Lotte Foods will replace all of its company cars used for sales activities with electric vehicles in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the company said on Monday. The South Korean food manufacturing firm will distribute about 380 units of Chevrolet’s Bolt EV for all of its sales employees, who drive over 20,000 kilometers on average per year, the company explained. Lotte Foods said it will be distributing the cars in May and June. Prior to the change, the company installed 90

Starbucks Coffee Korea is introducing a reservation system for this year’s seasonal loyalty reward program, so that customers do not have to wait in line for its limited-edition merchandise, the coffee chain said Thursday. Starbucks said it is starting the summer event May 11, where customers can collect stamps by buying Starbucks drinks and can then exchange 17 stamps for seasonal merchandise. This year’s merchandise consists of the Starbucks Summer Day Cooler and Starbucks Nig

Imported car brands including Tesla Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea and BMW Korea will recall 13,797 vehicles to fix faulty components, the Transport Ministry said Thursday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Tesla Korea will recall 561 units of the Model S it imported and sold here, which are installed with a flash memory device with tight capacity. It has been found that the lack of flash memory capacity can cause a malfunction in the touch-screen dashboard, rear ca

Amid growing competition over “smart” technologies in the automotive industry, Jaguar Land Rover Korea has presented its latest Range Rover Evoque equipped with the newest features to meet the expectations of tech-savvy Korean customers. The Korean unit of the British automaker rolled out the revamped model of the Range Rover Evoque, a compact sport utility vehicle, earlier this month. The new Range Rover Evoque implements Pivi Pro, which is an award-winning infotainment system

Mercedes-Benz Korea premiered the new 7th generation S-Class here on Wednesday, presenting the model’s first complete makeover in seven years. “More than 130-year-long heritage of craftsmanship and innovative technologies are the quintessence of the new S-Class,” said Thomas Klein, the president and the chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said during the car’s local launch at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. The model was first unveiled globally in a dig

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TS) will conduct a second round of safety inspections of an extension for Subway Line 7 before it begins operations, the transportation agency said Wednesday. The extension scheme, involving the Incheon Transit Corporation and the subway line operator Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, involves an addition of three more stations to Subway Line 7 -- Bupyeong-gu Office Station, Sangok Station and Seoknam Station. The three stations are all l

Ansan, GYEONGGI PROVINCE -- Summer is fast approaching, and a new item to cool the scorching heat is on the rise: a window air conditioner. Made in compact sizes to be installed on windows, the home appliance is gaining popularity for its convenience and space efficiency. Inside the factory of the country’s No. 1 window AC maker Paseco on Monday, the hands of workers moved fast to assemble the company’s latest window air conditioner that was released just last week. On the U-shap

Mercedes-Benz Korea is steadily growing its social outreach programs to support local communities here, cementing its position as a corporate social responsibility leader among imported car brands. In the past six years following the launch of the programs in 2014, the Korean unit of the German automaker has donated a total of 30.1 billion won ($27 million), it said. That is among the top donations made by an imported car brand here, the company added. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz Korea donated ab

Former National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Hyun-jun has been tapped as the new chief executive officer of the Korea Land & Housing Corp. The position has been vacant since December amid a land speculation scandal involving employees of the state-run company. While Kim has no direct experience in housing or construction, the appointment is seen as a move by the government to overhaul the state housing developer and help it regain the public’s trust. Several LH employees are curren

German luxury car brand Porsche had its best year in Korea in 2020, selling a record number of vehicles, the company said Thursday. Porsche Korea’s 2020 sales surpassed 1 trillion won ($900 million) for the first time since it set up a business presence here in 2014. With 7,779 units sold, South Korea was the automaker’s fifth-largest market in terms of annual sales, following China, North America, Germany and the UK, the company said. “Last year was a milestone, as more

CU is implementing electric trucks for supply deliveries to its stores to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the convenience store chain said Thursday. BGF Retail, the operator behind the convenience store chain, said it is introducing Kia’s Bongo EV, the pure electric version of the automaker’s compact pickup truck. The trucks will be delivering products from BGF Logis Gwangju, its distribution center in Gyeonggi Province to midsized and large CU stores in Seoul’s Gangnam ar

South Korea’s kimchi exports hit an all-time high in the first quarter of this year, recording the biggest trade surplus, government data showed on Wednesday. Overseas sales of kimchi recorded $46.6 million in the first quarter, breaking the previous record of $42 million in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Korea Customs Service and the food industry here. Imports was $38.5 million in the first quarter. The trade surplus of $8.06 million marks the biggest in 11 years and th

Homeplus has appointed Lee Jae-hoon, currently leading Carver Korea, as its new chief executive officer, the company said Wednesday. According to the South Korean discount chain, Lee is a retail expert who has built his career in the retail and consumer goods industry for about 30 years, spending a third of that time as CEO of many retail companies. Lee, who is currently the CEO of Carver Korea, a cosmetics firm known for its skin care brand AHC, will start in the role at Homeplus in May. L

Yuhan-Kimberly has teamed up with the Korea Forest Service and an environmental organization to create a forest dedicated to carbon neutrality, the South Korean hygiene product manufacturer said Tuesday. 　 According to the company, the firm, the state-run Korea Forest Service and Forest for Life agreed to work together to plant trees in Seokpo Forest in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to establish what they christened the carbon neutrality forest. On April 8, the company held a signing ceremony a

Jeep’s iconic sport utility vehicle Wrangler has undergone changes over the decades, evolving to embrace modern design factors here and there. With the continuing popularity of SUVs among local drivers, the trusty Jeep has maintained its position as a steady seller, with its unique appearance setting the standard for outdoor SUVs. The Wrangler has pulled off a remarkable performance so far this year. It sold 513 units in March, posting a growth rate of 324 percent on-year. That pushe

Into its fifth year of running the social outreach project Porsche Do Dream, Porsche Korea is expanding the scheme to support artists facing difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic, the automaker said Monday. The Porsche Do Dream campaign, launched in 2017, has so far focused on children, bent on providing them with learning and playing opportunities. On top of that, this year’s program will include art projects or projects tailored for struggling artists, it said. “Over the pas

Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis brand unveiled the first electric powertrain variant of its luxury sedan G80 at the 2021 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on Monday. During the motor show, which is to run until April 28, Hyundai Motor and Kia, the other two affiliates of the automotive group, also presented their latest electric vehicles -- Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6 -- putting emphasis on electric powertrains. Taking part in the Chinese automotive e

Hyundai Motor and Kia, Hyundai Motor Group’s two automakers, are joining hands with SK Innovation to develop batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, the group said Friday. The auto group will work with the country’s leading battery producer, SK Innovation, to develop “pouch-style” batteries optimized for electric vehicles. They hope to apply the batteries to Hyundai’s hybrid electric vehicles slated for release in 2024. The partnership will boost the country&rsq

Posco C&C decided to end their business partnership with Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL), one of Myanmar’s two largest military holding companies, the company said Friday. The affiliate of South Korea’s steel giant Posco said it will end its partnership with MEHL by purchasing all the stakes MEHL has in their joint venture, Myanmar Posco C&C Co., following public outcry against Myanmar military’s brutal crackdown on its citizens after a coup in

Namyang Dairy Products, a major dairy producer here, has come under fire for claiming its yogurt drink prevents COVID-19. At a symposium hosted by the Korea Research & Institute of Bio Medical Science on Tuesday, the head of Namyang Dairy’s internal research institute presented the results of its research on Bulgaris, the firm’s yogurt drink. “We’re the first firm in the country that has discovered fermented dairy products are effective in preventing influenza and