my timesThe Korea Times
pjh

Park Jae-hyuk

Korea Times Business Reporter

Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.

Go to Email

Read more

Companies

Samsung chairman's son gives up US citizenship to serve as ROK Navy officer

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong's eldest son has relinquished his U.S. citizenship to fulfill his mandatory military service required for all able-bodied Korean men. Starting Monday, the 24-year-old will begin 11 weeks of basic military training at the Republic of Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in order to become a navy officer serving for 39 months. "Lee Jee-ho gave up his U.S. citizenship to fulfill his obligation to serve in the military," Samsung Electronics said Wednesday. "He will be commissioned as an ensign on Dec. 1." It remains unclear whether the son will join Samsung after completing his military duty. In 2020, the chairman vowed not to hand over control of the conglomerate to his children. Born in New York in 2000 to the chairman and his now-divorced wife, Daesang Group Vice Chairwoman Lim Se-ryung, the younger Lee held dual citizenship by birth. His recent decision has surprised many, particularly because his father and most other male descendants of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull — including CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay

Sep 10, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Samsung chairman's son gives up US citizenship to serve as ROK Navy officer
Companies

Toyota investment helps LG Chem comply with US regulations

LG Chem said Tuesday that Japan's Toyota Tsusho has become the second-largest shareholder in its cathode materials plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. Toyota Tsusho, a trading company and member of the Toyota Group, acquired a 25 percent stake from China's Huayou Cobalt, which previously held 49 percent. With Huayou Cobalt becoming the plant's third-largest shareholder — holding a 24 percent stake — LG Chem is now in compliance with the recently revised U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which excludes companies from tax credits if prohibited foreign entities own more than 25 percent of their shares. "Toyota Tsusho's equity participation marks a pivotal turning point as LG Chem strengthens its cathode supply competitiveness under the U.S. IRA framework," LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol said. "We will further solidify our leadership in the battery materials market on the strength of world-class products and powerful global partnerships." Toyota Tsusho plays a vital role in Toyota Motor's raw material procurement. According to LG Chem, the Japanese trading firm will supply a signific

Sep 9, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Toyota investment helps LG Chem comply with US regulations
Tech & Science

Top 3 shipbuilders to showcase eco-friendly vessels at Gastech

Korea’s three leading shipbuilders will take part in the world’s largest gas technology exhibition this week, presenting advanced solutions for eco-friendly vessels and sustainable offshore engineering. HD Hyundai said Tuesday that six of its affiliates will attend the Gastech 2025 Exhibition & Conference, which runs from Tuesday to Friday in Milan. The company will send Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Ki-sun to the event, along with executives and staff in sales, research and development and engineering, to present the company’s green technologies to global shipping firms and ship classification societies. According to HD Hyundai, classification societies including DNV will grant an approval in principle (AIP) for the Korean firm’s next-generation gas carrier design, which places the crew accommodation block at the forward section to maximize upper deck space. The layout allows for multiple wind-assisted propulsion systems to boost fuel efficiency, the company said. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) will grant an AIP for HD Hyundai’s VesselWise solution, which autono

Sep 9, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Top 3 shipbuilders to showcase eco-friendly vessels at Gastech
Tech & Science

PHOTO Next-generation ESS products

Samsung SDI employees promote new energy storage system products at the company's exhibition booth during the Renewable Energy Plus trade show in Las Vegas, Monday (local time). The battery maker said Tuesday that the Samsung Battery Box (SBB) 2.0, powered by lithium iron phosphate cells, and the SBB 1.7, equipped with high-nickel ternary batteries, made their debut at the event, before their planned production in the United States beginning next year. Courtesy of Samsung SDI

Sep 9, 2025By Park Jae-hyukphoto
[PHOTO] Next-generation ESS products
Companies

Environment ministry’s proposed oversight of energy policy draws backlash

The Korean nuclear power industry has expressed concern about losing global competitiveness, following Sunday’s announcement of the government’s plan to transfer control of energy policies to the Ministry of Environment from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Workers in the affected industry have begun protesting the reorganization plan, while experts fear a potential shift in the focus of energy policies from promoting industry growth to tightening environmental regulations. “We are preparing to hold rallies in front of the presidential office and the National Assembly on Sept. 9, 17 and 19,” a spokesperson of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s (KHNP) union said, Monday. Under the overhaul, the Ministry of Environment will be expanded with a tentative new name — the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment — and will take over most energy policy responsibilities, except for resources and overseas construction of nuclear reactors. Once the plan is passed later this month at the National Assembly led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), KHNP and other state-

Sep 8, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Environment ministry’s proposed oversight of energy policy draws backlash
Tech & Science

