South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank apologized Thursday to the victims of “stench” incident at its refinery located in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, promising full medical support for their recovery. The company said it would pay the medical bills of local residents affected by the stench that originated from its refinery around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, while the facility was burning remaining LPG inside the pipes to prepare for the upcoming regular turnaround. “Hyunda

GS Caltex CEO Hur Sae-hong said Thursday the company will strengthen its environmental, social and governance strategy by reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollutants, speeding up its green management policy based on energy-efficient production facilities. The company said its facility in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, has replaced its fuel to liquefied natural gas from low-sulfur fuel oil after improvements on its production line. The move is expected to reduce carbon emissions significa

South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem took the lead in the global electric vehicle battery market in February, accounting for more than one third of global EV battery capacity. According to the latest report from Adamas Intelligence, LG Chem supplied 1,800 MWh of EV batteries for newly sold passenger EVs in February, commanding 34.6 percent of total battery capacity deployed to EVs globally in the same month.  The battery deployment for passenger xEVs (BEV, PHEV, HEV) in February 2

Spooked Korean drivers are seeking navigation apps that can bypass school zones and are buying insurance with greater coverage, after the passage of a contentious child safety bill that imposes harsher punishments for accidents. SK Telecom said April 1 it has completed the development of a school zone detour function on its navigation app Tmap, in response to rising demand. Under a new law, widely known as the “Min-sik law,” effectuated on March 25, a driver who injures a child u

The South Korean government has initiated a temporary tax relief program for domestic petrochemical companies as global demand has plummeted amidst the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday it will allow 54 petrochemical companies to delay their tax payments on oil imports and sales of petroleum products for 90 days, giving financial room to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Tax payments for April, May and June will be p

Korea Aerospace Industries said Monday its plan to sell light fighter jets to Argentina has been put on hold as the coronavirus outbreak is dealing a huge blow. South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacture said its plan to export around several FA-50 light fighter jets -- a combat variant of its advanced supersonic trainer jet T-50 -- to Argentina has been delayed indefinitely. “It must have been difficult for Argentina to spend its defense budget for fighter jets when it is experien

Korean game company Nexon said Thursday it had decided to roll back its telecommuting, requiring all staff to report for duty starting next week. According to Nexon, all employees will have to come to work starting Monday, though exceptions will be made for those with special circumstances that need to be considered. “To ensure the safety of employees, Nexon will employ safety measures including placing thermal imaging cameras at the entries of its headquarters, installing cubicles a

Aerospace and defense firm LIG Nex1 said Friday it had acquired a 20 percent stake in Microinfinity, a domestic firm that makes navigation sensor chips for unmanned aerial vehicles. According to LIG Nex1’s business report, it converted loans made to Microinfinity into 5 million shares worth 2.5 billion won ($2 million), equal to a 20 percent stake in the company, at the end of last year. This is the first case of LIG Nex1’s equity participation in a drone-related company. A nav

State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. said Friday it has received first-stage government approval for launching an energy-focused university, with plans to open in March 2022. The Ministry of Education’s deliberation committee granted preliminary approval to establish a corporation for its university Kepco Tech on Friday. The session was held via video conference due to the coronavirus outbreak. The approval comes 106 days after the review, with a total of three hearings held s

SK Innovation has decided to dispatch employees to its electric vehicle battery plant in Hungary, where it has less workforce presence than other Korean EV battery manufacturers. According to SK Innovation, the company will dispatch 300 staff members on a chartered flight to Hungary on April 5 to support the construction of its second EV battery plant in Komarom, as global travel restrictions have limited the deployment of necessary personnel to the construction site. “Though SK Innov

Korean game company NCSoft said Thursday it will launch a four-day workweek to create a safer working environment and support families with children, amid the worsening novel coronavirus pandemic. The company will operate a four-day workweek for four weeks from this weekend until April 29, employing flexible work schedules and allowing telecommuting for those pregnant or with underlying conditions. “All 4,000 staff members will be given paid leave every week during the period, which

The Korea Electric Power Corp. on Thursday excluded Chinese firms from entering a bid for its submarine power cable project. According to an online notice posting, only countries that are members of the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organization are eligible for the international bidding of #3HVDC (high voltage, direct current) submarine power cable project connecting Wando, an island off the coast of South Jeolla Province, and Jeju Island. China is not a member of the

South Korean game developer WeMade said Wednesday it has won a lawsuit against a Chinese game company for violating a license contract and dodging royalties. According to WeMade, the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration on March 27 ordered Hangzhou Jiuling Network Technology to pay WeMade 85.2 billion won ($69.1 million) for violating the intellectual property license agreement it had signed with the Korean company. In September 2017, Jiuling -- a subs

Posco Chemical said Wednesday it has signed a long-term supply deal with China’s Huayou Cobalt for cathode materials, a key material for electric vehicle batteries. According to the company, Huayou Cobalt -- the world’s biggest cobalt supplier -- will supply 76,300 metric tons of precursors until December 2022. The exact size of the deal is unknown. Precursor is an immediate product used in producing cathode materials, and cathode is a one of the four key components of a lithium

According to market tracker SNE Research on Tuesday, the global market share of Korea’s three major EV battery manufacturers -- LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation -- doubled to 42 percent in February up 20.9 percent on-year, surpassing the 40 percent mark for the first time. In the same period, the global market share of Chinese EV batteries shrank from 32.8 percent to 11.1 percent, while that of Japanese firms surged to 45.8 percent from 33.2 percent. Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldco

Domestic chemical firm Isu Chemical said Tuesday it is ramping up production of a hand sanitizer ingredient as demand is soaring in Europe. The company manufactures isopropyl alcohol -- a vital ingredient for hand gels and alcohol wipes -- as the stocks of the IPA are running low amid the worsening COVID-19 outbreak. “Isu Chemical has already got marketing approval in the European Union, so there is no issue with sales in the region,” a company official said. “Though faci

Nexon’s holding company NXC said Monday it is developing an online trading platform in the form of a game, targeting young people held back by the complexity of conventional systems. The company has established a subsidiary Arques, to develop a friendly trading platform with a user interface of tycoon games for Generation MZ -- millennials and Gen Z -- who are discouraged by intricate systems despite their deep interest in investments. “Arques aims to develop a service where use

South Korean chemicals firm OCI said Monday it has launched a lunch box campaign for five days to support the socially vulnerable amid the coronavirus crisis. The company said its Pohang plant in North Gyeongbuk Province has started delivering lunch boxes to support the elderly people and the underprivileged in local areas from March 30 to April 3 as free community meals have been unavailable due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With voluntary donations made by the employees of Pohang plant and wi

Posco Chemical said Monday it will invest 217.7 billion won ($178 million) to produce key materials for electric vehicle batteries. According to the company, its board of directors has approved the investment to construct a production facility for synthetic graphite anode for EV batteries. “Demand for synthetic graphite anodes for EV batteries is expected to spike as the market size is expected to grow from 194 GWh in 2020 to 3,066 GWh in 2030. It’s essential to be equipped wit

Leading e-commerce retailer eBay Korea said Monday the company was creating synergies by integrating its independent “Smile delivery” service with its fulfillment platform. The retail giant said Monday its Smile delivery service has been able to benefit both sellers and buyers through its optimized fulfillment platform, which uses the same system as Amazon’s fulfillment services. “Typical fulfillment platforms charge businesses by the size of space allocated for stoc