LG Innotek said Wednesday that it is showcasing its latest substrate products at an international trade show kicking off this week. The electronics component manufacturer will be participating in the Korea International Electronic Circuits and Packaging Show 2022 held in Songdo, Incheon, from Wednesday to Friday. One of the key products to be unveiled is its new FC-BGA -- flip-chip ball grid array -- substrate, the mass production of which is to start next year. A FC-BGA board is used to connect

Posco Chemical said Wednesday that its joint venture with OCI Co., called P&O Chemical, has started construction of a new local plant to produce a key coating material used in secondary batteries. The plant, located Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, will have an annual production capacity of 15,000 tons of pitch, a carbon material used for coating the surfaces of anodes, a key component in rechargeable batteries. The two companies held a ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, with their to

The average South Korean adult consumed 52.9 bottles of soju and 82.9 bottles of beer last year, a report found Tuesday, equaling to a bottle of soju a week. According to the report based on sales data compiled from the National Tax Service and Korea Customs Service, a total of 825.8 million liters of soju and 1.79 billion liter of beer, including 255.2 million liter of imports, were distributed through local manufacturers last year. In terms of bottles, a total of 2.29 billion bottles of soju

LG Chem is renewing its commitment to upgrading value for customers, declaring 2022 as the “year of customers,” the company said Tuesday. As part of its efforts, the South Korean chemical specialist is extending its customer service network, called Customer Solution Campuses, around the world. Following Korea’s first CS Campus Daejeon in 1995, there are an additional two CS establishments in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, and Huanan of China. With a new Chinese CS campus under constr

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held meetings with Japanese political and business leaders, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, to ask Tokyo’s support for South Korean port city Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Chey stayed in Tokyo on Thursday and Friday, according to the KCCI -- the nation’s largest business lobby -- on Sunday. On the first day, the KCCI chief met with Matsumoto Masayoshi, the v

Posco Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo (right) joins efforts to remove mud and debris at the steel giant’s plant in the southeastern city of Pohang on Saturday. Posco said it aims to fully normalize operations of the typhoon-hit plant by early December. (Posco)

In its first debut outside of Europe, Volkswagen Korea launched its pure electric sports utility vehicle, ID.4, in Seoul on Thursday, stressing that the local market is "essential" for the German carmaker's e-mobility business. "Korea is one of the fastest pioneering EV countries. We decided to make sure we have our first ID.4 outside of Europe (in South Korea), as South Korea is essential for Volkswagen's e-mobility business," said Dr. Silke Bagschik, head of product line e

Ikea Korea saw its sales falling this fiscal year for the first time since its entry in 2014, the company said Wednesday, citing the lift of social regulations as a key reason for Koreans' reduced spending on home furnishing products. During a media conference, the South Korean branch of the Swedish furniture giant said it had recorded sales of 618 billion won ($444 million) between September 2021 and August 2022, marking a 10 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year. Ikea Korea has shown

The use of disposable cups has soared during the pandemic years, with the annual number exceeding 1 billion for the first time last year, a report showed Tuesday. According to an Environment Ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Joo-hwan of the ruling People Power Party, the number of single-use plastic and paper cups consumed at 14 cafe and four popular fast-food chains was 4.34 billion over the past five years. Last year, the number reached 1.02 billion, a surge from 770 million in 2019. The a

Kim Min-soo, a senior college student, stands next to his bicycle as he waits for a delivery order on a bustling street in Hongdae, western Seoul, on a Saturday afternoon. After a few minutes of waiting, his phone, adjusted to the handle of his bike, lights up with a message and notifies him of a delivery call from a to-go restaurant. With the app’s artificial intelligence navigation system showing him the optimal route to the restaurant, Lee gets on his bike to pick up the food. “I

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it is offering a $100 million funding, consisting of a $55 million loan and a $45 million loan guarantee, to a Chilean mineral producer in efforts to help local companies secure a stable supply of lithium, a key material for batteries. SQM or Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is the second-largest lithium-producing company in the world that operates lithium mines in Chile and Australia. The company’s production capacity makes up almost 19 pe

LG Innotek was acknowledged for its quality of automotive components provided to General Motors for five consecutive years, the company said Wednesday. The South Korean major electronics parts maker won the 2021 GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award, marking its fifth consecutive win since 2017. The award is given by GM every year to its partners whose supplies meet GM’s standard of zero quality defects. The auto parts go through strict quality control, as they are directly connected to t

Hyundai Motor Group has teamed up with Hanjin KAL, the parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air, and Incheon International Airport Corp. on Tuesday to jointly develop automation technology for Incheon Airport's smart cargo terminal infrastructure. The technology will be applied to Incheon Airport’s airsides, the aircraft take-off and landing areas such as runways. This business agreement is part of the IIAC’s project, initiated in April, last year, to prepare infrastructure fo

HAMYANG, South Gyeongsang Province – A week before Chuseok, the sounds of a combine harvester's revving engine echoed in Gi-dong village of Hamyang, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The sound is not an unfamiliar one at any farm during harvest season around the country, but the scene was different as the machine cut and threshed grains underneath solar panels. Sleek, rectangular panels are placed on poles five meters above the ground at an agrivoltaic demostration complex in the vil

Steel giant Posco Group’s Representative Director and President Jeong Tak visited the Argentinian government Thursday to ask for the country’s support on South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 Busan Expo, the company said Sunday. Jeong met with Santiago Cafiero, the Argentinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to promote Busan as the No.1 port city that is most optimized to host a global exhibition. Jang Myung-soo, South Korean Ambassador to Argentina, was also present at the meeting.

Business leaders and experts gathered in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Friday to discuss ways to create a globally connected hydrogen ecosystem amid growing geographical uncertainties stemming from Russia's attack on Ukraine and worsening climate change. Jeong Marn-ki, president and CEO of the Korea Automobile Manufacture Association, called hydrogen a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels at the International H2 Conference. Hydrogen can prevent such uncertainties in the future, but its commer

The world’s largest exhibition exploring the potential of hydrogen in the field of mobility kicked off in Korea on Wednesday, bringing industrial giants from in and out of the country with their latest technological achievements. H2 Mobility Energy Environment Technology, or H2 Meet in short, is the world’s only hydrogen industry exhibition. It was organized to bolster the country’s technological innovation in the hydrogen sector ranging from the energy’s production, stor

South Korean chemical company LG Chem said Tuesday it is building its fourth carbon nanotube manufacturing plant to bolster its responsiveness to the rapidly growing demand globally, especially for electric vehicle batteries. Carbon nanotube, widely called CNT, is considered a next-generation material that offers equivalent level of electricity and thermal conductivity as copper and diamond, and has 100 times the strength of steel. Demand for the material has surged recently as it is used as con

Executives from financial firms were reaping astronomical salaries and bonuses amid increasing embezzlement, a lawmaker said Monday, quoting data. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Yang Jung-suk showed that a total of 327 embezzlement cases worth a total of 170 billion won ($126 million) had occurred at 78 financial firms from 2017 to August this year. According to the data, the amount of damage caused by embezzlements in the financial sector was increasing every yea

While touting South Korea’s unrivaled position as a digital hub in the Asia-Pacific region, foreign executives and experts called for a need to create sustainable regulatory environment to foster the country‘s digital prowess at a forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday. “Korea is a optimal place for digital transformation, and will rise as a regional digital hub for Asia Pacific,“ said James Kim AMCHAM Chairman & CEO, at the Digital Innovation For