[THE INVESTOR] Ssagyong Motor, owned by India’s auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra, on Sept. 26 said that it has partnered with IT affiliate Tech Mahindra and a local network carrier LG Uplus to develop internet-connected car technology. The three firms signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul last week, agreeing to team up to develop a platform for connected cars of the future. Under the deal, Ssangyong will develop the car interior system, while Tech Mahindra will provide the telematics platf

[THE INVESTOR] Korea has one of the fastest growing levels of household debt as a percentage of gross domestic product among major economies in the world, a Switzerland-based international organization of central banks said Sunday. 　Between January and March this year, the ratio of Korea’s household loans to GDP stood at 88.8 percent, up from last year’s 84.3 percent. It was the third-biggest increase among the 42 countries surveyed by the Bank for International Settlements. “Korea’s household d

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s battery and chemical company LG Chem said Sunday it set a goal of reaching 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in sales for electric vehicle batteries by 2020. The battery-maker also plans to start the construction of its EV plant in Poland this year, marking its third global presence after the US and China. 　“We aim to become the No. 1 electric car battery-maker by 2018 in terms of market position, technology and profitability by leading the EV market poised to grow,” sai

[THE INVESTOR] Motorists looking for affordable sport utility vehicles have a wider range of options now. Renault Samsung‘s latest SUV, the new QM6, has jumped into the fray, with a set of smart features designed to boost the driving experience.　　 The QM6 inherited its “design DNA” from the SM6, Renault Samsung’s popular midsize sedan, the company said. And it does indeed look like a SUV version of the SM6, with daytime light-emitting diode headlights that have a unique futuristic look.  Renault

[THE INVESTOR] German auto giant BMW invited the press on Friday to get behind the wheel of its flagship model 750Li xDrive on Jejudo, a resort island off the southern coast of South Korea, to mark its 100th anniversary. 　The new gasoline model, which delivers maximum 450 horsepower with a 66.3 kilogram-meter torque, offered peppy acceleration, breaking the stereotype that the feel of a large sedan is slow and heavy. It offered comfort driving below 3,000 revolutions per minute.　The highlight of

[THE INVESTOR] Deteriorations in jobs and other recent economic data are stoking fears of a crisis in South Korea, but experts say the economy is more likely to enter a long and gradual spiral downward, rather than a short-term, cyclical crisis.   　Youth unemployment, long-term unemployment, bankruptcy and corporate credit ratings downgrades are some of the indicators that have fallen to levels last seen in the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, which sent Korea to a near-bankruptcy.  Computer

[THE INVESTOR] China has begun cutting down its tariffs on a range of technology-related goods imported from World Trade Organization members, which is expected to benefit Korean manufacturers that export their goods to the country. Beginning on Sept. 15, China started reducing import tariffs on 201 technology goods under the Information Technology Agreement of the WTO, the Korea Customs Service confirmed on Sept. 25. China plans to eliminate import duties on the goods over the next three to sev

[THE INVESTOR] Nearly half of the potentially dangerous Galaxy Note 7 phones have now been exchanged with new ones in South Korea, six days after Samsung Electronics launched a worldwide recall program over battery problems, industry officials said on Sept. 25. Of 429,000 Note 7s that have been sold here, more than 200,000 gadgets have been replaced as of Sept. 24, according to the official. Under the recall plan, owners can decide whether to exchange their phones with new ones or get a full ref

[THE INVESTOR] India replaced South Korea as the world’s fifth-largest producer of automobiles in the first seven months of this year, industry data showed on Sept. 25. South Korea fell one rank to No. 6 in the cited period, the first time in 12 years that the country lost the No. 5 spot. According to data from Korea Automobile Manufacturer’s Association Korea, the country’s accumulated auto production stood at 2.55 million units from January to July, fewer than 2.57 million by India. South Kore

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Merchant Marine,  Korea’s second-largest container carrier, is working to absorb valuable assets held by Hanjin Shipping, its bigger rival that stands on the verge of bankruptcy. 　According to industry sources and Yonhap News, the firm has hired global consultancy A.T. Kearney for business and management strategies, which would include ways to seize on the opportunities created by the fall of Hanjin.　Hanjin, before the crisis, was the world’s seventh-largest container line

