ANDONG, North Gyeongsang Province -- Hundreds of vials were lined up on the belt of a packaging machine at L House, SK Bioscience’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday afternoon, as the developer of South Korea’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine SKYCovione is poised to roll out the vaccine’s first batch by the end of August. A few technicians, who were covered from head to toe with sterilized gear -- protective shoes, clothing and

Technology Aug. 11, 2022

The Korea Communications Commission will look into whether app market operators -- Apple, Google and One Store -- are in violation of a Korean law that bans forcing certain in-app payment methods among app developers, the regulatory agency said Tuesday. The fact-checking investigation will begin from Aug. 16, according to the KCC. App market operators that only allow certain payment options or refuse app registrations or updates of app developers that use external links for in-app purchases co

Technology Aug. 9, 2022

The South Korean government will draw up a frequency spectrum plan by the end of this year in efforts to support the growth of new industries such as electric vehicles, robots and urban air mobility, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday. “We hope that the government’s preemptive supply of frequency and policy improvements will serve as a foundation for Korea to lead the global market in various new industries, including wireless charging of EVs in times of digital transform

Technology Aug. 9, 2022

Korean biotechnology firms hoping to ink successful deals with foreign pharmaceutical companies must fully comprehend their potential partners’ A to Z’s, a legal expert in out-license deals said. “(Global big pharmas) want something that’s going to be successful and hopefully innovative, and both help patients and provide care, but also be valuable and create profit for the company,” Joshua Hofheimer, a partner and co-head of Global Life Sciences industry group at

Technology Aug. 9, 2022

South Korea’s first lunar mission Danuri is all set to be launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon rocket on Friday morning, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. According to the ministry, the SpaceX Falcon rocket has been erected at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as of 11:15 a.m., Korea time. Danuri, formally known as the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, will blast off at 8:08 a.m. on Friday, Korea time, or 7:08 p.m. on Thursday, local Eastern Standard time.

Technology Aug. 4, 2022

Scientists have developed a new technology to allow mass production of biodegradable microrobots that are likely to contribute to improving the efficacy of regenerative medicine such as stem cell therapy, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology said Tuesday. A joint research team composed of scientists at DGIST, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of The Catholic University of Korea and Swiss public university ETH Zurich came up with a method to produce over 100 biodegradable microrobo

Technology Aug. 2, 2022

LG Chem has applied for phase 3 clinical trials of its gout treatment candidate Tigulixostat with the US Food and Drug Administration, the South Korean company said Monday. If the application gets the go-ahead sign from the FDA, it will mark the first time for LG Chem to carry out phase 3 clinical trials of its self-developed new drug candidate globally including in the US, according to the company. Gout is a painful form of arthritis that is characterized by sudden, severe attacks of pain, sw

Technology Aug. 1, 2022

SK Bioscience has submitted the application for conditional approval of the COVID-19 vaccine SKY Covione with the European Medicines Agency in efforts to expand its presence in the global market, the South Korean vaccine developer said Monday. Beginning with the European region, SK Bioscience said it will look to showcase the South Korean COVID-19 vaccine on the global stage as the size of the coronavirus vaccine market grows rapidly. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Ministry gav

Technology Aug. 1, 2022

GS Entec -- South Korean equipment and facilities manufacturer of chemical and energy plants -- has signed a strategic partnership with Sif Netherlands BV to enter the offshore wind power business, the company said Sunday. GS Entec will introduce the Dutch firm’s monopile manufacturing technology under the partnership, according to the company. A monopile is a steel tube foundation that serves as a supporting pillar in the water. Monopiles are most commonly used for offshore wind turbi

Industry July 31, 2022

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety aims to become the first regulatory body recognized by the World Health Organization to hold globally recognized authority for granting domestic permits of new drugs by December, officials said Thursday. Introduced earlier this year, the WHO-Listed Authority, or WLA, is the global organization’s initiative to certify a regulatory body as a globally recognized authority to replace the procurement-oriented concept of stringent regulatory

Technology July 28, 2022

The highly anticipated launch of Danuri, South Korea’s first lunar mission, has been postponed at least two days, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. Danuri’s launch, which was planned to take place on Aug. 2 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon rocket, has been delayed after SpaceX found that it needed to carry out additional checkups on the space vehicle before the launch. The ministry said SpaceX is currently in the process of obt

Technology July 28, 2022

SK hynix on Wednesday reported a record high quarterly sales of 13.81 trillion won ($10.6 billion) from the April to June period, but said it would review next year’s investment plans, citing the global economic uncertainties and weakening market demand. The world’s second-largest memory chipmaker also saw its operating profit increased by 47 percent from the previous quarter to 4.19 trillion won. “Although the prices of DRAM products decreased in the second quarter, the pric

Industry July 27, 2022

Global health technology giant Philips said Tuesday that it would open up the new era of self-healthcare in Asia through helping consumers achieve their best health conditions with the firm’s lineup of personal healthcare products. “This approach is especially relevant in Asia, where a growing population and a greater emphasis on health and well-being are re-shaping people‘s health priorities,” said Deeptha Khanna, executive vice president at Philips Personal Health, in

Technology July 26, 2022

With LG Energy Solution’s stock lock-up period ending this week, market eyes are on institutional investors‘ movement, as massive sales of shares may impact a market that remains sluggish with low trading volume. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, the lock-up period for LG Energy Solutions shares owned by institutional investors -- 9,960,365 shares (4.26 percent of all shares) since the battery company was listed on January 27 -- wi

Market July 25, 2022

Dunamu, the operator of one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges, has teamed up with the international humanitarian medical non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders to build a map on its metaverse platform to help the global medical initiative, officials said Monday. Dunamu and Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, signed a memorandum to build a partnership on contributions in accordance with the environmental, social and governance movement i

Technology July 25, 2022