SK Telecom's AI agent makes entry into Japanese market

SK Telecom said Monday it will invest 2.2 billion Japanese yen ($14.8 million) in TimeTree, the Japanese schedule-sharing app operator, to expand its presence in the artificial intelligence (AI) agent markets in both Korea and Japan. Under the strategic partnership signed Friday, TimeTree will gain access to the Korean telecom company's technologies and expertise developed through the operation of its A. (Adot) AI agent. This marks the first time SK Telecom has permitted the use of its AI agent for an overseas service. "Partnering with TimeTree offers SK Telecom a powerful opportunity to extend our AI agent technologies into global markets," SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang said. "Together, we will expand the AI ecosystem across Korea, Japan and beyond." TimeTree operates a schedule-sharing app with approximately 67 million users worldwide. SK Telecom said it considers the Japanese firm's extensive data and global user base as crucial assets for advancing its AI agent services and expanding into international markets. According to SK Telecom, the most notable feature of its partnership with

Sep 8, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
SK Telecom's AI agent makes entry into Japanese market
Tech & Science

Competition heats up to attract elderly users in AI robot market

A woman in her 70s escaped death last month when a robot with artificial intelligence (AI) alerted a central control system to suicide warning signs after she told the robot she wanted to end her life and asked for help. The control center immediately asked police to go to her home in Daejeon, where officers helped her reach a hospital for mental health treatment. The robot was one of the rag doll-style Kumdori robots, modeled after Daejeon's mascot and distributed by the city government earlier this year to monitor the safety and health of 1,000 senior citizens living alone. Although the Kumdori robot drew attention for saving an elderly user's life, it is not the only AI robot caring for senior citizens in Korea. Amid growing demand from local governments for means to protect the rising number of seniors living alone, Korean companies are fiercely competing to attract elderly users, who have emerged as key consumers of AI robots. Samsung C&T's construction division recently began testing Robocare's Home AI Companion Robots at homes of elderly residents in Raemian One Bailey and Raemian

Sep 8, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Competition heats up to attract elderly users in AI robot market
Companies

Raid casts shadow over Korean firms' US investments

Concerns are mounting among Korean companies investing in the United States after nearly 300 Korean workers were detained Thursday at the construction site of HL-GA Battery's electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia, a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution (LGES). Amid the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing refusal to grant work visas to Koreans despite a shortage of skilled U.S. labor, Korean firms are facing a dilemma over how to address stricter immigration crackdowns and the continued pressure to manufacture goods in the U.S. using American workers. According to industry officials, Sunday, most of the detained Korean workers entered the U.S. on B-1 visas for short-term business travel or through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) travel visa. Although Korean companies require the H-1B (foreign specialist) visa to send supervisors to their U.S. factory construction sites, only 85,000 specialty occupation visas are awarded worldwide each year, chosen by random lottery. “It is unreasonable to ask companies to wait months for their employe

Sep 7, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
Raid casts shadow over Korean firms' US investments
Companies

MASGA fuels job loss fears in Korea, US

Shipyard workers in both Korea and the United States are expressing concerns about their job security following the two countries' agreement to strengthen cooperation in the shipbuilding sector through the so-called Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) project, a $150 billion initiative aimed at revitalizing U.S. shipyards with Korean investments. Korean workers remain anxious over U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for Korean companies to build ships in U.S. territory using American labor, while their U.S. peers have criticized his proposals to purchase ships from Korea. As uncertainties persist over how Korea will raise money and invest in the U.S. shipbuilding industry, calls are growing in both countries to protect shipyard jobs. "MASGA will be impossible without the hands and skills of Korean workers," HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ union said Wednesday as some of its members fear workforce reductions at the company’s Ulsan shipyard. Hanwha Ocean’s union also cautioned against a rosy outlook for MASGA. Ahead of the Korea-U.S. summit on Aug. 25, the Korean Metal Wor

Sep 4, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
MASGA fuels job loss fears in Korea, US
Companies

SK On enters US ESS market with $1.4 bil. LFP battery deal

SK On has received its first large-scale order for energy storage systems (ESS) in the United States, signing an agreement estimated at $1.4 billion to supply up to 7.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of ESS products equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. The Korean battery maker announced Thursday it will provide Flatiron Energy Development with 1 GWh of containerized ESS products equipped with LFP batteries starting next year for the Colorado-headquartered renewable energy firm’s project in Massachusetts. SK On also secured the right of first offer for Flatiron’s plan to additionally install 6.2 GWh of ESS in the U.S. by 2030. “This deal is meaningful because it expands both our product and business portfolios,” said Choi Dae-jin, head of ESS business at SK On. “We will keep strengthening our presence in the North American ESS market using our advanced technologies and production capabilities.” Jonathan Poor, chief operating officer and co-founder of Flatiron, said the company anticipates deploying several projects under this partnership over the coming years. SK On wil

Sep 4, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk
SK On enters US ESS market with $1.4 bil. LFP battery deal
previous page
2526272829
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.