Headline, May 26, 2021

‘Korea seeks a solid foundation for steady advancement of the ROK-U.S. alliance’

The followings are the opening remarks by President Moon Jae-in at Joint Press Conference following the ROK-U.S. Summit in the U.S. on May 22. _ED. President Biden and Vice President Harris, I am deeply grateful to you for your special hospitality. The Korean and U.S. leaders and their delegations having face-to-face discussions today will bring hope for overcoming COVID-19 and become a meaningful gift to both Koreans and Americans on the 139th anniversary of diplomatic relations. President Moon Jae-in (left) and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint press conference in the U.S. President Biden and I had candid conversations like old friends as we spent several hours together for the ceremony to award the Medal of Honor to a Korean War veteran as well as at the one-on-one and expanded summits. We confirmed that our interests and commitments are the same on many issues, including the enhancement of democracy, inclusive growth, the broadening of the middle class, and climate change responses. In particular, we reaffirmed the robustness of the ROK-U.S. alliance and our shared vision of making our alliance even stronger. I am convinced that the trust built between President Biden and me during my visit to the United States this time will deepen friendship between our two peoples and serve as a solid foundation for supporting the steady advancement of the ROK-U.S. alliance.

"Uzbekistan declares the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations"

Over the past years, under the leadership of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, comprehensive measures of unprecedented scale and significance have been carried out in the field of solving environmental problems. Measures to solve problems associated with the consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea are outlined as the most important priorities in this direction. All this is gaining great urgency and relevance in the context of global climate change and worsening environmental disasters. Today, there is a growing understanding in the world that the negative changes associated with the Aral Sea catastrophe pose a serious threat not only to the countries of Central Asia, but also to sustainable development on a global scale. President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on the issue of drying up the Aral Sea On May 18, 2021, during the plenary meeting of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the suggestion of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a special resolution was unanimously adopted on declaring the Aral Sea region a zone of environmental innovations and technologies.

Hyundai Motor upgrades design of XCIENT Fuel Cell Truck for global expansion

With design and performance updates, Hyundai’s zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle will become even more attractive to corporate fleet customers all over the world. “Hyundai Motor is leveraging more than 20 years of experience in fuel cell technology to further its vision of an eco-friendly hydrogen society,” said Jaehoon Chang, CEO and president of Commercial Vehicle Division at Hyundai Motor Company. “With 2021 XCIENT Fuel Cell, Hyundai will contribute to the widespread adoption of commercial vehicles powered by hydrogen.” Hyundai will begin production of 2021 XCIENT Fuel Cell in August this year. Hyundai has upgraded both the design and performance of XCIENT Fuel Cell, adding to its competitive edge for a better driving experience. The updated exterior design expresses XCIENT Fuel Cell’s dynamic and eco-friendly performance. Decorated with a linear and bold ‘V’ shape of chrome details and multi-dimensional mesh patterns, the new radiator grille reflects the high-tech fuel cell electric truck’s unrivalled presence on the road, while serving its own technical function.

Minister Pledges to Form Working Group to Prepare for Vaccine Partnership with US

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol pledged to form an expert group by early next month to conduct working-level discussions with the U.S. on the vaccine partnership that was set-up by the two sides’ leaders last week. At a press briefing on Tuesday, Kwon said the group will consist of private experts and officials from the ministries of health, science, industry, foreign affairs and drug safety, as well as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA). Under the partnership agreed to by President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden, the two sides signed four agreements, including a vaccine consignment deal between Samsung Biologics and the pharmaceutical company Moderna. Calling the latest partnership a "vaccine alliance" during a global health crisis, the minister expected South Korea's international status to rise as a leading nation in response to the pandemic.

