Domestic chemical firm Isu Chemical said Tuesday it is ramping up production of a hand sanitizer ingredient as demand is soaring in Europe. The company manufactures isopropyl alcohol -- a vital ingredient for hand gels and alcohol wipes -- as the stocks of the IPA are running low amid the worsening COVID-19 outbreak. “Isu Chemical has already got marketing approval in the European Union, so there is no issue with sales in the region,” a company official said. “Though faci

Nexon’s holding company NXC said Monday it is developing an online trading platform in the form of a game, targeting young people held back by the complexity of conventional systems. The company has established a subsidiary Arques, to develop a friendly trading platform with a user interface of tycoon games for Generation MZ -- millennials and Gen Z -- who are discouraged by intricate systems despite their deep interest in investments. “Arques aims to develop a service where use

South Korean chemicals firm OCI said Monday it has launched a lunch box campaign for five days to support the socially vulnerable amid the coronavirus crisis. The company said its Pohang plant in North Gyeongbuk Province has started delivering lunch boxes to support the elderly people and the underprivileged in local areas from March 30 to April 3 as free community meals have been unavailable due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With voluntary donations made by the employees of Pohang plant and wi

Posco Chemical said Monday it will invest 217.7 billion won ($178 million) to produce key materials for electric vehicle batteries. According to the company, its board of directors has approved the investment to construct a production facility for synthetic graphite anode for EV batteries. “Demand for synthetic graphite anodes for EV batteries is expected to spike as the market size is expected to grow from 194 GWh in 2020 to 3,066 GWh in 2030. It’s essential to be equipped wit

Leading e-commerce retailer eBay Korea said Monday the company was creating synergies by integrating its independent “Smile delivery” service with its fulfillment platform. The retail giant said Monday its Smile delivery service has been able to benefit both sellers and buyers through its optimized fulfillment platform, which uses the same system as Amazon’s fulfillment services. “Typical fulfillment platforms charge businesses by the size of space allocated for stoc

McDonald’s Korea said Monday it has donated 8,000 burgers and coffee cups to subway cleaning staff through Seoul Volunteer Center. The fast-food chain said it delivered 4,000 coupons each for Bic Mac burgers and Americano coffee cups to cleaning and disinfection staff of Seoul Metro Environment and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corp., which manage Subway Line No. 1-4 and 5-8, respectively. “Cleaning and disinfection staff are the true unsung heroes as they risk their own safet

South Korea’s leading oil refinery and gas station operator SK Energy said Sunday it had completed a successful trial run of its desulfurization facility, ready for commercial production. Since 2018, SK Energy has spent 1 trillion won ($820 million) on building the vacuum residue desulfurization facility with a capacity of 40,000 barrels of low-sulfur fuel oil a day to prepare for stringent regulations on ship fuel. The VRDS facility is expected to allow SK Energy to produce more low-

Outrage over the Telegram sexual abuse ring is spilling over to children’s online games that depict preadolescent characters in sexualized ways. An online Cheong Wa Dae petition posted Tuesday raised alarm over video games in which characters who physically resemble children wear revealing costumes. This follows the news that at least 58 women and 16 underage girls were sexually abused over several months so the abusers could produce videos and sell them in Telegram chat rooms. &ldqu

Hyundai Mobis said Sunday it would target the global market with future mobility technologies including vision-autonomous driving, connectivity and electrification technology. The auto parts unit under South Korea’s largest auto conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group pledged to develop high-performance sensors for self-driving cars with independent technology within this year. It marks 25 years since its transition to the auto parts business, After developing the country’s first shor

Porsche Korea said Thursday it has donated 649 million won ($527,000) to ChildFund Korea to continue its social contribution efforts in the country. The company has signed a memorandum of understating with the social welfare foundation and delivered the donation to build on its “Porsche Do Dream” campaign, which has been running for four years. “For the past four years, Porsche Korea has endeavored to create an environment where Korean children can follow and fulfill their

South Korean refiners are exporting more petrochemical products at lower prices as their storage facilities have reached their limit due to a sharp fall in domestic demand, industry sources said Thursday. According to the state-run Korea Natural Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Petronet, the domestic consumption of petroleum goods in February sank to 72.12 million barrels -- the lowest figure since 70.82 million barrels of April 2016 -- while outbound shipments in February rose 8.28

South Korean oil refiners are facing heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, but are unable to shut down their plants without causing further problems. According to a domestic oil refinery unit SK Innovation, the company is unable to close its facilities despite a mounting operating loss as oil must keep flowing through the pipes. “Car manufacturers can simply halt their assembly lines and resume operation again, but that’s not the case for refineries. When oil heated up in

Hanwha Solutions pledged a shift to an eco-friendly business and named Vice President Kim Dong-kwan as executive director of the company’s board. The decisions were made at the firm’s general shareholders meeting at a hotel in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Tuesday. Kim Dong-kwan, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, entered the group in 2010. Having been promoted to vice president of Hanwha Solutions last year, Kim this year has taken the reins of Hanwha Group&rsquo

With the coronavirus spread clipping the wings of the South Korean aviation industry, Asiana Airlines has decided to take stringent measures to further tighten its belt. The air carrier has extended the unpaid leave of absence for all employees to 15 days at the least from April, compared to 10 days this month. This would leave it operating with half of the workforce for the time being. Executives will also have their wages slashed by 60 percent, an additional 10 percent cut. “We wil

Casinos have been left out from the government’s coronavirus relief loans despite their hefty contributions of 10 percent of sales every year. To support coronavirus-hit tourism and show business, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday last week had allocated 100 billion won ($79 million) for special loans from its Tourism Promotion Fund. Despite the casino industry being a majority donor for the funds and also suffering significantly from the virus spread, the loans