Hanwha Ocean wins $499.6 mil. order to build 2 LNG carriers

The Korea Times - Sep 28, 2026

Hanwha Ocean said Monday it has won a 680 billion-won ($499.6 million) order to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The Korean shipbuilder said in a regulatory filing that it will deliver the vessels to an unidentified African shipowner by November 2029. With the latest contract, Hanwha Ocean has secured orders worth a combined $7.71 billion for 41 vessels so far this year, including 18 very large crude carriers, eight LNG carriers and six container ships.

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Red ginseng gains attention for immune health amid flu surge

Sep 29, 2026

Red ginseng gains attention for immune health amid flu surge

With the flu spreading earlier than usual this year, market interest is growing in products that may help support immune health, including red ginseng. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of patients with influenza-like illnesses reached 25.3 per 1,000 outpatients during the first week of September. This is nearly double the epidemic threshold of 12.9 and up sharply from 13.3 in late August. COVID-19 is also spreading alongside the flu. During the same period, 193 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, more than triple the number four weeks earlier. Last year, the government issued a flu advisory on Oct. 17, but this year it issued the advisory on Sept. 11 and began its vaccination program on Sept. 21. Against this backdrop, consumers are showing growing interest not only in vaccination but also in products that support immune health as part of broader preventive care, with red ginseng among those drawing increased attention. Red ginseng has been officially recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for seven potential health benefits, inclu

AMD acquires ‘godmother of AI’ Li Fei-Fei’s start-up as battle with Nvidia intensifies

Sep 29, 2026

AMD acquires ‘godmother of AI’ Li Fei-Fei’s start-up as battle with Nvidia intensifies

US chip giant Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has agreed to acquire World Labs, the artificial intelligence start-up founded by renowned Chinese-American computer scientist Li Fei-Fei, for US$8.2 billion in an all-stock deal, as the company steps up its rivalry with Nvidia. The acquisition, expected to close by the end of this year, would integrate World Labs’ research team and spatial-intelligence model expertise into AMD, according to an announcement on Monday. Li, a Stanford University professor...

‘We are sorry’: OpenAI apologises for Medicare hack

Sep 29, 2026

‘We are sorry’: OpenAI apologises for Medicare hack

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Samsung Group to invest $1 bil. in AI infrastructure company Helix

Sep 29, 2026

Samsung Group to invest $1 bil. in AI infrastructure company Helix

Korean conglomerate Samsung Group said Tuesday it will invest a combined $1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, a U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company backed by private equity firm KKR & Co. Six affiliates — Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance — will participate in the investment, Samsung said in a statement. Samsung Electronics will invest $500 million, while the other five affiliates will invest a combined $500 million. Helix was launched in June by KKR, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia and U.S. power producer Vistra Corp., with more than $10 billion in committed long-term capital. The company is led by Adam Selipsky, the former chief executive of Amazon Web Services. Nvidia is a strategic partner, while Vistra is Helix's preferred power partner. The Samsung affiliates will join KKR, Nvidia, Vistra and the Kuwait Investment Authority as founding investors in Helix through the investment, Samsung said. As the AI industry expands rapidly, the importance of infrastructure n

Korean Air faces maintenance capacity crunch from Asiana acquisition

Sep 28, 2026

Korean Air faces maintenance capacity crunch from Asiana acquisition

Korean Air faces a growing maintenance capacity challenge, as its acquisition of Asiana Airlines creates a fleet of more than 230 aircraft at a time when heavy-maintenance slots remain increasingly difficult to secure across Asia. The integrated carrier, scheduled to launch in December, will operate the larger fleet and employ more than 4,000 maintenance workers. It will require more airframe, engine and component maintenance that must be handled internally or secured through outside maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) providers. However, constrained global MRO capacity and a shortage of international heavy-maintenance slots have become a material operational risk to Korean Air. Securing wide-body base-maintenance slots has become particularly difficult across Southeast Asia. Korean Air is responding by expanding its own capabilities. In November last year, the airline and Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) agreed to invest 176 billion won ($130 million) to build a next-generation maintenance hangar at the airport's High-Tech Aviation Complex. The facility will be able to ac

Korea's AI adoption rate over 40%, ranks 12th place globally: report

Sep 28, 2026

Korea's AI adoption rate over 40%, ranks 12th place globally: report

Korea was ranked 12th place in the global artificial intelligence (AI) diffusion scale, with more than 40 percent of the population using the technology in the second quarter, a report from Microsoft Corp. showed Monday. Generative AI usage rate among Koreans aged 15 to 64 rose 3.5 percentage points from the previous quarter, bringing the country up by four ranks as of end-June, according to the global AI diffusion report published by the U.S. software developer. Global usage rate of generative AI was up 1 percentage point from 17.8 percent in the January-March period to 18.8 percent in the April-June period, the report showed. United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the highest in AI adoption, with a usage rate of 73.3 percent. Followed by Singapore at 64.3 percent, Ireland at 49.9 percent and France estimated at 49.6 percent. The AI usage rate was 28.8 percent in the Global North and 16.2 percent in the Global South, widening the adoption gap to 12.6 percentage points. Global North is a term referring to wealthy, industrialized countries, such as the United States, Korea, Japan, Israel and New Z

