Investment banker-turned-professor calls on companies to use their expertise in solving social problems

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won appeared at CES on Friday, reversing the earlier announcement that he was canceling his visit to the tech show after one of his aides tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first time Chey has visited the four-day exhibition in person. He is also the only chief among those of the South Korean conglomerates participating in CES to be attending the show. "Being here for the first time, I could see various new technologies that I have heard so much about,&qu

South Korean battery maker SK On Co. will raise a total of 2.8 trillion won ($2.17 billion) from its parent company and a few other local private equity funds by issuing new shares, in an effort to pool financial resources for business expansion. SK On will sell 36.4 million shares, worth 2 trillion won, to SK Innovation Co. and 14.8 million shares, worth 824.3 billion won, to six local PEFs, including Korea Investment Private Equity, SK Innovation said in a regulatory filing. The investment

South Korean food giant CJ Cheiljedang Corp. said Tuesday it has joined hands with a US startup to develop ingredients used to make health supplements that prevent skeletal muscle loss. CJ Cheiljedang inked a license agreement with Emmyon earlier in the day to utilize the US startup's various patents covering ursolic acid. Ursolic acid is a substance found in apple peels and herbs like rosemary and thyme. Emmyon holds a number of patents covering ursolic acid, CJ Cheiljedang said. The two s

LS Cable & Systems recently said it will make a 25.2 billion won ($17.58 million) equity investment in KT Submarine to foster its undersea cable business. The cable manufacturing unit of LS Group said it will acquire 4.04 million stocks, or a 16 percent stake in KT Submarine by December, and become the second-largest shareholder of KT Submarine. Once LS Cable exercises its call option in the four months from April 1 next year, the cable manufacturer can purchase a 42 percent stake in KT Subm

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Monday apologized over massive disruptions of online services in South Korea following a fire at a data center run by one of the group's subsidiaries earlier this month. "I would like to deliver an apology to the people," Chey said during an audit at the parliament's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. "I feel very responsible for the blackout. The entire SK Group is making efforts to deal with the situation."

A fire Saturday at a Kakao data center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, has led to a server outage affecting the KakaoTalk messenger app, along with other apps such as Kakao T, Kakao Map, Kakao Metro, Kakao Webtoon, Kakao Bank, Kakao-owned portal Daum and music streaming service Melon. The internet connection for the apps has been unavailable since 3:30 p.m. "There has been a fire at SK C&C data center since 3:30 p.m. Work has begun to put down the fire, but we are uncertain when the fir

KT&G Corp. and Mirae Asset Financial Group launched a strategic matching fund to invest in startups and find new growth engines. The two contributed 20 billion won ($13.9 million) each into the new fund which will invest mainly in health care and companies with good environmental, social and corporate governance. Mirae Asset Capital will manage the fund, KT&G said in a press release. KT&G said it will work together with Mirae Asset Capital in reviewing new areas of business, discove

LS Group said its Chairman Koo Ja-eun discussed business cooperation on Tuesday with the ambassadors of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- five of the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The GCC is a regional, intergovernmental, political and economic union of the above countries plus Bahrain, which does not have an embassy in South Korea. Set up in 1981 for economic and security cooperation, the GCC is seeking to expand business beyond crude oil

The anonymous professional networking app which requires a work email to sign up is changing workplace cultures around the world

PK Valve & Engineering, a subsidiary of STX, which specializes in industrial valves, said it has developed the country’s first valves for liquefied hydrogen after three years of research and development. The “3-inch Globe valve for liquefied hydrogen,” made of 316L stainless steel, can be directly applied to containers that store liquefied hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. Hydrogen liquefies at the extremely low temperature of minus 253 degrees, and constantly gasifies

KT&G said it is taking part in an annual exhibition hosted by the Tax Free World Association in Cannes, France, from Oct. 3 through 6 as part of efforts to expand its duty-free business to Europe, the Middle East and Central and South Americas. The South Korean tobacco company is displaying premium products from Esse, Raison and Bohem brands at its booth. It is also holding meetings with global distributors and tax-free businesses at the TFWA World Exhibition and Conference. It is the 13th

Korea’s largest tobacco producer KT&G pledged to continue its job training programs to help young job seekers here, as the country suffers from a record-breaking rate of youth unemployment, the company said Wednesday. As of June this year, the youth unemployment rate reached 10.5 percent, marking the highest level since 1999, when the nation was struggling to recover from the Asian financial crisis. A mentor listens to a young job seeker at KT&G’s career camp. (KT&G)The company annually runs a f

Homeplus has introduced Italian quality wines at its local branches as a part of the company’s campaign promoting premium wines sold at reasonable prices in the Korean market, the company said Tuesday.Last year, Homeplus launched its Superstar project, bringing in quality wines from outside the country and offering them at lower prices to expand the nation’s wine market base. Italy’s Tuscany-based Banfi wines are displayed at a Homeplus branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. (Homeplus)This year,

Hyundai Oilbank, one of the top refiners in Korea, said Wednesday that the company would conduct maintenance activities at Hyundai Oilbank Daesan Plant, starting Tuesday. A week ahead of the scheduled project, Hyundai Oilbank CEO Moon Jong-bak held an event to encourage field workers that will be responsible for the refinery maintenance. “Safety is the most important value at a refinery site,” Moon said.  Hyundai Oilbank CEO Moon Jong-bak (left) helps a worker put on safety boots during an event