Although South Korea’s No. 1 solar module maker Hanwha Q Cells’ power business posted a record operating profit of 100 billion won ($81.4 million) in the first quarter, it faces challenges not only from the demand crunch due to the COVID-19 outbreak but also its weak price competitiveness against Chinese rivals. On May 15, Korea Electric Power Corp. announced it would build solar power generation facilities in Guam with a capacity of 60 megawatts with solar power modules manufact

Korea’s No. 1 game company Nexon said Wednesday it was positively reviewing whether to provide its first-person shooter game Sudden Attack on Steam in response to an online petition calling for the game to be made available globally. Steam is a global digital platform where users can install PC games online directly to their cloud drives after purchase. On May 23, a US-based fan called Fox R. launched an online petition on Change.org, requesting “Sudden Attack be made available

South Korean oil refiner GS Caltex said Wednesday it would begin the operation of its first all-in-one pump station that can accommodate all types of vehicles running on gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity and hydrogen, starting Thursday. According to GS Caltex, it has recently added a hydrogen charging station, jointly constructed with Hyundai Motor in Seoul, completing its 3,305-square-meter hybrid charging station in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul. The hydrogen station is th

South Korea’s 18-trillion-won ($14 billion) fighter jet project is facing payment delays amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, while officials involved have assured it does not mean it is being shut down. Korea Aerospace Industries -- the country’s only aircraft manufacturer -- is currently co-developing next-generation fighters with Indonesia. Launched in 2016, the KF-X project aims to develop a next-generation fighter jet and mass-produce 180 units by 2026. The project, the biggest in

LG Chem Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol said Tuesday he would even consider quitting current businesses if the company can’t secure environmental safety in the aftermath of a recent gas leak at LG Polymers’ plant in India and a fire incident in a catalyst lab in South Korea. According to the company, Shin will launch emergency diagnostics on high-risk processes and facilities in all 17 domestic business locations and 23 overseas business locations for one month until end-June after

SK Chemicals said Tuesday it is moving to finalize the sale of its cash cow bioenergy business to make new investments in green materials. The company plans to sell its bioenergy business to private equity fund Hahn & Co. for 382.5 billion won ($309.4 million). It had suspended the operation of bioenergy business on Feb. 5, excluding the sector from its first-quarter earnings report. “To enhance its value and secure funds through mergers and acquisitions, we decided to sell off th

Hyundai Steel led by CEO Ahn Dong-il won the Carbon Management Sector Honors Award in the raw materials sector at the 2019 Best Companies for Climate Change Response hosted by the South Korean division of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in Seoul in April, the firm said Tuesday. The CDP, recognized as a global sustainability assessment index along with the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, is a global project of over 92 countries that financial and investment agencies demanding major compa

South Korean biotechnology firm Bioneer said Monday it had filed a patent application for candidate materials for COVID-19 treatment co-developed with its subsidiary siRNAgen Therapeutics. According to Bioneer, it analyzed nucleic sequences of the SARS virus and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and found matching sequences. Based on those matches, Bioneer said it created 960 candidate materials and is currently testing which one is most effective to COVID-19. “As coronavirus

SK Global Chemical, an affiliate of South Korean energy giant SK Innovation, said Monday that it would make 70 percent of its products green by 2025. Currently only 20 percent of its products are considered green, and the change is needed not only for the environment but also to ensure long-term survival, the company noted. In a recent online meeting with staff and executives, SKGC President and CEO Na Kyung-soo openly questioned whether the conventional chemical business would survive in

China’s race to enter mainstream tech is intensifying against not only the US but also its neighbor South Korea. With China aggressively pushing advancements of key technologies, Korea has been forced to take up the gauntlet before it is too late. The Korea Herald’s Tech Team has looked into four key areas to measure the technological gap between Korea and China and to offers forecasts about how the competition would develop. This is the third installment. By IT Team (3) Batter

