South Korean cable maker LS Cable & Systems said on Tuesday that it is ready to begin the mass production of a new optical cable which can “block out hacking.” Using special fiber optics with enhanced coatings, the company explained the new cable is designed to prevent illegal leaks and disturbance. When an optical cable is bent in the shape of a circle, some of the light traveling along it escapes. Hackers then can steal information by connecting hacking devices and intercepti

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Sugentech Inc. said Tuesday it has signed an agreement to export three different types of diagnostic kits for the novel coronavirus and seasonal influenza to the United States and Europe. Under the agreement with Germany-based DiaSys Diagnostic Systems, a total of 200,000 rapid antigen kits by Sugentech to detect the COVID-19 virus will be distributed in Germany. The value of the deal was not revealed. Sugentech's test kit that can detect both the COVID-19 v

South Koreans are estimated to have spent over 50 billion minutes on YouTube in September amid the pandemic, a 20 percent jump from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday. Mobile app tracker Wiseapp said the video streaming application was the application most used by the country's 33.7 million Android smartphone users in September at 53.1 billion minutes, compared with 44.3 billion minutes spent on the app the previous year. Wiseapp said the pandemic likely led to increased use of mobile applica

Changes in the ranking of stockholders in Korea after the death of Lee Kun-hee

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it will launch a new division under its wing, which will be in charge of spearheading the country's future car sector in line with the country's blueprint on the automobile segment. The new division will also center on developing electric vehicle and hydrogen car-related technologies, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The new body will officially launch Nov. 11. The decision came in line with the country's efforts to foster en

South Korean biotech company GC Pharma has begun additional production of its plasma therapy treatment for the novel coronavirus amid growing demand for treatment purposes, company officials said Tuesday. The plasma therapy, known as GC5131, is a type of hyperimmune globulin drug that uses blood plasma taken from people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. It is considered one of the earliest treatment options. The treatment candidate is undergoing clinical trials both at home and abroad,

Budget airline Jin Air said Monday that it has begun flying cargo to the United States as part of efforts to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Though major South Korean airlines have resorted to cargo services to offset the impact of the virus in recent months, the sister airline of Korean Air is the first low-cost carrier in the country to deliver cargo to the US. On Sunday, Jin Air flew its B777-200ER passenger jet from Incheon to Los Angeles, carrying 23 tons of displays and other electronic

Korean battery giants apply different technologies to make batteries safer

Korea Power Corp. said Monday it has launched a special task force dedicated to tackling structural and systemic constraints that keep South Korea’s burgeoning renewable energy industry from growing. According to the state-run utility, it will construct power grids preemptively in regions where renewable energy facilities are expected to be built, including Shinan and Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province. Since October 2016, Kepco has initiated a policy that guarantees access to power

Microsoft Korea Monday announced the launch of mixed-reality headset HoloLens 2 in South Korea, targeting business customers that plan to implement digital transformation. HoloLens 2 is an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset that uses technology that overlays digital images onto the real world. The latest version of headset was first launched in February 2019. The newest version of mixed-reality headset features a field of view that’s twice as large as the company‘s prev

GM Korea Co. said Monday its sales rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier, helped by increased sales of its sport utility vehicle models despite the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. sold 31,391 vehicles in October, up from 30,158 units the previous year, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales climbed 11 percent to 7,064 units last month from 6,394 a year ago. Exports were up 2.4 percent to 24,327 from 23,764, it said.  Robust sales of S

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales rose 0.6 percent last month from a year earlier helped by increased exports. SsangYong Motor sold 10,197 vehicles in October, up from 10,135 units a year ago due to strong overseas demand for its SUV models despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales fell 5.4 percent to 7,612 units from 8,045 during the same period, but exports jumped 24 percent to 2,585 from 2,090, it said. The SUV-focused carmaker said it will ex

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has appointed Luc Donckerwolke to chief creative officer in charge of design-related communications for the Genesis brand, electric vehicle Ioniq and its fuel cell vehicles. Donckerwolke originally joined the South Korean automotive group in 2016, gradually overseeing design for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands as the chief design officer before resigning in March to focus on his health. He is returning to the group following temporary time away in which he t

Hyosung T&C said Monday it planned to invest 60 billion won ($52.9 million) in the Cerkezkoy area near Istanbul, Turkey to more than double the size of its spandex production plant with an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons by July next year. The fiber production unit of Hyosung Group said the spandex plant production capacity in Turkey would be about 40,000 tons when the expansion is completed. The firm’s decision came from Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon’s judgment that a

In the era of the “fourth industrial revolution,” digitalization is inevitable for businesses. In this vein, Han Sung Motor, an official Mercedes-Benz dealer, is presenting a digital pop-up store to promote the German-brand and its vision for digitalizing the automobile industry. On Friday, the auto dealer held a three-day showroom, dubbed Han Sung Digital Park in Coex, Seoul. There, the auto dealer displayed Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, the first electric vehicle for the automaker, and