S. Korean FM: Seoul Ready to Mediate between US, N. Korea

Anchor: Following the South Korea-U.S. summit, Seoul's top diplomat says the Moon Jae-in administration is ready to take up the mantle as a mediator again and facilitate talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Kim Bum-soo has more on Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong's exclusive interview with KBS. Report: Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong says South Korea is now ready to take steps to facilitate dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea. In an interview with KBS on Monday, Chung explained that the South Korea-U.S. summit last week paved the way for Seoul to mediate between the two adversaries. [Sound bite: Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong (Korean-English translation)] . If there is progress in negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea, or if we are required to fill a role as facilitator to nudge the process along, we will take appropriate action. President Biden personally specified his support for our efforts in inter-Korean dialogue, engagement and cooperation within our final joint statement [during last week's summit].

S. Korea to Host P4G Summit with some 60 Global Leaders Attending

Some 60 heads of state and top representatives of international bodies are expected to attend a global summit on climate change and sustainable development set to kick off in Seoul on Sunday. The South Korean presidential office on Tuesday announced the final schedule for the virtual Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, or P4G, summit slated for Sunday and Monday. President Moon Jae-in will declare the official opening of the summit on Sunday and also preside over a session with other leaders on carbon neutrality on Monday. Along with summit sessions, general sessions will also take place on the sidelines of  the summit, bringing together government officials and members of international organizations, businesses, civic groups and the scholars to discuss pending issues on and responses to climate change. Presidential Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee expected the summit will also serve as an opportunity to highlight South Korea’s “inclusive leadership” to bridge developed and developing nations on climate change and its related policies, industries and technologies.

U.S. working on details of vaccine provision to S. Korean soldiers: Pentagon

The U.S. Department of Defense is working on details of how and when U.S. vaccines will be provided to South Korean troops working with U.S. Forces Korea, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise announcement Friday that the U.S. will help fully inoculate all 550,000 South Korean service members, who work closely with U.S. troops in South Korea on a daily basis. "Obviously we support the president's direction here to provide the vaccines to our ROK allies," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a press briefing. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name. "I think we're still working through the details of how that's going to occur," he added. Kirby said the vaccines will "come out of U.S. stockpiles." The United States currently has three FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Biden said the move will strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, but also safeguard U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

U.S. supports Tokyo Olympics but only limited people will travel to Japan: Psaki

The United States supports the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, but only "very limited" categories of Americans, including athletes, will travel to the host nation, a White House spokeswoman said Tuesday. Jen Psaki also said U.S. athletes and other visitors will follow a very strict set of safety protocols while taking part in the quadrennial sporting event that has already been delayed by a year. "Our position has not changed on the Olympics. We respected the decision to delay the games last summer. We understand the careful considerations that the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee are weighing as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this summer," the spokeswoman told a press briefing. Her remarks came one day after the State Department raised its travel advisory for Japan to the highest Level 4 that advises Americans not to travel to the Asian country. "The government has stressed that public health remains the central priority as they plan to host the Games," Psaki said, adding U.S. athletes scheduled to take part in the Olympics will make up part of what she called a "very limited categories of U.S. travelers" that will actually visit Japan for the Olympics.

S. Korea confirms 3 more 'breakthrough' COVID-19 infection cases

South Korea on Tuesday confirmed three more cases of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload here to four. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the four people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus even after receiving two doses of a vaccine. A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 between their first and second doses of a two-dose regimen or a person tests positive after full vaccination. Of the four people, two were exposed to the virus before a two-week period after the full vaccination ended, while two others were infected after the two-week period. The KDCA said similar cases will increase as the country's vaccine rollout revs up, adding that those who are fully inoculated still need to wear facial masks. The authorities said even after the full vaccinations, a person can be infected with COVID-19. They also said that those who are classified as breakthrough infection cases have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic.

US ready to engage with North Korea: Blinken

Friday’s mask-free summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden not only upgraded the 70-year Seoul-Washington alliance but also demonstrated how far the two nations have come in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Cheong Wa Dae sources on Tuesday, going maskless was almost unthinkable when Seoul’s presidential office was preparing for the leaders’ first face-to-face meeting, as they also took reference to an earlier summit between Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held just a month ago. Suga was the first foreign leader to visit Biden’s White House, but a raft of restrictions was imposed on the April 16 summit talks due to heightened quarantine measures. The overall itinerary and the size of the delegation was reduced, his wife was not invited, there was no luxurious dinner banquet, and the leaders were double masking throughout the meetings, including a luncheon over burgers. Concerns deepened among Seoul officials. “There was not much room for us. If we do less than Japan, that would upset our people. If we do more than Japan, Japan would complain to the US,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. South Korea and the US started talks to arrange the summit after the two leaders mentioned the value of an in-person meeting during their first phone conversation on Feb. 4.