Korea Western Power (Kowepo) said Friday that it is recycling oyster shells to create a material that can transform sulfur dioxide emitted from fossil fuel plants into ashes. When released, sulfur dioxide can react with other pollutants in the air and generate fine dust. According to the state-run utility, it began operating an oyster recycling facility in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, as oyster shells -- which are made of calcium carbonate -- can react with sulfur dioxide and turn it

Solgent’s COVID-19 test kit has received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, becoming the 10th South Korean kit to receive the green light from the agency. According to industry sources Sunday, the DiaPlexQ kit is a real-time polymerase chain reaction test kit that can produce a diagnosis in under two hours. Solgent was already exporting the test kits to the US, with the first batch of 150,000 test kits going out last month. Last month, the company a

South Korea’s instant coffee giant Dongsuh Foods Corporation is continuing to back aspiring female writers and is donating books to libraries as part of its efforts to support the local literary scene, the firm said Sunday. The coffee and tea manufacturer also hosts an annual go competition, one of its major corporate responsibility projects for the past 21 years. Launched in 1989, Dongsuh’s biennial Dongsuh Literary Award has been at the forefront of cultivating new female writer

Korea Aerospace Industries Association said Thursday it has appointed former external cooperation advisor of Gangwon Province Joung Kyung-hwan as its new vice chairman. Joung was a strategic advisor to President Moon Jae-in’s presidential election campaign committee from September 2016 to March 2017. He also headed the message team for three months when President Moon made his first presidential bid in 2012. Previously in 2002, Joung was credited for aiding late President Roh Moo-hyun

South Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 said Thursday it has won a radio system deal worth 159.2 billion won ($129.4 million) from the Indonesian police. According to the company, it will supply trunked radio communication system, or TRS, to the Indonesian police by 2022. The TRS uses several channels or frequencies, and allows the channels to be shared by a large number of certified users, in multiple talk groups, without their conversations interfering with each other. Rather than requiring a

South Korean animation firm Daewon Media said Tuesday it has signed a license contract with Walt Disney Co. Korea to make toys and figures of Marvel characters. The license contract will give it the rights to develop and retail toys and figures in Korea. “With one source multiuse strategy, Daewon Media plans to retail Marvel card and board games, launch a publishing business with Marvel contents and develop Daewon Media’s own Marvel products,” a company official said. D

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo on Wednesday took an urgent helicopter ride to LG Chem’s catalyst lab in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, after a fire at the facility killed one worker and injured two others the previous day. Due to the accident, a 39-year-old researcher was killed and two workers, aged 47 and 27, suffered second-degree burns to the face and neck and were sent to a nearby hospital, according to fire authorities. At the site, Koo called for the management including LG Chem

From a stock trading platform to water purifier services, South Korean game companies are diversifying their business portfolios, joining the economy-wide trend of finding auxiliary business models as their growth faces limits. Though Korea’s No. 1 game company Nexon posted its best quarterly revenue of 434.4 billion won ($353 million) -- a 78 percent surge on-year -- thanks to the steady sales of MapleStory and Fifa Online 4, the fast-changing nature of the game industry means that &ldq

Hanwha Solutions said Tuesday it has invested in a solar power software company, diversifying its business portfolio that is currently focused on hardware such as solar power cells and modules. This is the first investment finalized by the Hanwha Group affiliate since Vice President Kim Dong-kwan took charge in March. The company recently acquired a 20.26 percent stake in Australia-based energy management system firm SwitchDin that specializes in virtual power plant technology, the company s

The European subsidiaries of South Korean battery makers have posted mixed results in the first quarter, with an increase in demand and large investments, according to their latest performance reports. LG Chem Wroclaw Energy, a fully owned Poland-based subsidiary of LG Chem, posted a net loss of 301.7 billion won ($246 million) due to rapid expansion. However, Samsung SDI Hungary, a 100 percent subsidiary of Samsung SDI, remained profitable. LG Chem Wroclaw Energy -- which manufactures and s