Economy

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  Samsung SDI and Stellantis to build joint battery plant in Indiana SEOUL -- Samsung SDI, the battery-making unit of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics, will build its joint venture battery plant with Stellantis N.V., an automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Amsterdam, in Kokomo, Indiana, with an injection of over $2.5 billion. The investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion. The Indiana plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatts hours (GWh) that can go up to 33 GWh. Production is to beg 2022-05-25
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  Daewoo shipyard works with U.S. company to produce model ship with 3D printing technology SEOUL -- In partnership with Ingersoll Machine Tools, a U.S.-based supplier of machine tools and automated fiber placement, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has produced a test model ship using a composing plastic material and 3D printing technology. For the manufacturing of ships at shipyards, a model ship with a reduced shape is used for performance testing in a large tank, mostly made of wood. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engi 2022-05-24
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  ​Lotte Confectionery releases non-sugar snack brand targeting domestic market SEOUL -- Lotte Confectionery, the confectionary wing of South Korea’s conglomerate Lotte, released a non-sugar snack brand targeting the country's rapidly growing domestic zero-sugar product market. South Korea's sugar consumption has significantly decreased during the last decade thanks to increased awareness of health. According to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, retail sales of sugar decreased by about 27 percent to 161.4 billion won ($127.1 mill 2022-05-23
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  Pulmuone opens vegan restaurant at major shopping mall in southern Seoul SEOUL -- Targeting South Korea's steadily growing vegan population, Pulmuone Food & Culture, the cafeteria service management wing of Seoul-based food company Pulmuone, opened a vegan restaurant inside a gigantic shopping mall complex in Gangnam District, Seoul's heart of fashion and finance. The number of vegans has gradually increased in South Korea thanks to increased awareness of health and well-being. According to the Korea Vegetarian Union, the number of vegans sh 2022-05-23
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  Zara adopts AR technology for customers to wear various makeup SEOUL -- Augmented reality technology was adopted at a store run by Zara, a Spanish apparel retailer, where customers can try on different types of makeup through three-dimensional simulation. The store located at a shopping complex in southern Seoul is Zara's fourth experimental store after Spain's Madrid, Japan's Ginza, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Augmented reality (AR) filters are computer-generated effects overlapped with the actual images displayed by th 2022-05-20
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  SK ecoplant secured 30% stake in Malaysia's waste management company Cenviro SEOUL -- SK ecoplant secured a 30 percent stake in Cenviro, a waste management service provider in Malaysia, to cement its competitiveness as an environmental and energy solution provider and secure its foothold in Southeast Asia. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal reflects SK ecoplant's active push for business expansion abroad. Cenviro, which operates Malaysia's first integrated waste management center, specializes in solid waste management and public cleansi 2022-05-20
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  Convenience store chain CU partners with drone developer to help communities SEOUL -- BGF Retail, the operator of South Korea's largest convenience store chain CU will adopt drone technology to help communities in case of disasters in cooperation with a domestic drone developer. BGF Retail will create relief goods and use its delivery vehicles as charging stations for drones. Drones designed for rescue purposes are equipped with various optical equipment such as cameras, radars and thermal imaging sensors. Some drones carry out structural safety checks 2022-05-19
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  SK Biopharmaceuticals partners with U.S. biotech company Cala to fuel innovation in neurology SEOUL -- SK Biopharmaceuticals and its parent investment company, SK Inc., will make an unspecified amount of investment in Cala Health, a Silicon Valley-based bioelectronic medicine company, to secure opportunities for potential technology collaboration and explore solutions for new indications in neurology. The two SK Group units have participated in a Series D funding round for Cala, the leader in non-invasive bioelectronic therapy via a wearable device that is proven to reduce e 2022-05-19
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  Business alliance launched to speed up commercialization of self-driving robots SEOUL -- A business alliance involving LG Electronics and 17 other companies was launched to speed up the commercialization of intelligent self-driving robots, which have expanded their use in South Korea's service, delivery and other sectors thanks to rapid technological development. The self-driving robot alliance headed by the Korea Association of Robot Industry was formed on May 18 in an event sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at an exhibition center in 2022-05-18
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  SK chemicals establishes business platform for recycled plastic circulation ecosystem SEOUL -- SK chemicals has established a business platform for a recycled plastic circulation ecosystem that connects producers, partners, and brands online. It is a green platform that provides experience in recycling materials and AI-based digital marketing channel services. The platform will be released to the public on May 30. SK chemicals would provide a material experience kit made of its sustainable packing solution (SPS) material to brand companies. AI image search services 2022-05-18
