The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Friday that the ministry’s research and development budget for 2021 is set at 21.6 trillion won ($18 billion), up 9.7 percent from 19.7 trillion won in 2020. The ICT Ministry said the additional funds would be spent on high-priority areas such as disease research and cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, fifth-generation wireless networks, self-driving vehicles and next-generation semiconductors. The budget for infectious

South Korea has approved 15 candidates for coronavirus treatment drugs and vaccines for clinical trials as it steps up efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Friday. The candidate materials include two that may be developed into vaccines and 13 that show promise as treatment drugs, it said. The ministry said most of the candidates being tested are foreign, but two have been made by local drugmakers -- Bukwang Pharmaceutical Co. and Chong Kun Dang

Krafton said Thursday Battlegrounds developer Kim Chang-han has officially become new CEO after being appointed by shareholders and the board of directors in March. He will head both the company and its subsidiary PUBG Corp. Krafton is the parent company of game studios PUBG, Bluehole, Pnix, Red Sahara, Delusion and En Masse Entertainment. According to Krafton, Kim, who is the developer of PUBG’s eponymous game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, officially assumed the post of Krafton&

Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it will launch the upgraded G90 flagship sedan under its independent Genesis brand next month to boost sales. The facelifted G90 comes with a 3.3-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, a 3.8-liter gasoline engine or a 5.0-liter gasoline engine, with prices ranging from 79 million won ($66,000) to 160 million won, the company said in a statement. The G90 is equipped with multiple safety features, such as parking collision-avoidance assist reverse (PCA-R), Genesis a

Jeju Air Co.'s planned takeover of smaller local rival Eastar Jet Co. could be delayed further due to differences over acquisition terms between the two sides amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said Friday. In March, Jeju Air signed a deal to acquire a controlling 51.17 percent stake in Eastar Jet from its parent Eastar Holdings Inc. for 54.5 billion won ($45 million) as part of its expansion strategy despite the growing COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the airline industry. Ea

South Korean businesspeople have called for easing unfavorable regulations that are not applied in rival countries in order to secure the competitiveness of the nation’s major industries. On Friday, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a second meeting of the regulatory improvement for the major industries with the private and public sectors to listen to the regulatory difficulties of the equipment industry and seek solutions. The meeting was attended by industry associations

HDC Hyundai Development's planned acquisition of Asiana Airlines Inc. has been delayed to the second half due to the new coronavirus' impact on the airline industry, industry sources said Friday.    In December, the HDC-Mirae Asset Daewoo consortium signed a deal to acquire the country's second-biggest airline from Kumho Asiana Group, with a plan to complete the acquisition by June 27.    Early this month, Asiana's main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) demanded that

US imports of automotive tires manufactured in South Korea fell by 2.2 percent on-year at $1.2 billion, data from Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency showed. Compared to Korea, countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico and Japan saw their exports of tires to US increase by 23 percent, 14.7 percent and 13.6 percent on-year, respectively. Earlier this week, the US Commerce Department announced that it has kicked off anti-dumping investigations on imports of tires from Korea, Taiwan, Thaila

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday sought an arrest warrant for former Kolon Group chief Lee Woong-yeol as part of their investigation into a controversial gene therapy drug developed by a group company. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it requested the warrant to detain Lee on charges of fraud, breach of trust and violation of the pharmaceutical affairs act. Kolon Life Science, a unit of Kolon Group, initially received approval for Invossa, a cell and gene therapy for ost

Google LLC will correct unfair subscription practices related to its YouTube Premium service in South Korea, Seoul's telecommunications regulator said Thursday. Local consumers will be able to cancel the YouTube Premium service immediately and will be eligible for refunds based on their remaining subscription period, the Korea Communications Commission said after receiving Google's voluntary corrective measures. Previously, YouTube Premium users had to wait until the end of their monthly subs

French automaker Renault Group’s flagship van Renault Master has achieved accumulated sales of 3 million units globally in 40 years since its launch, according to the local unit of the automaker Thursday.  Renault Samsung Motors said that last year over 124,000 units of Renault Master were sold in 50 countries, topping the van category of sales in Europe for five consecutive years.  The model’s interior can be modified depending on the purpose of the vehicle such as a ca

Korea Aerospace Industries is set to sell 20 TA-50 fighters to the South Korean Air Force, according to industry sources Thursday. South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer and a committee under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration are set to discuss the sales of 20 units of TA-50 lead-in fighter trainers to the Korean Air Force on Friday, they said. “If the defense project promotion committee approves the deal, KAI and DAPA are expected sign a 700-billion-won ($580 mill

WeMade said Thursday that it has won a lawsuit against Chinese rivals in a Singapore-based arbitration court for breaching a software license agreement (SLA) for its game The Legend of Mir 2. According to the South Korean game company, the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration confirmed that the SLA on The Legend of Mir 2 that WeMade signed with Korean game company Actoz Soft and Chinese game company Shanda Games’ affiliate Lansha Information Techn

LG Chem said Thursday that an Indian court granted a conditional return home to eight company officials who had been stopped by local police from boarding a chartered flight back to Korea last month. According to LG Chem, the Indian High Court lifted a travel ban on the special task force comprised of eight officials, accepting a petition the company filed on Wednesday, on the condition that they appear in court if subpoenaed and cooperate with police investigations regarding a deadly gas leak

It’s been nearly a year since Japan imposed restrictions on its exports to South Korea of key high-tech materials used in chipmaking, the economic pillar of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. At the time, Korea panicked. But one year on, Korea has made significant efforts to reduce its dependence on Japan, which is a close neighbor but also a rival on many fronts, by diversifying its import channels and localizing its materials technologies. On July 1 last year, Japan abruptly moved