SK Earthon wins rights to explore offshore oil, gas in Indonesia

SK Earthon, an oil and gas exploration subsidiary of SK Innovation, said Thursday it had secured rights to explore two promising oil and gas blocks off the coast of Indonesia. According to SK Innovation, SK Earthon inked a production sharing agreement for the Serpang block near Java Island and the Binaiya block near the Maluku Islands with the Indonesian gas and oil authority SKK Migas during the IPA Convex held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Banten earlier this week. The area of each

May 22, 2025

Govt. holds meeting with exporters amid escalating US tariff concerns

The government on Thursday held a meeting with local export companies in key industries most affected by the latest US tariff measures, such as semiconductors, automobiles and steel, officials said. The roundtable, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Customs Service, took place in the southern port city of Busan and brought together major firms operating in the region, the ministry said. The event was organized in response to rapidly changing external trade condit

May 22, 2025

Govt. to invite bids for homegrown energy storage project worth W1tr

The government said Thursday it will invite bids to construct a homegrown energy storage system, a project estimated to cost around 1 trillion won ($725 million), in a move aimed at enhancing the efficiency of domestic power production. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the project involves building a 500-megawatt ESS facility on the mainland and a 40-MW facility on the southern island of Jeju. "Through this ESS project, we expect to strengthen grid stability, despite the

May 22, 2025

SK earthon secures rights to explore 2 offshore oil blocks in Indonesia

SK earthon Co., the energy exploration unit of South Korea's SK Group, said Thursday it has won exploration rights to two offshore oil and gas blocks in Indonesia. The company said it recently signed production sharing contracts for the Serpang block near Java Island and the Binaiya block near the Maluku Islands with Indonesia's oil and gas regulatory body, in a ceremony attended by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Under a PSC, the

May 22, 2025

Seoul shares open lower on overnight US losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, as investors dumped most blue chips following overnight losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 16.14 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,609.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks closed lower amid concerns that US President Donald Trump's push for large-scale tax cuts would widen the federal deficit, driving up Treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9 percent, and the S&P 500 dropped

May 22, 2025

S. Korea has competitive edge over China in UAE high-speed railway bid: minister

The South Korean consortium has a competitive advantage in technology transfer over its Chinese rival as it vies to win the United Arab Emirates' high-speed railway project, estimated to cost $13.6 billion, Seoul's transport minister said Wednesday. Transport Minister Park Sang-woo said that the Korean consortium, consisting of the Korea National Railway, Korea Railroad Corp., Hyundai Rotem Co. and Posco E&C Co., has passed the pre-qualification procedure to enter the official bid for the Middle

May 22, 2025

OECD transport ministers gather to discuss transport resilience amid global trade uncertainties, climate change

Top transport officials from member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including South Korea, gathered in Germany on Wednesday to discuss measures to improve the resilience of the transport sector amid challenges involving global trade tensions and climate change. The three-day 2025 International Transport Forum Summit kicked off in the eastern German city of Leipzig under the theme "Transport Resilience to Global Shocks," bringing together some 1,200 officials

May 21, 2025

Seoul shares gain nearly 1% on bio, heavy industry gains

South Korean stocks finished nearly 1 percent higher Wednesday to snap a two-day fall, as investors bolstered bio, heavy industry and other blue chips despite overnight losses on Wall Street. The local currency gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 23.78 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 2,625.58. Trade volume was moderate at 367 million shares worth 7.34 trillion won ($5.29 billion), with gainers outnumbering decliners 537 to 334. Foreign invest

May 21, 2025

Hyundai Elevator expands R&D with 250m test tower

Hyundai Elevator, Korea’s largest elevator manufacturer, announced Wednesday the completion of its new research and development center in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, expanding its innovation capabilities. The Hyundai Asan Tower, which integrates laboratories and a 250-meter-tall test facility, consolidates all the company's previously scattered research functions into a single location near its headquarters. A completion ceremony was held at the headquarters on Wednesday, attended by Hy

May 21, 2025

Who hacked S. Korea’s largest telecom, and why? Growing concerns the SKT data breach wasn’t just about money

Nearly three years before South Korea's largest telecom provider knew anything was wrong, hackers had already broken into SK Telecom’s internal systems. This detail emerged from a briefing this Monday by the government’s public-private joint investigation team, which is probing one of the country’s most serious cybersecurity breaches in recent memory. The attackers first embedded malware on June 15, 2022, according to the investigation. That software remained hidden until last month, when over 9

May 21, 2025

Nvidia backs SK hynix in AI chip push at Computex

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a surprise visit to SK hynix’s booth at Computex 2025, expressing strong support for their partnership on critical AI memory chips at the major trade show, which kicked off Tuesday in Taiwan. At the booth, where SK hynix showcased a sample of its sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory or HBM 4 chip, Huang examined the prototype and remarked, “So beautiful.” He also left handwritten messages on the displayed samples, including “JHH LOVES SK HYNIX!” and “One team!” His

May 21, 2025

[Photo News] Road safety for older adults

People aged 65 and older attend a driving practice program hosted by Hyundai Motor Group at a training center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. The Korean auto giant plans to hold 20 sessions of the program through November, focusing on defensive driving techniques, vehicle maintenance and the latest traffic regulations. (Hyundai Motor Group)

May 21, 2025

Korean port cranes emerge as bargaining chip in US tariff talks

Port cranes have surfaced as Korea’s next bargaining chip in tariff negotiations with the United States in the wake of the Trump administration’s efforts to phase out made-in-China cranes at US ports. The US Trade Representative announced a plan last month to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on ship-to-shore, or STS, cranes and cargo handling equipment made in China or built using Chinese parts, emphasizing the need to reduce America’s reliance on Chinese maritime infrastructure and address n

May 21, 2025

Google, Samsung to launch XR smart glasses this year

Google is making a bold return to the smart glasses market, announcing a new Android-based extended reality (XR) eyewear project in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. During its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2025, held on Tuesday in California, the IT giant unveiled plans to launch the XR-powered smart glasses by the end of the year. Google has been developing an XR headset in collaboration with Samsung under a project called "Moohan," meaning "infinity" in Korean. Although Samsun

May 21, 2025

Olive Young kicks off largest-ever K-beauty festival in Seoul

CJ Olive Young kicked off its largest-ever beauty and wellness festival, 2025 Olive Young Festa, with a media event on Wednesday at Nodeul Island in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Held outdoors at a site along the Han River spanning 11,570 square meters, the attendance for this year is expected to reach 30,000 visitors, nearly double that of previous years. “This year’s Festa expands beyond award-winning names to highlight rising and indie brands, helping more promising players connect with customers,” said

May 21, 2025