[THE INVESTOR] Having proved his competence as a CEO at LG Display and chemical firm LG Chem’s battery business over the course of around 10 years, Kwon Young-soo is aiming for similar success as chief executive of network carrier  LG Uplus.The story of Kwon and Apple chief Tim Cook planting two apple trees together at LG Display’s manufacturing complex in 2010 to celebrate the partnership between the two companies shows his ability to establish amicable relationships with global business partne

[THE INVESTOR] US automaker General Motors is considering to launch Chevrolet’s electric vehicle Bolt in South Korea, the company’s chief marketing officer said. “We will actively consider releasing Bolt in Korea, which can go 383 kilometers per charge,” Tim Mahoney, the CMO of Global Chevrolet told local news outlets on Sept. 21 during his visit to Seoul. However, the automaker’s Korean unit said nothing has been confirmed about the plans as yet.  GM's full-electric Chevrolet Bolt“Chevrolet wil

[THE INVESTOR]  Pernod Ricard Korea, the local unit of the French distiller, aims to revitalize the sluggish whisky market in South Korea and regain the No. 1 position in the industry under new leadership. “Pernod Ricard Korea is at the important crossroad,” Jean Touboul, the new CEO of the Korean unit, told reporters on Sept. 22 in Seoul. “Our ambition is clear. We want to take the second leap forward in our growth history to reclaim back the leadership of the spirit market in Korea.”To do so,

[THE INVESTOR] Renault Samsung Motors had the highest recall rate among local automakers over the past five years, according to a lawmaker on Sept. 22. Citing data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Rep. Yoon Hoo-duk of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea said the local unit of French automaker Renault recalled a total of 765,435 units from 2011 to the first half of this year. According to data from Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the automaker sold 436,11

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean prosecutors on Sept. 21 summoned a Volkswagen executive from Germany for the first time in a widening probe into the automaker’s emission-rigging scandal. Detlef Stendel, emission certification manager from the VW headquarters, appeared at the Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office at 9:15 am. “As a witness and an employee of Volkswagen, I am here to cooperate with the South Korean authorities and clear the facts,” he told reporters before entering the office. Detlef Stend

[THE INVESTOR] The prosecution will summon a Volkswagen executive from Germany on Sept. 21, to grill him over his involvement in the German carmaker’s emission-rigging scandal. Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 20 said it will question an executive from Germany, whose name was not identified, as a witness to the probe into the automaker’s cheating on vehicle emissions test. It is the first time that an executive from the German headquarters is being summoned by the prosecution

[THE INVESTOR] A merger between South Korea’s leading steelmakers POSCO and Hyundai Steel can further benefit the local steel industry to gain competitive edge in the global market, an industry report said. “In response to the rapidly changing environment, industry-wide restructuring through mergers and acquisitions is necessary,” according to report released by the Export-Import Bank of Korea on the steel industry earlier this month. “There’s a need to consider merging POSCO and Hyundai Steel.

[THE INVESTOR] Creditors of Kumho Tire are kicking off the disposal process of their stakes in the nation’s second-largest tire maker. Credit Suisse, the key sales advisor, on Sept. 20 said the creditors will sell their respective shares through a competitive bidding process. Sources said the final bidding process is expected to start in January next year after a preliminary bidding set for mid-November. A combined 42.1 percent stake or 66.3 million shares owned by nine creditors -- since the ti

[THE INVESTOR] The number of local companies that file for bankruptcy court protection have increased rapidly this year, while the number of judges overseeing the firms remained the same, overwhelming the courts’ capacity to handle the cases, data showed on Sept. 20. According to data by South Korea’s highest court, a total of 1,150 companies are under court receivership at 14 district courts across the country. The number increased by 100 firms from a year earlier as more companies sought bankr

[THE INVESTOR] A group of Volkswagen car owners plan to file a constitutional appeal on Sept. 20, demanding the South Korean government should enforce a replacement order on vehicles affected by the German automaker’s emission-rigging scandal. Barun Law, a Korean law firm that represents VW owners in multiple suit against the automaker, said it will make an appeal against the Ministry of Environment for not issuing appropriate replacement orders for its diesel vehicles equipped with defeat devic