Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo chose Southeast Asia for his first overseas trip since taking office last year. According to the Korean steelmaker, Choi left for Indonesia on Monday to visit Krakatau Posco, a joint venture between Posco and Indonesia’s state-owned steelmaker Krakatau Steel. During his four-day trip, he is also slated to visit the firm’s production plants in Vietnam and its gas fields in Myanmar. “Operation sites are the key to a company’s competitiveness,” Choi said during his vis

The South Korean government held a general meeting Monday to prepare for the 2019 International Renewable Energy Conference that will take place in October in Seoul. 123rfThe Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it discussed progress and preparation for the biennial conference with a preparation committee formed in December 2017. The meeting was attended by 37 organizations, including regional governments, companies and public organizations. IREC is the world’s largest renewable energy ev

Hyundai Heavy Industries faces many obstacles to acquire state-funded Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering as it has to win approval from around 30 nations, including its Asian rivals and European clients. When the world’s two biggest shipyards are merged, their combined market share will be 21 percent, and above all, the market share of liquefied natural gas carriers would reach 63 percent. As for LNG vessels, orders are likely to rise further from 2020 due to environmental regulations of t

South Korea plans to turn the nation’s robotics technology into a 15 trillion-won ($13.3 billion) industry, with the aim of becoming the fourth-largest player in the world by 2023. “Traditional manufacturing sectors can be transformed into future industries by making use of robots,” said President Moon Jae-in at a briefing session on the nation’s robot development strategy at the headquarters of Hyundai Robotics in Daegu, Friday. President Moon Jae-in demonstrates a robot at the headquarters of

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil released an apology Thursday after pleading guilty to collusion and price-fixing in the process of providing oil to US forces in Korea. “S-Oil reached a settlement agreement with the (US) Department of Justice pertaining to charges against a violation of the US antitrust act during past bids for fuel supply to the US Forces Korea that have been under investigation,” said a spokesperson of the firm. The oil refiner added it deeply regrets the incident.The company sa

South Korea needs to be ready for any implications associated with possible changes in US trade policy ahead of the US election next year, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Thursday. “This year is highly likely to be a watershed of the US trade policy that will determine the re-election of the President Donald Trump. Korean companies need to come up with countermeasures for both short-term implications in trade and possible changes in the mid- to long-term production netw

South Korea is slated to set a goal of entirely shifting commercial vehicles -- including trucks and construction machinery -- to run on fuel cell energy by 2035 in its efforts to address serious fine dust problems, according to plans released by Transport Minister-nominee Choi Jeong-ho. Hydrogen-powered trains are also expected to be commercialized after 2025. The ministry’s plan was released on Wednesday by Rep. Yoon Kwan-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who received documents fro

South Korean steelmaker Posco has launched a joint promotion on Wednesday to promote SsangYong Motor’s new sport utility vehicle Korando, by exhibiting them in its headquarters in Seoul. This promotion is part of Posco’s campaign “Business with Posco” aimed for mutual growth with its partners, clients and suppliers. Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo (right) and SsangYong Motor's Vice President Yea Byung-tae (Posco)On the day, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo joined a test-drive event of SsangYong’s new

LS Cable & System said Tuesday it has launched cables capable of supplying shore-side electricity to vessels with the hope of replacing the conventional ways of power supply that results in air pollution. The cable is used to supply vessels anchored at a port with power from shore-side facilities. (LS Cable & System)The firm hopes this will replace the conventional way of generating power, which is made during the operation of the engine using bunker C oil as fuel. During this process, air pollu

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it will invest $300 million in India’s largest ride-hailing platform Ola, its biggest investment so far.Under the agreement, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Ola will collaborate on developing fleet and mobility solutions, as well as building India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure, the firm said.Chung Eui-sun (right), executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, and Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola (Hyundai Motor)Through the partnership, O

