The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will resume the “Doorknock” program this year after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it said Monday. AmCham’s delegation of top-level executives, including AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim, will be in Washington D.C. from this Wednesday to Friday to meet with key figures of the Biden Administration and Congress, it added. The delegation has secured more than 25 senior-level meetings with officials from various sec

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Friday welcomed the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s policy to expand corporate tax breaks, which are aimed at promoting active investments and job creation. “AmCham greatly appreciates the willingness of the Korean Government to listen and promptly respond to the concerns and recommendations of AmCham and the foreign business community,” Chairman and CEO of AmCham Korea James Kim said in a statement. “I also appreciate that th

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution is poised to bolster business cooperation with US carmaker Ford. LG Energy Solution said Friday that it would provide more batteries for Ford, which has recently seen growing demand for its electric vehicles, such as the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit. The battery maker has been supplying batteries for these two models since the second half of 2020. To supply more batteries to Ford, the battery maker will double its battery assembly lines in its bat

Samsung SDI held a ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday for its new cylindrical battery-making plant in Malaysia. The company will invest 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the new battery factory to have its construction finished by 2025 in response to the growing demand for cylindrical batteries. Starting from 2024, a year before the factory’s scheduled completion, the battery maker will manufacture cylindrical batteries known as 21700, which are a 21-millimeter-wide and 70-millimeter-

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank has withdrawn its application for an initial public offering with local bourse operator Korea Exchange, the firm said Thursday. The decision, which was reached Wednesday, comes after a general evaluation of the recent stock market conditions and stock price trend of other refineries, according to Hyundai Oilbank. “In the current market situation where it is difficult to be recognized properly by our excellent perfo

Incheon Airport is pumping up its Level 4 construction plan, a project to expand its second passenger terminal, to maintain its leading position as an air transport hub in East Asia. The 4.84 trillion won ($3.69 billion) Level 4 construction plan involves a major upgrade of the airport’s infrastructure, through measures such as expanding its flight network and building a new runway. This year, the Incheon International Airport Corp. will focus on the expansion of Terminal 2 and its parki

The number of damage claims over canceled or delayed flights has increased as airlines struggle with manpower shortages, according to the Korea Consumer Agency on Monday. A total of 213 air service-related cases requesting compensation were submitted from January to May this year. In April, when South Korea dropped the bulk of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the number of filed claims doubled on-month to 60, the agency said. The number of overseas travelers in Incheon Airport alon

Hyundai Motor is expected to renew energy efficiency competition among electric vehicles, with its upcoming Ioniq 6 boasting the world’s best energy efficiency. The Ioniq 6, Hyundai’s second all-electric vehicle that made its global debut at the Busan Motor Show on Thursday, has an energy efficiency of 6 kilometers per kilowatt-hour, the highest rate among EVs around the world. The carmaker pointed to its EV-dedicated platform E-GMP with optimal heat, battery and power control sy

The country‘s top shipping company HMM is aiming to become a global industry leader by investing 15 trillion won ($11.4 billion) over the next five years. “We consider this investment the least that we can do to make our company a sustainable and stable company amid growing uncertainties in the global shipping market due to environmental regulations and digitalization,” Kim Kyung-bae, CEO of HMM, told reporters on Thursday. HMM will be using 10 trillion won of that investment

After the anchor was lifted for a boat test ride off Incheon waters, captain Lee Jun-sik at Avikus, a local autonomous navigation software venture, turns to a tablet PC, not the helm, to steer the boat. Lee simply types in where he wishes to go and then the system automatically comes up with the best and safest route. “The route planning of the system comes after processing obstacles and marine-related data. Once the route planning is done and we touch this play button on the tablet, the

Dunamu, the operator of local crypto exchange Upbit, will invest 500 billion won ($380 million) to create 10,000 new jobs for the next five years. The blockchain company plans to nurture 500 promising startups and create around 8,000 new jobs to operate startup counseling programs, according to Dunamu on Tuesday. Startup counseling programs include “UP Start Incubator” to help those working with Web 3.0, a decentralized online system based on blockchain technology, and “UP St

The Mercedes-Benz CSR Committee donated 530 million won ($403,000) raised through the ninth Mercedes-Benz Give ’N’ Race to provide medical and education expenses to underprivileged children and teenagers. The donation will be delivered to Gangnam Severance Hospital’s Rare Incurable Disease project, the Kids & Future Foundation’s Children and Youth Welfare project, the SeungIl Hope Foundation’s Lou Gehrig Disease project and Wild Flower Youth Center’s Grou

Korean construction management firm Hanmi Global said Tuesday that it has acquired Manchester, England-based construction consultancy Walker Sime. Walker Sime, established in Manchester in 1999, provides specialist services including quantity surveying, project management, employer agents and commercial consultancy. It also has talented employees with diverse consulting experience in the field of construction. Walker Sime has recently been expanding its portfolio by carrying out projects in

Eco-friendly vehicles were responsible for 30.3 percent of South Korea’s total car exports in the first five months of this year, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Monday. South Korea exported $20.45 billion worth of cars from January to May, and 30.3 percent of them were eco-friendly, showing an 8.7 percentage points increase on-year. According to KITA, such an increase comes from growing global demand for carbon-neutral vehicles and the launch of all-electric m

The country’s largest air carrier Korean Air took first place in the air passenger transportation sector of the 2022 Global Customer Satisfaction Index (GCSI) awards for the 18th time since 2005 on Thursday. The GCSI awards recognize the best Korean corporations in each category by evaluating customer satisfaction levels, global competitiveness, and customer loyalty. Korean Air was recognized for its effort to enhance customer service even during the COVID pandemic by delivering the high

Hyundai Motor has launched a completely redesigned HB20 in Brazil, a compact hatchback made exclusively for the Brazilian market. The 2022 facelift comes three years after Hyundai Motor launched the second generation HB20 in 2019. While most automakers update their vehicles once every five years or so, the quick update highlights Hyundai’s efforts to maintain HB20‘s position as the most popular passenger car in Brazil. From January to May this year, a total of 34,897 HB20 units we

The number of overseas travelers spiked to over 3.93 million in the first half of this year, surging 233.2 percent on-year, fueled by fully lifted aviation restrictions and antivirus regulations, according to Incheon Airport on Thursday. "The increase was most noticeable in May and June when the number of overseas travelers increased 44.6 percent and 34.4 percent on-month respectively. Most popular destinations were the US, Southeast Asia, and Europe,” said Kim Chang-kyu, public rela

It’s no wonder SsangYong Motor’s Chilean dealers came up with the name Torres when they first saw the carmaker’s new midsize sport utility vehicle. The Torres looks tough enough to navigate through the soaring mountains of the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia region. Unlike other SUVs of the same size, like Kia’s Sportage and Sorento which look too sophisticated to be driven on harsh road conditions, the Torres looks like it was made for off-roa

South Korean sports utility vehicle maker SsangYong Motor officially unveiled its new Torres mid-size SUV at a media showcase on Tuesday, declaring a fresh start for the debt-ridden carmarker supported by a record-high number of preorders. Kwak Jea-sun, who heads KG Group, which is set to take a majority stake in the carmaker, attended the launch event and said he wouldn‘t go through with a restructuring of the SUV maker. “I haven’t thought about restructuring the company (af

Early sizzling temperatures that hit the country last month led to record-breaking electricity demand for the month of June, data showed Monday. According to Korea Power Exchange, the country’s average maximum power demand stood at 71,805 megawatts last month, up 4.3 percent on-year -- the highest since records began in June 2005. It is also the first year that the average maximum power demand surpassed 70,000 megawatts. The sudden surge of power consumption resulted from many household