Business - The Korea Times

Innospace plans Korea's 1st commercial orbital rocket launch this week after three delays

Korean space startup Innospace Co. plans to launch the country's first commercial orbital rocket this week following three delays, according to the company Monday. The Hanbit-Nano rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil at 3:45 p.m. Monday (local time), or 3:45 a.m. Tuesday (Korean time), according to company officials. The Hanbit-Nano vehicle will carry eight payloads, including five satellites, and deploy them into a 300-kilometer low orbit. If successful, Innospace will become the first private Korean company to place a customer satellite into orbit. The two-stage vehicle employs a 25-ton thrust hybrid engine that powers the first stage, and the second stage is backed by a liquid methane and oxygen engine. The launch has been postponed three times since the company's original plan to blast off on Nov. 22. It was first delayed to last Wednesday due to a defect in avionics electronics and was later rescheduled for Friday. On Friday, the launch attempt was delayed due to an issue with a fuel tank, after which the launch operator suspended the attempt and po

Dec 22, 2025By Yonhap

Innospace plans Korea's 1st commercial orbital rocket launch this week after three delays

Korean startup again delays 1st commercial orbit launch

Korean space startup Innospace Co. said Saturday its first commercial orbit launch has been delayed again due to technical problems. The Hanbit-Nano rocket was scheduled to lift off from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil earlier in the day, but the launch was delayed. Innospace had originally aimed to launch the vehicle Wednesday. The space startup said it will reschedule the liftoff in cooperation with the Brazilian Air Force. The Hanbit-Nano vehicle will carry a payload of eight items, including five satellites, and deploy them into a 300-kilometer low orbit. The two-stage vehicle employs a 25-ton thrust hybrid engine that powers the first stage, and the second stage is backed by a liquid methane and oxygen engine. If successful, Innospace will become the first private South Korean company to place a customer satellite into orbit.

Dec 20, 2025By Yonhap

Korean startup again delays 1st commercial orbit launch

Kakao open-sources Kanana-2 model optimized for agentic AI

Kakao has released Kanana-2, its most advanced in-house large language model (LLM) featuring enhanced performance and better efficiency, as open source and optimized for agentic artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The company announced that it has open-sourced three new models: Base, Instruct and Thinking. The Instruct model is characterized by an improved ability to comply with instructions through post-training. The Thinking model specializes in reasoning. This marks the first time that Kakao has open-sourced its reasoning model while also giving full public access to model weights for developers who wish to fine-tune them with their own datasets. Since unveiling its proprietary Kanana lineup last year, the company has steadily expanded its open-source offerings from lightweight models to Kanana-1.5, which was built for complex problem solving. Kanana-2 represents the company’s latest leap forward in research, delivering major improvements in performance and efficiency with an emphasis on building AI that can understand user intent and act proactively. “Innovative AI services ulti

Dec 19, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

Kakao open-sources Kanana-2 model optimized for agentic AI

Red ginseng discovered to bolster immunity against flu

Eating red ginseng helps bolster immunity against influenza, according to a professor from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Thursday. The discovery by Lee Sang-joon of UNIST's biological sciences division has added credibility to claims of health benefits from supplements made of red ginseng. Jung Kwan Jang, a nutritional product brand under Korea Ginseng Corp., is the country’s largest retail distributor and researcher of natural extracts from the plant. Jung Kwan Jang said the breakthrough came as the number of flu infections nationwide this year has increased dramatically. The infection rate is 14 times higher than last year, according to the firm. Numerous medical studies support red ginseng’s positive effects on human health, including boosting immunity and limiting virus growth, but this is the first time the root's effects regarding flu have been scientifically proven, according to the company. Lee’s discovery highlighted red ginseng’s role in activating antiviral pathways controlled by Z-DNA-binding protein 1 (ZBP1), an intracellular protein

Dec 19, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

Red ginseng discovered to bolster immunity against flu

Korea to begin nuclear fusion power generation tests in 2030s: science ministry

Korea seeks to begin staging nuclear fusion power generation tests in 2030 at the earliest, nearly 20 years ahead of its original schedule, the government announced Friday, amid growing energy demand stemming from an artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The National Fusion Energy Committee announced the blueprint outlining the direction of its research in the sector, along with goals to secure eight related critical technologies, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. Nuclear fusion power is considered a promising option for generating cleaner and safer energy, as it does not produce any carbon emission while also generating less radioactive waste than nuclear fission. "Nuclear fusion technology is a key area that will lead Korea's innovation-driven growth," Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said in a release. "We will make efforts to conduct nuclear fusion power generation tests in the 2030s, in order to address rising electricity demand in the AI era and take the lead in the future energy industry," Bae added.

