Hanwha Group, South Korea's seventh-largest conglomerate by total value of assets, solidified itself as the leading player in the country’s space race in the private sector when its aerospace arm, Hanwha Aerospace, won the bid to lead the project of upgrading the homegrown Nuri rocket over Korea Aerospace Industries in December 2022. On top of advancing the Nuri rocket through four more launches by 2027, Hanwha has made it clear that it aims to become what it calls a “total spac

Companies March 12, 2023

South Korean automotive and battery companies are closely monitoring the soon-to-be-unveiled European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act as the new regulation intends to strengthen the availability of critical raw materials and enhance the regional supply chain. For Korean businesses, the EU’s CRMA -- set to be made public on Tuesday -- is widely seen as the European version of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA, which was signed into law by the Biden administration in Au

Mobility March 10, 2023

SK Geocentric, a chemicals unit under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Friday it has completed technological preparations for the Ulsan Advanced Recycling Cluster with its US partner, Purecycle Technologies. The Ulsan Advanced Recycling Cluster is expected to be the world’s first plastic recycling complex, according to SK Geocentric. The companies aim to complete construction of the recycling complex in 2025. Researchers and engineers at the South Korean chemicals firm conducted te

Technology March 10, 2023

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday laid out its goals to ramp up domestic production and exports to the highest figures since the COVID-19 pandemic began three years ago, showing the auto giant’s willingness to overcome various economic and geographical uncertainties. The record-high targets were announced as President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the automaker’s Ulsan plant. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun accompanied Yoon as the president toured the automaker’s plant. Ac

Mobility March 9, 2023

South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI and US auto giant General Motors will build a joint battery manufacturing plant for electric vehicles in the US with an investment worth up to 5 trillion won ($3.8 billion), according to reports Sunday. The battery alliance, which will mark the first collaboration between the two companies, will become official later this week as they are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding in Michigan on Wednesday. Citing unnamed industry sources, the reports sa

Mobility March 5, 2023

Korean space startups should look for problems and solutions instead of putting too much focus on technology’s future marketability, says the managing director at the Korean branch of Starburst, a US-based startup accelerator specialized in the aerospace sector. “Push back how big of an investment you can receive with your idea on the priority list,” Kim Sang-dawn, managing director of Starburst’s Korean office, told The Korea Herald in an interview at the Herald Square i

Technology March 5, 2023

South Korean battery materials maker L&F is expected to continue growing after it recently wowed investors around the world by signing a $2.9 billion supply deal with US electric vehicle giant Tesla, according to analysts Thursday. L&F on Tuesday posted in a regulatory filing that it will provide high-nickel cathode materials to Tesla for two years from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2025. The two-year contract is almost four times bigger than L&F’s total sales of 971 billion won ($

Technology March 2, 2023

South Korea aims to establish a space agency based on a special law granting a degree of autonomy and flexibility the country’s public sector has never seen, reflecting the government’s all-out efforts to develop and support the space sector. The Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday announced the beginning of the advanced publication of legislation for the special law on the establishment and operation of the country’s new space agency. The space agency has been tentatively

Technology March 2, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun underscored South Korea’s vision to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan to 12 ambassadors from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region, asking for their support in the country’s bid. According to Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday, Chung met the ambassadors at the Korean Embassy in the US on Tuesday. The ambassadors represented Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Burundi, Central African Republic, Togo, Guyana, Barbados, Bahamas, Sa

Mobility March 1, 2023

SeAH Group, a South Korean steelmaker, could become the first South Korean company to sign a delivery contract with SpaceX as the conglomerate is in talks with the US spacecraft manufacturer to supply materials for rockets and satellites, according to local reports Monday. Citing anonymous industry sources, the reports said SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel (SeAH CSS) -- the group’s unit that specializes in producing special steel alloys for aerospace parts -- is carrying out negoti

Industry Feb. 27, 2023

Innospace, a South Korean startup established in 2017, is gearing up to become the first in the world to successfully launch a hybrid rocket -- its Hanbit-TLV -- from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil next month. The second trial comes about three months after the first attempt did not get the green light due to a weather issue, problems with a cooling valve and connection errors between systems. “Although the perception has changed a lot, I think the culture that accepts failure is sti

Technology Feb. 26, 2023

Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker under Hyundai Motor Group, will begin production of EV9 -- a large electric sport utility vehicle -- in the first half of this year, according to officials Friday. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union said Kia’s labor union and management finally came to an agreement on the production plan earlier this week after the two sides began negotiations to discuss the automaker’s EV manufacturing strategy and future employment security in Ap

Mobility Feb. 24, 2023

Hanwha Aerospace and a group of investors including Lockheed Martin have invested $17.8 million in Fortem Technologies, a US airspace security firm specialized in drone defense, Hanwha officials said Wednesday. Fortem Technologies operates its own air defense system based on an artificial intelligence radar that can monitor and detect dangerous drones or unmanned aircrafts and catch them by sending autonomous flying drones equipped with nets. The system is being used in Ukraine’s efforts a

Technology Feb. 22, 2023

Toyota will release eight new electric vehicles in South Korea to ramp up its automation lineup to meet the diversifying needs of local customers this year, Toyota Motor Korea said Tuesday as it announced the launch of its RAV4 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. According to the Japanese automaker, the Korean office has set 2023 as a turning point to implement the global headquarters’ “multipathway” strategy that aims to offer a varied selection of automated vehicles in different

Mobility Feb. 21, 2023

South Korea will demonstrate the sixth generation of wireless technology to the world in 2026, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday as it unveiled the government’s network advancement plan called the "K-Network 2030" strategy. In order to carry out the technical display, the Korean government will host an international event, tentatively called 6G Vision Fest, to invite leading telecommunication companies, experts and ministerial-level state officials from across the world

Technology Feb. 20, 2023