanwha Defense, the two defense affiliates of Hanwha Group, have signed an agreement on collaborative research and development of key defense items and technologies, officials said Wednesday in a release. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement -- CRADA -- was signed Dec. 10 by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center -- DEVCOM AC -- and the two Hanwha affiliates. CRADA refers to a cooperative mechanism that enables the US government

Samsung Biologics’ newly appointed chief executive officer John Rim vowed in his inaugural address on Wednesday to put the company in the front of the race in contract research, development and manufacturing. Samsung Biologics will continue to make preemptive investments in the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) business, in order to maintain its position as having the world’s largest biologics manufacturing facility. As for the relatively new businesses of contract develo

South Korea’s eighth-largest conglomerate GS Group has donated 4 billion won ($3.67 million) to the Community Chest of Korea, in a gesture to help the socially vulnerable, the group said Wednesday. The business group has been making year-end donations to the charity organization since 2005 and the latest contribution has brought the accumulated total amount to 60 billion won. “We hope to offer help and comfort to those who are going through difficult times due to the COVID-19 cris

Business world opting out of political clout, prioritizing ‘same-rank’ in-laws

Samsung Electronics has tightened measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus on its campuses, including a temporary travel ban on its employees, ahead of a possible upgrade in social distancing rules by the government, the tech giant said Wednesday. A task force on pandemic response within its semiconductor division on Tuesday sent a notice to the executives and employees about enhanced rules banning nonessential trips and visits to public facilities such as restaurants and cafes o

The year 2021 is approaching, but the tech world won’t have the excitement it used to have at the beginning of each year. As the unrelenting pandemic forbids in-person tech fairs, where major brands used to unveil innovative new products and technologies, local firms seem to be adjusting their strategies for new launches. The Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest event of its kind, which normally takes place in Las Vegas in early January, is set to be held on a virtual

LG Display’s 88-inch 8K organic light-emitting diode display won the Prime Minister’s accolade at 2020 Korea Tech Show on Wednesday. The prized display is the first product with such cutting-edge specifications to be commercialized in the world, LG Display said. Prior to LGD’s 8K OLED, the advanced 8K display market had been dominated by liquid crystal displays. LGD’s 8K OLED is expected to be a game changer with every one of its 33 million pixels controllable for del

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday denied rumors that it will discontinue the Galaxy Note series next year, saying the flagship phablet line will live on despite the rise of other premium devices. Speculation has arisen recently that Samsung may reconfigure its premium smartphone lineup with Galaxy Z foldables and Galaxy S devices after ditching the Galaxy Note family that is highlighted by S-Pen stylus features. "We are preparing to release the Galaxy Note series next year," a Sa

Korean Air Lines Co. and its labor union have agreed to freeze wages and put 70 percent of employees on furlough in the first half of 2021 to ride out the fallout of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday. About 70 percent of 12,600 employees at South Korea's largest air carrier have been taking unpaid leave since April as part of cost-cutting efforts to overcome the impact of the pandemic. In this year's negotiations, the management and the labor union agreed to freeze wages and maintain the furl

Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile business, suggested Wednesday through a blog post that the tech giant will unveil its flagship Galaxy S21 series in January, one month earlier than usual. Amid mounting rumors that Samsung would roll out the Galaxy S21 lineup next month, Roh raised the expectations of an early launch by saying, “I look forward to sharing more in January!” in his post titled “Samsung defines one-size fits-all mobile experiences with

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Wednesday that it has won a 407 billion won ($372 million) order from an Asian company. Under the deal, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is set to deliver two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to the unidentified Asian company by October 2024, according to the unit of Korea Shipbuilding. On Tuesday, Korea Shipbuilding won three orders worth 601 billion won to build two LNG carriers and a very large crude carrier (VLCC). A LNG carrier wor

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday it plans to expand its foldable smartphone lineup next year and hinted that stylus support may be available to more Galaxy devices as the South Korean tech giant revealed its mobile business goals for 2021. Roh Tae-moon, who heads Samsung's mobile communications business, said the world's largest smartphone maker's diverse product portfolio will deliver "breakthrough capabilities." "True to our heritage of staying ahead of the curve with

  South Korea's bourse operator on Tuesday delayed its decision on whether to delist the scandal-ridden drugmaker Kolon TissueGene, saying it needs more time to review the issue. The Korea Exchange said it will reopen a meeting on the fate of Kolon TissueGene, an affiliate of Kolon Life Science, later. It stopped short of announcing a specific date. A week earlier, the KRX postponed its decision on the matter. Kolon TissueGene was listed on the secondary Kosdaq market in 2017. The tradi

Brands alter strategy as third wave of coronavirus kills on-premise sales

A road never traveled, a great challenge