Dec 19, 2025By Yonhap

Korea to begin nuclear fusion power generation tests in 2030s: science ministry

SK hynix secures Intel certification for 256GB DDR5

SK hynix announced Thursday that it has become the first in the industry to complete the Intel Data Center Certified process for its 256-gigabyte Double Data Rate 5 (DDR5) Registered Dual In-Line Memory Module (RDIMM). The high-capacity server memory is based on 32GB fifth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1b) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and is designed for the Intel Xeon 6 platform. RDIMM is a type of memory for servers and workstations that includes an additional register or buffer chip to help the memory controller communicate more efficiently with the DRAM chips. “We are now able to respond more swiftly to customer needs, solidifying our leadership in the server DDR5 DRAM market. As a full-stack AI (artificial intelligence) memory creator, we will actively address the growing demand for high-performance, low-power and high-capacity memory solutions to further enhance customer satisfaction,” said Lee Sang-kwon, head of SK hynix’s DRAM Product Planning & Enablement. The 256GB DDR5 RDIMM went through extensive testing and rigorous validation at Intel’s Advanced Data Center

Dec 18, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

SK hynix secures Intel certification for 256GB DDR5

Do you own this old LG air conditioner? Its gold logo is now worth a fortune

An LG Electronics Whisen air conditioner sold as a limited edition two decades ago is drawing renewed attention after it was revealed that its front logo was made of solid gold, a discovery amplified by the recent surge in global gold prices. The buzz began after a case surfaced online in which the logo from a long-forgotten, unused air conditioner was removed and sold for more than 700,000 won ($475). The story gained traction after a Seoul-based gold shop owner and YouTuber known as Ringring Unni uploaded a customer consultation video to her channel on Dec. 11. The customer brought in a small gold piece, saying it had been removed from the front of an LG Whisen air conditioner. She said a delivery worker at the time had told her it was gold and that advertisements from the time of sale had also described it as real gold. After melting and analyzing the piece, she confirmed that the Whisen logo was made of about 3.75 grams of pure gold. She later called the customer to say, “It is not 18-karat gold, but pure gold. The purity came out at 99.3 percent.” She purchased it for 713,000 w

Dec 18, 2025By Hankookilbo

Hyundai Steel accelerates smart manufacturing with robots

Hyundai Steel is accelerating the smart transformation of its production lines by deploying robots in the inspection and packaging stages of wire rod processing. In November, the company became the first in Korea to introduce and operate an automated wire rod tagging robot at its specialty plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. The robot automatically attaches tags containing product history, specifications and other key information on the coil shipping line. Hyundai Steel has been moving toward unmanned and automated shipping operations to minimize errors — such as steel grade mix-ups caused by incorrect tagging — and to improve workplace safety, introducing robots as part of that effort. The wire rod tagging robot system consists of an assembly robot, an attachment robot and supporting equipment such as conveyors, coil fixtures and safety fences. The assembly robot attaches clips to printed product tags. When wire rods are placed on fixtures along the conveyor, the attachment robot scans the product, identifies the correct attachment point and automatically affixes the tag.

Dec 17, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

Hyundai Steel accelerates smart manufacturing with robots

KT names Park Yoon-young as CEO candidate

KT, a major telecom operator, nominated former executive Park Yoon-young as its CEO candidate on Tuesday. The company’s board nomination committee said it reached the decision after conducting in-depth interviews with three finalists, including Joo Hyung-chul, a former presidential economic adviser and former SK Communications CEO, and Hong Won-pyo, a former chief of SK Shieldus. The nominees were evaluated based on criteria set by the board, with a focus on enhancing corporate value, restoring internal and external trust, fostering a cooperative management environment and presenting a clear management vision and direction for change and innovation to underpin the company’s sustainable growth. Park will officially assume the CEO role following approval at a regular shareholders’ meeting scheduled for March next year. “(Park) is a figure who has delivered tangible results in the digital transformation and business-to-business segments, backed by extensive experience in KT’s businesses and strong technology-driven management capabilities,” the board said. Park joined Korea Telec

Dec 16, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

KT names Park Yoon-young as CEO candidate

AI Strategy Council unveils 3-pillar action plan for global leadership

Presidential Council on National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy unveiled a three-pillar action plan, Monday, to fast-track the country’s rise as a global AI powerhouse, focusing on building an innovation ecosystem, driving nationwide AI transformation and contributing to a global AI society. The council announced the road map during a press event at its office in central Seoul to celebrate the 100th day since its launch in September. “Since the deep learning breakthrough in 2012, Korea’s limited early investment has resulted in significant technological debt. The nation must now replace outdated systems and infrastructure while overhauling legal frameworks,” the council's Vice Chair Im Moon-young said. “Accelerated efforts are needed in core technology development, AI semiconductors, data centers, regulatory reform, industrial support and education system innovation to nurture AI talent and advance an AI‑based society." He explained that the action outlines step‑by‑step tasks for each ministry to conduct to prepare for the AI-driven transformation, with a total of

Dec 15, 2025By Lee Gyu-lee

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