S-Oil said Wednesday it has given scholarships to children of fallen firefighters from Yongsan Fire Station as part of its corporate social responsibility activities. A total 210 million won ($173,000) was evenly distributed to 70 children, according to S-Oil. S-Oil has presented scholarships to children of fallen firefighters since 2006 under its Hero Firefighter Program. The program is aimed at helping the recipients to overcome emotional trauma and focus on their studies, the firm said.

The nominee to lead South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said she would look closely into unfair business practices related to information and communication technologies amid the emergence of online platforms and big data.  “In order to back the innovative ecosystem in line with new economic trends, such as the development of the digital economy and the growth of platform companies, antitrust authorities are required to approach the industry with a balanced perspective,” Joh S

A Michigan congressman on Monday visited the main facility of SK Saran Americas, part of SK Global Chemical Americas, which produces chemical resin, according to SK Innovation, owner of the chemical unit. SK Innovation said Rep. John Moolenaar toured SK Saran Americas in Midland, Michigan, accompanied by Jay Kim, president of SK Global Chemical Americas, and Steve Persyn, site leader for SK Saran Americas. The company employs more than 40 people at the Midland facility and the chemical resi

BANGKOK -- South Korean businesses are increasingly entering promising Southeast Asian markets, but the number of Korean companies operating in Thailand is still far lower than that in Vietnam, for instance, where more than 3,000 Korean companies operate. There are currently around 400 Korean companies operating in Thailand, which is Korea’s 18th-largest trade partner in the world and the third-largest market for Korean companies in Southeast Asia, after Vietnam and Indonesia. “Korea

BANGKOK -- Line Man, an on-demand service platform of Thailand’s most popular messenger app Line, is making inroads in the local market by providing a variety of services, including food delivery, taxi-hailing, parcel and convenience goods, with a large subscriber base, according to a top company executive. Line, a subsidiary of Korean internet search giant Naver, launched its messenger app in Thailand in 2012 and has grown into a leading social media platform with 44 million users out of

BANGKOK -- An all-electric bus with the national flags of South Korea and Thailand printed side by side sits on a campus of one of the national research universities on the southern side of Bangkok. The electric bus is a joint project between Korea and Thailand, led mainly by Korean automaker Edison Motors, which currently provides public transport services with eco-friendly buses at Namsan in Seoul and on Jeju Island. The project involves 11 organizations from both sides, including Korea’

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the quest of South Korea’s government and businesses to switch to renewable energy. -- Ed.New environmental regulations in international waters could serve as a momentum for Korean oil refiners and shipbuilders to seek new opportunities in the sluggish markets. In response to heightening environmental concerns and growing harmful emissions from ships, the International Maritime Organization has ruled that from January 2020 ships will h

On Thursday, a national holiday marking Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945, the Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea was very crowded with visitors wanting to better understand the history of the two neighboring countries amid a deepening diplomatic and trade rift. The two-story museum, which sits in a small alley in Yongsan, central Seoul, opened in August last year through donations from the public, civic groups and academics. It exhibits the h

SK Innovation said it has secured an 800 billion won ($650 million) green loan to expand its investments in electric vehicle batteries. The company said it secured the funds through several financial organizations, including the Korea Development Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Bank of America, without giving further details. A green loan is a new lending activity aimed at making sustainable investments and reducing the impact on the environment with lower interest rates. SK Innovation said the fun

The government said Tuesday it will tighten regulations on cross-border mergers and acquisitions to curb leaks of high-end technologies to other countries and impose harsher penalties on offenders.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has resolved to revise the related law to better prevent leaks of key technologies. The changes will take effect in February 2020, six months after promulgation. This is a follow-up to the government’s pledge in January to eradicate leaks of indu

South Korea is set to drop Japan as a preferred trading partner in September in response to Tokyo’s recent decision to exclude Seoul from its whitelist, officials said Monday. “An export control system on strategic items should be run under ground rules of an international export control system,” said Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo during a press briefing Monday afternoon.“(However) the system should be run accordingly (if a trading partner) operates the system that runs c

State-run Korea Investment Corp. is found to have heavily invested in Japanese companies linked to forced wartime labor, according to sources, prompting concerns about the investment portfolio of domestic financial institutions. It is the latest revelation after the release of the National Pension Service’s investment history last month.According to Rep. Kim Kyung-hyub from the ruling Democratic Party on Friday, the KIC invested about $412 million -- as of last year -- in 46 Japanese compa

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog nominee Joh Sung-wook said she would keep “fair economic development” in mind, adding both conglomerate reforms and fair economy are vital. The professor at Seoul National University met with reporters on Friday afternoon shortly after President Moon Jae-in nominated her as the new chief of the Fair Trade Commission. “I feel a heavy responsibility to be nominated as the FTC head, who serves a critical role of pursuing a fair economy,

President Moon Jae-in has nominated Joh Sung-wook, a professor at Seoul National University, to lead South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, the presidential office said Friday. Joh, 55, will replace former head Kim Sang-jo, who is Moon’s chief policy secretary since June. Currently serving as professor at SNU Business School, Joh previously served as a non-executive member of the Financial Services Commission’s Securities & Futures Commission from April 2013 to April this y

Japan’s four-largest automobile parts makers were fined a combined total of 92 billion won ($76 million) by South Korea’s antitrust watchdog for fixing the prices of auto parts, officials said Sunday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, four Japanese car parts firms had fixed prices in collusion when selling alternators and ignition coils to local automakers for 10 years. The four companies included Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi Automotive Systems, which were fined 80 billion w