Yuhan-Kimberly, Korea’s leading hygiene products manufacturer, launched Huggies Premier diapers on Monday, replacing its main diaper product line Huggies Gold after 13 years. Yuhan-Kimberly is a joint venture of Korea’s Yuhan Corp. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. established in 1970. The company has maintained its place at the top of Korea’s diaper market for 28 years with the Huggies brand. According to

Hyundai and Kia overseas sales rise as Japanese rivals suffer from worst disasterThe series of disasters that struck Japan in March could bring significant changes to the world’s automotive industry, including its direction for eco-friendly vehicles.In a recent report, the U.S.-based market research firm Frost and Sullivan projected that the earthquake could not only open opportunities for carmake

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― China’s largest international auto show kicked off on Tuesday with major product launches by global carmakers, showing the growing significance of the world’s most populous country for the auto industry.Auto Shanghai 2011 began its 10-day run with press days scheduled for the first two days in the booming metropolis. The event will be open to the public from Thursday to A

LG Group’s chemicals and electronics components maker posted first quarter sales of nearly 5.5 trillion won, a 24.1 percent increase compared to the same period last year. According to LG Chem’s first quarter figures released Tuesday, the company’s operating profits rose 28 percent to 835.3 billion won ($765 million), while net profits came in at 656.6 billion won, rising 26.8 percent.Much of the

Renault Samsung Motors Co. and the Road Traffic Authority formed a partnership to collaborate on promoting road safety for children on Monday.Under the agreement, the carmaker and the state-run organization will collaborate in educating children about traffic safety, and establish a system for cooperation and mutual support in reducing traffic accidents involving children, Renault Samsung said.The

Hyundai Motor Co. is hiring interns for the summer.The internship is open to university students who are scheduled to graduate in February 2012.The company is receiving applications through its public relations homepage at pr.hyundai.com from Tuesday until May 2. Successful applicants will work for five weeks at the company’s local and overseas operations during the summer vacation. The company wi

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipyard, announced Monday that it won contracts for five vessels, worth 900 billion won ($826 million), pushing up the value of contracts won, including those awarded to its subsidiary Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., this year to $9.2 billion.The figure accumulated so far this year is about 46 percent of the $19.8 billion target the company has se

GM Korea Co., the South Korean arm of U.S.-based GM, began testing its electric vehicle the Chevrolet Volt in Korea on the road on Monday.The week-long test drive will be conducted by the U.S. Embassy to Korea, with a specialist engineer from GM Korea.The vehicle will be used by the U.S. Embassy for official functions for one week until April 24. The Volt being tested by the embassy will also be u

The authorities may introduce measures to limit underage smartphone users’ access to applications stores, sources said Monday.The Korea Communications Standards Commission is considering adding software to smartphones to limit access to adult content available in application stores, or setting up separate applications stores according to the content provided.While smartphone applications have grow

MUNICH, Germany (DPA) ― BMW has built what it claims to be the world’s fastest pick-up truck, the BMW M3 pick-up, with an output of 309kW/420 hp under the bonnet and a top speed of 300 kph.The one-off concept vehicle was taken for “comprehensive testing” under strictest secrecy on the Nuerburgring racetrack on April 1, the car maker said.The rear-axle is said to have a load capacity of up to 450 k

Stuttgart Sports Cars, the official importer and distributor of Porsche vehicles, is offering special deals on the Cayenne and 911 until June 30 as part of a year-long campaign celebrating the German luxury marque’s 25th year in Korea.During the period, those purchasing the Cayenne will be offered a chance to drive the Panamera 4 using Porsche’s finance service’s lease contract while waiting for t

Nissan Korea is putting the Infiniti Essence concept car that made its Korean debut at the recent Seoul Motor Show in Infiniti showrooms across the country until the end of May. Infiniti EssenceThe vehicle is currently on display at Infiniti’s showroom in Gangnam District until the end of the month. The Essence will then be displayed at the Seocho-gu showroom until mid May.The concept car will the

Hanbul Motors, the official importer and distributor of Peugeot vehicles, announced Thursday that it lowered the price of selected engine oils sold at official Peugeot service centers by 20 percent. There are 15 official Peugeot service centers located across the country.The engine oils with lowered prices are the Total Quarts 9000 used in Peugeot’s Euro IV diesel engine and the Total INEO used in

Hyundai Motor Co. introduced a new membership service for Equus and Genesis luxury sedan buyers on Thursday.The new membership service, BLU Honors, is available to those buying 2012 Equus or Genesis sedans, who submit applications. EquusEquus buyers opting for the service can choose from six rounds of golf at selected courses in the two years after the purchase, tickets to eight culture events and

AD Motors, a local electric car manufacturer, said it has begun exporting the Change electric car to Japan.The company had signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the issue with Japan’s Autorex on March 31. Change electric car. (AD Motors)Under the contract, Autorex will import Change vehicles to Japan, and the Nippon Automobile Fair Certificate Association will be responsible for marketing

Korean carmakers have come a long way since the days of the Hyundai Pony, the first locally developed automobile to be exported.The days of being widely perceived as makers of cheap but unreliable vehicles are long gone with overseas surveys and consumer research showing vast improvements in their quality rankings.Despite such developments, local carmakers’ design capabilities appeared to be laggi

Makgeolli, Korean rice wine, contains up to 25 times more farnesol, a compound with anti-tumor properties, research showed Thursday.Farnesol is an alcohol found in a number of substances including essential oils. Research has shown that farnesol has potent anti-tumor properties even in concentrations as low as 5 milligrams per liter.In the latest research, a team led by Korea Food Research Institu

Renault Samsung Motors Co. appointed senior executive managing director Frederic Artaud as the new head of its Sales and Marketing Division on Thursday. Frederic ArtaudBefore the appointment Artaud had been heading the company’s marketing activities since May 2008 within the Sales and Marketing Division.The company said that Artaud was given the new post as part of its reorganization measures aime

The terrestrial broadcaster MBC stopped providing KT SkyLife with high-definition content Thursday, as the two failed to narrow differences over fees for re-broadcasting MBC programs.KT SkyLife is a satellite broadcaster affiliated to the country’s largest fixed-line telecom services provider KT Corp.Following MBC’s move, SkyLife is now broadcasting standard-definition MBC programs for its 620,000

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo (right) greets Banca Sandanter’s chairman Emilio Botin at the carmaker’s office in Seoul on Wednesday. (Hyundai Motor Group)Hyundai Motor Group will set up auto-financing firms in Brazil and the U.K. in collaboration with Spain-based Banco Santander.Banco Santader is Europe’s largest commercial bank with more than 86 million customers. Hyundai Motor chai