South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed and Korean instant noodles, called ramyeon, are expected to hit record highs this year, according to government data and industry sources, Sunday. According to data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, outbound shipments of dried seaweed reached $670 million between January and October, up 20.4 percent on-year. Dried seaweed exports continued to increase in November to reach $702 million as of Nov. 10, topping the previous record of $690 milli

GC Biopharma, GC Group’s biopharmaceutical unit, announced Wednesday that the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first Indonesian plasma fractionation plant within an industrial complex near the country's capital of Jakarta. The event comes six months after the company received approval from the Indonesian government to join the construction project, a trilateral partnership with the Indonesian Red Cross and P.T Triman, a local drugmaker. Under the partnership, GC Biopharm

Health care officials from South Korea and the US on Monday gathered in Seoul to discuss the industry’s potential to be a bigger part of the Seoul-Washington alliance during a forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. The Healthcare Innovation Seminar is one of the major events organized by AmCham, and the largest policy seminar on the health care industry in South Korea. This year's seminar is titled “The Role of the Healthcare Industry in Facing the Next Front

South Korea's exports rose for the second consecutive month in November as semiconductor shipments rebounded, government data showed Friday. According to data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, South Korea’s exports rose 7.8 percent on-year to $55.8 billion in November. The country’s exports in November are currently the highest this year, surpassing the figure in October when the country’s exports saw a 13-month downturn and increased by 5.1 percent

Celltrion Healthcare, Celltrion Group's sales arm, announced Thursday that the company’s autoimmune disease treatment Zymfentra will make its debut in the US market on Feb. 29 next year. Zymfentra, which is also known as Remsima SC, is a subcutaneous injection formulation of Celltrion's infliximab Remsima, a treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis in adult patients. Zymf

SK Bioscience announced Wednesday that the company would supply Novavax's updated COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea, as part of the government’s winter vaccine program running early next year. SK Bioscience's announcement was made after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea gave emergency use authorization for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine earlier in the day. The Korean government’s approval marks the third of its kind for Novavax’s protein-based updated CO

Posco Holdings said Wednesday that the steel giant has completed the construction of the country’s first lithium hydroxide factory, a move to strengthen its competitiveness in the global lithium race. The new facility is located within the Yulchon Industrial Complex in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province. The plant can annually produce 21,500 metric tons of lithium hydroxide, one of the key components used for batteries for electric vehicles. The plant is owned by Posco-Pilbara Lithium Solutio

Samsung Biologics said Tuesday that the company has signed five contract manufacturing deals to bring the total value of its annual orders this year to an all-time high of 3.48 trillion won ($2.7 billion). According to Samsung Biologics’ regulatory filing, the company has recently inked one new and four expanded deals with a pharmaceutical company based in Asia. The five contracts are worth a total of around 761 billion won, the company said. The new CMO deal is worth 589 billion won, and

Posco Group will hold a board meeting next month possibly to start its search for its new chairperson, according to industry sources on Monday. It remains to be seen whether Posco Chairman and CEO Choi Jeong-woo will seek a third term. His second term ends in March next year. Under the group’s internal policy, the current CEO should be reviewed first if he wishes to run for another term. But sources say the group is likely to revise the rule amid growing calls for a more transparent CEO se

SK Bioscience said Wednesday that the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Hilleman Laboratories to cooperate on the development of a second-generation Ebola vaccine and its global supply. Hilleman Laboratories is a Singapore-based vaccine research organization, founded as a joint venture between US drug maker MSD and British foundation Wellcome Trust. Under the new partnership, SK Bioscience will work with Hilleman Laboratories to improve its vaccine production efficiency and therm

The declaration of "Kimchi Day" is not only necessary to raise awareness about the Korean staple food globally, but also to protect it in a decadeslong cultural feud over its origin, according to Kim Choon-jin, CEO of Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. Kim is a three-term lawmaker who entered South Korea's political scene after having been the dentist of former President Kim Dae-jung. He was appointed as CEO of the state-run food trade agency, known as aT for short, in 2021

SK Square, SK Group’s investment unit, has scrapped negotiations with Singapore-based e-commerce giant Qoo10 on selling shares of its online retail platform operator 11Street, according to local retail industry sources, Sunday. SK Square is not expected to resume talks with Qoo10 and may search for other investors who are interested in making an investment in 11Street, the sources said. Since September this year, SK Square had been in talks with Qoo10 for sale of an 18.2 percent stake in

Daewoo Engineering & Construction will beef up its presence in the Indonesian market where the country has high demand for infrastructure arising from capital relocation and economic development. “Indonesia has the largest construction market among (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, thanks to its (population of) 270 million, large land size and over 5 percent annual economic growth rate,” said Han Seung, executive vice president of Daewoo E&C’s over

South Korea’s beer imports from China decreased by over 40 percent last month after a hygiene incident at a Tsingtao brewery was revealed. Imports of Japanese beer products, on the other hand, increased by over 300 percent. According to data from the Korea Customs Service on Thursday, Korea’s imports of Chinese beer reached 228.1 tons in October, down 42.6 percent on-year. The import value of Chinese beer products shipped to Korea during the same period came to $1.9 million, also dow

Posco International announced Wednesday that the company would join Ukraine’s reconstruction, starting with setting up a factory to manufacture modules for new buildings in war-torn regions of the country. Posco International Vice Chairman Jeong Tak on Tuesday met with Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, in Ukraine's capital Kyiv to sign a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a modular factory in Mykolaiv, the city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. Modular constructi