The central and local governments on Friday began construction of a new airport at Ulleung Island off the eastern coast. Some 100 people, including officials from the transport ministry and local governments, attended a groundbreaking ceremony. The airport, to be completed by 2025, is projected to shorten the travel time between Seoul and Ulleung to one hour from the current seven hours. The airport is also expected to increase the number of visitors to the island to more than 1 million per

Former Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo has been discharged from the hospital in healthy condition after about four months of treatment for colonic diverticulitis, according to industry sources Friday. The former chairman was discharged earlier Friday and is expected to stay at his home in Hannam-dong, central Seoul. Chung had been hospitalized for the chronic illness since mid-July. Though Chung was scheduled to be discharged as soon as his condition was brought under control,

Shinsegae Property, the real estate development company owned by Shinsegae Group, announced Friday that the company has opened official online stores for its shopping mall brand Starfield on both the group and Naver‘s online shopping platforms. The online stores at Shinsegae‘s online shopping site SSG.com and Naver Shopping are opening with around 1,500 products from stores of 30 brands at offline Starfield malls, the company said. The firm had been testing online sales by provid

E-Land Group Vice Chairman Choi Jong-yang of E-Land Group, which was recently hit with a ransomware attack, said Friday that the company will not surrender to the threats of the hackers. According to the South Korean fashion and retail conglomerate, Choi sent out an email to employees on Thursday in which he dismissed rumors that the hackers had acquired valuable corporate information. On Nov. 22, E-Land Group suspended operations at nearly half of its stores due to a ransomware attack. The

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, said Friday it will merge its security subsidiaries by the end of the first quarter of next year, in its latest move to boost business synergy. SK Telecom said its subsidiary Life and Security Holdings, which wholly owns physical security firm ADT Caps Co., decided to merge with the carrier's digital security subsidiary SK infosec by the end of this year. SK infosec then plans to merge with ADT Caps by the first quarter of next year. The carri

Doosan Solus stocks rose to 49,400 won ($44.70) on Friday, a 6.7 percent increase from a day prior, following a local news report that the company is in talks with Tesla to supply copper foil for electric vehicles in Europe. According to the news report, the material solutions unit of Doosan Group is expected to sign an agreement on general terms and conditions to provide copper foil for Tesla electric vehicles in Europe. The exact size and the length of the contract will be decided after th

Korea Gas Corp. said Thursday it has successfully carried out the world’s first ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas bunkering test, which examines whether an LNG carrier works properly before it begins commercial operation. LNG bunkering is the process of transferring gas to a ship. On Tuesday, after loading 2,000 metric tons of LNG at Tongyeong in South Gyeongsang Province, Kogas’ LNG carrier SM Jeju LNG2 entered the Okpo Shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering

Hanwha Systems said Friday it has won a deal worth 45 billion won ($40.7 million) to develop a next-generation space radar that can detect and track space objects with precision. According to the defense and information technology service unit of Hanwha Group, it has won the Defense Industry Technology Center’s research and development project for the space radar worth 45 billion won. For the next five years, Hanwha Systems will develop three core technologies including the precise d

Changes in total fertility rate

South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Friday it will invest 9 billion won ($8.1 million) over the next three years to reduce its reliance on overseas suppliers amid the pandemic. KT said it will make the investment until 2023 to help its local suppliers manufacture homegrown materials and parts for equipment used by the telecom operator. The move comes as KT seeks to strengthen partnerships with local companies as uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic weigh on global supply chains. The

PRK managing director on introducing canned espresso martini in Korea via coffeehouse chain

LG Electronics, a major home appliance maker in South Korea, on Thursday said it will set up a new business unit in the United States to seek future growth opportunities. LG's North American Innovation Center will be based in Silicon Valley, California, with the task of exploring new business opportunities and cooperating with leading tech firms there, the company said. Rhee Sokwoo, who served as an associate director at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will head