The South Korean government projects that the nation’s future industries would require 165,000 workers by 2027, vowing to address skills shortages by training workers through higher education and public projects. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said its survey results revealed a growing need for manpower in five future industries, including next-generation chips, advanced display panels, internet of things-based home appliances, augmented reality and virtual reality

South Korea’s official export credit agency Export-Import Bank of Korea is under pressure from international environmental activists to halt its financing of coal power plants, amid a growing global campaign to tackle climate change and air pollution. On Sunday, Greenpeace Korea shone a laser light on the headquarters building of the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Seoul, displaying messages that read, “Stop investing in coal-fired plants” and “President Moon Jae-in, when

The two Koreas and Russia should take an economic -- not political -- approach to the trans-Korea gas pipeline project to make the idea feasible, said the chief of the Korea Energy Economics Institute at a forum on Friday. “As for the gas pipeline project, South Korea, North Korea and Russia have different interests and calculations,” said Cho Yong-sung, president of the KEEI, in a keynote speech during a forum, titled “Trans-Korea Gas Pipeline Project: Enhancing Regional Coope

South Korea is deepening ties with Southeast Asia in hopes of creating new growth engines in the region’s young, fast-growing economies and seeking a breakthrough amid growing uncertainties in global trade. In 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration launched the New Southern Policy as its key foreign economic policy, reflecting its strong commitment to prosper with ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As a f

South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung said Thursday it will partner with Saudi Aramco in the area of carbon fibers. Under a memorandum of understanding, signed by Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser on Tuesday, the two sides agreed to consider building a carbon fiber plant in Saudi Arabia or Korea. They also agreed to cooperate on technology development of carbon fiber production. Carbon fibers are fibers that weigh one-fourth less than steel but

S-Oil is slated to hold an inauguration ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the successful completion and beginning of operations of its residue upgrading complex and olefin downstream complex, or RUC and ODC, built at a cost of 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion). The RUC/ODC project, which began operations in November last year, relies on low-value residue oil as feedstock to produce high-value petrochemical products. “We believe increased production capacity of high-value products through th

South Korea’s leading oil refiner S-Oil is getting closer to its “Vision 2025,” in which it aspires to become the most competitive and admired energy and chemical company in the Asia-Pacific region. It is swiftly responding to rapid changes in the business environment brought on by the shale boom and emergence of electric vehicles. S-Oil, founded in 1976, has delivered phenomenal growth since Saudi Aramco’s investment in 1991 as the largest shareholder. Its crude refining

A South Korean consortium led by state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has secured a five-year maintenance deal for the United Arab Emirates’ first nuclear power station, ending a long bidding process that began late last year. The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is being built by a consortium which includes the Korea Electric Power Corp., KHNP, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Samsung C&T Corp.Initially, it was expected that the co

President Moon Jae-in’s new secretary for policy, who earned the nickname “chaebol sniper” for his decadelong shareholder activism, vowed to keep his stance of promoting income-led growth, innovation and a fair economy. At a farewell meeting as chief of Fair Trade Commission, Kim Sang-jo told reporters he is open to dialogue with conglomerate chiefs while drawing a clear line saying that incumbent Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki will keep his role as control tower on economic poli

South Korean energy conglomerate Daesung Group hosted its third annual forum on microbes Thursday in Seoul, with the theme “Lab to Industry for Bioeconomy.” Attended by around 150 participants, the 2019 Daesung Haegang Microbes Forum offered a venue for academia and the private sector to discuss the latest trends in clean energy and environment technologies using microorganisms, as well as to seek ways to bring them into the market. The highlight of the forum was the utilization and

South Korea announced its vision to create a “manufacturing renaissance” over a number of industries, viewing manufacturing as the nation’s economic foundation and a way of creating high-quality jobs and innovative growth. “The government has mapped out strategies for the nation to become an innovative manufacturing powerhouse over the next decade by being away from ‘quantitative and market follower strategies,’” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade,

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said Wednesday it has been selected as a preferred bidder for a Guam power plant by the Guam Power Authority. If the deal is sealed, Kepco will build and operate a 200-megawatt Guam power plant in Dededo, northern Guam. Hyundai Engineering will also join the project to build the power plant. The project will be carried out in the form of build-operate-transfer project financing. Kepco will be able to sell power produced in the region over the next 25 yea

State-run Korea Energy Agency has opened a knowledge-sharing program with the World Bank, inviting officials from South Asia to Seoul, the government agency said Tuesday. The KEA began the third WB-KEA energy efficiency knowledge-sharing program hosted by the World Bank, inviting officials from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The five-day training program aims to share Korea’s energy policies and experience. With the topic of energy efficiency system for buildings, Korea is sharing green bu

The South Korean government is reportedly looking into allegations of leaks of key nuclear reactor technologies to other countries. According to multiple local news reports Tuesday, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and the National Intelligence Service are verifying the authenticity of a tipoff delivered to the NSSC through a nuclear safety ombudsman system. Based on the tipoff, one retiree from state-run nuclear operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has allegedly leaked &ldquo

South Korea is hosting events on forestry in the Asia-Pacific region this week for academia, governments and the private sector to discuss and share views on pressing challenges in the sector.The Asia-Pacific Forestry Week 2019 and the 28th Session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission kicked off Monday at the Songdo Convensia Convention Center in Incheon. The five-day event is jointly organized by the Korea Forest Service and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. I

South Korea and Norway have agreed to strengthen ties in hydrogen energy and shipbuilding areas with the summit between the two countries’ heads of state serving as an opportunity to pursue future partnerships. During President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Norway on Thursday, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in hydrogen energy to make the most of Korea’s strength in hydrogen-powered vehicles and Norway’s in production and supply capabilities.Wit

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil appointed Hussain A. Al-Qahtani as new CEO during its general shareholders meeting, the firm said Thursday. Before joining the firm, Al-Qahtani, 52, served as president and CEO of Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company from 2016. Throughout his 29-year career at Saudi Aramco, Al-Qahtani has assumed key roles in production, engineering and projects building expertise and leadership skills, according to the firm. The new Saudi Arabian CEO majored in chemical engine

South Korean oil and chemical company SK Innovation plans to support local social ventures through crowdfunding, the firm said Wednesday.A social venture is a firm that focuses more on addressing social problems and less on profit. Selected social ventures will be supported by SK Innovation employees through crowdfunding. Each employee can voluntarily invest up to 1 million won ($846) in the social ventures. For every 1 million won raised, SK will match the investment. Profits will later be

Ending a five-month-long probe into energy storage systems that caught fire, the South Korean government blamed defects in devices, poor management and systems, without holding companies accountable for the fires.On Tuesday, a private-public joint committee, formed in January to look into the series of fires, announced the results of the probe, saying multiple factors played a role in the 23 fires that occurred over the past year. It highlighted four factors: a lack of battery protective systems

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, and its locomotive arm, Hyundai Rotem, are slated to develop a hydrogen-powered tram by 2020, which will be the first of its kind in the nation. On Monday, Hyundai Rotem said the two companies had agreed to cooperate on developing a train powered by hydrogen. Hyundai Motor plans to deploy hydrogen fuel cell stacks on trains developed and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem, which will also build the system interface to be installed between train ca