South Korean missile defense systems provider LIG Nex1 said Wednesday it had inked a series of collaborative ties with several global defense and aerospace leaders at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, or Seoul ADEX 2023. The agreements are intended to bolster the company's international presence and spur innovation in missile technology, avionics and space exploration. During the Seoul ADEX held from Tuesday to Sunday, LIG Nex1 is showcasing a slew of innovations. No

Hyundai Rotem, a defense solutions and railway vehicles maker affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it is showcasing its next-generation defense technologies during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2023, which is taking place at Seoul Airport in Seongnam this week. The biennial event is the defense industry's biggest gathering in Korea. This year, a record 550 exhibitors from 35 nations are joining the event. Under the theme of “Shielding Peace wi

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the shipbuilding unit under HD Hyundai, announced Monday that it is set to construct two of the world’s first ammonia-powered medium-sized vessels, with targeted delivery by 2026. The company said it has decided to adopt a dual-fuel engine using both ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas for two ship orders made by Belgian shipping firm Exmas in March. The ships, slated for construction at the Hyundai Mipo Shipyard in Ulsan, measure 45,000 cu

South Korea's $6 billion payment for Iranian crude oil has been frozen by the US administration again due to rising tensions regarding Iran's suspected links to the militant group Hamas, according to reports from multiple media outlets on Friday, including The New York Times. These funds were originally intended for humanitarian assistance under strict US oversight. Now held in a Qatari bank, they are caught up in a diplomatic tangle following recent Hamas-initiated hostilities against

Authorities are planning to slim down on the procedure for insurance companies acquiring foreign subsidiaries. The Financial Services Commission, South Korea's financial regulator, announced Friday its planned revision of the Enforcement Decree of The Insurance Business Act, reducing down the procedures for insurance companies seeking to acquire foreign subsidiaries. Currently, Korean insurance companies must either obtain direct approval from the FSC or submit a preliminary report when acq

South Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai, announced that it has signed a 45 million euro ($47 million) investment deal with an Estonia-based fuel cell manufacturer, Elcogen AS. The signing ceremony was held in Seoul on Wednesday, with top executives, including HD Hyundai’s President Chung Ki-sun and Elcogen CEO Enn Ounpuu and Estonian President Alar Karis in attendance. The central objective of this investment is to upgrade HD Ko

Innospace, the South Korean small satellite and hybrid rocket startup, laid out Wednesday the strides being made in small satellite technology and emphasized the growing role of Innospace in this domain. "The old space era, dominated by large institutions and national objectives, contrasts sharply with the current landscape. Today, startups and medium-sized ventures with market-driven objectives are shaping the 'New Space Era'. Innospace is at the forefront of this shift," sa

LG Display and LG Chem, prominent display and chemical makers, respectively, boasted Monday of their joint success in producing p-type dopants in-house, a crucial material for producing organic light-emitting diode displays, the supply of which has been solely dependent on imports. This development aligns with LG Display's ongoing efforts to strengthen the domestic production ecosystem for more advanced OLED displays. Last year, the proportion of materials the company procured locally, both

The 2022 US best-selling novel "Offerings," authored by Korean-American Michael Byung-ju Kim, co-founder and chairman of South Korea's largest private equity fund, MBK Partners, is set to be adapted into a film, according to the company on Monday. Hollywood production company Anonymous Content, known for hits like "True Detective" and "The Revenant," is teaming up with Anthology Studios, co-founded by director Kim Jee-woon and actor Song Kang-ho, for the adapti

South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia on Thursday announced a shift to Tesla's charging system for their electric vehicles sold in North America, joining other automakers such as General Motors, Ford and Mercedes-Benz. The change will take effect in the US by the end of next year and extend to Canada by mid-2025. The transition from the Combined Charging System, the widely adopted charging standard that Hyundai-Kia currently employs for their North American EVs, to Tesla's Nort

