CREATIVE AWARDS/ GRAND PRIZE SK INNOVATION By Lim Su-kil Head of PR Office SK Innovation is pursuing its “Green Balance 2030” initiative with full force to seek growth through an eco-friendly business management strategy. SK Innovation sends gratitude to all who supported our corporate public relations campaign “Hi !nnovation -- Save Ink.” SK Innovation, which aims to go beyond its energy and petrochemical businesses and open up the future of sustainability, has

Samsung Electronics posted a record-breaking quarterly revenue in the July-September period, buoyed by the strong performance of its device solutions and consumer electronics businesses, according to a regulatory filing Thursday. The South Korean information technology giant enjoyed a quarterly revenue of 66.9 trillion won ($59 billion), up 8 percent on-year and breaking the previous record of 65.9 trillion won set in 2017. The company’s operating profit spiked 58.8 percent to 12.3 trill

Nexon said Thursday that it is offering a therapy program to care for the mental health of employees who are experiencing emotional swings as the pandemic drags on. According to the South Korean game company, its psychotherapy program, “Reading My Mind,” which has been running since 2017, provides employees with therapy sessions where they can talk about stress they are experiencing around work, personal relationships and family. “Since March, Nexon expanded its therapy p

Nexon said Thursday its foundation will donate 10 billion won ($8.8 million) to Seoul National University Hospital to build an independent palliative care center dedicated to children. The South Korean game company will raise the funds together with its holding company NXC and its subsidiary Neople, and use the money for buying land, construction and operation of the hospice. Set for completion in 2022, the care center will be located in Jongro-gu, Seoul and provide palliative care service

South Korea’s National Pension Service said Tuesday it will vote against LG Chem’s plan to carve out its battery business into a wholly-owned subsidiary LG Energy Solution, though the state pension fund’s opposition is unlikely to hinder the move. The split-off, which awaits a final approval at a shareholders’ meeting set for Friday, requires support from more than two-thirds of shareholders in attendance and one-third of outstanding shares. The NPS is the second-large

Krafton said Tuesday it has designated five underwriters to publicly list the company in 2021. According to the South Korean game company best known for the shooter game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Mirae Asset Daewoo is the lead underwriter while co-underwriters include Credit Suisse Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities, JP Morgan and NH Investment & Securities. “Our goal is to list the company in Korea next year. After selecting underwriters, we will make

LG International has been recognized for its practices in environmental responsibility, social responsibility and governance at the 2020 Outstanding Companies Awards hosted by the Korea Corporate Governance Service, the company said Tuesday. According to the commodity trading and mining affiliate of LG Group, it received an “A” ESG rating from the KCGS, an improvement from a B+ from a year earlier. Specifically, LG International was given an A in environmental responsibility, an

Samsung SDI enjoyed a 61.1 percent surge in revenue to 267.4 billion won ($237.4 billion) in the third quarter, fueled by a strong performance of its battery business, according to a regulatory filing posted on Tuesday. The South Korean battery giant recorded 3.08 trillion won and 240.7 billion won in revenue and net profit, a 20.2 percent and 10.7 percent jump in the same period. The company’s booming battery business registered a revenue of 2.3 trillion won, a 22 percent spike compa

Some say the coronavirus has changed everything. But Kim Ran-do, a renowned scholar on fast-emerging trends in South Korea, said the change was already happening and the pandemic has only accelerated it. At The Korea Herald Biz Forum: “Contact less, connect more,” held Tuesday at The Shilla in Seoul, the professor of consumer studies at Seoul National University said the COVID-19 outbreak has changed the speed of today’s trends but not their direction. “In 2018, I coi

Unity, a widely used game engine used to create multiple-dimensional, virtual reality, and augmented reality games, has emerged as a new platform for rising industries to test their new technologies such as self-driving cars in virtual reality. The engine is used in other industries as well, such as films, engineering and construction. But despite its outreach to industries seeking technological transformations, the company faces a dilemma over its subscription-based business model. Rega

