South Korea’s leading golf simulator maker, Golfzon, launched last week its first store in the US under its new brand Zstrict, as parts of its effort in expanding sports entertainment business in the country, the company said Tuesday.Located in Chelsea Piers, a sports complex in Connecticut, Zstrict offers tournament-type golf games that allow players to participate simultaneously against each other in numerous competitions for cash and rewards.  With cash and rewards gained by comple

The decadeslong standoff between the two Koreas has presented a struggle for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, but it has, ironically from a business perspective, ensured the continuous development of its defense industry. One of the driving forces that has led the development of South Korea’s defense technology is Hanwha, a conglomerate that started as a gunpowder supplier in the then war-torn country 67 years ago. It has since evolved into an energy-to-chemicals empire, but the defens

Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea, will support a public art project run by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture to create art installation works on streets of the capital city next month, the company said Thursday.Dream Gream scholarship recipients, Han Sung Motor employees and citizens will participate in the project titled “Sowon Bandi,” to create a collection of 5,000 solar-power light lamps, each of which holds a person’s wish

It’s unusual: tall silver grass covering the burial site of a king. Geonwolleng, the royal tomb of the founding King Taejo of the Joseon era (reign 1382-1398), is probably the only place in the world where one can take a glimpse into the past and enjoy the spectacular sight of silver grass waving in the autumn wind at the same time.It was his last wish, according to historians, that King Taejo wanted to have his tomb covered by silver glass brought from his home town Hamheung, now a part o

GS Group said Thursday it will establish a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley in the first half of next year, as part of its plan to seek new growth engines.The decision was made during a two-day meeting of top executives held in Taipei, Taiwan, chaired by GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo. The list of executives who attended the meeting includes, GS Engineering and Construction Vice Chairman Huh Myung-soo, GS Home Shopping Vice Chairman Huh Tae-soo and GS Vice Chairman Jeong Taek-geun. 

Renault Samsung Motors, a South Korean subsidiary of French carmaker Renault, has forged a partnership with LG Chem to develop energy storage systems with used batteries, the companies said Thursday. The carmaker has provided 40 units of used batteries from its electric vehicle SM3 Z.E. to its counterpart to help the latter develop and start testing a new type of ESS by 2021.Renault Samsung plans to provide batteries that have reached retirement age from its ultramini EV Twizy and other EVs plan

Hyundai Motor unveiled an upgraded version of fuel cell electric bus powered by hydrogen for the Korean police on Thursday, in line with the law enforcement agency’s plan to turn its entire bus fleet green.The carmaker had previously introduced city bus-type hydrogen vehicles for the law enforcement agency, but it is the first model with large cargo space for police equipment and is suitable for long-haul travel. The latest model has two 95 kilowatt fuel cell stacks with hydrogen tanks pla

Seeking to lower the cost of manufacturing fuel cell electric vehicles and of producing and storing hydrogen, Hyundai Motor will make strategic investments in three companies in Europe and in the Middle East and pursue technical cooperation, the company said Wednesday. Hyundai Motor has agreed to work with Impact Coatings AB of Sweden, a supplier of PVD-based coating solutions for fuel cells; H2Pro of Israel, a startup that developed an electrochemical, thermally active chemical (E-TAC) water-sp

Manfred Fitzgerald who led Genesis, the luxury brand of Hyundai Motor, for nearly four years has tendered his resignation citing personal reasons, the company said Tuesday.The former director of brand and design Lamborghini joined the company in January 2016, and is said to have contributed to raising the brand’s profile in a short period of time. Genesis G70, the smallest sedan of the family, was named the Car of the Year in North America, early this year.Fitzgerald will be replaced by Le

PRINCIPAL AWARDS/ GRAND PRIZESK INNOVATIONBy Lim Su-kilHead of PR OfficeI would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who joined and supported SK Innovation’s corporate PR campaign, “Our innovation is natural,” that embodied our attitude toward the environment.Under the campaign’s slogan, we sought to convey our management strategy of “green balance” that aims to uphold the values of nature, while at the same time carrying a message that the firm’s

