Tesla will officially launch its operations in South Korea on Wednesday, opening its first showroom at the Starfield Hanam shopping complex in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.　While customers cannot actually purchase vehicles at the showroom, visitors can inspect a display model of the company’s S 90D luxury vehicle, which will be the first model introduced to the Korean market. Vehicles can only be purchased through the company’s website, which allows for the customization of each vehicle. 　Shortly fo

Promotional image for Hyundai Motor’s home charging system for the Ioniq Electric. (Hyundai Motor Company)　Hyundai Motor has won two product design awards at this year’s annual 2017 iF Design Awards ceremony for its new typeface, “Hyundai Sans,” and the Ioniq Electric vehicle’s home charging system, the company said Monday.  　Germany’s iF Design Awards competition is judged by a panel of some 60 international experts in the fields of design, industry and architecture. This year’s winners’ ceremo

Toyota’s fourth-generation smart hybrid Prius (Toyota Korea)　Toyota Korea announced it will carry out a commemorative service campaign this month for all Toyota and Lexus vehicles in celebration of the cumulative global sales of hybrid vehicles surpassing 10 million units, the company said Monday. 　The two brands’ official dealer service centers will offer customers a 10 percent discount (15 percent for more than two selections) on service and inspections of main hybrid batteries, hybrid auxilia

BMW Group Korea announced Monday its plans to establish a strategic planning team and the appointment of Choi Il-yong as its director. 　Choi has 20 years of experience working as a specialist in business development and strategic planning in the field of information technology, according to BMW. He is slated to take up the post on April 3. He formerly worked for Samsung SDI, IBM Korea and SK Energy. Choi Il-yong (Yonhap)　The new strategic planning team is expected to take charge of corporate str

Posco held its 49th general shareholders meeting at the Posco Center in Seoul on Friday, where it confirmed the re-election of Chairman Kwon Oh-joon as head of the steelmaking giant for another three-year term.In January, the company’s board approved the motion to elect Kwon as its sole candidate. The shareholders’ meeting was attended by roughly 200 domestic and overseas shareholders, including representatives of overseas shareholders and institutional investors.“Although a difficult management

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has ordered a recall of 97,038 vehicles across 17 models from Renault Samsung Motors, Jaguar Land Rover Korea, Forza Motors Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea. 　According to the ministry’s press release Thursday, of the overall total, 94,069 Renault Samsung SM6 sedans are being recalled. The Transport Ministry also announced it plans to charge Renault Samsung Motors a fine of roughly 611 million won ($528,000) for violating safety standards.Renault S

A mere three years from now, the public can expect to see fewer manually driven cars on the road.  　Autonomous technology has become the new wave of the future for the automotive industry, as worldwide sales of self-driving cars are forecast to reach annual sales of 20 million units by the year 2035, according to a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.　“The smart car market will expand to a large extent as self-driving cars are expected to hit the road around 2020,” t

The Korea-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Korea and BMW Group Korea, announced the launch of Germany’s advanced vocational training system “Ausbildung” here Monday. 　The German educational program in Korea is an on-the-job training and academic system geared toward nurturing technical professionals, particularly young students interested in pursuing careers in the automotive industry. 　“The dual education training system has a very long tradition in Ger

South Korea’s government is spurring investments to foster eco-friendly cars, with its latest plan announced last week to build 200 more charging stations for green cars on expressways nationwide until 2025.　The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport shared plans to construct charging stations for hydrogen-powered cars, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Eco-friendly cars will also receive a 50 percent reduction on highway tolls until theys become common here.　A detailed business pla

INCHEON -- The 12th International Plant Protection Convention will take place at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon from April 5-11, organizers said Sunday. The IPPC is a multilateral treaty for international cooperation in plant protection, overseen by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. The logo of IPCC (IPCC)The annual convention makes provisions for measures by governments to protect their plants from harmful pests that may be introduced through international trade, ac

With American electric car giant Tesla preparing to open its first showrooms in Korea next week, industry officials are left speculating whether the company’s high prices and lack of government subsidies will still allow the company to make a big splash in the local eco-car market. 　The first model set to hit the local streets will be Tesla’s luxury Model S 90D, with a starting price of 121 million won ($105,000). However, despite the higher price tag compared to competing electric vehicles curr

