Articles by Kan Hyeong-woo
Kan Hyeong-woo
hwkan@heraldcorp.com-
[KH Explains] Korea’s next-generation space rocket project off to bumpy start
Korea’s 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) next-generation space launch vehicle project got off to a bumpy start, as the bidding process to select a private entity to lead the large-scale task is likely to be a one-man show. Officially named the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-III, the goal of the next-generation rocket project is to assemble a launch vehicle capable of sending a lunar lander to the moon in 2032. The improved rocket will have a mission capacity some three times stronger than the hom
Industry March 3, 2024
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[KH Explains] What does Apple's dead car project mean for Samsung, Hyundai?
Earlier this week, Apple announced that it will ditch its decade-long car project, saying more resources will be poured into artificial intelligence in the future. An Apple-made car had long been a buzzword across industries. Carmakers had braced for a direct threat, while tech rivals had started working on their own car projects. But Tuesday’s surprise announcement was a reality check moment not just for the iPhone maker but also for the whole tech industry: Making a car proved too diffic
Industry Feb. 29, 2024
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Hyundai wins most safety awards in US assessment
Hyundai Motor Group announced Wednesday that it has won the highest number of vehicle safety awards from the US Insurance Institute of Highway Safety among all assessed global automakers this year. According to the South Korean automaker, its three brands -- Hyundai Motor Company, Kia and Genesis -- won a combined 16 Top Safety Pick and TSP+ awards at this year’s annual assessment. “Hyundai Motor Group is proud to have earned the industry leadership position in the recent IIHS 2024 T
Mobility Feb. 28, 2024
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Maserati to set up Korean unit to bolster presence
Italian luxury auto brand Maserati will set up a Korean office on July 1 to strengthen its presence in the local market. Forza Motors Korea, the country’s official importer of Ferrari and Maserati, announced Monday that Maserati’s Korean business will be transferred to the Italian brand’s Korean office, adding that FMK will continue to closely work with Maserati to help smooth business transition and customer support. FMK, a luxury import car affiliate under South Korean conglo
Mobility Feb. 27, 2024
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[KH Explains] India: Make-or-break market for Krafton
South Korean game developer Krafton logged surprise earnings in the fourth quarter of last year thanks to the revival of PUBG: Battlegrounds, a battle royale shooter game. In particular, Kratfon highlighted the rise of Battlegrounds Mobile India, or BGMI, as one of the key factors that drove the revenue upturn during the conference call on Feb. 8. BGMI was launched in India as a country-dedicated mobile version of PUBG in July 2021. The game developer said that BGMI quickly recovered after the g
Industry Feb. 26, 2024
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[From the Scene] Posco Future M automates as it eyes cathode crown
GWANGYANG, South Jeolla Province -- Safety goggles, helmets and dust masks were waiting on the desks in the auditorium at Posco Future M’s secondary battery materials complex in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. After a brief introduction of the world’s largest cathode plant, a group of reporters equipped with safety gear headed to the Gwangyang Cathode Plant2. Asked to wear disposable overshoes, the visitors were greeted with an air shower before they could enter the catho
Industry Feb. 25, 2024
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Hyundai Motor pledges $1.1b investment in Brazil through 2032
Hyundai Motor Group has vowed to invest $1.1 billion in Brazil as Chung Euisun, the head of the South Korean auto conglomerate, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met at the latter’s presidential office in the capital city of Brasilia on Thursday, officials announced Friday. Chung said Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazilian office and its local partners will plow the investment into future technology as well as eco-friendly sectors such as hydrogen. “Hyundai Motor Gro
Mobility Feb. 23, 2024
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Posco Future M breaks ground on cathode plant in Gwangyang
GWANGYANG, South Jeolla Province -- Posco Future M on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new high-nickel cathode plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, maintaining the company’s continued investment in battery materials for electric vehicles despite the slowdown in the global EV transformation. The new high-nickel cathode plant, which expects to have an annual production capacity of 52,500 tons, is slated to complete its construction in the first half of 2025. According to P
Industry Feb. 22, 2024
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Hyundai, KAIST work on self-driving sensors
Hyundai Motor Group’s automakers -- Hyundai Motor and Kia -- have joined forces with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to establish a joint laboratory to develop the next generation of sensors for light detection and ranging, of lidar. According to their announcement Wednesday, the joint facility, the Hyundai Motor Group-KAIST Collaborative Research Laboratory for On-Chip Lidar based on silicon photonics, opened on the KAIST campus in Daejeon. The joint lab will focus
Mobility Feb. 21, 2024
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Hyundai Motor, Supernal in search of best talents for advanced air mobility
Hyundai Motor Group and its US-based advanced air mobility subsidiary Supernal are ramping up efforts to attract top urban air mobility talents as they aim to debut flying taxis in South Korea and the US in 2028. According to Hyundai Motor Group’s online recruitment notice on Monday, the company has opened up ten positions related to specific areas within the AAM division, including strategic investment, AAM system engineering, flight control, aircraft body assembly, software design and de
Mobility Feb. 19, 2024
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[Herald Interview] ‘Korea needs to power up defense academia’
South Korea now should focus on fostering defense academia and young talents to become a leader in the global defense industry, says Kang Eun-ho, former chief of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. “In the past, Korea followed a catch-up strategy (in advancing its defense industry), which was a second-place strategy,” said Kang in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Feb. 5. “For the catch-up strategy, we had to succeed in over 90 or 95 tasks out of 100. I
Industry Feb. 18, 2024
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S-Oil CEO calls for continued incentives on long-term investments
S-Oil has called for continued incentives from the South Korean government to vitalize large-scale projects and investments in the new energy sector. “Expanding incentive supports such as extending the tax credit period for investment in large scale projects that take place over a long period of time is necessary,” said S-Oil CEO Anwar A. Al-Hejazi in a meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol and foreign-invested company representatives and heads of Seoul-based commerce chambers in Seou
Industry Feb. 15, 2024
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HD Hyundai to develop large liquefied hydrogen carrier by 2030
HD Hyundai will develop a commercial large liquefied hydrogen carrier by 2030 in accordance with the hydrogen value chain cooperation with global leaders in the sector, the South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate said Wednesday. According to the announcement, HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding holdings company, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, or HD KSOE, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Woodside Energy, a major Australian energy company, and Hyundai Glovis, a Korea
Industry Feb. 14, 2024
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LG Energy Solution beefs up supply chain for EV materials
LG Energy Solution on Wednesday announced that it had signed a supply deal with Australian lithium producer Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers, bolstering the supply chain of key materials for producing electric vehicle batteries within the boundaries of the United States' free trade agreement to cope with Washington’s incentive policy under the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the announcement, the Korean battery maker will receive 85,000 tons of spodumene concentrate, a h
Industry Feb. 14, 2024
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[KH Explains] Why NCSoft is playing coy on game revenue
NCSoft announced an annual revenue of 1.78 trillion won ($1.34 billion) and operating profit of 137.3 billion last week, down 31 percent and 75 percent on year, respectively. Following the earnings announcement, the South Korean game developer held a conference call Thursday to explain last year's financial results. During the call, an analyst castigated the company for a recent change to its reporting practices: “You say that the company is putting efforts together, but it seems that (
Industry Feb. 13, 2024
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