Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced that the standard design of KHNP’s APR1000, a nuclear reactor exported to Europe, a design certification (EUR Certificate) from the European Utility Requirements Organization on Feb. 2 (local time).As a result, the APR1000 has secured additional competiti
As the US government announced conditions on payment of production subsidies under the CHIPS Act, Korean semiconductor companies have been brooding over how to respond to the conditions. This is because the United States put forward strict conditions difficult for private companies to accept such as
The Korean government will start securing core minerals such as lithium and rare earths overseas to lower the nation's dependence on certain countries, including China, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Feb. 27. The government will also increase the recycling of use
Busan City Mayor Park Heong-joon met with Lesotho King Letsie III on Feb. 24. The South Korean presidential envoy is scheduled to visit three African countries to ask them to help the city become the 2030 World Expo venue.The South Korean government is planning to open vocational training centers, i
Ongjin County of Incheon Metropolitan City consists of a group of scenic islands in the West Sea (Yellow Sea). But its major islands are difficult to access as they are located far away from the mainland. In particular, five of them, Daeyeonpyeong Island, Soyeonpyeong Island, Baengnyeong Island, Dae
The South Korean government announced on Feb. 23 that trade unions that are not transparent in accounting would be excluded from subsidies and support projects and it would provide more support for new and alternative unions, including those led by young employees, non-regular workers, etc.Early thi
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) submitted a proposal for the construction of a tritium removal facility (TRF) in Cernavoda, Romania, to Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica (SNN), a Romanian nuclear power corporation, on Feb. 20 (local time).A TRF can considerably slash the amount of radioactive
An amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act was passed on Feb. 21 so that companies investing in key industries can get tax credits before investment proof. The official announcement of the new decree is scheduled for late this month and its first effective date
The Korea Customs Service announced on Feb. 21 that South Korea’s trade deficit was US$5.987 billion for the first 20 days of this month, about 330 percent of that recorded in the same period of the previous year. For the first 51 days of this year, the trade deficit amounted to US$18.639 billion, n
U.S. foreign policy research institute Pacific Forum International said in its report on Feb. 20 that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is keeping some distance from China and laying more focus on its relations with the United States, unlike the previous Moon Jae-in administration, which pursued a st
Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho remarked on Feb. 20 that the pending amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act is a violation of the principles of the Constitution and civil law. The Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly is scheduled to handle it on Feb.
The South Korean government announced on Feb. 20 that a data center building project would be launched in April for better utilization of domestically developed and produced AI chips and the project would lay the foundation for innovative AI services comparable to ChatGPT.It also announced that the
The number of Japanese companies doing business in South Korea was 235 in 2018 and decreased to 189 in 2019, when the bilateral relations of the two countries deteriorated seriously. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the number dropped to 133 in 2020 and to 130 in 2022. The average of the annual count
Young office workers and R&D employees at eight private and public companies, including LG Electronics and Seoul Metro, are about to launch their own alliance on Feb. 21.Their primary goal is to better reflect the voice of non-blue-collar workers in the manufacturing sector with their ratio in the s
The U.S. safeguard on South Korean washing machines implemented in February 2018 is likely to expire without extension at the end of this month. For the past five years, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics raised their shares in the market by successfully dealing with the trade barrier.In princip
The National Pension Service (NPS) Investment Management’s investment loss amounted to 8 percent last year. Its assets under management fell below 900 trillion won and it recorded its third annual investment loss since its inception in 1999. The figure is tentative and does not reflect alternative i
The Korea International Trade Association announced on Feb. 15 that South Korea’s global export market share fell from 3.05 percent to 2.85 percent in 2019 and has never topped 3 percent since then. Specifically, it was 2.9 percent in 2020, 2.89 percent in 2021, and 2.83 percent in 2022.In the fourt
The Chinese government announced on Feb. 15 that its short-term visa issuance for South Koreans would be resumed on Feb. 18.Airlines are preparing to resume flights to and from China. The number of passengers of those flights dropped after the outbreak of COVID-19. Specifically, it was as large as 6
Korea Electric Power Corp. announced on Feb. 14 that the amount of nuclear power generation in South Korea increased 11.4 percent to 176,054 GWh last year, when the amount topped 170,000 GWh for the first time ever.In 2022, South Korea’s total power generation was 594,392 GWh and nuclear power gener
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on Feb. 14 that every international navigation vessel of South Korea that is 5,000 tons or more would go green by 2050 and government and public funds would be prepared to assist shipping companies.The plan is to reach zero carbon emissions in internati