SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Chemicals Co. said Wednesday it will establish a joint venture with a Chinese plastics recycling firm to build a waste-plastics processing facility aimed at securing a stable supply of recycled plastic materials. The joint venture with Kelinle will construct a Feedstock Innovation Center (FIC) in Shaanxi Province, with [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Electronics Inc. said Sunday that it has unveiled its new advanced material at a major plastics trade show in Germany. LG PuroTec, an antimicrobial glass powder, was showcased at K 2025, a plastics and rubber trade show, which kicked off in the western German city of Dusseldorf last [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s embattled petrochemical industry has agreed to slash its core production capacity by as much as a quarter, in a government-backed effort to stave off collapse and reposition for higher-value growth. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday that 10 companies operating naphtha cracking centers (NCCs) [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major petrochemical companies are grappling with a deepening industry downturn, as key players reported average plant utilization rates falling below break-even thresholds during the first half of 2025, according to corporate filings reviewed on August 17. The average operating rates at leading firms—including Lotte Chemical, LG Chem, [...]
SEOUL, August 4 (Korea Bizwire) — In a major step following recent U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) has issued its first investment guarantee under a $200 billion bilateral fund aimed at boosting Korean business ventures in the United States. K-SURE announced Sunday that it will provide a $1 billion financial guarantee [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The Seoul government held an emergency meeting Friday to devise response measures to the United States’ new 50 percent tariffs on imported copper, the industry ministry said. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy met with officials from Korean companies that export copper-related products, including LS Metal and Poongsan [...]
SEOUL, June 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s petrochemical sector is ramping up restructuring talks, including potential consolidation of naphtha cracking center (NCC) facilities, as companies grapple with sustained oversupply from China and a prolonged global economic slowdown. The shift comes as the administration of President Lee Jae-myung prepares to roll out policy support for [...]
SEOUL, May 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Korea Zinc Co., the world’s biggest refined zinc smelter, said Thursday that it plans to cancel over 2 million of its own shares valued at 1.82 trillion won (US$1.29 billion) this year to boost share value. The retirement of the 2.04 million treasury shares represents 9.85 percent of its [...]
SEJONG, May 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has designated the southwestern city of Yeosu as an “industrial crisis response area” to help the ailing regional economy amid a slump in the petrochemical industry based in the area, the finance minister said Thursday. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok made the announcement in an economy-related ministers meeting, [...]
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Energy Materials Corp. said Thursday it will seek the Copper Mark, a global certification for the copper industry’s responsible production practices, for its Malaysian plant. The Copper Mark is a comprehensive social and environmental assurance system for copper production managed by the International Copper Association. Lotte Energy Materials [...]