SM founder Lee Soo-man to join tree-planting project in LA

The founder and former chief producer of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man, is stepping up his environmental, social and governance activities with a tree-planting project in Los Angeles. Lee will participate in the tree-planting event at Seoul International Park on Thursday, according to music industry sources. He will plant street trees together with the Koreatown Youth & Community Center, a nonprofit organization composed of Korean residents in the local community, during the event to promote

Sept. 25, 2023

LG Chem pivots to LFP with Huayou for Morocco plant

LG Chem, South Korea's premier battery materials producer, announced on Sunday that it would venture into the lithium-phosphate-iron, or LFP, business by constructing a plant with Huayou Group's subsidiary, Youshan. The two companies will build a LFP cathode material plant in Morocco, a region rich in phosphate rock reserves essential for LFP production. Set to be operational by 2026, the plant targets an annual output of 50,000 metric tons, sufficient for around 500,000 entry-level el

Sept. 24, 2023

Incheon Airport passenger traffic to recover during Chuseok holiday

Tourism during South Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday of Chuseok is expected to rebound to pre-COVID-19 levels, industry sources said Sunday. According to Incheon Airport, the number of passengers who will be using the country's main gateway between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 is expected to reach 1.2 million, an average of about 170,000 each day. The number has also recovered to 96.6 percent of the corresponding figure in 2019. The figure is also up by 186.7 percent compared to the previous ye

Sept. 24, 2023

Hyundai Engineering wins US gas-to-liquid facility project

Hyundai Engineering on Thursday secured an order from US energy firm GTL Americas to build a plant in the US that will turn natural gas into high-grade diesel, naphtha and jet fuel. Under the project, the gas-to-liquid or GTL facility will be established near the city of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, to generate some 41,000 barrels of fuel per day, including synthetic diesel or high cetane synthetic fuel, and paraffinic synthetic naphtha. The GTL procedure is a high-tech process that g

Sept. 24, 2023

KFCC promotes financial inclusion via branches in developing nations

The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation’s leading mutual financial institution, said Friday it had further expanded its global financial inclusion model for developing countries, allowing greater access to financial services that can help them alleviate poverty. “Under the Sustainable Development Goals, a universal call to end poverty and inequality by the United Nations, we will continue to practice environmental, social and corporate governance effort

Sept. 24, 2023

S-Oil shares songpyeon with low-income neighbors

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil held the company’s annual charity event, dubbed “Sharing Songpyeon with S-Oil,” on Friday, for the upcoming Chuseok holiday. S-Oil CEO and some 100 employees made songpyeon -- traditional half-moon-shaped rice cakes served during Chuseok -- and 500 gift packages, spending 50 million won ($37,400) in total. “Korea’s Chuseok is a meaningful holiday that celebrates a plentiful harvest with families, gathering together to eat special foods

Sept. 22, 2023

Lee Seung-min wins KB Women's Amateur Golf Championship

Lee Seung-min, a third-grade student at Gyeongju Hwarang High School, won the 16th KB Financial Group Women's Amateur Golf Championship on Friday. Lee finished the second round of the tournament at Century 21 Country Club in Gangwon Province with a total of 6-under 138 strokes to take the top spot. The final round of the tournament was delayed by about two hours due to heavy fog and ultimately had to be canceled. The winner was determined by the combined scores of the first two rounds. Lee

Sept. 22, 2023

Outpaced by Coupang, Shinsegae carries out major leadership reshuffle

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group conducted a large-scale, earlier-than-usual personnel shakeup following its flagging business showings and losing race against fast-growing retail powerhouses such as Coupang. Via an executive appointment conducted a month ahead of its usual timing, 9 out of 25 of Shinsegae Group's chief executive officers, or some 40 percent, were replaced. The reshuffle was made in accordance with Shinsegae Group's new system personnel management system dubbe

Sept. 22, 2023

Mirae Asset continues to lead domestic equity ETF market

Mirae Asset Global Investments has been leading the domestic equity ETF market with its innovative growth ETFs since April 2022, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. In recent years, ETF products have become increasingly popular in Korea and have attracted significant inflows of funds. As a result, the Korean ETF market attracted more than 100 trillion won ($74.77 billion) in investments, with equity ETFs attracting 50 trillion won. Industry sources say Mirae Asset&

Sept. 22, 2023

Lotte opens major shopping complex in Vietnam

Lotte Shopping, the retail arm of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, said it held the grand opening ceremony for its shopping complex Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi on Friday, following the company's efforts to expand its presence in the Vietnamese market. Standing on a 354,000-square-meter site, and considered one of the largest shopping complexes in Vietnam, the commercial complex is comprised of a wide selection of facilities -- ranging from a shopping mall, supermarket, hotel, aquarium