P4G to show Korea’s aspiration to lead global climate action

After decades of refusing to face up to climate change and focusing on economic growth at the expense of the Earth, this year could be a turning point in the global fight against global warming. The coronavirus pandemic was a huge wake-up call for humanity to rethink the way we live, creating an unprecedented opportunity to “build back better and greener.” “This year, we are finally at a starting point of acting on climate change. After 30 years of discussion, gaps on how we perceive global warming narrowed among public, private sectors and civil society,” Yoo Yeon-chul, executive director of the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit Preparatory Office, said in an interview with The Korea Herald. Now, there is a consensus that global warming is real and that the world needs to act before the situation becomes irreversible. Yet, the biggest challenge remains -- driving immediate, drastic and collective action globally.

75% of Americans think denuclearization deal with NK important: poll

Three out of 4 Americans think it is “very important” or “important” for the US to reach an agreement with North Korea on dismantling the North’s nuclear weapons, a survey of 1,000 American adults conducted earlier this month showed. Responses were consistent across political lines, with both Republicans (84 percent) and Democrats (79 percent) favoring an agreement, according to the poll conducted May 6 through 10 by the Korea Economic Institute of America, a Washington-based think tank. Also, 61 percent of the respondents said it was important for the US and South Korea to cooperate on North Korea-related issues and 69 percent said the US should follow South Korea’s lead in denuclearization talks with North Korea, the institute said in a report published last Friday, the day President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face summit in Washington. In its annual report on American attitudes toward the US-South Korea alliance and North Korea policy, the institute said 57 percent of the respondents saw North Korea as an “adversary.” Other adversaries identified in the survey were Russia (52 percent), China (48 percent) and Iran (48 percent).

Maryland to donate $250,000 to honor Korean War veterans

The U.S. state of Maryland will commit $250,000 to support the maintenance of the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is married to a Korean American, Yumi Hogan. The state government said Tuesday it will donate $250,000 to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation to support the wall, the construction of which started on May 21 (local time) during President Moon Jae-in's visit to the U.S. for a summit with his counterpart Joe Biden. "The State of Maryland has a deep and abiding friendship with the people of South Korea," Hogan was quoted as saying by the state government. "We are proud to be part of this historic international effort to remember and honor those brave souls who gave their lives during the Korean War. This new wall will be yet another reminder of the immeasurable cost of war and the immense price of freedom." The wall's construction was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2016 to commemorate the 36,595 U.S. Armed Forces members and 7,174 Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) soldiers who were killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korea seeks to appease China

The government has stepped up efforts to prevent any fallout from President Moon Jae-in's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden adversely affecting South Korea's ties with China, with the foreign minister saying their post-summit statement touching on Taiwan was "theoretical and principled." President Moon and his U.S. counterpart held their first in-person meeting at the White House last week and their joint statement referred to the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It also referred to freedom of navigation and overflights in the South China Sea and beyond. Despite not directly mentioning China, it was seen as a sign that South Korea agreed with the U.S.'s anti-China campaign, and this drew a strong response from Beijing. "The joint statement mentioned issues related to Taiwan and the South China Sea. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair. It bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and allows no interference by external forces. We urge the relevant countries to speak and act prudentially on the Taiwan question and refrain from playing with fire," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a briefing, Monday.

Korea set to launch 'vaccine council' with US

Korea and the United States will launch a COVID-19 vaccine expert panel by early June to specifically support the vaccine partnership agreed to by President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joseph Biden at their summit in Washington, D.C., last week. "To support the Korea-U.S. global vaccine partnership, the two countries agreed to set up a vaccine expert panel consisting of government officials and private experts," Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul said during an online conference at the Seoul Government Complex, Tuesday. Along with the health minister, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Trade Minister Moon Sung-wook held a joint press conference to announce results from the summit. To address the vaccine supply issue, the two sides agreed to forge the partnership, and by combining the development technologies of U.S. biotech firms with the manufacturing capability of Korean companies, said they will work to speed up production and distribution.

