Economy

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  KT partners with Toshiba Digital Solutions for quality evaluation of hybrid quantum cryptography communication SEOUL -- In cooperation with its Japanese partners, KT, a major telecom company in South Korea, will carry out the quality evaluation of hybrid quantum cryptography communication using equipment from different manufacturers on a long-distance test network between Seoul and the southern port city of Busan. Hybrid quantum cryptography communication was implemented between Seoul and Busan, using domestic equipment and technology from Toshiba Digital Solutions, a Japanese company tha 2022-03-28
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  KT establishes unmanned drone surveillance system at Samsung's semiconductor plant SEOUL -- South Korea's top telecom company KT has set up an unmanned drone surveillance system at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant to create a safe work environment. Autonomous drones equipped with various sensors will patrol and monitor dangerous factors such as fire. Drones are used for safety management to find and rescue stranded people in the mountains or the sea. Some are used to check the structural integrity of large and tall buildings by examining the e 2022-03-28
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  Hyundai auto group partners with hydrogen electric vessel manufacturer Vinssen to develop small green ships SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group forged a partnership with domestic eco-friendly shipbuilder Vinssen to develop next-generation small-sized green ships. The green vessels can help reduce greenhouse gases emitted by fishing boats. Data released by South Korea's ocean ministry in 2020 showed that 37,271 vessels out of 65,744 fishing boats were used for inshore fishing with many of them relying on combustion engines. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vessels by 2022-03-25
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  S. Korea to build massive electromagnetic interference shielding facility to test autonomous cars SEOUL -- As part of a national drive to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles and connected drone technologies, South Korea will inject 5.7 billion worth of state money ($4.6 million) to build a massive electromagnetic interference shielding test facility. The testbed will provide a safe environment for researchers and firms to test connected devices and vehicles. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding facility is vital for the development phase of wireless com 2022-03-25
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  Hyundai auto group vows to push ahead with hydrogen roadmap despite energy policy change under next government SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group revealed its volition to push ahead with a hydrogen ecosystem despite potential uncertainties caused by president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol who regards renewable energy as an auxiliary means for nuclear power plants, heralding changes to an energy roadmap pushed by his predecessor. Yoon, who scored a narrow victory in presidential voting on March 9, has criticized President Moon Jae-in's "nuclear-exit" policy of phasing out nucle 2022-03-24
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  Shinsegae's information technology service wing to acquire ecommerce software solution company SEOUL -- Shinsegae I&C, the information technology service wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, will acquire a domestic ecommerce software solution company to beef up its business clout in online shopping services and customer management. Shinsegae I&C said in a conference call on March 24 that the company will acquire a 100 percent stake in Plgrim, a domestic ecommerce solution developer, for 25 billion won ($20 million) to secure a growth engine. The acquisit 2022-03-24
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  Kia Motors becomes first Korean automaker to issue NFT for electric vehicles SEOUL -- Kia Motors, affiliated with South Korea's Hyundai auto group, became the first domestic automaker to make a foray into the non-fungible token market. Customers can purchase digital tokens for digital artworks based on Kia's electric vehicles through an online cryptocurrency market. A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unit of data stored on a blockchain network of interlinked virtual ledgers. Each NFT is certified by a blockchain as a unique digital asset that is not i 2022-03-24
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  Nuclear energy research body localizes 25 Gbps avalanche photodiode SEOUL -- South Korea's state-run nuclear energy research body has localized a 25 gigabits per second (Gbps)-class avalanche photodiode which is used as a key component that detects optical signals when configuring a 5G network that enables the large-capacity and high-speed transmission of data. The mass production of 25Gbps avalanche photodiodes (APDs) is possible from the second half of 2022 after a three-year joint study between the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KA 2022-03-24
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  SK E&S acquires U.S. EV charging solution provider EverCharge SEOUL -- SK E&S, an energy company affiliated with South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, SK Group, has acquired EverCharge, a U.S. provider of electric vehicle charging services, as part of efforts to cope with growth in the U.S. electric vehicle charging market and achieve the goal of becoming a leading energy solution company. Financial terms were not given. SK E&S has earmarked $400 million to finance its U.S. subsidiary. The money will be used to acquire EverCh 2022-03-24
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  S. Korea's first homemade gas turbine for power generation awaits field demonstration SEOUL -- After nearly two years of in-house testing, South Korea's first homemade gas turbine capable of providing electricity to some 250,000 houses was rolled out for field operation in a high-profile ceremony that marked a turning point in the country's power industry seeking to secure independent technologies and energy security. The 270 megawatt-class turbine using liquefied natural gas will go through demonstration by 2025 at a combined heat and power station to be bui 2022-03-23
