South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air is reportedly in talks with multiple Southeast Asian airlines to share its Incheon-Los Angeles route in an apparent attempt to get antitrust approval from US regulators in its acquisition of the cash-strapped crosstown rival Asiana Airlines, according to industry sources on Monday. The unprecedented talks come in response to the US requiring Korean Air to submit plans on how to ensure competition by giving a specific name of the air carrier that will o

Mobility Sept. 12, 2022

The aviation industry is gearing up to cater an increase in travel demand ahead of Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday that kicks off Friday. South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air is operating two more flights from Gimpo to Jeju starting Wednesday until Sept. 13. These flights are operated using larger aircraft to accommodate 11,000 more passengers, which is a 10 percent increase in the airlines number of seats along that route for the Chuseok holiday. Asiana Airlines, the country&rsq

Mobility Sept. 7, 2022

Audi Korea officially launched its first all-electric compact sport utility vehicles, the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, in South Korea on Tuesday. “The Q4 e-tron will redefine the boundaries between car segments and act as a gateway into e-mobility. With these models, we have strengthened our EV lineup enough to satisfy the needs of Korean customers,” said Lim Hyun-ki, the executive director of Audi Korea, at the launching ceremony. The Audi Q4 e-tron is the first

Mobility Sept. 6, 2022

Professor Noh Yong-Young of Postech won an annual award given by Merck Korea in recognition of his innovative research into the development of semiconducting materials for backplane thin-film transistor technology of organic light-emitting diode displays. His research, Merck Korea says, could contribute to the commercialization of backplane p-type thin-film transistors for high-performance OLED displays if further developed. The Merck Young Scientist Award went to professor Kang Suk-ku for prop

Technology Aug. 25, 2022

Allink, an NFC tag-based information transfer solution company, has partnered up with Samsung Electrionics, the company said Thursday. Allink provided a non-fungible token solution that enables mobile phones to transfer information to various terminals by tapping the phone on the NFC tag. With this solution, New Galaxy NFT holders can have access to in-store benefits on their Thetadrop wallet by tapping on Allink’s tag at Samsung Digital Plaza, Shilla Duty-Free Shop, Eland Cruise, and Sh

Technology Aug. 25, 2022

Samsung C&T said Wednesday it has inked an 800 billion won engineering, procurement and construction contract with QatarEnergy to build solar power plants with the capacity to generate 875 megawatts of electricity. The project involves building one solar power plant with 417 megawatt capacity in Mesaieed and another one in Ras Laffan with 458 megawatt capacity, which will start generating electricity by the end of 2024. Around 1.6 million solar panels will be installed in these power

Industry Aug. 24, 2022

Volkswagen Korea will launch its first pure electric sports utility vehicle next month as the first overseas branch of the German carmaker outside of Europe, its CEO said Tuesday. “ID.4, Volkswagen’s first pure electric SUV, will be launched in Korea and we will be the first country in the world for export market outside of Europe,” said Sacha Askidjian, the executive director of Volkswagen Korea at a launching ceremony for the new Tiguan Allspace, a seven-seater family SUV eq

Mobility Aug. 23, 2022

The Maserati Ghibli GT Hybrid is a car that can satisfy those who love the sound of a combustion engine, but want to make a more fuel-efficient choice. The Ghibli GT Hybrid is the first ever electrified Maserati model, with which the luxury brand makes an attempt to keep up with the trends of the automobile industry. Maserati uses a 2.0-liter, four-cylindrical gas turbo engine boosted by a 48-volt battery and offers a maximum torque of 45.9 kilogram-meters. In a 245-kilometer test drive sessi

Mobility Aug. 23, 2022

The housing market in Seoul appears to have entered a period of stagnation not only with the prices of apartments -- the major residential type in the city –dropping, but also the number of transactions falling due to increased interest rates on loans, data showed Monday. According to Zigbang, a local property technology firm, the number of apartment units in Seoul that traded at lower prices than before has surpassed that of apartments that traded at higher prices. Separate data from t

Industry Aug. 22, 2022

A Lamborghini Aventador, the Italian supercar whose price tag is more than 500 million won ($400,000) here, was recently put up for sale on Danggeun Market -- a popular online flea market platform -- for just 1 million won. The owner claimed that the car was submerged during the heavy rainfall last week in Seoul, and that he cannot start the car any longer -- but the interior remains clean, and other features like air conditioning and lighting still work. “The car will become a luxurio

Mobility Aug. 18, 2022

Samsung SDI said Tuesday it had set up its first research and development center in the US in an effort to secure technological competitiveness in the burgeoning market for electric vehicles. The Boston center, called SDI R&D America, will focus on developing new battery-related technologies in cooperation with local universities and startups that have been actively working on lithium-ion battery technology and other next-generation developments. The new US center follows the establishme

Industry Aug. 16, 2022

South Korea’s top electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution has elevated its sales target for this year, largely buoyed by an upbeat outlook for the second half. In its second-quarter earnings report in July, the company announced an upgraded growth plan, raising sales target this year to 22 trillion won ($16.8 billion), an almost 10 percent jump from the previous target of 19.2 trillion won. The company offered a rosy outlook for the coming months, citing new car launches by i

Industry Aug. 16, 2022

Volkswagen’s R-Line Arteon, a sportier version of the flagship sedan, made its debut in South Korea in July. The new Arteon R-Line 4MOTION has been revamped with a bold front bumper that creates a balanced look of the chassis. The car also comes with a 20-inch Nashville Alloy wheel, a black rear tailgate spoiler, and a quad muffler to enhance the design of the sports sedan. Inside the car, black titanium nappa leather applied on the seats not only gives the car a sophisticated look bu

Mobility Aug. 15, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it ranked third globally in car sales in the first half of this year -- a first feat for the nation’s largest carmaker. According to its sales data, Hyundai Motor Co., its luxury Genesis brand and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. sold a total of 3.299 million vehicles in global markets in the January-June period. The sales figure is the third largest following Toyota Motor Group’s 5.138 million units and Volkswagen Group’s 4.006 million units.

Mobility Aug. 15, 2022

The first Samsung product that Richard Craig, a 37-year-old American living in Tianjin, China, owned was a 42-inch flat screen TV he bought in 2009 in the US. Ten years later, the longtime iPhone user switched to a Galaxy smartphone, saying “phones made by Samsung were some of the best Android phones available.” For Lim Eun-soo, a 63-year-old Korea-born US resident, a Samsung TV in 2000 was her first electronic device that was made by a company from her home country. “Back th

Industry Aug. 14, 2022