Volkswagen Korea is appealing the South Korean watchdog’s decision to slap it with 37.3 billion won ($32.7 million) in fines and a correction order for false advertising related to its diesel emissions scandal. 　Volkswagen filed an administrative suit with the Seoul High Court on Feb. 23 against the FTC’s ruling, which was imposed late last year. It did not file an injunction, the court said Wednesday.　The company reportedly claims that the watchdog’s fine and correction order are unfair.　The co

Han Suk-kyu receives the award for top actor at the SBS Awards Festival Drama Awards Saturday evening in Seoul’s Sangam-dong. (SBS)Han Suk-kyu took home the top prize for his role as a quirky, genius doctor on the popular TV series “Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim” at the 2016 SBS Awards Festival Drama Awards on Saturday evening. 　Han addressed the importance of embracing diversity in his acceptance speech, in a ceremony held at the SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, Seoul. 　“A lot of people tell you t

Girl group AOA (FNC Entertainment)K-pop girl group AOA released a video with the choreography for its new songs on Saturday evening.　The seven member group was featured dancing in a “motion poster” for the songs “Excuse Me” and “Bing Bing,” set to be the title tracks for AOA’s first LP “Angel’s Knock.” The album was released Monday at midnight.   　Snippets of the group’s on-stage choreography were revealed through the moving posters, released on AOA’s official social media accounts.　AOA is set t

The hallyu wave has made Korea one of Asia’s biggest entertainment powerhouses. Famous for K-pop and “Gangnam Style,” Korea’s entertainment industry is setting its sights on captivating new audiences, and new consumers.　Most recently riding the wave of success in China, the future expansion and growth of hallyu -- or Korean cultural content -- is seeking new export outlets.　The industry that was once all about penetrating the Japanese market has shifted its focus. While the exportation of Korean

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced a new initiative to promote travel outside of Seoul next year, recommending destinations based on different themes. 　The ministry selected its top sightseeing cities outside of Seoul. Separated into 10 regions, the new travel promotion initiative highlights themes such as “Peace and National Security,” “Road to Pyeongchang,” “Seonbi (classical scholar) Culture,” “Time Travel” and “Islands and Wind.” 　To allow travelers to get the best out

Owner-pastry chefs Ronan and Su-jin Kim Maillet do not skimp on salt and butter at their namesake dessert boutique in Seorae Village, Seoul. Croissants get their snappy, crisp exterior from a liberal use of butter, while a light punch of salt heightens that lovely, butter-rich flavor. One might think that the thick yet light layers of vanilla cream are what earn Maillet’s millefeuille a loyal fan base, but one should not discredit the buttery, flaky and slightly saline layers sandwiching that lu

K-pop girl group Twice (JYP Entertainment)Despite having only debuted one year ago, the ladies of Twice have already become the fastest selling girl group ever on both the Gaon and Hanteo music charts. 　Twice’s latest EP, “TWICEcoaster: Lane 1” released Oct. 24 and in less than two months the album has sold more than 220,000 copies, making it the fastest selling album by a girl group in Korea. 　The EP features the lead single “TT,” and the “TT” music video went on to become the fastest K-pop vid

K-pop group EXO (S.M. Entertainment)The K-pop megastars of EXO are in the spotlight again this holiday season, dropping their new winter EP “For Life” on Monday. 　The five-track album, with its eponymous lead single, was released in both Korean and Chinese. It features both upbeat pop and soulful ballads as well as Christmas-inspired tracks including “Winter Heat,” “What I Want for Christmas” and “Falling for You.”　Along with the album release, EXO unveiled the Korean and Chinese music videos fo

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Hazzard, an award-winning novelist who wrote of love affairs disrupted and intensified by age, distance and war, has died at age 85.　Hazzard had been in failing health and died Monday at her home in Manhattan, according to her friend Frances Alston. The Australian-born Hazzard had lived in New York City for decades, but also had spent time in Hong Kong, Britain, New Zealand and Italy, an international perspective shared by her characters.　She was a writer of predigital t