Faced with a COVID-19 vaccine shortage, South Korea is taking the first steps to consider Russia’s Sputnik V. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Thursday that it would collect clinical data on the Russian vaccine to study its efficacy and safety. The ministry has requested the help of the Foreign Ministry and its overseas missions for the collection of data from 12 countries where the vaccine has been rolled out, officials said. A Drug Ministry official, however, attempted to d

CEO Park Jung-ho highlights cooperation with SK hynix, confirms acquisition plan

South Korea said Wednesday it will invest 105 billion won ($94 million) this year to support budding companies in promising tech sectors, such as 5G networks and artificial intelligence, as part of the country's digital New Deal initiative. Last year, South Korea unveiled the digital New Deal program, which aims to invest 58.2 trillion won to develop key future technologies from smart factories to big data solutions and create 900,000 jobs by 2025. The Ministry of Science and ICT said it signe

Business lobby, private experts call for deregulations in health care to align with global trends

The bereaved family of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will make public its plans for the late tycoon’s massive personal wealth, estimated to be worth over 30 trillion won ($26.98 billion), industry sources said Tuesday. The plan will include donations of art from the chairman’s collection and the allocation of his stocks to family members, including Lee Jae-yong, his son and successor in the Samsung empire. It will also detail how the family plans to pay the inheritance taxes.

SK Telecom announced Monday that the company has introduced a 5G-based disinfection robot at a Severance Hospital branch in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It is the world’s first such hospital robot utilizing the next-generation telecommunication technology, the company added. The machine “Keemi” uses a real-time location system, through which it can find the location of missing patients and analyze patient density within the hospital. The robot comes with an artificial intel

Calls for pardoning Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong grow amid global power struggle for chips

Nokia Corp., a Finnish telecom equipment giant, said Monday it has signed an agreement with South Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp. to install its next-generation indoor 5G equipment here. Nokia said it will deploy its small cell AirScale Indoor systems in indoor locations across the country, including shopping malls and office buildings, for LG Uplus' 5G network. The system allows seamless 5G connectivity between indoor and outdoor locations and can be easily upgraded to accommodate future

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's largest mobile carrier, said Monday it has commercialized the world's first 5G-based disinfection robot in a move to automate anti-infection efforts against COVID-19 in health care facilities. The telecom operator said it partnered with Yongin Severance Hospital to deploy the robot, which uses a real-time location system using a 5G network to roam around the hospital on its own and monitor people's temperatures and whether they are wearing masks. The robot is also

Consensus is building for national support to help local chipmakers navigate global headwinds

South Korea, which is struggling to secure COVID-19 vaccines developed by foreign firms like Pfizer and Moderna, can’t expect local alternatives anytime soon, as Korean drugmakers are not making speedy progress as hoped in their vaccine development, industry sources said Sunday. Even firms that have reached the clinical trial stage are having difficulties in securing volunteers with the vaccination campaign underway, the sources said. South Korean drugmakers Genexine and Cellid are cu

South Korea said Sunday it will spend 42 billion won ($37.6 million) by 2025 to develop a response system against illegal drones amid growing security threats from the fast-developing technology. A consortium of 23 companies and research institutes -- which includes the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and aerospace and defense firm LIG Nex1 Co. -- will develop a response system that spots and neutralizes the illegal unmanned aircraft, according to

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution said Saturday its joint venture with American automaker General Motors will build a $2.3 billion (2.58 trillion won) electric vehicle battery factory in Tennessee.  Ultium Cells, the joint venture between LG and GM, will build a second US factory with an annual capacity of 35 gigawatt-hours, similar to the first one under construction in Ohio, LG Energy said. "With the joint venture's factory construction, LG Energy Solutio

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said Friday it will spend 1.06 trillion won ($950 million) to build a battery factory in the United States with American automaker General Motors Corp. In a regulatory filing, LG Energy, wholly owned by LG Chem Ltd., said that it and GM will each invest the same amount in their joint venture, Ultium Cells, to step up electric vehicle (EV) battery production in the US. Together with 600 billion won worth of loans, the total investment for the

LG Energy Solution, South Korea’s leading battery maker, has marked the industry’s first case of joining both RE100 and EV100, the two global campaigns addressing climate change and clean energy, officials said Friday. Abbreviated for Renewable Electricity 100%, RE100 is an international campaign launched by nonprofit organization the Climate Group in partnership with Carbon Disclosure Project in 2014. The campaign aims to have businesses that consume more than 100GWh a year switch