Hyundai Motor is investing in foreign startups in the US that develop solid-state batteries and mobility services, as part of its investment in future technologies, according to news reports.The South Korean carmaker was among a list of investors in the Series A funding round arranged by Solid Power, a Colorado-based solid-state battery cells maker, according to Bloomberg on Tuesday. The list of investors for the $20 million financing round also included the venture capital unit of Samsung Elect

Calling South Korea an “old friend,” Indonesia’s leader on Monday urged its tech companies to partner with the Southeast Asian country to develop the emerging technologies that are set to lead the fourth Industrial Revolution."Korean companies such as Samsung and LG played a big role in bringing the smartphone revolution to developing countries, including to Indonesia,” said Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Indonesia-Korea Business and Investment Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. “I call

Elliott Advisors, the Hong Kong arm of Elliott Management, on Friday afternoon released letters it had sent a month earlier to directors of Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors. The recent move is a response to news reports full of speculation that the US hedge fund leaked excerpts of its letters to the media.“Because portions of these letters were selectively provided to the press and others, Elliott has decided to make the full contents of the letters publicly available in the i

Hyundai Motor Group couldn’t help but express displeasure toward a letter from US hedge fund Elliott, saying that its proposal is not helping the company improve its governance structure, and also breaches the nation’s capital market law.The world’s fifth-largest carmaker said that it has declined Elliott’s offer of establishing a corporate governance committee, stressing that the law strictly bans a company from discussing confidential information with a specific shareholder. (Herald DB)Elliott

Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon said Friday that the government would support companies developing technologies to realize a hydrogen economy.In a meeting with local developers of hydrogen technology, Kim said the government would step up efforts to build hydrogen production facilities and develop related technologies such as hydrogen storage and transport. Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon (Yonhap)On a pending bill on the hydrogen economy, Kim sai

Park Se-chang, the eldest son of Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo, has been named president and CEO of its IT management arm, Asiana IDT, the company said Friday.Park replaces Han Chang-soo who has been chosen as president of Asiana Airlines, the nation’s second-largest air carrier and the core business of the group.  Park Se-chang, president of Asiana IDT (left), Han Chang-soo, president of Asiana AirlinesSince joining the group in 2002, Park has served various posts within the group an

Hyundai Motor unveiled an upgraded version of the sixth-generation Avante on Thursday, targeting young drivers looking for their first cars. The carmaker has set a sales target of 120,000 units by next year. The new compact car underwent a drastic change in its design with arrow-like triangular elements on the front and wheels.“The car will become a new standard in the global midsized sedan market, with a near-full design change, state-of-the-art safety features, enhanced performance and fuel ef

LG Hausys, a housing material manufacturer, has developed adhesive furniture wrap from recycled plastic bottles in its latest effort to produce eco-friendly materials, the company said Monday.Furniture film is a finishing material applied to products with wooden, marble and metal surfaces. Furniture wrap made from recycled plastic bottles is displayed. (LG Hausys)The idea of turning recycled plastic bottles into furniture film had existed in the market, but manufacturers had failed to solve prob

Han Sung Motor, the largest dealer of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea, has revamped a website launched by the company to support art prodigies here, the company said Monday.The online platform for Han Sung’s Dream Gream project (www.dream-gream.co.kr) introduces artworks by aspiring artists.The renewed site shows how students develop their art skills through mentoring programs arranged by Han Sung Motor, officials said. The website also displays a collection of art pieces by professional artists an

To better understand the nation’s everlasting belief in the power of education, a small museum inside the hanok village of Bukchon, northern Seoul, offers a trip to South Korea’s schools of the past.Opened in 1995, the Seoul Education Museum holds a vast range of collections that show how the nation’s schools have evolved, as well as the lives of teenagers from the 1392-1910 Joseon era to present. From the textbooks on farming to classes in the 1960s and ‘70s with stoves in the middle where stud

A private power generator under GS Group has acquired a 10 percent stake in a US gas power plant in association with South Korean investors, the company said Thursday.GS EPS bought stakes held by two US funds, Ares EIF Management and Oaktree Capital Management.Under the contract jointly signed by Mirae Asset Daewoo and Hana Alternative Asset Management, GS EPS is to join the boardroom of Linden Cogeneration Complex, a 972 megawatt gas plant in Linden, New Jersey.This marks the first project inve