LG Electronics said Monday it has inked a license agreement with European electronics company Electrolux to provide its patented icing technology for French door refrigerators. French door refrigerators feature a twin-door design up top and a full-width freezer drawer at the bottom. With LG Electronics’ patented icing technology, Electrolux refrigerators will be able to make ice inside the upper fridge as well as inside the bottom freezer so that users won’t have to bend over whe

Hyundai Steel said Monday its steel plates have been given an Environmental Product Declaration certification from Sweden, which would help the company respond effectively to the rigorous environmental regulations of Europe and facilitate exports to the continent. An EPD is an independently verified and registered document that gives transparent and comparable information about what a product is made of and how it impacts the environment across its entire life cycle. Hyundai Steel received

Today’s Samsung Electronics stands as one of the world’s leading conglomerates, but at the time Lee Kun-hee took the helm of Samsung Group in 1987, the company was in need of radical change. Though Lee was born in Daegu in 1942 as the third son of Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group, it was perhaps his bold instincts for change and survival that made his father change his mind and bequeath the throne to Lee, bypassing his two older brothers. During his childhood, Lee was se

LG Chem enjoyed the greatest quarterly revenue and operating profit in its history in the July-September period ahead of its controversial battery business split-off, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. The South Korean refinery-to-battery firm recorded 7.5 trillion won in revenue ($6.6 billion) in the third quarter, a 8.8 percent increase on-year, while its operating profit jumped 158 percent to 902.1 billion won in the same period. The revenue and operating profit figures would be

South Korea’s biggest battery expo, “Inter Battery,” opened Wednesday, the first and the largest expo to be held in Coex, Seoul, since Oct. 12, when the social distancing measures were lowered to Level 1. At the expo, which will be held until Friday, 198 companies are participating, including LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation, to tout their battery technologies. To enter the expo, visitors had to scan their QR codes and wear masks and disposable gloves. As Korea’s

Major South Korean firms including LG Chem, Hyundai Glovis and Hyundai Motor have come up with new business models to reuse dead electric vehicle batteries to address approximately 80,000 used-up EV batteries that will materialize by 2029. The plan follows the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s fourth committee meeting on Monday to review regulatory exemptions for new business models, giving the green light to three projects that reuse EV batteries. When an EV batteries’ pe

NCSoft is gearing up to enter the fast-growing global console gaming market with its first console title “Fuser,” a DJ rhythm game set for release on Nov. 10. According to the South Korean game company Tuesday, its North American subsidiary NC West will release Fuser for both on PC and three major console platforms -- PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch -- in North America and Europe. NCSoft says its playlist will distinguish Fuser from other rhythm games. While previo

Hanwha Q Cells said Tuesday that it has joined hands with Korea Western Power to launch solar power projects in Spain with a total capacity of 150 megawatts. According to South Korea’s leading solar cell and module maker, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kowepo at Plaza Seoul Hotel on Monday agreeing to cooperate on the projects. In September last year, Hanwha Q Cells purchased the business rights from Spanish firm Hive to its 200-megawatt solar power projects. Under the a

LG Chem said Monday that it has developed a new material made of 100 percent biodegradable raw materials, the first in the world that is identical to synthetic plastic in its properties and functions. According to the South Korean chemical-to-battery firm, the new material -- made of glucose from corn and waste glycerol generated from biodiesel production -- offers the same properties and transparency as synthetic resins such as polypropylene, one of the most widely produced commodity plastics

When solar panels are used for around 25 years, they are defined in Korea as being “dead.” They are typically composed of 76 percent glass, 10 percent polymer, 8 percent aluminum, 5 percent silicon and 1 percent other metals including copper and silver. Once “dead,” they are recycled or sent to other countries for use there. For countries like Germany that have advanced renewable energy ecosystems in place, 70 percent of dead solar panels are reused. In step with t