Hyundai Rotem, a railway, defense and plant systems provider under Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that it has successfully commercialized an LTE-based train control system for the first time in the world. Called Korean Train Control System 2, or KTCS-2, the latest system will be installed on the Jeolla Line spanning 180 kilometers from Iksan in North Jeolla Province to Yeosu in South Jeolla Province. Based on the ultrafast wireless communication network, the technology transmits data in real t

Korea Ginseng Corp., the country’s leading ginseng manufacturer, said Monday that it won a minister's award from South Korea's Industry Ministry, for its ginseng cultivation technology and contribution to fostering the national intellectual property industry. It was named the best company in the field of intellectual property management during an award ceremony co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korean Intellectual Property Office at The Shilla

Mirae Asset Securities, Korea's investment bank and securities firm, announced that its Vice Chairman Kim Mi-seob has been appointed as its new CEO. The announcement made Friday came after Mirae Asset Financial Group conducted a massive reshuffle in its leadership on Oct. 23. Kim, the former president of Mirae Asset Securities, was promoted to the position of the company's vice chairman. Having joined Mirae Asset Financial Group in 1998, Kim has contributed to the overseas expansion of

Dyson Korea, the Korean arm of the UK consumer electronics giant, said Friday that it has opened a pop-up store set to operate through Nov. 5 at IFC Mall in Yeouido, western Seoul. The pop-up follows the debut of its latest hair straightener product Dyson Airstrait earlier this month. In the pop-up, visitors are allowed to freely test the latest hair device which dries and straightens wet hair simultaneously, as well as receive customized tips and explanations from Dyson’s professional hai

South Korean energy giant SK Innovation announced Thursday that it will launch a mangrove restoration project on Vanua Levu, the second-largest island in Fiji, as part of its ongoing environmental campaign to tackle climate change. Under the agreement signed with the Fijian government the day before, the project, which is scheduled to begin in November, will be fully funded by SK Innovation. “This mangrove restoration project goes beyond simple environment protection as it embodies our str

South Korean chemical giant LG Chem said Wednesday that it has set up a new research and development center in the US state of Georgia called the North America Innovation Center, as part of its big push to secure global talent for its burgeoning next-generation materials business. The new plan was unveiled as part of its partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology signed a day before. Under the agreement, the center will serve as an R&D base for diverse collaboration projects with n

South Korean software startup AI Auction said Tuesday it has launched a tax consultant chatbot called “K-engine,” specializing in providing verified information on various tax regulations such as property and corporate tax. Unlike OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is trained on freely distributed data online, K-engine is trained with a specialized legal database that has been verified and compiled by legal experts and professors, the company said. As such, the chatbot is expected to rect

South Korean home appliance maker Coway has been expanding its environmental campaigns to promote the culture of everyday environmental protection across the country. In a bid to promote clean water areas, in July it launched its second “Coway River Plogging Campaign,” which involves a combination of running and picking up litter along river and coastal areas, together with its customers and employees for about a month. The campaign saw a 41 percent surge in the number of participant

Korean fried chicken franchise Genesis BBQ said Wednesday that it had launched its 11th store in Vietnam, ramping up its expansion in Southeast Asia. The two-story outlet in Da Nang, a coastal city in central Vietnam, has a total floor area of 128 square meters. With its proximity to My Khe Beach, recognized in surveys as one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, the latest branch is ideally situated for attracting both locals and foreign visitors, the franchise added. Besides the franchi

Mercedes-Benz Korea has been investing heavily in training employees and young students as part of efforts to enhance customer service and technical expertise in the automotive maintenance field. Since 2007, the Korean unit of the German luxury carmaker has organized “Korea TechMasters,” a biennial technical skills competition, while also running separate automotive training programs including Ausbildung and Automotive Electric Traineeship. This year’s technical contest saw

Dong-A Otsuka CEO Cho Ik-sung (right) and Korean Basketball League President Kim Hee-ok pose for a photo after signing a sponsorship deal at the KBL headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. The beverage maker agreed to supply professional basketball players with various drinks, including its flagship Pocari Sweat, together with iceboxes and towels, for the 2025-26 season. (Dong-A Otsuka)

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, unveiled on Thursday its new global foundry business road map, with a particular focus on automotive chips. The plans were announced at Samsung Foundry Forum 2023, hosted by the tech giant in Munich, Germany. “We seek to take the lead in the field of autonomous driving and electric vehicles through technological innovations that meet global customer demands in a timely manner,” said Choi Si-young, president and head o

Volkswagen’s pure electric sport utility vehicle ID.4 has been gaining traction in Korea, especially among drivers in their 30s and 40s, as one of the most reasonably priced premium EVs. According to Volkswagen Korea, its competitive pricing sets the car apart from other EV rivals. The 2023 all-electric ID.4 is priced in the range of 50 million won ($37,000), but with a government subsidy of up to 5.8 million won, the price can be further lowered to the upper 40 million won range. In Aug

South Korea’s mobile app store operator One Store said Tuesday that it has secured an investment worth 20 billion won ($14.7 million) from Krafton, one of the country’s major game developers. Krafton said it made the investment decision to broaden its understanding of the global game market through One Store's overseas expansion. They did not disclose the size of the stake that Krafton had taken. One Store was jointly developed by Korean telecommunication giants SK Telecom a

SK Ecoplant announced Monday that its Singaporean unit TES-AMM has processed and recycled over a cumulative 6,000 metric tons of discarded batteries. Electronic waste recycling company TES has been processing and recycling lithium batteries retrieved from mobile devices including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Considering that the batteries in such devices weigh about 50 grams, the total processed amount is equivalent to some 120 million units of devices, the company estimated. Rare metals s

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won discussed economic cooperation with high-ranking government officials from Estonia and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) during their official visits to South Korea earlier last week, according to the Korean conglomerate on Sunday. On Friday, Chey hosted a luncheon meeting with Estonian President Alar Karis, and other high-ranking officials at the SK building in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu in Seoul, where they agreed upon various collaboration opportunities between the

LG Innotek, an electronic component manufacturer under LG Group, said Sunday that it had earned three international patents in the field of electric vehicle charging. “To leap forward as a No. 1 global company, it is essential to systematically manage and secure international patents and intellectual property rights for core technology,” said Kim Jin-hyun, head of the intellectual property division of the company. “Through our continuous R&D efforts in the field of IP, we w

Information technology service provider LG CNS said Thursday that it has launched a generative artificial intelligence-based platform called Data Analytics & AI Platform Generative AI, or DAP GenAI, for its corporate clients. According to LG CNS, the new platform integrates the latest cutting-edge AI-based technologies including prompt engineering and large language model operations (LLMOps). It can be used upon installation on existing infrastructure, such as a company’s private serve

Korea’s only astronaut, Yi Soyeon, delivered a keynote speech Wednesday at The Korea Herald's Humanity In Tech or HIT Forum, discussing her space journey and how it has broadened her perspective on humanity. “Since I went to space in April 2008, Korea has witnessed great advancements and unprecedented interest in the space sector, making it timely for me to share my experience,” said Yi before some 400 attendees of the HIT Forum at The Shilla Seoul. This year, Yi also pu

Shinhan Financial Group announced Tuesday that it will invest 6.5 billion won ($4.82 million) into Habit Factory, an advanced data analysis insurance technology start-up, through the group’s strategic investment fund. According to the financial institution, Habit Factory is a Seoul-based "insurtech" company -- a portmanteau of “insurance” and “technology” that aims to innovate the traditional insurance industry through the use of information technologies