AstraZeneca Uptake Rate Still Low

Bookings for AstraZeneca vaccinations started for people aged 60-74 on May 6 but the uptake rate stood at a mere 55.9 percent as of Monday. About 40 percent of the target population have not fixed an appointment with only less than 10 days left before their booking deadline on June 3. Stalled inoculations will resume this Thursday, when large shipments of AstraZeneca arrive. According to health authorities on Monday, the AstraZeneca uptake for people aged 70-74 stood at 66.1 percent, for those aged 65-69 at 59.9 percent, and for those aged 60-64 at just 47.4 percent as of early Monday morning, in stark contrast to 86 percent of over-75s who were offered the Pfizer vaccine. The main reason is fear of side effects, which have been reported by a vast proportion of recipients, especially younger people. Jeong Eun-kyeong, the chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "The fatality rate per 100,000 vaccinated people associated with AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccinations is similar, and our statistics aren’t very different from those of other countries like the U.K."

N.Korea Wipes Moon from Diplomatic Record

North Korea has pointedly left pictures of recent summits with President Moon Jae-in out of a book celebrating the alleged diplomatic achievements of leader Kim Jong-un. The North seems to feel duped by South Korea after several summits with the U.S. that Moon brokered led to no easing of international sanctions. The book pictures Kim rubbing shoulders with world leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump. It describes the 2018 U.S.-North Korea summit as a "miraculous" meeting that "wrote a new history" in bilateral relations. Pictures show Kim and Trump shaking hands, sitting face-to-face at a meeting, signing a joint statement as well as the meeting hall, commemorative coins, stamps and foreign press clippings. It even describes the abortive 2019 U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi as the "historic second reunion." And although Trump's brief meeting with Kim at the border truce village of Panmunjom four months later is celebrated over 10 pages, none of them show Moon, who was also there.

SK Bioscience Wins More Funding for Vaccine Trials

SK Bioscience has secured W200 billion in funding for coronavirus vaccine trials from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a global partnership (US$1=W1,127). The funding is for third-phase trials of a COVID-19 vaccine currently under development. SK Bioscience said Monday the money will be used to test GBP510, a vaccine it is developing with the University of Washington. CEPI already gave SK Bioscience funding for the first- and second-phase trials, bringing the total to US$210 million. GBP510 is a "recombinant protein nanoparticle" vaccine, like Novavax, and SK plans to start production in the first half of next year. CEPI was set up by the Wellcome Trust, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum. It gets its funding both from governments and individual donors.

The ball is in everyone’s court for peace on Korean Peninsula

After South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden emphasized the need for dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea based on the inter-Korean Panmunjom statement and the US-North Korea Singapore statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated the call for North Korea to reciprocate. “We put that forward,” Blinken said during an interview with ABC on Sunday, referring to the US’s North Korea policy. “We’re waiting to see if Pyongyang actually wants to engage. The ball’s in their court.” Biden personally unveiled a pragmatic and calibrated approach to North Korea aimed at the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in his summit Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Biden also used that occasion to announce the appointment of Sung Kim as the US special envoy to North Korea, emphasizing his commitment to dialogue with the North.

China says S. Korea-US joint statement interferes in its domestic affairs

China’s Foreign Ministry voiced concern about the leaders of South Korea and the US mentioning the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea in a joint statement on Friday, characterizing the reference as “interference” in its domestic affairs. But China’s tone here was noticeably softer than when it harshly criticized a joint statement by the leaders of the US and Japan last month that China said “grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs.” China’s moderation appears to reflect that the South Korea-US joint statement didn’t include any direct criticism of China, in contrast with the US-Japan joint statement, which openly expressed the two countries’ intention to contain China. Furthermore, the South Korean government had been in close communication with the Chinese about its upcoming summit with the US. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian voiced China’s concern about the South Korea-US joint statement during the regular briefing on Monday. “The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair. It bears on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and allows no interference by external forces,” Zhao said.