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  SK Group ties up with U.S. company TerraPower for SMR cooperation SEOUL -- South Korea's SK Group tied up with TerraPower, an American nuclear reactor design and development engineering company, for comprehensive business cooperation in the development and commercialization of next-generation mall modular reactor technology. Small modular reactors (SMRs) can address the limitations of light-water reactors using low-enriched uranium that cost a lot to replace nuclear fuel and require a vast emergency evacuation zone, nonproliferation and waste 2022-05-17
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  SeAH Besteel allies with American partner Orano for cooperation in nuclear fuel dry storage SEOUL -- Orano TN, an American provider of total system solutions for used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management, forged a business alliance with two South Korean companies to find new business opportunities in the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power stations. SeAH Besteel, a special steel producer in South Korea, signed a memorandum of understanding with its American partner, Orano, and KEPCO E&C, the power plant design and engineering wing of South Ko 2022-05-17
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  Daewoong Pharmaceutical uses HD Junction's cloud EMR for entry into Southeat Asia SEOUL -- Daewoong Pharmaceutical, a bioengineering company in South Korea, tied up with HD Junction, a domestic provider of healthcare information technology solutions, for their joint entry into Southeast Asian healthcare markets using a cloud-based electronic medical record (EMR) platform. Daewoong will build a local business model using existing infrastructure, and HD Junction will provide cloud EMR technology to support business expansion. "HD Junction and Daewoong Pharmac 2022-05-17
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  SK Telecom launches new growth-type AI service with cute characters SEOUL -- SK Telecom has launched a new growth-type artificial intelligence service with cute characters that handles the cumbersome behavior that customers face using smartphones and recommends and plays what they may like. Unlike other hard and cold AI brands, it aims to become a brand that grows with customers. The new AI service called "A. (A dot)" is initially available as an open beta version to Android smartphone users. To help customers use their time for more valua 2022-05-16
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  Naver's webtoon wing partners with Japanese media companies to launch joint venture SEOUL -- The web comics wing of South Korea's internet service giant Naver has partnered with TBS, a media enterprise in Japan, and Japan's webtoon publisher Shine Partners to launch a joint venture that would create synergy by recreating popular web cartoons into dramas, films, and other content. The joint venture will target Japan's rapidly growing webtoon market which stood at $4.7 billion in 2020. Webtoons, also known as web comics, are digital comic books opti 2022-05-16
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  LG Household & Health Care opens microbiome research center in Japan's northern island SEOUL -- LG Household & Health Care, a consumer goods company in South Korea, has opened a research center in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands, to develop natural fermentation and microbiome cosmetics targeting global customers. The region with a clean environment was favored as an ideal place for studying microbiomes and natural fermentation. The microbiome is a cluster of all types of microscopic organisms that co-exist with humans such as bacteria, fungi 2022-05-13
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  POSCO makes equity investment in Taiwan's Prologium to produce all-solid-state battery electrolytes SEOUL -- South Korea's leading steel group POSCO made a strategic equity investment in Taiwan's solid-state battery developer Prologium Technology to cooperate in the production of all-solid-state battery electrolytes for electric vehicles with the aim of pre-empting an emerging market for next-generation battery materials. POSCO Holdings said it has signed a contract with Prologium to jointly develop cathode materials for solid solid-state batteries, silicon anode material 2022-05-13
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  Hanwha Q CELLS launches new brand to make foray into EV charging service market SEOUL -- The photovoltaic cell-making wing of South Korea's Hanwha Group has launched a new brand to make a foray into the country's electric vehicle (EV) charging service market. The government aims to increase the number of private and commercial EV chargers from about 100,000 in 2022 to 500,000 by 2025. Boosted by a strong government campaign to go completely carbon-zero by 2050, South Korea's EV market is witnessing a boom like other countries. As of March 2022, the 2022-05-13
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  Taekwang Industry's board endorses new investment to boost aramid production SEOUL -- Taekwang Industry, a chemical and textile company in South Korea, will invest 145 billion won ($112 million) to boost the production of aromatic polyamide (aramid), a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers, from 1,500 tons to 5,000 tons per year by 2025 in response to a fast increase in global demand. Taekwang Industry said its board has endorsed the expansion of aramid production to strengthen competitiveness. "This investment decision is to preemptivel 2022-05-13
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  Hanwha Solutions discloses new investment to produce high-performance solar cells SEOUL -- Hanwha Solutions, a chemical and energy company affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, will enhance the competitiveness of solar cells by building new production lines for high-performance photovoltaic cells and modules in South Korea and the United States. The new investment comes on the heels of fierce competition with Chinese companies. At Intersolar, a solar industry exhibition in Munich, Hanwha Solutions disclosed the planned injection of some 380 billion won 2022-05-12