Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States fell 18 percent last month from a year earlier due mainly to the prolonged chip shortages. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 120,731 vehicles in the US in April from 147,700 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Hyundai's sales declined 20 percent on-year to 61,668 units last...

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- The International Electric Vehicle Expo, an annual exhibition of green cars, kicked off Tuesday for its ninth run bringing around 200,000 industry experts and visitors from around 50 countries to the South Korean island of Jeju. While the expo preparation committee had promised to expand the participation of finished car brands this year, only two, Tesla and Polestar, to...

The president of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air on Tuesday called for lifting rules that obligate passengers to submit PCR test results before departure and on arrival here. Referring to other countries that have entirely scrapped COVID testing for travelers from April, Woo Ki-hong, the president of Korea Air, said the South Korean government has hampered local air carriers’ efforts in res...

With digital technology becoming the key drivers for growth across industries, South Korea’s tech behemoths Naver and Kakao are going all-in to win the tech war using artificial intelligence through AI-powered search engines and logistics solutions businesses. Naver announced Tuesday it has made upgrades to its AI search engine, called “Airsearch,” now offering more optimized search results for ...

KB Kookmin Bank opened a unmanned branch within top retailer Emart‘s No Brand store in Express Bus Terminal in Seoul on Tuesday. The branch, launched in partnership with Emart, connects users with bank tellers through video calls and provides basic services including wiring, issuance of debit cards and more.

High-efficiency particulate air filters with new technology capable of killing 99.9% of viruses, they say

In a move to highlight the company‘s legacy as being a presidential shoemaker since 1965, Hyungji Esquire said it would issue NFTs of shoes worn by former South Korean presidents -- former Presidents Park Chung-hee, Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Lee Myung-bak. Based on job orders the company received from former presidents, the shoemaker has restored the shoes as NFTs. The tokens ...

Samsung SDI argues overcharged battery not cause of fire

Kakao Games Corp., the gaming unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., reported Tuesday its first-quarter net profit rose 54.2 percent on-year to 28.3 billion won ($22.3 million) thanks to the popularity of its mobile title "Odin Valhalla Rising" and improved cost management. Operating profit spiked 169.7 percent on-year to 42.1 billion won in the January-March period, while sales rose 104.7...

KakaoBank Corp., a South Korean internet-only bank, Tuesday reported a 43.2 percent jump in its first-quarter earnings as its customer base continued to expand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Net income came to 66.80 billion won (US$52.8 million) in the January-March period, compared with 46.66 billon won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit also surg...

South Korean information technology service provider LG CNS has kicked off the process of its initial public offering (IPO) that could take place as early as in the second half of this year, industry sources said Tuesday. LG CNS, a unit of South Korea's No. 4 conglomerate LG Group, sent a request for proposal to major domestic and overseas securities companies the previous day to choose the lead...

Joint forum held by The Korea Herald, AmCham explores how metaverse is entering a new phase in post-pandemic world

Toss Bank is now the first South Korean internet-only bank to allow foreign residents here to open an online bank account, the lender said Monday. “Starting Monday, all foreigners here are able to open an account as long as they have their registration card,” Toss Bank said in a statement. Foreigners are offered the same service as locals, according to the bank, which was set up last year, four ...

Decentralized autonomous organizations present new organizational structure for the future

Shin Dong-won, chairman of South Korea’s largest instant noodle maker Nongshim, looks around the company‘s second factory in US in this photo released Monday. According to Nongshim, the new factory located in Rancho Cucamonga, California can produce up to 350 million instant noodles per year. The Korean noodle maker said it aims to reach annual sales of $800 million (1.01 trillion won) in the US ...