Backed by strong investors, including Samsung and Hyundai, Solid Power CEO says solid-state batteries can surpass conventional EV batteries with price competitiveness

S-Oil said Wednesday it donated 280 million won ($232,420) to 114 students from an orphanage as part of its scholarship program. According to the South Korean refiner, it held the S-Oil Dream Scholarship ceremony at its headquarters in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, with Korea Child Welfare Association to deliver scholarships to 44 two-year college students and 70 high school students from Sundukwon orphanage. “Education is the platform through which students can unlock their potential, capt

Samyang Foods said Wednesday that it is rolling out various character goods to promote its Buldak Spicy Chicken noodle character Hochi. According to the company, it recently launched a Hochi emoticon for the mobile messenger service Line, for users in both South Korea and Japan. The emoticon is designed to encapsulate 40 expressions frequently used on the mobile chat app, represented by Hochi. The company, which makes the globally popular Buldak Spicy Chicken noodles, said it also launched

The unplanned popularity of K-pop singer Rain’s music video “Gang” has led to a surprising side benefit for Nongshim, towing the sales of its steady-selling shrimp cracker by 30 percent, the company said Wednesday. According to the South Korean food firm, it saw the sales of its shrimp crackers jump to a record 7 billion won ($5.83 million), up by 30 percent, from May 23 to Tuesday compared to a year earlier. K-pop star Rain’s “Gang,” which is from his min

Bernd Korber, who is in charge of BMW Group’s premium compact car brand Mini, makes a presentation on the New Mini Countryman during a press conference held in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday.  The brand’s only four-door sports activity vehicle Mini Country has been face-lifted and is slated for launch in Korea in the fourth quarter. It is the first time in the Mini’s 60-year history that a new model is being unveiled in Korea. Mini Korea said the unveiling took

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that Sebastian Seung, an artificial intelligence expert, will head its AI research arm, strengthening its prowess in the sector. The computer engineering professor at Princeton University will lead Samsung’s 15 R&D centers in 13 countries, including Korea, and seven AI centers, to develop future technologies. The scholar joined Samsung as chief research scientist in 2018 soon after Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong announced his plan to recruit to

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has approved the merger between French multinational corporation LVMH and American jewelry company Tiffany & Co., saying there is no concern of competition restrictions, officials said Wednesday. On March 13, LVMH filed a business combination report with the nation’s Fair Trade Commission after signing a deal in November last year to acquire all of Tiffany’s shares. The merger has so far been approved by the authorities in the US, Austr

Another CMO deal, worth $314m, boosts earnings

South Korea’s non-regular workers lost jobs more than six times as much as regular workers amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. A local civic group Gabjil119 surveyed 1,000 office workers about how COVID-19 has changed work life from June 5-10. According to the survey, 12.9 percent of the respondents said they became unemployed regardless of their will over the past six months. Of the total, 26.3 percent of non-regular workers said they lost jobs, 6.7 times more than 4 percent of

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday highlighted the importance of timing again during his visit to the consumer electronics headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Lee met with Kim Hyun-suk, CEO of the consumer electronics business, and other top executives to discuss artificial intelligence and internet of things strategies, sales expansion of the premium lineup and reinforcing online businesses. “The business environment is testing our limits,” Lee said.

Despite a steady growth in the number of 5G mobile network subscribers who pay higher bills than with LTE services, South Korea’s plan for its full-fledged commercialization seems to be facing delays, according to industry sources Tuesday. The so-called “real 5G,” which requires operation of the higher-frequency bandwidth of 28 gigahertzes to make data processing 20 times faster than the 4G LTE, is still not ready for commercialization, due to unexpected circumstances such a

In the aftermath of a deadly styrene gas leak at an LG Polymers plant in India last month, LG Chem said Monday that it has shipped the toxic gas back to Korea. According to LG Chem, of the 14,000 metric tons of styrene gas stored in India, it disposed of 8,000 tons by selling it to China and brought the remaining 6,000 tons back to its petrochemical plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, following an order made by Indian authorities to remove the gas out of the country. “LG Chem will

Posco said Tuesday it is promoting “good consumption” with its partner companies by making advance payments in traditional markets for vouchers to revive local economies depressed by the COVID-19 outbreak. On May 21, Posco Group and its 90 partner suppliers that provide equipment in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, bought grocery vouchers from traditional markets there to donate to the socially vulnerable. Posco said the group and its partn

Coupang, an e-commerce giant, said Tuesday it will reinforce hygiene measures to cleanse and sterilize millions of products ordered through its Rocket Delivery. Before the products are delivered to customers, the delivery worker will use a portable disinfectant to sterilize the product. The disinfectant is approved by the food and drug administrations of both Korea and the US, the company said. To allow the customers to double check, Coupang said it developed an alert system to notify the d

The future of Cyworld, a social media platform that was very popular years ago, depends on a final court ruling on CEO Jeon Jae-wan, according to industry sources Tuesday. Jeon has been indicted on charges of failing to pay a total of 1 billion won ($830 million) to his former employees after the company suffered financial difficulties. The trial is scheduled on July 25 at Seoul Eastern District Court. If the court next month rules that Jeon is largely responsible for the payment delays, it