TOKYO -- The cost of generating solar energy can be reduced further even without state subsidies via technological advances that increase the power-generating capacity of each cell module, a marketing expert with a global photovoltaic system giant said last week. The levelized cost of a solar energy system -- that is, the net cost of installing it divided by the amount of energy it can be expect...

TOKYO -- Amid the power industry’s shift toward digitalization worldwide, LSIS, South Korea’s largest power system and solution provider, is eyeing more M&A opportunities in the software sector to take the lead in the emerging smart grid market, its chief said last week. “As a traditional power system provider, we face limitations in achieving organic growth particularly in the era of the ‘fourt...

TOKYO -- From solid-state batteries ready for commercialization to an integrated system for residential production and consumption of photovoltaic energy, the latest technologies aimed at realizing a complete shift of human dependence from fossil to clean energy was highlighted at an annual exhibition that kicked off in the capital city of Japan on Wednesday. The Tokyo Smart Energy Week features...

The Federation of Korean Industries, once the nation’s largest business lobby group, is reportedly having a hard time finding its next chairman. The organization, representing the business community, is set to hold a general assembly Wednesday to pick its new leader, but according to industry sources there is no candidate for the post. The FKI has been led by GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo for...

Amid growing calls for sustainable and eco-friendly products, South Korean steel giant Posco has looked closely into ways of assessing the impact of steel manufacturing, maintenance and its end-of-life phase, the company said Sunday. From a general point of view, steel is far from eco-friendly. But when assessed in terms of life cycle, steel’s competitiveness and benefits to the environment are ...

The reported departure of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won from the boardroom of the conglomerate’s holding company drew heated interest from the market on Thursday, with many viewing it as an effort to improve transparency in corporate governance. Some aggressive analysts also interpret the move as a prelude to more governance restructuring to raise SK Holdings’ stock value. According to local re...

South Korea’s telecom-to-chip giant SK Group is close to taking the second spot from Hyundai Motor Group in the list of conglomerates by size of assets, a local corporate tracker suggested Wednesday, citing its large-scale investments. According to CEO Score, Samsung held 418.2 trillion won ($3.67 billion) in assets as of September last year, higher than the Korean government’s 2017 budget of 40...

British luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce opened a boutique showroom in Seoul on Wednesday -- its first anywhere in the world -- pledging to provide “ultimate quality control” for the luxury cars by complying with the amended Automobile Management Act, also known as South Korea’s “lemon law.” “It is our responsibility as a pinnacle luxury brand to reassure our South Korean customers that we would stan...

An annual scholarship program for aspiring artists by Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer of Mercedes-Benz, was launched for its 8th year on Tuesday, with 15 new recipients. The Dream Gream is a corporate social responsibility program initiated by the dealer in 2012. The project is dedicated to broaden the horizons of young artists, and offer them a chance to participate in the list of a...

LS Industrial Systems, a South Korean power and energy solution provider, was named one of the world’s 100 most innovative companies regarding intellectual property rights by Clarivate Analytics, a consulting group formerly owned by Thomson Reuters. The company made the list for the eighth straight year. LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics also made the list. LSIS was one of the three energy...

Hyundai Motor Group has named Ahn Dong-il, a former executive with the steel giant Posco, as president of the R&D and technology development division within its subsidiary Hyundai Steel, the group said in a statement Friday. Ahn is known as a top engineer who served as head of Posco’s two manufacturing bases: one in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, and one in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. ...

Taking a step closer to the company’s young workforce, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun recently made a surprise video debut -- filming himself test-driving the Nexo, the fuel-cell electric vehicle that the company is betting on as the key to its future growth. In the video, a CEO message addressed to the carmaker’s midlevel employees, Chung drinks coffee and checks his ...

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors will hire new talents year-round, ditching their conventional recruitment system. Starting this year, the companies will hire new employees by opening job vacancies all year round, the company said on Wednesday in a statement. The new system is seen as an attempt to make changes in its corporate culture, often criticized as...

Posco Daewoo, the trading arm of steel giant Posco, has acquired a 75 percent stake in a grain export terminal held by a Ukrainian logistics firm as part of efforts to bolster its position as a global grain trader, the company said Wednesday. Posco Daewoo has signed a contract with Orexim Group, a logistics firm in Ukraine, entitling the Korean firm to operating rights over the terminal. Orexim ...

Speculation has been circulating that the head of Hanwha Group might return to the management of the nation’s chemical-to-energy giant, as his suspended sentence ordered by the court is nearing its end. The 67-year-old tycoon has kept a low profile for the past seven years. In 2014, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn was sentenced to three years in jail, suspended for five years, for illegally...