Number of camping sites in S. Korea increases to record-high in 3Q 2023

SEOUL -- The total number of camping sites in South Korea has reached a record high of some 3,600 in the third quarter of 2023, thanks to the increased population of campers who became attracted to the outdoor hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit South Korea in early 2020, the country rolled out strict quarantine guidelines that virtually prohibited groups of more than four people from gathering in indoor environments. Many people

November 13, 2023

84% of phones sold in S. Korea in 3Q 2023 are made by Samsung: market data

SEOUL -- Eight of ten smartphones sold in South Korea in the third quarter of 2023 are made by Samsung, market data released by global market research company Counterpoint showed. The market share of Apple in South Korea was 15 percent, leaving other phone makers to share one percent of South Korea's smartphone market share. According to Counterpoint, the global market share of Samsung phones stood at 20 percent in 3Q 2023 while Apple's market share stood at 16 percent. Chin

November 10, 2023

Hyundai Motor partners with western port city to accelerate commercialization of flying taxi service

SEOUL -- The world's third-largest carmaker Hyundai Motor has partnered with the western port city of Incheon in a bid to accelerate the commercialization of urban air mobility services, also known as flying taxi services, using manned and unmanned passenger drones. Urban air mobility (UAM) is infrastructure for commercial flying passenger vehicles that includes vertiports and control towers. Aerial vehicles are required to fly through designated aerial corridors to prevent a

November 9, 2023

SK E&S partners with central city to establish hydrogen bus infrastructure

SEOUL -- SK E&S, an energy wing of South Korea's SK Group, has partnered with the central city of Cheonan to develop and establish infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell buses and hydrogen charging stations. South Korea is currently undergoing a structural change in a bid to reduce the country's dependency on fossil fuels and adopt clean and renewable energy systems. Hydrogen buses are part of South Korea's big picture to go green and clean energy vehicles are being o

November 9, 2023

POSCO Holdings partners with Canadian investment company to roll out oil field brine-based lithium businesses

SEOUL -- POSCO Holdings, the holdings company of South Korea's steelmaker POSCO, has partnered with a private investment company based in Alberta, Canada, to develop and commercialize businesses that include the extraction and processing of lithium from oil field brine. Oil field brine is salt water often found in and around underground oil wells. Although they are a typical byproduct of oil and natural gas, they were mainly thought useless due to impurities containing dissolved

November 8, 2023

CJ Feed & Care to develop AI-based monitoring technology for shrimp farms

SEOUL -- CJ Feed & Care, a livestock feed corporation affiliated with CJ CheilJedang, will develop an artificial intelligence-based monitoring technology that can manage shrimp farms using underwater sound waves. The solution can help shrimp farmers supply an appropriate amount of feed by estimating the number of shrimp underwater and their weight. The company will work with Tidepool, a domestic smart aquaculture solution startup. The smart monitoring technique is more efficient

November 8, 2023

GS Retail's operating profit increases by 44.6 percent on-year in 3Q 2023

SEOUL -- GS Retail, the retail wing of South Korea's GS Group, has seen its operating profit increase by 44.6 percent on-year in the third quarter of 2023 thanks to successful results of aggressive expansion in the number of supermarket stores and thriving hotel businesses. GS Retail operates various businesses including GS25, the country's second-largest convenience store chain with 16,448 stores across South Korea in 2022, GS Fresh, a mid-sized supermarket chain, and Parna

November 8, 2023

Coupang marks highest-ever quarterly sales of some $6.2 bln in 3Q 2023

SEOUL -- Coupang, the South Korean counterpart of American ecommerce giant Amazon, has marked the company's highest-ever quarterly sales of $6,183,550,000 (about 8.2 trillion won) in the third quarter of 2023. The company succeeded in maintaining its sales momentum that had accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when consumers used convenient quick online grocery delivery services instead of visiting offline shopping malls. The ecommerce company also known as the South Korean

November 8, 2023

Woowa Brothers to demonstrate food delivery robots on streets of Gangnam

SEOUL -- Woowa Brothers, the operator of the popular food delivery service app Bamin, will test the efficacy of five six-wheeled robots on the streets of Gangnam, a southern Seoul district famous for rapper Psy’s 2012 global hit song "Gangnam Style." Baemin first started the demonstration of its delivery robots by deploying "Dilly," the service robot, to a campus in eastern Seoul in late 2019. The company later developed delivery robots that can carry dri

November 7, 2023

SK On to provide battery cells to Swedish carmaker Polestar's new electric vehicle

SEOUL -- SK On, the batter-making wing of South Korea's SK Group, will supply its battery cells to Swedish automotive brand Polestar for its upcoming electric vehicle scheduled for production in 2025. The vehicle will be powered by batteries consisting of over 80 percent of nickel. Battery manufacturers have been striving to produce more efficient batteries, such as NCM batteries that contain nickel, cobalt, and manganese. High-nickel batteries can help manufacturers save costs and

November 6, 2023