
Korea hosts largest offshore wind event, doubles global participation
The Korea Wind Energy Industry Association said Monday it successfully hosted the nation's largest offshore wind power event, solidifying its role as a hub for international collaboration in renewable energy.
The second annual Offshore Wind Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition was held on Wednesday and Thursday at Bexco convention center in Busan.
This year's event brought together 74 offshore wind supply chain companies from around the world, including those from the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan and the Netherlands. This was twice the number of companies from last year and attracted 2,250 visitors.
'With the successful completion of both last year's and this year's events, the Offshore Wind Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition has firmly established itself as Korea's leading offshore wind power industry gathering,' said an association official.
During the event, industry leaders and experts discussed a range of topics, including Korea's policy support, changes in wind farm financing under the second Donald Trump administration and strategies to enhance regional collaboration in Asia's offshore wind industry.
According to the association, Korean energy solutions provider Doosan Enerbility signed partnership agreements with 10 companies during the event to jointly strengthen the offshore wind supply chain. Additionally, 44 meetings were held between Korean supply chain businesses and global developers.
FoundOcean of the UK, a world-leading company specializing in securing offshore structures to the seabed, also signed a technology collaboration agreement with K-BETS, a leading Korean offshore structure specialist.
New programs, such as tours to nearby supply chain businesses in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, also received positive feedback, the association said.
'The KWEIA will keep striving to highlight Korea's supply chain capabilities and help revitalize the domestic wind power market,' the official added.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
CU Mongolia expands logistics hub toward 1,000-store goal
CU Mongolia, operated by South Korea's leading convenience store brand BGF Retail, said Tuesday that it has expanded its automated logistics center to enhance its supply capacity across the country. The center, located about two hours east of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, initially introduced automation technologies in 2023, becoming the first in Mongolia's retail industry to adopt automation systems. The expansion adds around 3,300 square meters to the existing 4,960-square-meter facility, increasing the total size to more than 8,200 square meters. It also enhances logistics capabilities with a digital picking system, allowing the center to process up to 700 orders daily. With this expansion, CU strengthens its nationwide supply chain, leaning toward its goal of opening 1,000 stores in Mongolia. CU currently dominates the Mongolian market with approximately 490 stores, accounting for a 70 percent market share as of last month. In addition to its logistics operations, CU Mongolia operates a ready-to-eat food production facility that opened in 2021, with plans to expand its capacity next year. The company has also adopted an artificial intelligence-powered automated ordering system across its stores to improve demand prediction and inventory management. 'Despite Mongolia's per capita GDP being just one-fifth of South Korea's, CU Mongolia achieves sales on par with Korean stores, highlighting its strong position in the local market,' said Kim Tae-han, overseas business operations team manager at BGF Retail. CU operates over 690 stores overseas, including locations in Malaysia and Kazakhstan. It has scheduled an upcoming launch in Hawaii in November.


Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
Fewer young Koreans are buying new cars, report shows
About a quarter of new car registrations in the first half of this year were filed by people in their 20s and 30s, the lowest figure in the past decade, data provided by automobile information website showed Tuesday. A total of 29,066 new cars were bought by 20-somethings during the first six months of this year, according to Car Is You, a website providing information about local and international car markets. This accounts for 5.7 percent of all new cars sold here in the same period. The proportion of cars bouth by 20-somethings has been falling setadily since 2016, when it was 8.8 percent. The percentage of new cars bought by Koreans in their 30s is on the verge of falling below the 20 percent-mark for the first time. They bought 99,611 new vehicles, which was just 19.5 percent of total new car sales. This figure stood at 25.9 percent in 2016 and has been steadily declining ever since. More older people are buying new cars Young people are increasingly opting not to own a car, but instead use a car-sharing platforms like SoCar. The platform in 2024 said the number of its members has surpassed 10 million mark, which is a little under one-third of every Korean who has a driver's license. In 2023, 53 percent of all Socar users were in their 30s higher than the average age for all users was 32.9. On the other hand, 18 percent of all new car purchases were made by drivers in their 60s in the first half, nearly doubling from 9.6 percent in 2016. The percentage of new cars bought by 70-somethings also rose in the same period, from 2.8 percent to 4.5 percent. This trend is thought to have been fueld by the increasing number of senior citizens who are working beyond the legal retirement age of 60. According to a Statistics Korea report in June, 7.05 million people aged 60 and up were employed in May this year, marking an all-time high. Compared to 3.96 million in 2016, the figure soared by over 3 million.


Korea Herald
3 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Where did Korea's city cars go? Find out in 2 minutes
Once a major force in Korea's auto market, city cars — with engines under 1,000 cubic centimeters and priced around 10 million won ($7,330) — are rapidly disappearing from Korean roads. The segment, which saw annual sales of over 200,000 units and left iconic models like the Tico and Matiz, has continued to decline, dropping another 32 percent to just 36,989 units in the first half of 2025. Chronicles Birth: Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery, now Hanwha Ocean, launched Korea's first city car, the Tico, in 1991 in partnership with Japan's Suzuki Motor. Priced initially at 2.9 million won, the model dubbed the 'people's car' sold 680,000 units by its phase-out in 2001. Boom: Policy incentives introduced in 1996 and the 1997 financial crisis boosted city car sales, raising their share to 27.6 percent of annual car sales in 1998, with 150,000 units sold. Daewoo Motor, having absorbed the shipbuilder's city car division, launched the Matiz that year. Hyundai and Kia also released the Atoz and Visto but phased them out in the early 2000s, leaving the Matiz as the segment leader. Peak: With eligibility for city car incentives expanded from 800 cc to 1,000 cc in 2008, the Matiz faced growing competition from Kia's Morning and Ray, with the Morning selling over 110,000 units in 2011. City car sales peaked at 216,000 units in 2012, as General Motors, having acquired Daewoo's passenger car division, launched the Chevrolet Spark, a fully redesigned Matiz. Waning: The Spark was discontinued in 2022, marking the end of Daewoo's 32-year legacy in the city car segment, and Morning's sales in Korea fell to 15,000 units in 2024. Hyundai rolled out Casper in 2021, but the company is shifting away from the city car category, its models growing in size and price. City car sales in 2025 are forecast at 70,000 units -- under 8 percent of total passenger car sales. What is driving the decline? Acquisition tax exemptions have been reduced. While the 50 percent discount on highway and public parking fees remains, further cuts are expected as the government shifts its focus to eco-friendly vehicles. Automakers are reluctant to launch new city car models due to the low profit margins — a few hundred thousand won per unit — compared to compact cars, which limits consumer options. Rising manufacturing costs and growing demand for added features have pushed city car prices close to 20 million won, reducing their price advantage over other segments. Korean consumers are increasingly drawn to larger vehicles, especially influenced by the evolving role of cars for leisure. End of the Korean city car? City cars remain popular in Korea's used car market, especially among novice drivers for their ease of driving and parking. In May, the Kia Morning, Chevrolet Spark and Kia New Ray were the top-selling used models, according to Carisyou. Overseas demand remains strong. The Kia Morning, sold as the Picanto in Europe, recorded 49,000 units sold abroad from January to May — nine times more than in Korea, with over half of those sales in Europe.