GM Korea is set to celebrate its 15th anniversary of operations in South Korea on Monday. 　However, instead of being a festive occasion to mark the milestone, the US carmaker is laying low, as it is burdened by low sales and a growing deficit on the back of the slowing domestic market.　Coincidentally, its anniversary overlaps with the expiration of the South Korean government’s right to veto GM’s decision to leave the country, further fanning speculations on what the company’s next strategic mov

Mobility Oct. 12, 2017

An affiliate of SK Innovation has signed a deal to purchase a chemical unit under Dow Chemical to expand its packaging product businesses, the company said Wednesday.The deal is the second transaction between SK Global Chemical and the US chemical company. The SK affiliate bought Dow Chemical’s ethylene acrylic acid business for $370 million earlier this year. (Yonhap)The sale price of Dow’s polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) business is not revealed as the company has no obligation to make a public

Industry Oct. 11, 2017

SKC, a chemical arm of SK Group, said Tuesday that it is in talks with German chemical firm Evonik for a strategic partnership.Evonik, a licensor of hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) technology, is the inventor of the HPPO technology, which employs hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent to oxidize propylene, which produces only water as a byproduct, the company said.The South Korean firm, for its part, is seeking a partnership to introduce the HPPO technology and enter the operation a

Industry Oct. 10, 2017

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific has appointed Ahn Sae-hong, vice president of its sub brand Innisfree, as its new CEO, the company said Tuesday.The company named the new CEO and other executives as part of its efforts to tackle growing business uncertainty and adapt itself to a fast-changing market environment. Innisfree VP Ahn Sae-hong (Amorepacific)Ahn joined Amore Group, a predecessor of Amorepacific, in 1986. He has served as vice president of Innisfree since early 2014.The company

Industry Oct. 10, 2017

Innocean Worldwide, the in-house advertising agency for Hyundai Motor Group, won six awards at the 2017 Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity, a prestigious awards event for creative communications in the region, with its global campaign commissioned by the carmaker, the company said Monday. (Innocean Worldwide)In April, the ad company released “Shackleton’s Return,” which was inspired by the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton who saved the crew of the Endurance during his failed South Pole e

Industry Oct. 9, 2017

The 2017 Next Content Fair will kick off at Bexco in Busan on Friday to offer a marketplace for fast-developing visual content ranging from online games to virtual reality programs. The event jointly organized by Korea Creative Content Agency and Bexco, is the first marketplace event to be held in the southern port city, gathering around 150 content creators and buyers from 16 countries. The fair will run through Sunday.Under the slogan “Find Your Future Job in NEXT CONTENT FAIR,” the exhibition

Industry Oct. 9, 2017

Korean men who own houses are 7.2 times more likely to get married than those who do not, a report showed Sunday.According to a joint study by Joo Hwi-jeong, a researcher at Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, and Kim Min-seok, a Ph.D. student at Chungbuk National University, men and women with regular jobs have 4.6 times and 4.9 times higher chances of tying the knot respectively than those with irregular jobs. The report tracked 1,642 single men and women aged betwe

Industry Oct. 8, 2017

In contrast to the city skyline that lights up the heart of Seoul, the beauty of Joseon-era architecture is revealed at royal palaces, offering magical night views of the centuries-old landscape. And Pansori, traditional Korean music, flows through the crisp autumn night, the best season to enjoy the picturesque royal palaces of the Joseon dynasty. Four royal palaces in Seoul, from Gyeongbokgung to Changgyeonggung, are open to the public also at night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., with various cultura

Travel Sept. 29, 2017

Tension mounted at production plants at South Korea’s two major automakers ahead of the weeklong Chuseok holiday, with unionized workers pledging to increase pressure on management over stalled wage negotiations.Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest carmaker, are set to hold a vote to form a new executive body, with two final candidates, both known as hard-liners, running in the election on Friday. Both candidates have remained adamant, vowing that they won’t compromise with t

Mobility Sept. 28, 2017

South Korean companies spent 15 percent less on entertainment in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, a study on the impact of the anti-graft law showed Wednesday.Marking the first year of the “Kim Young-ran law,” which came into effect on Sept. 28 last year, CEOScore, a local corporate tracker, studied 139 companies among the top 500 firms here that filed entertainment expenses in their regulatory filings. The companies spent an average 97 billion won ($85.1 millio

Industry Sept. 27, 2017

Volkswagen Korea has appointed Stefan Krapp, a former marketing expert at its Seoul branch, as its new managing director, effective from Oct. 1, the company said Wednesday. Krapp replaces Thomas Kuehl whose four-year term largely involved dealing with issues related to an emissions scandal.  Stefan Krapp is is named as managing director of Volkswagen Korea. (Volkswagen Korea)“Korea is one of the leading countries in the global automotive industry and (a) strategic market for (the) Volkswagen bra

Mobility Sept. 27, 2017

Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest carmaker, said Wednesday that it has opened a big data center in Guizhou, China, as part of its efforts to expand its connected car business overseas.The information technology infrastructure in southwestern China was built to expand vehicle data processing for the development of self-driving cars and to improve customer service, it added.“Hyundai Motor‘s know-how in big data analysis coupled with Guizhou Province’s strong push into big data will surely accele

Mobility Sept. 26, 2017

SK Group, the second-largest conglomerate by asset, has relied more on domestic demand through its cash cow units including SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom giant, and SK Innovation, a leading energy firm. But in recent years the group has been seeking overseas expansion, acknowledging its limit of being a major player in the domestic market. And for SK, future technologies from cloud computing to electric vehicles are the keys for its growth at home and abroad.The group has been seeking

Technology Sept. 26, 2017

Businesses around the world are facing a paradigm shift in electronics devices and information technology. And Samsung Electronics, whose operating profit is forecast to reach a record 15.5 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in the fourth quarter, has built its strategy around the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and automotive components, to maintain growth and its leading position in technology. By category, the microchip industry is expected to see growing demand for high-capacity, high-

Technology Sept. 24, 2017

It all started with one question: Is the Genesis G70 comparable to a BMW 3 series or an Audi A4? Will it break the German dominance of the compact luxury sedan segment? Undoubtedly, the Genesis G70 is designed to fit into the arena of luxury sedans and targets the same customer category as those who are considering a Mercedes C Class sedan, rather than a specific age or gender group. But the biggest reason to pick the G70 over its German rivals can be summed up in two words: It’s different.The G

Mobility Sept. 24, 2017