S. Korea-US alliance evolve into global partnership from security agreement

The “U.S.-ROK Leaders’ Joint Statement” announced Friday afternoon after a summit in Washington between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden is poised to go down as a milestone heralding a “new era” in the bilateral relations and a dramatic break from their history over the past seven decades. The two leaders declared that the South Korea-US alliance had been upgraded into a truly global alliance, declaring their relationship as a “linchpin for the regional and global order” with a significance that “extends far beyond the Korean Peninsula.” This signifies that the scope of roles and responsibilities that Seoul has to contend with have broadened beyond the regional framework of the Korean Peninsula and North Korean nuclear issue into a wider range of areas that include the promotion of values of democracy and human rights — which amounts to an effort to contain China — as well as compliance with international norms and cooperation on advanced industry areas. The joint statement Friday states that the two sides’ alliance “has continued to evolve as the world around us has changed.”

Indian couple wed on plane to escape COVID-19 restrictions

Amid the continued spread of COVID-19, a couple in India held a wedding on plane to escape COVID-19 restrictions. According to BBC on Monday, Rakesh and Dakshina from Madurai, Tamil Nadu state in India chartered a Boeing 737 jet that can carry up to 200 passengers to hold a wedding on Sunday. As the state of Tamil Nadu limited weddings to 50 guests to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the couple chartered a plane to invite more guests. The plane flew for two hours from Madurai to Bangalore, carrying more than 160 people. Indian aviation authorities launched an investigation into whether the wedding violated against COVID-19 restrictions. A video footage of the wedding that was posted on social media showed that most of the guests, including the groom, and the bride did not wear a mask. But the India Today reported that all guests got tested negative for COVID-19 before boarding on the plane.

Pres. Moon praises his summit with Biden as the best one ever

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sees the South Korea-U.S. summit as one of the most successful summits ever. Moon mentioned on social media on Saturday (local time) after his meetup with U.S. President Joe Biden, "The meeting produced the best ever outcomes. It was a better-than-expected achievement,” adding that it was the best visit with the perfect discussion part of it. The South Korean president gave a meaning to a partnership with Washington for vaccines and direct support of vaccines for South Korean military troops, saying that he was told that despite public opposition within the United States, the U.S. government put a high value on the alliance with South Korea. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has issued welcome messages in series. "My heart is full,” Ruling party leader Song Young-gil said on Facebook on Saturday. “The summit talk brought about greater outcomes than hoped across the whole agenda items including vaccine supply, economic cooperation and bilateral partnership.” Lee Nak-yeon, the former chairman of the ruling party, assessed the removal of the missile guidelines as the best ever achievement made in the history of South Korea. 　

BOK to test digital currency from August

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will begin experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital currency to be issued by the central bank from August. The BOK said the experiment does not presume the issuance of a CBDC. “We will launch CBDC simulations in August and complete the first stage of experiments for the basic functions of a CBDC by December,” said the central bank on Monday. The BOK will create a CBDC experiment environment on a public cloud to enable users to exchange their deposits for the CBDC or use the CBDC to buy products and services to verify the utility and technical feasibility of the CBDC. A CBDC, a currency electronically issued by a central bank, does not have credit risks, unlike cryptocurrency. The bank will begin the second-stage experiments next year to test CBDC transfers between countries and offline CBDC transfers and payments in an environment with no access to the Internet. The BOK allocated up to 4.96 billion won of budget to the research on a CBDC.

Careful Not to Cause Sparks in Relations with China: Cheongwadae, “The U.S. and China Are Both Important Countries”

After a summit with the U.S., the Moon Jae-in government now has the heavy task of managing its relations with China. In the summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, President Moon Jae-in expanded South Korea’s alliance with the U.S.--previously centered on defense--in all directions including semiconductors, batteries, next-generation mobile communications (6G), and the space industry. However, these are all areas in which the U.S. is fiercely competing with China, so for South Korea, which has a unique and complex relationship with China, this means a heavier diplomatic burden. In particular, the latest joint statement by the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. mentioned the issue of Taiwan for the first time and it also mentioned a number of sensitive issues for China, such as the South China Sea and QUAD (a strategic dialogue of four countries initiated by the U.S.). South Korea barely managed to restore relations with China, which had frozen after the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles, but the latest summit results could once again have an adverse effect, deepening the government’s concerns over a diplomatic solution. On May 24, Cheongwadae focused on minimizing the diplomatic ripples by calming concerns about South Korea’s relationship with China.

