Drone Show Korea 2022 kicked off Thursday to showcase the latest innovations of major South Korean aviation and defense firms, offering a glimpse into future drones that will become available in daily lives in a few years ahead. During the three-day event held at Bexco in Busan, LIG Nex1, a local defense firm that specializes in missiles, unveiled KCD-200, a drone that can transport payloads heavier than 200 kilograms. KCD-200, which looks like a small airplane, is supported by seven propelle

Industry Feb. 24, 2022

LG Group said Monday it has formed an alliance with Google to create a global artificial intelligence ecosystem. According to the South Korean conglomerate, the partnership named Expert AI Alliance, will utilize LG AI Research’s hyperscale AI “Exaone” to create a new customer experience. Google will provide its cloud to accelerate the learning process of Exaone. Thirteen founding members are LG AI Research, LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Uplus, LG CNS, Google, Woori Bank, Shut

Industry Feb. 22, 2022

Solus Advanced Materials, which supplies electric vehicle battery materials to Tesla, will break ground on a new factory in Quebec, Canada, in July, the company said Monday. Once completed, the Quebec facility will begin the mass production of copper foils of up to 17,000 tons starting the second half of 2024. The annual production capacity could potentially expand up to 60,000 tons. Formerly known as Doosan Solus, the South Korean company manufactures copper foils that go inside EV batter

Industry Feb. 22, 2022

LG Energy Solution said Monday it has appointed Pyun Kyung-suk, a data scientist from Nvidia, as the new chief digital officer to lead the digital transformation of the South Korean battery giant. Before joining LG Energy Solution, Pyun was one of the five principal data scientists at Nvidia. He has over 20 years of expertise in machine learning, according to the company. “As our new CDO, Pyun will be tasked with the digital transformation of LG Energy Solution’s global battery

Industry Feb. 21, 2022

Samsung Electronics has maintained its lead in the global TV market for 16 consecutive years by pursuing a premium strategy with its QLED TVs, the firm said. According to market tracker Omdia Sunday, the South Korean tech giant last year topped the global TV market, commanding 29.5 percent by sales amount and 19.8 percent by market share. “Samsung Electronics propelled the No. 1 position via a premium strategy centered on QLED TVs. Since their launch in 2017, more than 26 million units

Industry Feb. 20, 2022

SK On co-CEO Jee Dong-seob said Sunday he will make the company the world’s No. 1 electric vehicle battery player with products that excel in safety, performance and price competitiveness. During an interview, the SK On official laid out three core strategies to take on market leaders such as CATL and LG Energy Solution and become No. 1 by 2030. Jee first pledged to offer the safest, the cheapest and the most high-performing EV batteries to clients. “Thanks to its technology and

Industry Feb. 20, 2022

General Motors will resume the production of Chevrolet Bolt models and power them with LG Energy Solution batteries, signaling its restoration of trust with the South Korean battery giant. According to GM Wednesday, the production of Bolt electric vehicles will commence on April 4 after a months-long shutdown due to recall. GM in August recalled some 143,000 Bolts after defective LG Energy Solution batteries caused fires. Of the total recall cost of $1.8 billion, LG Electronics and LG Energy S

Industry Feb. 16, 2022

SK hynix on Wednesday introduced a next-generation memory chip that processes data 16 times faster and consumes 80 percent less electricity. The process-in-memory or PIM chips developed by the South Korean chipmaker can both store and process data, while ordinary memory chips can only store data. As PIM chips can do two tasks at the same time and provide extra computing power, they have emerged as the key components in the artificial intelligence and big data sectors. “Computers mounte

Industry Feb. 16, 2022

Posco Chemical said Tuesday it ran an experience program where children can make miniature electric vehicles and charging stations and learn about their eco-friendliness. According to the refractory and secondary battery materials arm of South Korean steel giant Posco, it opened “Green Dream Class” at four children’s culture centers from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11 where Posco Chemical staff and executives participated as instructors and assembled miniature EVs and charging stations t

Industry Feb. 15, 2022

South Korean petrochemical firms are bolstering safety measures to avoid violating a new workplace disaster law, which sends CEOs to prison in case of fatal accidents. According to industry sources Monday, petrochemical firms are on edge after an explosion killed four workers and injured four others at Yeochun NCC’s factory in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province on Friday. Due to the accident, Yeochun NCC is likely to become the first petrochemical firm to be punished by the controversial w

Industry Feb. 14, 2022

Koo Ja-hong, the chairman of LS Nikko Copper, died Friday at the age of 75. The tycoon served as South Korean conglomerate LS Group’s first chairman for nine years from 2004 to 2012 and then handed over the post to his cousin Koo Ja-yeol. After the sudden death of the cousin in 2014, Koo Ja-hong returned to the management as the chairman of LS Nikko Copper. The mogul is credited with the successful independent management of LS Group after it split off from LG Group in 2004. Also, Koo

Industry Feb. 11, 2022

Mark Lippert, former US ambassador to South Korea who is currently working as public policy chief at YouTube Asia-Pacific, is joining Samsung Electronics as the head of corprate and government affairs in North America, industry sources said Friday. The former diplomat will begin working for the tech giant starting next month as the executive vice president of Samsung Electronics America and oversee its external relations in the region. Lippert is reportedly in the final stages of signing the

Industry Feb. 11, 2022

South Korean solar companies may face a bright future this year as the US recently extended a tariff for four more years to keep cheap Chinese products in check. According to industry sources Friday, the US last week decided to impose a 15 percent tax on imported solar cells and panels for another four years as part of an apparent effort to block the inflow of Chinese-made products. The US first introduced the tariff to safeguard its domestic solar industry from China, which manufactures rou

Industry Feb. 10, 2022

SK Inc., the holdings firm of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, will give out the largest-ever dividends to shareholders: 8,000 won ($6.6) per share. The total dividend amount is 447.6 billion won, a 114 percent increase from 208.7 billion won in 2016. The figure is 21 percent up from the last year’s 370.1 billion won. “The profit SK Inc. secured from the partial divestment of SK Biopharmaceuticals shares last year was reflected in the finances, leading t

Industry Feb. 9, 2022

Samsung Electronics invested more money into its chip plants and equipment in 2021 than any of its competitors including Intel and TSMC. According to the South Korean chip giant Wednesday, the company poured 43.6 trillion won ($36.4 billion) for upgrades to and the expansion of its chip plants in Korea and China where advanced DRAM chips and vertical NAND flash memory chips are produced. The funds were also used for the expansion of an advanced 5-nanometer production line at its foundry plan

Industry Feb. 9, 2022