Southeast Asia is expected to see greater demand for health care services, for services that increase the mobility of its populations, and for entertainment, experts said Wednesday, attributing these trends to the rise of the middle class in the region and to its relatively young populations.At the ASEAN-Korea Business Forum in Singapore, Manoj Menon, the Asia-Pacific managing director of Frost and Sullivan, talked about the region’s significant market potential and said he saw a growing number

Golfzon Newdin, holding company of a leading indoor golf simulator franchise, has acquired 100 percent of shares in Leadbetter Golf Academy, a US-based institute founded by legendary golf coach David Leadbetter, the company said Wednesday.Launched in 1983, the academy operates 37 institutes in 13 countries around the world, with certified coaches trained by Leadbetter himself.By acquiring LGA, Golfzon Newdin will bring golf lessons into a new level by integrating the institute’s coaching knowhow

South Korean cable maker LS Cable showcased the thinnest 500-kilovolt power-transmission cable in the world at an annual exhibition in Paris, the company said Tuesday.The high-voltage underground cable is 5 percent thinner than existing products. Thinner cables add convenience both to the production and transportation processes, the company added.The International Council of Large Electric Systems hosted the event where the cable made its debut.  (LS Cable)“The higher (the) power transmission is

South Korean steel giant Posco signed a contract to acquire mining tenements in Argentina from Australian lithium miner Galaxy Resources for $280 million, the company said Monday.The contract gives Posco full mining rights for an area of 17,500 hectares in a northern sector of the Salar del Hombre Muerto salt flat. As large as one-third of the city of Seoul, the land contains salt water capable of producing 25,000 metric tons of lithium a year, if extracted.With the contract, Posco will be able

현대자동차가 작년 CES에서 컨셉로 내놨던 전동 스쿠터 아이오닉을 양산한다.익명을 요구한 한 업계 관계자에 따르면 스쿠터 아이오닉의 양산 업무를 현대자동차 그룹의 자회사인 현대로템이 맡게 되었으며, 로템은 제작을 맡아줄 국내 파트너사를 찾고 있다.이 관계자는 “현대로템은 현재 1차 양산을 위한 국내 파트너를 찾고 있는 중이다. 싱가포르에서 샘플 오더를 받은 것으로 알고 있다. 1차 양산은 이를 해소하기 위함”이라고 말했다. (사진=현대자동차)이에 대해 현대자동차는 “거의” 양산 확정 단계이며 양산을 하게 되면 “OEM 방식으로 생산하게 될 것인데, 현대로템은 비딩(bidding) 후보군에 들어간 업체 중 하나”라고 말했다.작년 CES 데뷔 이후, 현대차가 아이오닉 스쿠터를 곧 양산할 것이라는 추측된 바 있다. 지난 7월 5일 현대자동차는 미국 특허청에 접히는 퍼스널 모빌리티 차량 (folding personal mobility vehicle) 에 대한 특허출원을 신청했다.한편, 현대

Hyundai Motor is looking for a local partner to mass-produce an electronic scooter it unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show last year, an industry source told The Korea Herald on Monday.The carmaker has transferred the design of the scooter to its locomotive manufacturing unit, Hyundai Rotem, in preparation for mass production, according to an industry insider who declined to be named. “Rotem officials are searching for a partner here to manufacture the first batch of Ioniq scooters,” said t

Over the next five years South Korea’s chemical and energy giant GS Group will invest 20 trillion won (about $18 billion) and create 21,000 new jobs to promote growth and market competitiveness, company representatives said Sunday.The investment, 4 trillion won each year, is 25 percent more than the average the group has spent each year over the last three years, and it will be spent mostly on the three pillars of the group’s business -- the petrochemical, energy and retail sectors.A

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said Sunday that a plan to renovate two commercial districts in the metropolitan city will be postponed, citing fears on the real estate market that has seen a rise since the announcement.During his visit to Singapore last month, Park said he would have three major downtown areas, including the financial district of Yeouido and Yongsan, where US troops have long been based, to be renovated under the 2030 Seoul Plan. In an emergency press meeting Sunday, however, Park sa

It’s the coolest thing on the street. Whether on one or two-wheeled devices powered by rechargeable batteries, people who use personal transporters definitely draw attention. And clearly they’ve changed the landscape of urban streets, especially Seoul. Twenty-something guys in chino pants and graphic T-shirts effortlessly glide through the forest of concrete buildings, while people on foot wipe off their sweat and try to walk as fast as they can to get to their destinations on time. They look li