South Korea’s Lotte Chemical took home three awards at the Red Dot Design Award this year, the company said Wednesday. Arranged by Germany’s Design Zentrum Nordheim Westfalen, the Red Dot Design Award is one of the three most recognized design awards alongside the iF Design Award and IDEA Design Award. According to Lotte Chemical, its multi layered 3D lighting effect was crowned Best of the Best in the surface and design category. Lotte designed the effect by applying laser beam

S-Oil said Wednesday it has provided 60 million won ($49,975) to 31 firefighters who have suffered injuries during their missions, continuing its support of firefighters for 12 consecutive years. According to the South Korean refiner, it recently held a donation ceremony with the Korea National Council on Social Welfare at the Mapo Fire Station in western Seoul, and distributed the amount among 31 firefighters injured during firefighting, rescue and first aid missions. Since 2009, S-Oil ha

The European Commission has again suspended the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, according to industry sources. Upon the suspension, the screening deadline, originally set for September, has been delayed and it is unlikely that the review will be completed within this year, according to industry watchers. The EU had previously suspended the screening twice as it had difficulty collecting screening data due to the coro

The ICT Ministry of South Korea on Wednesday announced that the government and the nation’s major telecommunications firms would invest around 25 trillion won ($22 billion) by 2020 to expand the nation’s 5G infrastructure. The agreement came after the meeting between ICT Minister and the leaders of the nation’s three major telecommunications firms, SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho, KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo and LG U+ Vice Chairman Ha Hyun-hwoi. During the meeting, ICT Minister Choi stre

South Korean government officials on Tuesday held an explanatory session with pharmaceutical company researchers to go over the details of how the extra budget assigned for COVID-19 vaccine and treatment development will be utilized. What drew special attention was how the development of vaccines had more budget set aside for support than treatments, albeit by a small margin. The Ministry of Health is giving 45 billion won ($37.5 million) to support all phases of clinical trials for COVID-19

South Korean companies should partner with German firms to develop hydrogen technologies and actively take part in related projects to make the best use of the European country’s new hydrogen road map, according to a report Wednesday. The state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) released a report titled “Current status of the German hydrogen industry and Korean firms’ entry strategy,” highlighting that local firms should advance into Germany’s hy

Renault Samsung Motors unveiled a revamped version of its midsized sedan SM6 on Wednesday, four years after it was launched.  The new SM6 has been upgraded by adopting a renewed powertrain to improve the driving performance, along with a new rear suspension and driving assistant function to offer driving comfort.  For the exterior, the automaker added new color options including silver, gray and red. The newly added dynamic turn-signal light has made the exterior more aesthetic

Over 1.11 trillion won was spent as allowances for job seekers in June this year, marking a record high monthly payout and jumping 62.9 percent on-year, the Employment and Labor Ministry said. The amount of unemployment allowance had surpassed the 1 trillion threshold for the first time in May, as the number of jobless surged upon the COVID-19 pandemic. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

LG Chem said Tuesday that it has filed a criminal complaint with the prosecution against SK Innovation, accusing it of stealing trade secrets concerning electric vehicle batteries. The SK Group affiliate is already being probed by the South Korean police and the US International Trade Commission. According to LG Chem, it filed the complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office last week because the Seoul police investigation -- upon its complaint in May last year -- is

Joining South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s quest to pioneer new technologies and industries in the post-COVID-19 era, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chung Euisun and Naver CEO Han Seong-sook on Tuesday presented their company visions via a teleconference broadcast at Cheong Wa Dae. Chung and Han, who lead the country’s biggest automaker and internet portal operator, respectively, expressed support for the government’s five-year “New Deal” policy drive, which

Hyosung, Kolon, Hanwha bring together affiliates for hydrogen opportunities

Hanwha Defense on Tuesday received a record score on a government productivity test, becoming the first company in South Korea to attain level 8 out of 10. According to the Korean defense company, it scored 722.6 points on the Productivity Management System test conducted by the Industry Ministry and the Korea Productivity Center, getting level 8 in six of the seven categories: leadership; innovation; customers; workforce; process; and measurement, analysis and knowledge management. Level

LG Electronics has launched a global expert group for the purpose of developing insights on new technologies and discovering new business opportunities, the company announced Tuesday. Chaired by LG’s Chief Technology Officer Park Il-pyung, the expert group dubbed as “Innovation Council” will serve as a body that will bring together 12 tech experts around the world and give them chances to discuss new trends and industrial moves. The members include Robust AI CTO Rodney Br

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced its vision for the sixth-generation telecommunications network by releasing a white paper supervised by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The white paper entitled “The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All,” outlines Samsung’s vision for 6G, covering various aspects related to the next-generation network system, including technical and societal megatrends, new services, requirements, candidate technologies and an expected timeline of sta

FugenBio, a South Korean bio firm using original materials to develop health care and medical products, announced Tuesday it has found novel materials to treat diabetes after its decade-long research. The firm’s CEO Kim Yoon-soo said at a press conference that it has received approval for its breakthrough fungus ceriporia lacerate from the local Drug Ministry as a viable health supplement ingredient. “If it succeeds, we would be the world’s first to develop and commercialize