BMW Korea said Monday its BMW Driving Center in Yeongjongdo, Incheon celebrated an accumulated 1 million visitors, since opening in August 2014. The BMW Driving Center offers various hands-on programs, such as test-drives on its 2.6-kilometer driving track and education courses for children.  The center in Yeongjongdo is the company‘s first to be built in Asia and the third in the world, after Germany and the US, the company said. Written by Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)

Logistics firm Hanjin Express said Monday it would stop nighttime delivery shifts starting November, after one of its couriers died apparently from overwork. It is the first time a local logistic company has abolished night shifts. To prevent overwork and control the workload, Hanjin said it will increase both the number of delivery vehicles and delivery workers during holiday periods and times when there is more demand. “As delivery packages are concentrated on Tuesdays and Wednesda

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won highlighted the importance of creating a “financial story” for its affiliates, and how it can lead to a jump in corporate value when added with trust from the market and support from society. In the closing ceremony of the company’s annual CEO seminar held in Jeju Island, Chey spoke to the group management of the group’s vision. “The previous evaluation of corporate value, which centered on financial achievements such as sales and o

South Korean steelmaker Posco and its affiliates posted an operating profit of 666.7 billion won ($588.6 million) in the third quarter, down 35.9 percent from the same time a year earlier. The total revenue reached 14.26 trillion won in the same period, down 10.8 percent on-year, and the net profit stood at 514 billion won, up 3.5 percent, the company said. While the quarterly performance stands short of the year before, the operating profit still jumped 297.5 percent on-quarter. Looking at

McDonald’s Korea said Thursday it has replaced all the oil used in cooking its food with sunflower oil, a first in the quick service restaurant industry. The burger chain said it introduced sunflower oil to all of its burger outlets, as it is a healthier ingredient that is lower in trans fats than the vegetable oils the company was using before. The move comes as part of the plan the company announced earlier this month to promote sustainable growth for society and the environment. Sunf

Nongshim, a South Korean food company, said Thursday it kicked off its annual fostering program to select and support food tech startups dubbed Nongshim Techup+. This year’s theme is “new lifestyle in the post-COVID-19 era,” and Nongshim is looking for food tech startups that present creative products or services in areas such as non-contact business, healthcare and all other economic activities done at home, the company explained. Nongshim said it will evaluate applicants

South Korean consumers are more worried about COVID-19 than consumers anywhere else in the world, and are also the biggest users of online food services, according to a survey by customer data analysis firm Dunnhumby. In a survey report released Thursday, titled “Impact COVID-19 has had on customer attitudes and behavior,” Korea was identified as the country with the most worried consumers concerning the COVID-19 outbreak, with respondents saying their personal finances had weakene

Harman International Korea said Wednesday its Lexicon Premium Sound System is being offered as an option for the Genesis sports sedan, the New G70, which was recently rolled out. According to the car audio supplier, the Lexicon Premium Sound System adds six more speakers to the originally installed nine to offer the best audio sound quality, with a high power output Class D Amplifier and under seat subwoofer. The 15 speakers balance the different ranges of sound, and the subwoofer installed

SPC Group said Wednesday it will open a Shake Shack location in Galleria Timeworld in Daejeon in November. The Shake Shack store planned to launch in Daejeon is the third outlet for the burger chain to be opened outside the Greater Seoul area that includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, SPC said. A fence installed around the Shake Shack store at Galleria Timeworld department store is decorated with colorful graffiti art depicting people dining in the burger house by Junk House, SPC said. The

Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer of Mercedes-Benz here, continues to support young artists with the Dream Gream art scholarship program, preparing all events online in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. In the Han Sung Motor Cheongdam showroom in Seoul, Han Sung Motor CEO Ulf Ausprung and some 10 officials gathered Friday to hold this year’s Dream Gream Ambassador event. About 30 other ambassadors, who are company officials, took part in the event via a livestreaming platform. T