South Korea Regains Role to Restore Dialogue Between N.K. and the U.S., But No Carrots for North Korea

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden stated the Panmunjom Declaration along with the Singapore Joint Statement as the foundation for their policies on North Korea, giving the South Korean government room to encourage talks between North Korea and the United States with progress in inter-Korean relations. President Moon is expected to promote contact with North Korea based on the results of the latest summit in Washington and concentrate on creating an opportunity for the North and the U.S. to resume talks in his last year in office. However, the agreement on North Korean policies was declarative in nature and there were no specific “carrots” the North wanted, such as the lifting of sanctions, so it is unclear as to how North Korea will respond. In the joint press conference following the summit between the leaders of South Korea and the United States at the White House on May 21 (local time), President Moon said, “President Biden and I reaffirmed our belief that dialogue based on commitments made between the two Koreas and between the U.S. and North Korea are essential for making a peaceful Korean Peninsula.” He continued and said, “President Biden expressed his support for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation,” and added, “I expect a positive response from North Korea.” President Biden said, “Our two nations also share a willingness to engage diplomatically with the D.P.R.K. to take pragmatic steps that will reduce tensions as we move toward our ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

KSOE adds $309 mn orders to build six ships including two LPG carriers

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), the shipbuilding holding entity of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, has added 348 billion won ($309 million) worth orders for six vessels from unidentified shippers in Liberia, Asia and Oceania regions. The orders are a LPG carrier capable of transporting 91,000 cubic meters of gas, another LPG carrier for 86,000 cubic meters of gas, two product carriers for 50,000 tons and two 2,800 TEU container ships, according to the KSOE on Monday. KSOE shares closed 3.5 percent higher at 148,000 won in Seoul trading on Monday. The LPG orders will be carried out dockyard of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries to deliver the ships from the first half of 2023. The builder will apply a dual fuel engine for the vessels to improve the fuel efficiency and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

Samsung Elec making US its biggest foundry base, with capex overwhelming China facility

The United States will be replacing China as the primary overseas chipmaking base for Samsung Electronics Co. after it pledged $17 billion to build a next-generation foundry to compete with TSMC and Intel over the ever-growing pie in the system-on-a chip (SoC) market. Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman and head of device solutions at Samsung Electronics, on Friday (local time in the U.S.) confirmed $17 billion investment in the U.S. as the world’s chipmaker joined other household Korean enterprises in investment commitments timed with President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to the U.S. over the weekend. He fell short of naming the exact location, although most believe the new foundry will be added next to the Austin facility in Texas.

SK Innovation, Ford to form EV battery joint venture in U.S.

SK Innovation Co. has agreed with Ford Motor Co. to set up a 6 trillion won ($5.3 billion) battery joint venture in the United States, the biggest-ever EV JV deal that is expected to help the South Korean battery maker build strong footing in the promising U.S. EV market aided by the Biden government’s strong green push, and the U.S. No. 2 auto maker accelerate its EV push. Under the deal signed on Thursday (local time) between SK Innovation and Ford Motor, the joint battery venture called BlueOvalSK will build a factory that is capable of mass producing 60 gigawatt hours of battery cells and modules annually starting mid-2020s. The factory location is not decided yet, but candidates include Georgia that will house SK Innovation’s No. 1 and No. 2 plants, Michigan that has Ford’s production base, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. “We are delighted to be entering into collaboration with Ford, America’s leading iconic automaker,” said Kim Jun, chief executive and president of SK Innovation. “Ford is one of the most active players in vehicle electrification today. We are proud to be opening this new chapter in their long history.”

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