SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won will visit Brazil and Australia this week to speed up the group’s overseas resources development, SK officials said Sunday. The trip follows Chey’s participation in the Energy Summit session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 26-30. Chey will first visit Brazil to meet with Eike Batista, CEO of Brazil’s largest resources firm EBX. They will

South Korea will require all Korean vessels which go through piracy-prone regions to establish a safety zone inside, and double escorting capacity for its vessels at the Gulf of Aden, the government said Thursday.The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs revealed strengthened anti-piracy measures to counter the rising number of its ships being attacked and hijacked by pirates over

South Korea will more than triple its investment in overseas resources development to $7 billion this year as it strives for a stable supply of key materials including rare earth metals, the government said Thursday.Of the total, $2.6 billion, or 37 percent, will come from state-run firms and the rest from the private sector, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. State-run developers Korea Elect

South Korea’s workforce productivity in 2009 was lower than that of most Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development-member nations, a government report showed Wednesday.The country’s per-capita labor productivity marked $56,374, which ranked 23rd among the 31-member OECD, according to research jointly carried out by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Korea Productivity Center. The two

Korea Electric Power Corp. has established the country’s first meteorological tower at sea as part of its offshore wind power generation. The 115-meter Herald of Meteorological and Oceanographic Special Unit-1 was built on the South Sea near the Busan-Yeonggwang area, the company said Wednesday.Its primary purpose is to obtain meteorological and oceanographic data for an offshore wind farm planned

Daewoo Engineering & Construction CEO Seo Jong-uk was reappointed to the post for a three-year term, the firm said Wednesday.The nation’s fourth-largest builder said it held general and board meetings Tuesday and made the decision, despite recent changes it has undergone. It was acquired by Industrial Bank of Korea late last year. IBK currently holds 50.8 percent of the firm’s share.  Seo Jong-woo

Korean researchers Tuesday unveiled the most advanced wireless network technology, boosting potential for the country to lead the future telecommunications market.The state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejeon demonstrated the Long Term Evolution-Advanced technology which is 40 times faster than the current third-generation wireless network.“It is meaningful that we

 Korea Electric Power Corp. said Tuesday that it has established electric vehicle charging stations on a highway, a first time for the nation. The six new charging stations are located at rest areas on Jungbu Expressway near Icheon, Eumseong and Ochang ― both northbound and southbound, the firm said. Another was launched at the KEPCO Research Institute in Daejeon. A total of 12 charging machines a

Hiscot Co., a subsidiary of Korea’s largest liquor maker Hite-Jinro Group, offers a range of gift sets for the Feb. 3 Lunar New Year’s day, the firm said Monday.“This year’s New Year gift sets were prepared for consumers who look for practical gifts. A variety of quality gift sets will be offered at affordable prices for consumers to choose from,” Hiscot executive director Jang Byeong-seon said. T

KT&G Corp., Korea’s largest tobacco manufacturer, will roll out a repackaged version of its Esse Golden Leaf product at the end of January, the firm said Monday. The cigarette packaging was created in collaboration with Najeonchilgi master Park Jae-seong, the firm said. Najeonchilgi is a traditional mother of pearl craft where colorful pieces of shellfish are inlaid on an object and then applied w

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo recently stressed executives’ dedication to growth and innovation as key to its ambition to become a leading global firm. Despite the good results the group has been achieving over the past few years in an unfavorable local business environment, Huh said the group should not be satisfied with its performance. GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo “Based on the performance

UAE says green city to be built by 2025ABU DHABI ― Officials from the United Arab Emirates’ capital outlined their plans to promote the use of clean energy at the 4th World Future Energy Summit Tuesday.The country which produces 8 percent of the world’s crude oil supply is working on establishing a green urban area named Masdar City by 2025. Masdar means “source” in Arabic. The venue, which is bei

U.N. secretary-general also addresses climate, poverty and healthABU DHABI ― Global innovation in clean energy is essential to fight climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday at the 2011 World Future Energy Summit. “The prevailing fossil fuel-economy is contributing to climate change and global energy needs are growing rapidly,” he said during his keynote speech at t

World Future Energy Summit opens in Abu DhabiABU DHABI ― Ministers and industry experts from around the world gathered in the capital of the United Arab Emirates to discuss ways to promote the use of clean energy for sustainable growth. The 4th annual World Future Energy Summit kicked off Monday hosted by Abu Dhabi-based power company Masdar, wholly owned by the state-run Mubadala Development Comp

Telecom, energy giant to focus on green energy, overseas resources, new mobile technologiesSK Group said Thursday it would increase investment 30 percent this year to a record high 10.5 trillion won ($9.4 billion) to power future growth in clean energy, overseas resources and advanced mobile technologies.Korea’s third-largest conglomerate also plans to hire about 3,000 new employees, 25 percent mo

The price of regular unleaded gasoline topped 1,800 won ($1.5) per liter in all metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide as of Tuesday, the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. said Wednesday. It is the first time that such a phenomenon has been seen since August 2008. The average gasoline price per liter in North Jeolla province remained under 1,800 won until Tuesday when it marked 1800.64 won,

Workers entrust wage decision to management in return for job securityThe trade union of Hyundai Oilbank Co., the nation’s smallest oil refiner, pledged to refrain from labor strife this year to concentrate on boosting the firm’s competitiveness, the firm said Wednesday. In a ceremony held in Seoul, the refiner’s union members voluntarily entrusted the management with a full right to decide on the

U.S.-based researchers have succeeded in developing blood platelets on a large scale using human embryonic stem cells, paving the way for the mass production of artificial blood.The research conducted by U.S. biotechnology firm Advanced Cell Technology and Korea’s Cha Medical Group’s U.S. unit reported the research in life sciences journal “Cell Research.“The development, which has been successful

The government will ease regulations to allow more discount stores to operate gas stations, hoping greater competition will help curb fuel price inflation, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday.The government is also seeking to cut taxes on diesel while raising rates on liquefied petroleum gas to reduce their price gaps, the ministry and state-run Korea National Oil Corp. said. The benchma

Energy, retail giant plans to hire 2,800 new employeesGS Group plans to increase its investments 10 percent to more than 2.2 trillion won ($1.9 billion) this year to strengthen its core businesses of energy, retail and construction and expand overseas activities. Korea’s seventh largest business group said on Monday it aims to post 55 trillion won in sales, up 5.7 percent from last year. “While fo