South Korea should raise export competitiveness and make full use of nuclear power to tide over the global inflation and energy shock, Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said Wednesday. “The global inflation and the energy price hike have shocked our economy. As Korea is highly dependent on energy imports, we are fully affected by both,” Lee said in a press conference in Sejong. “We need to do two things. We must raise export competitiveness as much as possible, and make full u

LG Innotek said on Tuesday its membership in RE100 has been approved. RE100 is an international campaign launched by nonprofit organization the Climate Group in partnership with Carbon Disclosure Project in 2014. The campaign aims for member businesses that consume more than 100 gigawatt-hours a year to switch to 100 percent renewable electricity sources like wind and solar power by 2050. Some 370 global companies including Google, Apple and Microsoft are members of RE100. LG Innotek plans t

SK Innovation’s green transformation strategy, announced a year ago, has “a very high potential for eventual success,” said one US scholar who cited its “clarity of purpose of vision,” “well-reasoned plan of execution” and an “intangible advantage of culture and management systems.” In a column published in SK Innovation’s SKinno News on Friday, Kannan Ramaswamy, chair professor of global strategy at Arizona State University’s Th

Dunamu, operator of popular crypto exchange Upbit, said that experts representing the latest blockchain trends such as non-fungible tokens and metaverse gaming will attend its annual developers’ conference as speakers. The Upbit Developer Conference 2022 will be held for two days from Sept. 22 at the Busan Port International Exhibition and Convention Center under the theme “Imagine Your Blockchain Life.” Speakers include Sebastien Borget, CEO and co-founder of metaverse game

LG Innotek said on Tuesday it has developed an in-cabin radar module for cars that detects living things and movements with electromagnetic waves. Used to avoid leaving small children in cars or to prevent theft, in-cabin radar modules are made by combining radar chips, antennas and communication chips on substrates, and are usually installed in the ceiling above the rear seats or around the rearview mirror. The global demand for interior sensing devices, including radar modules, has been risi

Water purifier company Chungho Nice said that sales of its iced coffee machine in the first five months of the year more than tripled from a year prior. The Espre Caffe, which comes in four models, including a countertop version and a large, standing model, is a combination of an ice-dispensing water purifier and a capsule coffee machine that can be used at both home and the office. The taste and aroma of Italian roasted coffee made with clean water filtered through membrane filters as well as

The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) said it has signed an agreement with Woori Financial Group to cooperate for climate control through sustainable forest management and environmental, social and corporate governance. The AFoCO is an international organization established upon Seoul’s proposal at the 2009 special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Through a public-private platform known as the AFoCO green partnership, AFoCO offers bus

South Korea is expected to record this year its first annual trade deficit since the global financial crisis in 2008, the Korea International Trade Association said in a report released on Wednesday. The country is projected to post an annual trade deficit of $14.7 billion due to high oil prices, with $703.9 billion in exports and $718.5 billion in imports, KITA’s Institute for International Trade said. Exports are likely to rise above $700 billion for the first time ever, or up 9.2 perc

An online learning service company said it has launched a new app for non-Koreans learning Korean. The app, Crates, also provides Korean cultural content for free to help people understand Korean culture, eKYSS said, adding that demand for learning the language has increased sharply with the rising popularity of Korean pop music, movies and TV shows. Currently available in English, Chinese, Bahasa and Vietnamese, Crates will gradually be expanded to help people learn English, Chinese, Japanese

The aggregate value of Socially Responsible Investment bonds issued surpassed 200 trillion won for the first time, the Korea Exchange said. The total value of SRI bonds listed on the market stood at 200.2 trillion won as of June 10, marking a 154-fold increase from 1.3 trillion won in 2018 when an SRI bond was first listed. Also known as environmental, social and governance bonds, thematic and social contribution bonds or green, social and sustainable bonds, SRI bonds are used to fund eco-frie

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. demanded an electricity rate hike for the three months starting July amid rising fuel costs and record losses. The company on Thursday submitted its rate outline to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will make the decision. Electricity rates consist of a basic fuel cost, a climate environment fee and a fuel cost adjustment fee. Kepco is proposing a fuel cost adjustment fee hike of 3 won (0.2 cent) p

SK Innovation said on Tuesday it is investing $30 million in a US ammonia-based fuel cell startup for technological cooperation as it taps into new businesses to establish a “green portfolio.” SK Innovation and Amogy signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday in San Jose, California, to work together to develop ammonia-based fuel cell system technology and expand markets. Founded in 2020 by four MIT Ph.D. alumni, Amogy focuses on research and development to produce compact ammo

LG Energy Solution has continued to use its eco-friendly projects to enact positive social change. In late 2020, the company completed the construction of its 410-kilowatt solar power plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The profit from this plant is expected to be 40 million won ($31,000), which the company plans to donate to underprivileged people in the region LG Energy Solution’s team of volunteers at its Ochang plant run a Twin Angel Fund to help those in financial need. S

High school students are invited to compete in the 2022 Korea Economics Olympiad, which is held to select entrants for the International Economics Olympiad (IEO). The IEO is an annual competition for high school students in economics. Held since 2018, the IEO’s activities are designed to stimulate creative problem-solving skills among students interested in economics, business and finance. It is supported by Nobel laureate Eric Maskin and Higher School of Economics. The KEO, hosted by th

The global market share of Korean-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and lithium-ion batteries shrank last year with greater competition from Chinese and German makers, according to a report released on Wednesday by a major business lobby group. Based on statistics from the International Trade Center, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) analyzed the changing landscape of the global BEV and lithium-ion battery industry which is growing at over 20 percent on annual average. BEVs refer t