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  GS E&C partners with Danish renewable fuel company to develop modularized production facility SEOUL -- GS Engineering and Construction, a major builder in South Korea, has forged a partnership with Haldor Topsoe, a Denmark-based biodiesel production technology company, to develop a modularized renewable energy production facility that is easy and cheaper to deploy than to construct a facility. Biodiesel is renewable energy produced using vegetable oils, animal fats, or used cooking oil collected from restaurants. Biodiesel burns much cleaner than petroleum diesel and emit 2022-03-23
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  Hanwha Group becomes largest single shareholder of Norway's REC Silicon with 33.34% SEOUL -- By raising the holding of shares to 33.34 percent, South Korea's Hanwha Group became the largest single shareholder of REC Silicon ASA, a Norway-based producer of polysilicon, a high purity polycrystalline form of silicon used as a raw material in the field of solar photovoltaics and electronics. Two Hanwha Group units -- Hanwha Solutions and Hanwha Corporation -- decided to take over a combined 16.67 percent stake held by Aker Horizons, an investment holding company 2022-03-23
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  SK Trading International seals five-year deal to import Occidental's net-zero oil SEOUL -- SK Trading International, a unit of South Korea's SK Group, has signed a five-year deal with Occidental, an energy company in the United States, to import 200,000 barrels of net-zero oil per year from 2025 for the production of eco-friendly aviation oil and other net-zero products. It marked the world's first net-zero oil contract. Net-zero means huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas under an international campaign to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emiss 2022-03-23
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  Naver's web cartoon wing to set up new European headquarters to provide localized services SEOUL -- The web cartoon wing of Naver, a top web portal service operator and IT company in South Korea, will establish its European business center in France to secure a firm foothold in the European market. The European head office will hire local illustrators and provide localized digital cartoon services. Web cartoons, also known as webtoons or webcomics, are digital comic books created to fit into web or mobile platforms. South Korea is the birthplace of webtoons. Popular webt 2022-03-22
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  Hyundai Department Store acquires global online mattress company Zinus SEOUL -- Hyundai Department Store, a major department store chain in South Korea, will acquire Zinus, a domestic eCommerce mattress and furniture company that commercialized a technology to compress and pack bed mattresses and deliver them in boxes for the first time in the world with online channel sales accounting for 80 percent of all sales. Hyundai Department Store said in a regulatory filing on March 22 that the acquisition is aimed at expanding its presence overseas and str 2022-03-22
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  Hydrogen charging station using food biogas ready for commercial operation SEOUL -- South Korea's first charging station, which produces and supplies hydrogen using food biogas, is ready for commercial operation in a provincial city. It has an operating system that integrates hydrogen production, storage, transportation, charging and sales. The operation of the hydrogen charging station in Chungju, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Seoul, is to begin on March 23. Both biogas and city gas pipes were set up together so that operators can switch to 2022-03-22
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  Researchers establish test center to expedite localization of LNG and cryogenic equipment SEOUL -- A state-funded research institute in South Korea has established a new center to test and certify cryogenic equipment and technologies related to liquefied natural gas. The center will accelerate the localization of ultra-low temperature gas-related equipment including pumps, pipes and storage tanks. South Korea's liquified natural gas (LNG) and cryogenic equipment market is heavily dependent on foreign products because domestic small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) do n 2022-03-22
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  World's largest bunkering vessel chartered by Shell sails for hub port in Rotterdam SEOUL -- The world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel built by a subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group and chartered by Shell, a global energy and petrochemical group, has left for a hub port in Rotterdam in the Netherlands for its mission to load and supply fuel for bunker tanks. K. LOTUS is an 18,000 cubic meters bunkering vessel that will supply LNG fuel to ships at major European ports for up to seven years. It is equipped with a cy 2022-03-21
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  Samsung Electro-Mechanics to boost domestic production of flip-chip ball grid arrays SEOUL -- Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electric component maker affiliated with South Korea's Samsung conglomerate, will boost the domestic production of flip-chip ball grid arrays which are mainly used for central processing units and graphic processing units that require high-performance and high-density circuit connections. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it has earmarked some 300 billion won ($247 million) for its investment to expand production facilities for flip-chip bal 2022-03-21
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  Hanwha Corp. partners with state company to establish hydrogen-ammonia value chain SEOUL -- South Korea's national oil and gas company joined hands with two domestic companies to establish a hydrogen-ammonia value chain from the establishment of storage infrastructure to the production and supply of hydrogen through ammonia cracking. Ammonia is produced through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen at high pressure and temperatures. The decarbonization of ammonia production is an integral part of the global transition to net-zero emissions as the 2022-03-21