LG Electronics has partnered with Gwangju City to foster an industrial ecosystem focused on air quality, amid growing concerns over air pollution in South Korea, according to the government.Fostering such an industrial ecosystem is one of the government’s regional initiatives to stimulate the recovery of 14 regions that are facing industrial hollowing out. The effort will focus on the development of technologies and products for air purifiers, humidifiers and dehumidifiers amid growing demand fo

Posco Daewoo has decided to rebrand itself as Posco International during a general shareholders meeting, according to the trading arm of South Korea’s largest steelmaker Monday. The firm said the change of the name is aimed at shaping its identity as a global trading company, leading global business of Posco Group and raising the future valuation. Posco International CEO Kim Young-sang (Posco International)“The launch of Posco International is an important momentum to create synergies with overs

South Korea’s largest 10 conglomerates held record-high cash reserves last year, as they earned more on thriving chip businesses but spent less on fears of a sluggish economic outlook.According to local corporate tracker Chaebul.com on Sunday, the nation’s 10 biggest business groups by assets had combined cash reserves of around 248 trillion won ($218 billion) last year, up 12.2 percent from 2017, based on the consolidated financial statements of their 95 affiliates. The cash reserves in consoli

Late on a Saturday afternoon, Itaewon was nothing like the way it is described in most Seoul tourism books. People could be seen walking down the street in sparse numbers. Stores were almost empty. Some had gone out of business and displayed “for rent” signs in their windows. Granted, this neighborhood is better known for its nightlife, but it was too quiet for a place once known as a “magnet” for expats and locals alike. An owner of a souvenir shop on the neighborhood’s main street told The Kor

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Thursday it asked Google to change some of its terms and conditions related to copyright infringement, as the first competition authorities in the world to do so. Google’s video-streaming platform currently allows the firm to arbitrarily delete and reuse video posted by users.The antitrust watchdog said it is unfair that even if a user deletes his or her video, YouTube can still possess and use that video. It is also unfair that YouTube can arbitrarily delete

Under legislation passed Wednesday morning, anyone in South Korea can now buy a liquefied petroleum gas-fueled vehicle. Previously, only taxis and rental cars could use LPG fuel. The bill, proposed by Rep. Yoon Han-hong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and calling for the complete deregulation of LPG vehicles, passed during the plenary session of the National Assembly’s industry committee.  (Yonhap)Yoon proposed the bill in 2016, citing a growing need to expand consumer choices, supply

The Korean Fair Trade Commission chief is slated to share the nation’s competition policies and law enforcement with European nations during his seven-day trip to the continent this week. During his stay, Kim Sang-jo is slated to have a bilateral meeting with the European Union’s top antitrust official, give a keynote speech at the International Workshop on Competition Policy in Serbia and participate as a speaker at the International Conference on Competition held in Berlin. On Sunday, Kim Sang

Lee Jae-woong, founder and CEO of car-sharing app SoCar, said the latest deal struck by taxi unions and car-sharing service providers may set a bad precedent as it appears to restrict business activities already allowed under the current law. After a monthslong dispute, an agreement was reached Thursday among the government, lawmakers, taxi companies and car-sharing firms to allow a car-sharing service for four hours daily on weekdays, in a move that hopes to end protests from taxi drivers claim

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group said Friday it closed a deal with the state-run Korea Development Bank to take over Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. HHI CEO Kwon Oh-gap and KDB Chairman and CEO Lee Dong-gull announced a joint statement, pledging employment security for DSME workers and continued relationships with DSME’s current business partners.  (Yonhap)“The decision to welcome DSME to the HHI Group is deeply rooted in our belief that it is a mission given to our group, as the trailbl

LG Chem announced Thursday it plans to issue corporate bonds worth 1 trillion won ($885 million). The Korean firm said it decided to increase the initially planned 500 billion won of corporate bonds to 1 trillion won after carrying out “demand forecasting” for institutional investors this week. (LG Chem)The demand from investors stood at a total of 2.64 trillion won, the largest since Korea adopted the demand forecasting system in 2012, the firm said. By segment, it plans to issue 160 billion wo