Unity, the industry-standard 3D development platform company, hosted the Unity APAC Industry Summit 2023 in Seoul on Thursday, showcasing advancements and real-world applications in the development of extended reality, or XR, an umbrella term encompassing augmented, mixed and virtual reality technologies. Rory Armes, vice president of solutions development, emphasized during the opening session that the inaugural APAC summit underscores the growing significance of the region in the digital twin

SK On, South Korea’s leading global EV battery manufacturer, reported Wednesday an approximate twofold rise in quarterly revenue and global battery production capacity over the last two years, as the company marks its second anniversary this month. Having spun off from the energy company SK Innovation to focus on the battery business in October 2021, SK On has more than doubled its quarterly revenue from 1.665 trillion won ($1.22 billion) in the last quarter of 2021 to 3.696 trillion won (

The Taiwan-based immersive tech company iStaging said last Wednesday it is expanding its presence in the Asian market by setting up its Asian subsidiary in Seoul. The inauguration event was held on Sept. 21 at the Daewoo Summit Gallery in southern Seoul, with its key partners in attendance. The company offers augmented and virtual reality solutions to more than 100,000 corporate clients globally, including Samsung Electronics. With the latest Asian launch, it aims to bolster ties with companies

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group on Wednesday named Lee Don-tae, former president of the Samsung Art and Design Institute, as its new head of design strategy. Upon his appointment, Lotte announced that its Lotte Design Management Center has been rebranded as the Lotte Design Strategy Center. Lee will be responsible for overseeing the overall design direction and strategy of Lotte, as well as consulting on key projects across its affiliates. Born in 1968, Lee started his career in 1989 at Ta

Hyundai Steel said Wednesday it will showcase its eco-friendly solutions at the Steel & Metal Korea 2023 exhibition, which takes place in Daegu on Oct. 11-13. During the industry’s largest trade show, the company said, it aims to renew its commitment to a low-carbon future, electric blast furnace technologies and its carbon-neutral trajectory. At the heart of the exhibition is the company's “Pathway to Green Steel" concept, charting Hyundai Steel's journey towards

South Korean IT giant Kakao, having suffered from its worst-ever server shutdown last year, has completed its first in-house data center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, the company said Tuesday. The new facility, called Kakao Data Center Ansan, spans 47,378 square meters within Hanyang University’s ERICA campus in the industrial city, some 29 kilometers south of Seoul. It is expected to become fully operational by the first quarter next year. "Our gratitude extends to both Ansan City and

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo reportedly convened some 30 CEOs on Tuesday to discuss the group's longer-term strategies ahead of the weeklong Chuseok holiday. Top executives of key affiliates, including LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution, attended the annual workshop that took place at LG Academy in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, according to news reports. For Koo who took office in 2019, this marked the fifth occasion to convene the meeting. The event was h

SK Telecom said on Monday that it successfully wrapped up its international AI competition, “Prompter Day Seoul 2023,” held in partnership with OpenAI. The event’s theme centered around building AI innovations beneficial to humanity. The two-day event first had 226 teams proposing concepts leveraging OpenAI's generative AI model. After online qualifiers, 20 of these teams showcased their AI innovations at Dreamplus Gangnam, a shared office space in Seoul on Saturday and Su

Korean AI semiconductor startup Rebellions said Monday that its chips were set to undergo quality testing at data centers of IBM Research's AI Hardware Center in New York. IBM Research's AI Hardware Center conducts exhaustive quality testing for enterprise-grade data center processors. It evaluates the reliability of the chip until it reaches an acceptable level of performance. Earlier this year in April, Rebellions gained global attention when its Atom chip outperformed Nvidia's

SK Earthon, a subsidiary of South Korean energy giant SK Innovation specializing in oil exploration and production, said Monday that it has commenced its first independent crude oil production in the Lufeng 12-3 oil field, part of Block 17/03 in the South China Sea, starting this September. Located approximately 300 kilometers from Shenzhen, China, the oil field is projected to cater to over 1 percent of South Korea's daily oil consumption, with an output of around 29,500 barrels at its pea