A team of Korean researchers has developed a technology that produces hydrogen by using egg shell, which is generally considered as food waste. The principle of the technology is to use egg shell as a catalyst for the conversion of alcohol to hydrogen. Once the reaction is complete, graphene is synt
Lotte Corp., which is carrying out a corporate governance reform, issued a total of 460 billion won (US$405.82 million) worth of commercial papers (CP) on April 11, with 130 billion won (US$114.69 million) worth of them carrying a maturity of three years. CP is a short-term unsecured promissory note
Doosan Corp. said in a regulatory filing on April 15 that its board of directors has decided to spin off its fuel cell and material business units. After the spin-off, the two companies, tentatively named “Doosan Fuel Cell” and “Doosan Solus,” respectively, will have an independent management system
Kolon Life Science Inc. has voluntarily suspended sales of Invossa-K Inj. (gene therapy), a degenerative arthritis treatment, as a cell line different from the one permitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has been discovered.The MFDS requested that Kolon Life Science discontinue manu
Lotte Group is expected to resume its stalled push for governance reform as group chairman Shin Dong-bin has recently been named as the CEO of Lotte Holdings, the holding company of Lotte companies in Japan.Shin restored his control of Lotte’s Japanese operations as he resumed the CEO post of Lotte
A new catalyst that can produce hydrogen peroxide using electricity has been developed. This technology is expected to open a new way to produce environment-friendly hydrogen peroxide at less cost.The Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) announced on Jan. 27 that Prof. Joo Sang-hoon’s r
Korean researchers have succeeded in improving the performance of lithium-sulfur secondary batteries that are regarded as an althernative to conventional lithium-ion batteries.The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on Jan. 27 that its research team led by Prof. Lee
The wide use of rare earth metals as core materials in electric vehicles and solar power generation are fueling patent applications related to the use of rare earth materials in permanent magnets and batteries.According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on Dec. 30, the number of pate
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) has decided to allow GM Korea to spin off its R&D unit into a separate company.Instead of withdrawing an injunction application filed with the court to suspend the separation of the unit from GM Korea, the KDB agreed with GM to designate the new company as an R&D bas
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) will invest US$375 million in GM Korea on Dec. 26 to fulfill its promise to invest a total of US$750 million in the ailing company to normalize its operations. The KDB invested half of the promised US$750 million in June.GM Korea announced on Dec. 13, that it decided
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) is likely to withdraw its opposition to GM Korea's plan to spin off its R&D unit into a separate company.The bank said on Dec. 12 that it has received a plan from GM Korea about how the company would be managed after the planned separation of the R&D unit. The ba
With GM Korea’s attempt to separate its R&D unit halted by the court, the company's unionized workers are toning down their protests.Recently, the Seoul High Court put the brakes on the company’s attempt to spin off its R&D unit into a separate company by accepting a request for an injunction ag
Korea Development Bank (KDB) is struggling with restructuring of big ailing corporations put under its care.For example, KDB should determine within this month whether to invest US$375 million in GM Korea. Under a normalization plan, GM Korea is supposed to receive US$750 million in investment from
The accounting scandal at Samsung BioLogics is expected to affect the group’s plans for separation of finance and commerce and father-to-son managerial control transfer.For the Samsung Group, the separation of its financial and non-financial business is an urgent task as the government is pushing fo
The Korea Development Bank (KDB)'s proposed trilateral talks with the labor and management of GM Korea have been aborted."GM Korea counterproposed bilateral talks with the KDB, and the labor union expressed its willingness to participate when a set of preconditions are met,” the KDB said in a pr
South Korean textile giant Hyosung Group revamped its governance structure in June by making Hyosung Corp. a holding company that controls the four spun-off affiliates. Yet the new system is still incomplete as Hyosung Corp. has not secured enough stakes in its newly created affiliates. To cement th
Samsung Electronics is expected to secure the second place in the global foundry market this year with sales of more than $10 billion (about 11.4 trillion won). In a recent paid report, which was not disclosed to the public, market research firm IC Insights put Samsung Electronics after TSMC, a Taiw
The National Labor Relations Commission has turned down a request for mediation filed by unionized GM Korea workers to resolve their dispute with the company’s management over its plan to establish a separate R&D company.The commission’s decision has effectively made the GM Korea union's planned
GM Korea has spun off its R&D functions and formed a separate company in a blitzkrieg manner. Yet the move has generated a backlash from unionized GM Korea workers, the Korea Development Bank and the Incheon Ciy government.GM Korea's workers have voted to go on strike as they see the spin-off as
The Incheon District Court has rejected a petition filed by the Korea Development Bank (KDB) for an injunction against a shareholders' meeting of GM Korea Co. set for Oct. 19. Accordingly, the likelihood of the KDB and GM Korea having a legal battle over restructuring of the ailing company has i