CREATIVE AWARDS/ GRAND PRIZESK HOLDINGSBy Hong Kyung-pyoVice president of brand management SK has been pursuing ways to generate social value for greater happiness for all. Social value that aims to solve various problems together with cooperation between society and business is the new growth engine for our community. This year’s “OK! SK” campaign is designed to provide better understanding of SK’s efforts in creating social value. In this campaign we described the

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor and Israeli mobility firm Taavura have forged a partnership to seek business opportunities in future mobility, the companies said Tuesday.Established in 1955, Taavura is a logistics service firm that transports ground and air cargo and also imports and distributes vehicles as well as providing public transportation services. The Israeli company has been seeking to transform into an innovative company in the Middle East, expanding its business to information te

The Seoul branch of Greenpeace has slammed South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor, claiming that its green car strategy falls short of global movements on climate change.In a statement published on Friday, the nongovernment organization argued that Hyundai’s plans to raise both production and sales capacity of electric vehicles to 850,000 a year by 2025 accounts for only 10.3 percent of its 2018 sales. Despite the global efforts to curb carbon emissions, the carmaker is still producing diesel

Korean steel giant Posco saw its operating profit drop 32 percent in the third quarter from a year prior over rising raw material costs, the company said Thursday.Its operating profit marked 1.04 trillion won ($887 million), with sales falling 2.6 percent to 15.9 trillion won, it said. Its net profit halved to 496.8 billion won in the July-September period, from a net profit of 1.05 trillion won a year earlier. The earnings reflected rising material costs, dragging operating profit down 8.5 perc

Hyundai Mobis, a top-tier auto parts maker in South Korea, will invest $50 million in Velodyne, a leading lidar company based in California, to achieve its aim of mass producing level 3 autonomous driving lidar system in two years, the company said Wednesday.By forging the partnership, the two will collaborate on new lidar system supply by integrating Velodyne’s latest lidar sensors with Hyundai Mobis’ cognitive software, it said in a statement.Velodyne, founded by a US inventor Davi

Posco’s chief visited Argentina to check on the ongoing construction of a demonstration plant that extracts lithium collected from a local salt lake last week, the company said Wednesday.Stressing the importance of the steelmaker’s operation in the South American country for its sustainable growth, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo encouraged workers to complete the project safety and maintain the sound partnership with the community, the firm said.In an intermediate survey of lithium re

While admitting that Hyundai Motor has made a relatively late entry into future mobility, the de facto leader of the world’s fifth-largest carmaker said Tuesday that he hopes to turn the company into a provider of related services that connect people’s physical distance.“It is clear that we are going to continue manufacturing cars. I believe that in the future, cars will take account for 50 percent share (by modes of transport), private air vehicle 30 percent and robotics 20 pe

Mercedes-Benz Korea, local importer and distributor of the German luxury carmaker, said Monday that it has launched its first pure electric car under its green car brand EQ.The new Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC made its global debut last year in Europe, and in March at the Seoul Motor Show.  For enhanced customer experience, the company also introduced premium charging services and has expanded charging networks.The new EQC is powered by an 80-kWh lithium-ion battery developed by Daimler sub

DANGJIN, South Chungcheong Province -- Despite increased automation, the steel-manufacturing industry remains among the most dangerous workplaces. Promoting safety awareness, building stronger compliance and ensuring continuous investments in safety features are crucial to turn steel mills into “zero harm” workplaces. And Hyundai Steel, the nation’s second-largest steelmaker, aims to set the example. “We want to change from a ‘have-to’ environment to a ‘

Macallan has released a new whisky called Edition No. 5, in collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute, to demonstrate its craftsmanship and pioneering design, importer Edrington Korea said Wednesday. Inspired by Macallan’s natural color spectrum, the Pantone Color Institute developed a new color it has named “The Macallan Edition Purple” for the first time in the world, and applied it to the packaging of the latest whisky product, it added.The color symbolizes the whisky b