Sept. 22, 2023

[From the Scene] HD Hyundai offers a glimpse of second-gen autonomous construction equipment

HD Hyundai XiteSolution, the construction equipment arm of HD Hyundai, revealed the future of construction technology at Boryeong Proving Ground, a mock construction site in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province on Wednesday. The company showcased their second-generation Concept-X equipment, an update following the introduction of the first generation in 2019. Concept-X represents the company's concept integrated IT-driven construction management system. This system employs drone 3D scanning

Sept. 22, 2023

Han Sung Motors wins five trophies in Mercedes-Benz Korea contest

Han Sung Motor, the local importer and distributor of Mercedes-Benz, said Thursday it has won five events in this year’s “Korea TechMaster,” a technician competition held by the German brand. Since 2007, Mercedes-Benz Korea has run the Korea TechMaster competition every two years with the aim of further ramping up the brand’s expertise and customer services. Following the preliminary round attended by 969 service center employees, only 40 people remained in the final tour

Sept. 21, 2023

Khanfilter eyes global expansion with innovative air purifier

Khanfilter, a South Korean supplier of high-performance air filters, has seen early success with its air purifier that uses automotive technology to help it remove over 90 percent of odor and particle matter without losing performance in challenging environments. Traditional filters exhibit a sharp decline in performance when exposed to water vapors or oil mist, a common condition in kitchen spaces. However, Khanfilter’s flagship indoor air purifier Khanpure has provided a timely solutio

Sept. 21, 2023

Asiana Airlines tops customer satisfaction index

Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second-biggest carrier, said Thursday it received the top marks from a high-rated customer satisfaction index, for ninth consecutive year. According to Asiana, it was ranked No. 1 in the aviation sector of 2023 Korean Customer Satisfaction Index Awards held at Jung-gu, Seoul. This is the 25th time Asiana Airlines has won the category since the customer survey for the aviation sector was first initiated in 1995. Organized by Korea Management Association Consul

Sept. 21, 2023

SPC Samlip to showcase K-desserts at int'l food fair

South Korean confectionery company SPC Samlip has joined global food trade fair Anuga to promote Korean dessert products, the company said Thursday. Anuga is an annual food trade fair held in Cologne, Germany. This year’s edition will run between Oct. 7-11, featuring around 8,000 companies from 100 countries. During the fair, which will attract over 100,000 visitors, SPC Samlip will introduce its 53 products, ranging from yakgwa (deep-fried honey cookies) to hotteok (sweet pancakes with br

Sept. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] Next & Bio aims to build Asia’s largest library of organoids

South Korean biotech company Next & Bio, which specializes in developing organoid-based medicine solutions, aims to build the largest organoid library in Asia, its CEO told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. Organoids are cell-based in vitro models that mimic many aspects of the complex structure and function of the corresponding human organs. Organoid-based systems have been recently spotlighted as alternatives to animal experimentation in clinical research and precision medicine. &ldq

Sept. 21, 2023

Hana Financial launches 24/7 day care centers

Hana Financial Group announced Thursday it will launch a five-year project, Hana-run day care centers, that are open 365 days, even 24 hours a day, with the aim of reversing South Korea’s continually falling birth rate. This new project is a part of the program, Hana Life Journey Support, which strives to alleviate the struggles shared by families going through life-changing events such as marriage, childbirth and aging. Aiming to tackle the nation’s record-low birth rate, Hana has f

Sept. 21, 2023

European automakers call for lower regulatory barriers for EVs

European automakers called for a relaxation of regulations on selling electric vehicles in Korea during a press conference for the publication of a white paper by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Thursday. The ECCK’s passenger vehicles committee chairperson, Kim Hong-joong, said that the recent law amendment requiring automakers to secure the pre-certification of electric vehicle batteries to prevent safety hazards should be aligned with United Nations standards. “We re

Sept. 21, 2023

LG CNS opens coding class for rural students

Korean IT solutions provider LG CNS said Tuesday its employees a one-day class for elementary students in Buyeo-gun, South Chungcheong Province, to promote inclusive access to digital education. The social contribution campaign is a part of the company’s “AI Genius” program to help the youths set their future goals and visions with AI. Following its first activity at Gangneung, Gangwon Province last year, LG CNS once again launched the coding class for students in rural areas,

Sept. 21, 2023

Smartphone shipments in S. Korea fell 13.2% on-year in Q2: report

Smartphone shipments in South Korea declined more than 13 percent on-year in the second quarter, recent data showed Thursday, as demand remained sluggish over economic uncertainties. The total shipment came to approximately 2.8 million units for the April-June period, down 13.2 percent from a year ago, as "demand for smartphones continued to slow down amid economic uncertainties," the Korea branch of International Data Corporation said. But the shipments of premium smartphones, priced

Sept. 21, 2023