DL E&C has won a chemical plant construction project in Russia. The Korean contractor will be in charge of designing and procuring equipment for a polymer factory in the Ust-Luga region, about 110 km southwest of St. Petersburg. The contract value is 1.6 trillion won.The project involves building th
LG Electronics will demonstrate the viability of a washing machine that does not produce wastewater and exhaust gas emissions.The Sandbox Support Center of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Dec. 30 that six companies, including LG
SK Telecom claimed first place in 5G speed and service areas in 2021. Although overall 5G speed and service areas have improved compared to 2020, LTE speed inched down. Critics point out that telecommunication companies may have neglected to maintain their LTE service quality.The Ministry of Science
Choi Joon-wook, president of Incheon Port Authority (IPA), looked back on the year of 2021 in his New Year’s address for 2022, saying, “The year of 2021 was a year that IPA laid the foundation for substantial growth and future projects at Incheon Port despite extreme changes in the international log
An increase in consumers' use of paid membership in the e-commerce market is fueling competition among e-commerce companies over service fees and benefits.Coupang's Wow membership is currently considered the most reasonable e-commerce paid membership. It offers a variety of benefits in shopp
SK Hynix has completed the first phase of the transaction to acquire Intel’s NAND and solid-state drive (SSD) business, the company announced on Dec. 30.Following the recent merger clearance from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on Dec. 22, SK Hynix closed the first phase of the tr
An increasing number of governments are calling into question app market operators’ in-app payment policies. Under the circumstances, Apple in particular is raising its voice against the governments. According to experts, this is because Apple’s in-app payment fee revenue amounts to more than 30 tri
The South Korean government finalized a new long-term plan on nuclear fusion R&D on Dec. 30. Nuclear fusion is to generate energy by imitating heat and light emission from the sun and does not generate high-level radioactive wastes. In theory, nuclear fusion using 1 gram of fuel is comparable to 8 t
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology announced on Dec. 30 that a research team led by Dr. Lee So-young at its Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center and chair professor Lee Young-moo at the Department of Energy Engineering of Hanyang University has developed a membrane-electrode assembly fo
The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Seoul National University successfully clarified the correlation between oxygen generation and a change in the microstructure of the cathode material of a battery in a high-temperature operating en
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Environment announced a plan on Dec. 30 to increase the use of mixed plastics and bioplastics and reduce the use of petroleum-based plastics.According to the plan, 15 percent of plastics for industrial use and 20 percent of those for non
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the International Contractors Association of Korea announced on Dec. 30 that South Korean construction companies recorded an overseas order intake of US$30.6 billion this year, down 13 percent from a year ago.“They exceeded their goal by US$600
The Korea Customs Service announced on Dec. 30 that 13,076,000 South Koreans conducted overseas direct purchase at least once between January and November this year.According to it, those in their 40s account for 32.3 percent of them, followed by 30s (30.5 percent), 50s (15.6 percent) and 20s (14.7
Apple is predicted to release a USIM-less eSIM smartphone next year. Unlike a USIM, an eSIM is incorporated in a smartphone from the beginning. Both are used for subscriber identification.Apple released the iPhone XS in September 2018 and it is Apple’s first dual-SIM smartphone. Apple is planning to
Solar cell startup SoftPV announced on Dec. 30 that it would unveil Soltria next month. Soltria is a CES 2022 Innovation Award winner and a tree-shaped solar power generator using SoftCells, which are bead-shaped solar cells. Each of the generator and the cell is the first of its kind in the world.T
Seegene announced on Dec. 29 that it will export 1.7 million doses of COVID-19 diagnostic reagent Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Master Assay, which can diagnose the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, to Israel through a chartered airplane.Earlier this month, the company shipped 2.8 million doses of the Omi
Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas) announced on Dec. 29 that it plans to establish a hydrogen platform that encompasses hydrogen production bases, hydrogen charging stations, and overseas hydrogen production facilities. As a first step toward realizing the plan, it broke ground for the construction of a hydrog
Samsung Electronics is expected to surpass Intel to become the world’s No. 1 semiconductor company in terms of sales in 2021.The Korean semiconductor giant surpassed Intel for two years from 2017 thanks to a semiconductor super cycle. However, as demand for memories shrank, it gave Intel the No. 1 s
The author is a strategist of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at lawrence.kim@nhqv.com. -- Ed. It is darkest just before the sun rises. Despite the spread of the Omicron variant, central banks around the globe remain determined to pursue monetary policy normalization, viewing risk asse
Samsung SDI took the wraps off its battery brand PRiMX on Dec. 29. The battery maker aims to further boost the image of its batteries through the branding strategy.Samsung SDI is the industry's first player to adopt a branding strategy. The company has completed the registration of its trademark