KAI, POSCO International team up for aerospace cooperation in Mexico

Sep 28, 2026

KAI, POSCO International team up for aerospace cooperation in Mexico

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) said Monday it will work with POSCO International Corp. and a Mexican aerospace industry group to strengthen aerospace cooperation in Mexico and explore opportunities in the broader Latin American market. KAI, POSCO International and the Mexican Federation of Aerospace Industry (FEMIA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on aerospace industry cooperation on the occasion of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mexico last week. Under the agreement, KAI plans to develop business models involving supply chain cooperation and explore new business opportunities in Latin America. POSCO International will support efforts to integrate selected Mexican companies into KAI's aerospace manufacturing supply chain. FEMIA, which represents more than 100 member companies, will facilitate exchanges with Mexico's aerospace ecosystem, help identify potential local partners and provide information on relevant government policies. "Building on our cooperation with Mexico, we will accelerate efforts to expand the FA-50 light combat aircraft into Central America

LG Chem, Volkswagen partner on next-generation automotive materials

Sep 28, 2026

LG Chem, Volkswagen partner on next-generation automotive materials

LG Chem signed an agreement with Volkswagen Group to jointly develop next-generation and eco-friendly materials for vehicles, the Korean chemical maker said Monday. The memorandum of understanding (MOU), a nonbinding agreement, was signed recently at the LG Twin Towers in Seoul's Yeouido financial district. Stefan Gramse, a Volkswagen Group executive vice president in charge of exterior parts procurement, and LG Chem executives from its petrochemicals business attended the signing. Under the deal, the two companies will use LG Chem's acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and engineering plastics to make vehicles lighter, improve performance and develop new plastics and composite materials. Both are high-performance plastics known for impact strength, durability and ease of processing, and are widely used in home appliance casings and car interiors and exteriors. Volkswagen will also consider wider use of LG Chem's post-consumer recycled plastics, made from products discarded by consumers, as well as lower-cost materials for the interiors and exteriors of its major car brands. The companies agr

Samsung Biologics highlights faster drug manufacturing timelines at BPI Boston

Sep 28, 2026

Samsung Biologics highlights faster drug manufacturing timelines at BPI Boston

Samsung Biologics showcased manufacturing technologies designed to accelerate biopharmaceutical development and improve product quality at BioProcess International (BPI) 2026 in Boston, highlighting efforts to streamline complex drug production. The company said Monday it participated in BPI from Sept. 22-25, drawing more than 3,000 biopharmaceutical professionals from around the world. Samsung Biologics, which has attended BPI for nine consecutive years, operated its own booth featuring capabilities spanning contract research, development and manufacturing, along with Samsung Organoids, differentiated contract development and manufacturing services and production for multiple modalities. During a presentation Wednesday, the company's antibody purification process development team outlined an integrated chemistry, manufacturing and controls strategy for bispecific and multispecific antibodies. The team said molecule-specific process development reduced a development timeline from 13 months to 9.5 months while maintaining high quality. Scientific posters presented during the conference als

Almonty set to export refined tungsten from Sangdong mine

Sep 28, 2026

Almonty set to export refined tungsten from Sangdong mine

Almonty Korea Tungsten Corp. (AKTC) has produced its first bulk bag of salable tungsten concentrate produced at its Sangdong mine in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, ready for shipment, marking a key step toward commercial production. The Korean subsidiary of New York-based Almonty Industries said Monday that the production of 1 ton of minerals came after the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. issued a mining facility inspection certificate for the mine’s processing plant and crushing facilities on Sept. 17. The state-run company under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources inspected the facilities on Sept. 14 and found the plant and facilities compliant. The certification has formally opened doors for AKTC to operate the facilities and process ores mined at Sangdong into tungsten concentrate for domestic supply and export. Production involves crushing, grinding and flotation to separate tungsten-bearing material from the ores. AKTC said it will gradually increase output and begin supplying customers in Korea and overseas after the production process stabili

Kakao names Kim Do-young as co-chair of group control tower

Sep 28, 2026

Kakao names Kim Do-young as co-chair of group control tower

Mobile platform giant Kakao Group named Kakao Investment CEO Kim Do-young as co-chair of the group’s control tower, ahead of the planned spin-off of its flagship unit Kakao Corp. Kakao Group said Monday that its CEOs agreed to appoint Kim as co-chair of the Corporate Alignment (CA) Council. Kim will lead the council alongside existing CA Council Chair Chung Shin-a, who is also CEO of Kakao Corp. The group said the appointment is intended to ensure continuity in key decision-making and enhance organizational stability ahead of the spin-off. Kim and Chung will jointly oversee major decisions until the split, while strengthening group-wide coordination and execution. Kim is an investment specialist who built his career as an investment banking director at Samsung Securities. Before joining Kakao Group, he served as chief financial officer of Kolon Mobility Group from 2022 to 2025. The appointment is in line with the proposed spin-off of Kakao Corp. Under the plan, the company will be split into Kakao AI, which will oversee flagship messenger KakaoTalk, artificial intelligence (AI), advert

Samsung Electronics to expand personalized AI subscription services

Sep 28, 2026

Samsung Electronics to expand personalized AI subscription services

Samsung Electronics said Monday it will expand its artificial intelligence (AI) subscription services by offering more personalized options tailored to individual customers. The service, launched two years ago, has generated nearly 1 trillion won ($734 million) in cumulative sales, excluding mobile products, the Korean tech giant said. "Samsung AI subscription with Blue Pass is approaching 1 trillion won in sales just one year after its launch, thanks to the love and support of our customers," Im Sung-taek, executive vice president who heads Korea's sales team, told reporters. The latest revamp focuses on strengthening personalized customer care. Samsung has added two new options to its "Blue Pass" service, which provides expert support ranging from product installation to after-sales service. Based on the service's growth, Samsung said it plans to expand subscription options based on customers' life stages, product-management needs and budgets. The company cited the rapid growth of the domestic subscription market as a key factor behind the expansion. According to Samsung, 94.8 percent of

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