BANGKOK -- An all-electric bus with the national flags of South Korea and Thailand printed side by side sits on a campus of one of the national research universities on the southern side of Bangkok. The electric bus is a joint project between Korea and Thailand, led mainly by Korean automaker Edison Motors, which currently provides public transport services with eco-friendly buses at Namsan in Seoul and on Jeju Island. The project involves 11 organizations from both sides, including Korea’

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the quest of South Korea’s government and businesses to switch to renewable energy. -- Ed.New environmental regulations in international waters could serve as a momentum for Korean oil refiners and shipbuilders to seek new opportunities in the sluggish markets. In response to heightening environmental concerns and growing harmful emissions from ships, the International Maritime Organization has ruled that from January 2020 ships will h

On Thursday, a national holiday marking Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945, the Museum of Japanese Colonial History in Korea was very crowded with visitors wanting to better understand the history of the two neighboring countries amid a deepening diplomatic and trade rift. The two-story museum, which sits in a small alley in Yongsan, central Seoul, opened in August last year through donations from the public, civic groups and academics. It exhibits the h

SK Innovation said it has secured an 800 billion won ($650 million) green loan to expand its investments in electric vehicle batteries. The company said it secured the funds through several financial organizations, including the Korea Development Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Bank of America, without giving further details. A green loan is a new lending activity aimed at making sustainable investments and reducing the impact on the environment with lower interest rates. SK Innovation said the fun

The government said Tuesday it will tighten regulations on cross-border mergers and acquisitions to curb leaks of high-end technologies to other countries and impose harsher penalties on offenders.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has resolved to revise the related law to better prevent leaks of key technologies. The changes will take effect in February 2020, six months after promulgation. This is a follow-up to the government’s pledge in January to eradicate leaks of indu

South Korea is set to drop Japan as a preferred trading partner in September in response to Tokyo’s recent decision to exclude Seoul from its whitelist, officials said Monday. “An export control system on strategic items should be run under ground rules of an international export control system,” said Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo during a press briefing Monday afternoon.“(However) the system should be run accordingly (if a trading partner) operates the system that runs c

State-run Korea Investment Corp. is found to have heavily invested in Japanese companies linked to forced wartime labor, according to sources, prompting concerns about the investment portfolio of domestic financial institutions. It is the latest revelation after the release of the National Pension Service’s investment history last month.According to Rep. Kim Kyung-hyub from the ruling Democratic Party on Friday, the KIC invested about $412 million -- as of last year -- in 46 Japanese compa

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog nominee Joh Sung-wook said she would keep “fair economic development” in mind, adding both conglomerate reforms and fair economy are vital. The professor at Seoul National University met with reporters on Friday afternoon shortly after President Moon Jae-in nominated her as the new chief of the Fair Trade Commission. “I feel a heavy responsibility to be nominated as the FTC head, who serves a critical role of pursuing a fair economy,

President Moon Jae-in has nominated Joh Sung-wook, a professor at Seoul National University, to lead South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, the presidential office said Friday. Joh, 55, will replace former head Kim Sang-jo, who is Moon’s chief policy secretary since June. Currently serving as professor at SNU Business School, Joh previously served as a non-executive member of the Financial Services Commission’s Securities & Futures Commission from April 2013 to April this y

Japan’s four-largest automobile parts makers were fined a combined total of 92 billion won ($76 million) by South Korea’s antitrust watchdog for fixing the prices of auto parts, officials said Sunday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, four Japanese car parts firms had fixed prices in collusion when selling alternators and ignition coils to local automakers for 10 years. The four companies included Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi Automotive Systems, which were fined 80 billion w

South Korea plans to exclude Japan from its own whitelist in response to Tokyo’s decision on Friday to remove as a preferred trading partner, as bilateral relations have slumped to the lowest levels since normalizing diplomatic ties in 1965.“The government will resolutely take corresponding measures against Japan’s unjust economic retribution. ... As we have warned earlier, if (Japan) intentionally hits our economy, it must be prepared for greater damages,” President Moon

Japan resolved on Friday to remove South Korea from a “whitelist” of 27 countries that receive preferential trade treatment. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened a Cabinet meeting the same day to decide whether to revise the Export Trade Control Order and remove Korea from its list of trusted trading partners.The revised order will be signed by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko and co-signed by Abe. Seko said the revision would take effect Aug. 28.As of th

South Korean midsized steel companies may face setbacks in the wake of the US move to raise anti-dumping duties on imported oil pipelines, amid global trade uncertainties and price surges in raw materials. According to the steel industry on Wednesday, the US Department of Commerce has imposed anti-dumping tariffs of 38.87 percent on local steel firm Nexteel and 22.7 percent on Seahsteel, effective June 14 for one year. As for other steel companies, the tariff rate was set at 29.89 perc

With just a couple of days remaining for Japan’s decision on removing South Korea from its whitelist of trusted trade partners, the Seoul government and businesses are ratcheting up efforts to protect industries that could be potentially hit by the move.The chances are high that Japan could remove Korea from a whitelist of 27 countries that receive preferential trade treatment after Cabinet approval on Friday. If Korea is removed from the whitelist, domestic companies need to get separate

South Korea faces economic disruption as Japan moves to tighten export curbs on materials necessary for local tech frms, along with fresh objections raised by the US that could hurt the domestic agricultural sector.Japan is likely to remove Korea from a whitelist of 27 countries that receive preferential treatment in trade after a Cabinet meeting Friday, major Japanese media outlets reported Monday. Tokyo gathered public opinion on its decision to remove Korea from the whitelist last week. A maj

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee warned that Tokyo’s trade measures will set a “risky precedent” while seeking cooperation from US politicians, think tanks and trade organizations over Japan’s export restrictions, the ministry said Friday.During her visit to the US from Tuesday to Thursday, the trade minister met with US politicians, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel and Texas Congressman Michael McCaul, as well as think tanks, inc

Amid the ongoing tensions following export curbs by Japan on hi-tech exports to South Korea, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Thursday expressed concerns that it could have a negative impact on global trade.“AmCham is committed to free and fair trade worldwide. The tightening of export controls on critical materials to Korea will have damaging effects on bilateral trade and also have negative implications globally,” the organization said in a statement. It added that

South Korea is slated to participate in the 27th official negotiations this week to discuss the implementation of an Asia-Pacific mega trade deal possibly this year. The upcoming talks for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will be held in Zhengzhou, China, from Friday. RCEP is, in essence, a massive regional trade deal between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the six countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements -- Korea, China, Japan, Indi

At the World Trade Organization General Council in Geneva, South Korea strongly urged Japan to retract export curbs, saying Tokyo is using trade as a political tool and disrupting trade for political purposes, officials said Thursday. At the general council, which is the WTO’s highest-level decision-making body, the trade dispute between the two nations was discussed from 12:40 p.m. to 15:30 p.m. (local time) Wednesday. Kim Seung-ho, deputy minister for multilateral and legal affairs, and

South Korea is suffering from worsening air pollution each year. Every spring, the concentrations of fine dust particles surge to record levels across the country, threatening human health and environmental sustainability.The state-run Korea Forest Service is seeking to deploy forests to combat air pollution, help people stay cooler during heat waves and increase well-being in nature. “The primary factor behind serious fine dust pollution is air pollutants from industrial complexes, therma