Daimler Trucks Korea said Tuesday that it is successfully running an exhibition and test-drive event for Mercedes-Benz’s new Actros, launched last month. Presented via a digital launching event Sept. 10, the new Actros has grabbed the attention of truck drivers and Mercedes-Benz customers for its newest technological functions, the automaker said. The fifth-generation Actros is equipped with five innovative functions, the company said: the MirrorCam, Active Drive Assist, Active Brake A

BMW Korea once led the foreign car market here, dating as far back as the importers association started to record sales in 2003 -- at least most of the time, until Mercedes-Benz took over in 2016. Now, BMW is stepping up its game against the archrival, with the revamped BMW 5 and 6 Gran Turismo Series. The automaker is making clear its intention to take back the throne, as it launched the upgraded version of its bestselling models on Oct. 5, just a week before Mercedes-Benz presented the fac

South Korea’s automotive industry has recovered to see sales and production grow by over 20 percent on-year in September, government data showed Monday. According to the data from Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the production of Korean cars increased by 23.2 percent in September, compared to the same time last year. Overall sales went up as well. In September, 137,771 Korean cars were sold in the domestic market, up 22.2 percent compared to the year earlier. The ministry als

Homeplus said Friday it had signed a strategic partnership with E&J Gallo, a US-based winery, to introduce a wide range of US wines to the Korean market. According to the hypermarket chain, the two companies held an online joint business plan signing ceremony, to agree on establishing a stable distribution network. Founded in 1933, E&J Gallo stands as one of the biggest wineries in the US, Homeplus said. E&J Gallo currently has 75 affiliate companies and runs 120 brands, expor

Starting his first day as Hyundai Motor Group’s chairman on Thursday, Chung Euisun attended the government’s hydrogen economy committee meeting, riding there in his company’s first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Nexo. Prior to the meeting, Chung had agreed to establish a joint entity with the government to expand the number of hydrogen charging stations across the country, clearly showing his commitment to creating a hydrogen ecosystem. During the meeting, Hyundai Motor s

Bentley Motors Korea unveiled Wednesday the revamped luxury sports sedan Flying Spur with the popular V8 powertrain, for the first time in South Korea. 　 In a media preview event held at a hotel in Gangnam, southern Seoul on Oct. 8, the head of Bentley Motors Korea Warren Clarke presented the Flying Spur V8 and also revealed the company’s brand strategy for the upcoming years. Prior to the global launch this week, Bentley Motors Korea ran a private preview event to allow a peek for pros

The game is back on between import vehicle archrivals, intensified by Mercedes-Benz Korea’s release of the newest E-Class this week. To drive away the enthusiastic runner up BMW and to maintain its position as Korea’s favorite imported car brand, Mercedes-Benz has returned with a revamped version of the best-selling model Tuesday. The new E-Class is a revamped version of the 10th-generation model, which the automaker hailed for having achieved a “monumental milestone”

Chung Euisun, who took the helm of the country’s No. 1 automotive company, Hyundai Motor Group, Wednesday, has shown strong and progressive leadership over the past two years. Born in 1970 as the only son of Hyundai Group leader Chung Mong-koo, who is now honorary chairman, Chung Euisun majored in business administration at Korea University before entering group affiliate Hyundai Precision and Industries, now Hyundai Mobis, in 1994. Chung Euisun has since accumulated experience in vari

BMW Korea said Tuesday it donated 12 cars to be used for research and study to high schools and universities that specialize in automobiles. The 12 BMW vehicles, which include BMW Minis, were delivered to five high schools, five universities and two government entities, including Korea Transportation Safety Authority and Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority. “The donated cars would be the driving force for the students to take a step further toward their future dreams,

Harman Korea said Monday it was named the best car audio supplier by JD Power, a US market research firm, for the highest quality and customer satisfaction. According to Harman, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, its Revel and Lexicon branded speaker systems have been awarded top honors in the JD Power 2020 US Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study, released Saturday. Revel speakers are in the Lincoln Navigator, and Lexicon speakers are in the Genesis G70. The J