KCCI PHOTO CONTEST WINNER — The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected office worker Lee Jae-hak’s work “Dad is working late” as the 30 million won ($26,000) grand prize winner of its second Korea Corporate Photography Contest. Lee’s work, alongside 74 other winning photos, will be displayed at the KCCI in central Seoul for two weeks starting Nov. 17. They are also available at kcciphoto.korcham.net. (KCCI)

Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn (Hanwha)Hanwha Group said Sunday it will contribute 4 billion won ($3.47 million) toward a public trust fund created by the South Korean government to ease youth unemployment.Hanwha chairman Kim Seung-youn will donate 3 billion won while group employees will give 1 billion won toward the so-called Youth Hope Fund, proposed by President Park Geun-hye in September to develop job creation and training programs for young people.“The group chairman decided to supp

Leading South Korean drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Monday it has sealed a 1-trillion won ($863 million) licensing agreement with Janssen on a new experimental diabetes and obesity drug. The deal marks the latest among Hanmi’s string of mega licensing agreements with global pharmaceutical companies, including a 5 trillion won deal with France-based Sanofi concluded just last Thursday and two similar deals with Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly signed earlier this year. The Hanmi Pharmaceut

Faced with aging populations coupled with longer life expectancies, major countries around the world have set health care as their foremost priority in policies as related costs and spending are expected to surge dramatically in the years to come.Driven by such needs, the world’s biotechnology market is geared for significant growth in the coming years. Meanwhile, South Korea must work swiftly to better nurture its own biotech sector, which holds immense potential to become an early leader in th

After concluding a mega licensing deal with global pharma giant Sanofi, leading South Korean drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical is emerging as a rising star in the local stock market. Hanmi shares soared by around 30 percent Friday to reach 711,000 won ($624.3), lifted by a 4.9 trillion won licensing deal with Sanofi. Some stock market analysts raised the drugmaker’s target stock price to 1 million won, based on the rosy outlook for growth in profits.The Hanmi Pharmaceutical headquarters in Seoul. (

A recent string of economic indicators have painted a rosy or robust picture of the Korean economy.　Its industrial output expanded by 2.4 percent from the month before in September, the rapidest pace in 54 months, according to figures from the state statistical office. The country’s gross domestic product grew by 1.2 percent from a year earlier in the July-September period, the highest rate in six quarters, showed data released by the Bank of Korea. 　Korea posted a current account surplus for 43

　Faced with changing priorities, a growing number of people around the world are focusing on their health more than ever before as they seek to take on more nutritious diets and healthier lifestyles.　In South Korea, where such considerations reign high, the face of the yogurt industry is quickly changing to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, following similar trends elsewhere in the world, including the United States and Europe.If yogurt varieties were limited to simply “plain,” a f

Eyeing the vast market potential of the world’s burgeoning Muslim community, South Korea’s pharmaceutical companies are seeking halal certification for their drugs to diversify and ramp-up their market share.　Halal -- which means “permissible” in Arabic -- certification ensures that a given product strictly complies with Islamic dietary law through production, storage and delivery. Halal foods must be made without blood and exclude meat from carnivorous animals, including pigs, and animals not s

　Hanwha Q Cells USA Corp. said Monday it will start construction of a new 170-megawatt solar plant in the United States after sealing a power purchase agreement with Texas-based Austin Energy.　The upcoming solar plant will be built on roughly 580,000 square meters of land in western Texas to generate enough electricity to supply around 1 million people, according to Hanwha. The 10.86MWdc Maywood Solar Farm built by Hanwha Q Cells in Indianapolis (Hanwha Q Cells)　Austin Energy said it will purcha

THE NEW PORSCHE MACAN GTS -- The new Porsche Macan GTS boasts a maximum 360 horsepower as a model fusing together the Macan S and the Macan Turbo. The vehicle has the 3-liter bi-turbo engine of the Macan S as well as Porsche’s double clutch and traction management systems for flexible power distribution between the front and rear axles. (Porsche Korea)

KIA AWARDS BASEBALL MVP -- Kia Motors awards Jung Soo-bin of the Doosan Bears with a Kia K5 as part of his Korean Series MVP honors Saturday. Jung was recognized for leading his home team to victory against the Samsung Lions in the country’s biggest baseball tournament of the year. (Kia Motors) 

HAN SUNG CELEBRATES OKTOBERFEST -- Han Sung Motor, the largest Mercedes-Benz dealer in South Korea, held a celebratory event in Seoul on Oct. 23-24 to mark its 30th anniversary as well as Germany’s flagship autumn festival. The event invited some 1,200 employees and customers to take part in the festivities. (Han Sung Motor)

　Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who met with the heads of South Korea’s business leaders in Seoul on Sunday, said China will seek models for shared economic growth with Korea. His remark came in a time when South Korea waits for an approval of the Korea-China free trade agreement by the National Assembly within this year.　Organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the meeting brought together some 200 Korean business officials -- including KCCI and Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-ma

HEAT FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS — S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher (second from left) and company officials deliver 50,000 coal briquettes to low-income households and senior citizens living alone in Seoul, Thursday. Since 2008, the oil refiner has been delivering coal to underprivileged citizens in the winter as part of its “Coal Briquette of Love Program.” (S-Oil)

　FILA is seeking to reinstate itself as a more stylish and trendier sportswear brand focused on high-performance apparel, as it undertakes a major overhaul of its former product lineup and takes on a new brand identity.　Led by its new executive vice president and creative director Jung Ku-ho, FILA Korea has directed its central focus on performance wear, while lowering its target customer base to those in their 20s and 30s. FILA Korea president Kim Jin-myun (right) and executive vice president J

Global chemicals company BASF has begun operating a new plant for manufacturing engineering plastic compounds in Korea, which company officials said will significantly drive up the firm’s polyamide and polybutylene terephthalate production in the country.　The new compounding plant located in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, is able to produce up to 36,000 metric tons of BASF’s self-developed engineering plastic compounds Ultramid (polyamide) and Ultradur (polybutylene terephthalate) -- chemica

The Doosan Bears defeated the Samsung Lions 6-1 to even the South Korean baseball championship final at one game apiece on Tuesday.　Right-hander Dustin Nippert tossed seven shutout innings to extend his scoreless streak this postseason to 24 innings, as the Bears went out in front and stayed there in Game 2 of the Korean Series on the road at Daegu Stadium in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.　The series will move to the Bears‘ home, Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, for three games starting

　SK Networks, an affiliate of Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate SK Group, jumped into the heated competition to win a license to operate urban duty-free shops in Seoul.　Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, SK Networks CEO Moon Jong-hoon said it will create a “tourism belt” encompassing its eastern and central Seoul business outlets. SK Networks CEO Moon Jong-hoon (SK Networks)　The firm already runs a duty-free store inside its Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul, and hopes t

Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the Chopin piano competition, is a new classical music icon in Korea, setting recording history even before the release of his first solo album. 　The 21-year-old pianist’s upcoming album – a live recording of his performances at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland – was the top seller across all music genres at Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book seller, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday -- a feat that no other classical musician has come ev

　As difficult market conditions persist amid sliding crude oil prices and volatile refining margins, South Korean refiners posted diverging performances in the third quarter due to differences in their operational strategies.　Overturning market forecasts, SK Innovation, the country’s leading refiner, posted an operating profit of 363.9 billion won ($322.12 million) in the July-September period, up by 644 percent from the same period last year. A drilling machine extracts crude oil from an oil fi