Celltrion founder Seo Jung-jin’s eldest son Seo Jin-seok has obtained a seat in the boardroom of Iksuda Therapeutics, a UK-based antibody-drug conjugates developer, according to industry sources Monday. The latest change in Iksuda‘s boardroom came after Celltrion and Mirae Asset Group announced earlier this month a $47 million joint investment in Iksuda to acquire a controlling stake of the British company. According to Celltrion, Iksuda has agreed with the appointment of Seo Jin

South Korea spent nearly 24 trillion won ($21.26 billion) on state-led research and development (R&D) projects last year, up 16 percent from the previous year, the science ministry said Monday. The country's R&D expenditures last year amounted to 23.88 trillion won, up 15.8 percent from the previous year and the fastest rise in 15 years, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. State-led R&D spending has increased by 7.2 percent on average annually from 2017 to 2020 under the

Coupang Play to target sports fans with latest deal to win online Olympics broadcasting rights

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday announced the global launch of its upgraded gaming monitors as the South Korean tech giant tries to boost sales amid the stay-at-home trend. The 2021 edition of Odyssey gaming monitors -- G70A, G50A and G30A -- will be available in major markets, including South Korea, according to Samsung. The 28-inch G70A comes with a price tag of 950,000 won ($840) here, while the 27-inch G50A will be sold at 650,000 won. List prices for the 27-inch and 24-inch G30A monit

Kakao Group, which started off as a mobile messenger app operator and has aggressively expanded into new business territories, is now the country’s fifth-largest business group in terms of market cap, data shows. According to financial data from Korea Exchange and market researcher Infomax, the aggregate market capitalization of all Kakao firms stood at 73.9 trillion won ($65.1 billion) as of Friday. After a dizzying array of spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions in past years, Kakao ha

LG Electronics, the world’s leading manufacturer of organic light-emitting diode TVs, is continuing to expand the market of self-emissive TVs by rolling out new size choices. The company is releasing in Korea and the US this month 83-inch OLED TVs, which it said will be the biggest 4K OLED TV in the world. In Korea, the new model will be available for 10.9 million won ($9,600). It is the latest addition to LG’s OLED TV lineup, which has consisted of 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inc

DataStreams, a local big data solutions provider, has been recognized for its contributions to the development of the local big data industry by the Korea Society of Management Information Systems, the Seoul-based tech firm said Sunday. It has been chosen as the recipient of the 10th KMIS award, which recognizes and honors an outstanding corporation in information technology. DataStreams, with its persistent focus on research and development, has churned out a stream of innovative products an

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion’s monoclonal antibody treatment Regkirona, or CT-P59, has shown initial promise in treating patients infected with COVID-19 variants, the company said Friday, quoting preclinical results from its recent animal test. Celltrion said it found that the injection of its COVID-19 treatment Regkirona significantly reduced viral titers in 50 experimental mice infected with the South African variant. The mice injected with Regkirona showed a 100 p

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday it has revoked approvals for around 1,700 pieces of network equipment and communications devices manufactured by a nearly 400 companies, including China’s Huawei and Korea’s Samsung Electronics. The decision affected a total of 1,696 pieces of equipment from 378 companies that were found to have test records certified by an entity not approved by the Korean government. Under the country’s radio wave law, communi

KT, the second largest telecom business in South Korea, is moving to expand its presence in the financial sector by making an investment in a local fintech firm, the carrier said Thursday. The mobile carrier signed a deal to invest a total of 23.6 billion won ($20.8 million) in WebCash Group that owns WebCash, BizPlay and Roum IT, as part of forming a strategic partnership with the financial IT platform group for enterprises. It is KT’s second investment made in a financial firm afte

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has granted approval for a phase 2a clinical trial of Engensis, an investigational gene therapy for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, under development by South Korean biotechnology company Helixmith, the company said Thursday. Engensis is a gene therapy that utilizes a plasmid, a small circular DNA molecule, to provide the hepatocyte growth factor gene to patients’ nerve and nerve-supporting cells, whi

Kakao, the nation’s largest mobile messenger operator, is preparing to launch a new subscription-based content platform in August, according to the company on Thursday. The company is currently running a closed beta test of the new platform among its content partners, it said. The platform will allow producers to create, edit and publish various forms of content including news, videos, music and texts. Users can choose the content they want and subscribe via KakaoTa

South Korean biotechnology company Cha Biotech has received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its plan to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial of a hepatitis B third-generation vaccine, the firm said Thursday. Following the green light, Cha Vaccine Institute, the firm’s vaccine development subsidiary, will begin administrating the vaccine candidate to adults between the ages of 19-65, aiming to complete the study by October 2023. The hepatitis B vaccine candidate is dev

KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Thursday it will invest a total of 23.6 billion won ($20.9 million) in three companies under the fintech-focused Webcash Group in a move to strengthen its foothold in financial services. A KT spokesperson said the company will invest 14.4 billion won in Webcash, which operates Kyungrinara, a bookkeeping solution for small businesses, and a combined 9.2 billion won in bizplay, a business expense management platform operator, and Roumit, also

Scarcity of leftover vaccines expected to continue through end-June