American Chamber of Commerce in Korea suggested lifting regulations to make Korea an attractive investment destination for global companies to the new incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration Friday. The AmCham Board of Governors sent a letter signed by its 34 members to the Transition Committee with some policy recommendations. They include the need to improve the flexibility of employment conditions, mitigate CEO risk, restore the flat tax rate for foreign residents and improve the regulatory e

Industry April 29, 2022

The Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport was rated as the best sports utility vehicle by Car and Driver, an American auto magazine, outpacing BMW X3 M40i and the Lexus RX350 F Sport, Hyundai Motor said Friday. Car and Driver evaluated these three cars based on four categories including vehicle, powertrain, chassis, and experience. Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport took the throne with a total score of 213 out of 240, followed by BMW X3 which scored 205, and Lexus RX350 178. The new luxury compact crossover under Ge

Mobility April 29, 2022

South Korean electric cable manufacturer LS Group has launched a subsidiary to run electric vehicle charging business, officials said Thursday. The new unit, LS E-Link, was jointly established by LS, the holding company, and E1, an LPG importer unit under the group. “As EV transition accelerates, power usage will grow in EV charging stations which means that power engineering will become more important for stable and efficient power supply,” said an LS Group official. LS‘ st

Industry April 28, 2022

Kia has partnered up with The Ocean Cleanup, a Netherlands-based nonprofit engineering environmental organization, to remove plastic wastes from the sea for a sustainable Earth, according to Kia on Thursday. The Ocean Cleanup develops cleanup systems to remove floating pieces of plastic caught in what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean -- and also scalable solutions to efficiently intercept plastic in rivers before it reaches

Industry April 28, 2022

South Korean chip-and-telecom giant SK has become the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, replacing Hyundai Motor for the first time in 12 years, a local antitrust regulator said Wednesday. Having accumulated over 291 trillion won ($230 billion) in total assets, SK took the number two spot, largely due to increased assets and sales in its chipmaking arm SK hynix. The semiconductor unit’s acquisition of Intel NAND memory business along with expanding income boosted SK’s overa

Industry April 27, 2022

Seoul aims to become a global hub for beauty and cosmetic businesses by providing full support to small- and medium-sized companies eyeing opportunities to enter overseas markets, a business support organization run by the municipal government said. The Seoul Business Agency, run by the Seoul city government, plans to hold a weeklong event this year with a focus on the beauty and cosmetic industries, according to Han Dong-yeol, the organization's chairman of the board. “Especially this

Industry April 26, 2022

The daily average of air travelers is expected to be around 81,000 in July, which is around 40 percent of air travelers from the same period in 2019, right before the pandemic hit the world, according to the operator of South Korea‘s major air gateway Incheon Airport, on Monday. After November, Incheon International Airport Corp. anticipates a 70 percent recovery of the daily average air travelers and is gearing up for normalization of its operations in phrases, officials said in a regula

Mobility April 25, 2022

South Korea is lagging behind in revising regulations to prepare for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles compared to other major countries such as the US, Germany and Japan, a Seoul-based think tank said Sunday. The market size of autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles is expected to grow from $7.1 billion in 2020 to $1 trillion by 2035, a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. More than half of the newly launched cars to be sold in 2030 are expected to be equipped with

Mobility April 24, 2022

The head of South Korea’s largest air carrier said Thursday that the company‘s acquisition of its domestic rival Asiana Airlines will contribute to enhancing the bilateral economic relationship between South Korea and the United States, expressing hope for Washington’s approval of the merger. “We are committed to increasing our activity in the US given the positive environment and we will continue to be a major contributor to the US-Korea economic relationship,” sa

Industry April 21, 2022

SK ecoplant said Wednesday that it will begin producing glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars as an alternative to steel bars. SK ecoplant will be the first to make GFRP bars made from elements extracted from used plastic bottles, which the company named “KEco-Bar.” Manufacturing GFRP bars does not involve using scrap iron limestone, thus reducing carbon emissions by more than 50 percent compared to manufacturing steel bars. GFRP bars do not get rusty when in contact with wat

Industry April 20, 2022

Han Sung Motor, Korea‘s official Mercedes-Benz dealer, announced Tuesday that it has signed a brand partnership with CJ Logistics to support the Superrace Championship, which the logistics company hosts this weekend. The CJ Logistics Superrace Championship is the only stock car race in Asia and is the biggest motor sports event in South Korea. The two-day race kicks off this Saturday at the AMG Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The partnership comes in response to consumer’s

Mobility April 19, 2022

A takeover battle for SsangYong Motor, the debt-ridden carmaker owned by India’s Mahindra Group, has kicked off between three rival bidders: two medium-sized enterprises and a private equity firm. KG Group, Ssangbangwool and Pavilion PE each submitted a letter of intent to acquire SsangYong Motor to the lead manager of the deal, EY Hanyoung, industry sources said Tuesday. After South Korean electric carmaker Edison Motors’ deal to purchase SsangYong Motor went up in smoke, Seoul Ba

Industry April 19, 2022

Hyundai Motor is issuing community-based non-fungible tokens as part of efforts to enhance its brand experience and customer community, becoming the first carmaker to enter the community NFT marketplace, the South Korean auto giant said Monday. Hyundai released a short film introducing the “Metamobility Universe,” the carmaker’s NFT universe concept that was first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The film, featuring Meta Kongz, a popular NFT gorilla cha

Mobility April 18, 2022

Asia’s first Porsche exhibition, “Porsche Ikonen,” drew thousands of visitors in its first week in Seoul, Porsche Korea said Friday. Since the general opening to the public Saturday, the exhibition saw around 6,500 visitors as of Thursday, with an average of 2,000 visitors last weekend, according to the automaker. Tickets for the coming weekend have already sold out. Showcasing 18 units of legendary cars including the hypercar concept “919 Street,” Porsche’

Mobility April 15, 2022

South Korean carmaker Kia and last-mile delivery service firm Coupang announced Friday that they had signed an agreement Wednesday to develop all-electric vehicles for cargo delivery. The two companies plan to launch mid-sized and large electric cargo vans by 2025, with better storage, efficiency and safety than Coupang’s current 1-ton cargo truck. Kia said it would use its experience and technology in the automobile sector to offer diverse solutions and services requested by Coupang to

Mobility April 15, 2022