GONGJU, South Chungcheong Province -- Riding the wave of green cars, Kia Motors recently released its first fully electric vehicle, the Niro, highlighting its driving distance of 385 kilometers per charge -- enough to drive from Seoul to the southern port city Busan. South Korea’s roads, which until now have been packed with gasoline-powered sedans, mostly black or white in color, are going through a transition with the influx of eco-friendly cars such as electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electr

Following the appeals court’s suspension of his sentence last week, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin returned to work Monday after eight months away, facing pending decisions including kick-starting Lotte Chemical’s 4 trillion-won ($3.5 billion) petrochemicals project in Indonesia and completing the group’s corporate governance overhaul plan.The leader’s absence had dealt a blow to the country’s fifth-largest conglomerate, where about 10 mergers and acquisitions deals here and abroad, worth so

Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, has launched the AMG Driving Academy with an aim to make the AMG Speedway an automotive cultural complex, the company said Monday.Benz Korea’s latest program will begin in November by opening the AMG racetrack to a wider audience.“Participants of the program will not only experience the excitement of driving, but also learn safe driving skills and car racing techniques in an effective manner. Anyone who wishes to participate can

The Korea Forest Service hosted an event to commemorate the 44th year since the start of technical cooperation in the forestry sector with Germany that had largely contributed to development of Korea’s forests, the agency said Sunday.German officials visited Korea for three days through Sunday at the invitation of the state-run forest service to show appreciation for their contribution in restoring Korea‘s forests in the course of the partnership between the countries from 1974 and 1993, and dis

Nineteen-year-old art student Myohwa, who believes the meaning of peace is “health for every cell in one’s body,” hopes to change people’s perception of life through her artwork. And Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer for Mercedes-Benz Korea, has supported her for the past six years as she strives to achieve her aspirations.Aimed at nurturing emerging artists like Myohwa, who will someday lead the art scene in Korea and the world, Han Sung Motor launched the Dream Gream art scholarship

South Korea’s LG Electronics unveiled the LG V40 ThinQ, the first smartphone ever to be equipped with five cameras, saying it was looking to foster smartphone sales in anticipation of a 2020 turnaround, the company said Thursday. “We didn’t simply increase the number of cameras. We focused all our capacity (on cameras), which is the most (widely) used part of a smartphone and the one that gets the most complaints (from customers),” said Hwang Jeong-hwan, head of LG Electronics’ mobile communicat

The labor union of Renault Samsung Motors is set to stage a partial strike Thursday, its first strike in four years, in a move that could lower the carmaker’s chances of renewing its contract on production of the Nissan Rogue sport utility vehicle next year, industry insiders said Wednesday.Ahead of the Chuseok holiday last month, the union held a vote, and 85.1 percent agreed to stage a strike after failing to reach a consensus in wage negotiations with the company.The union is pushing for a 10

Lexus Korea has released its best-selling seventh-generation premium hybrid sedan ES 300h six years after the previous model, stepping up its hybrid portfolio, the company said Tuesday.“South Korea was the second most sold market worldwide for the ES 300h after China last year. It is also the first country in Asia for the new-generation ES 300h to begin sales,” said Nobuyuki Takemura, president and CEO of Lexus Korea, at a launch event in eastern Seoul.He added that customers will be satisfied w

Hyosung Chairman and CEO Cho Hyun-joon attended a textile exhibition in Shanghai and met with clients in a bid to cement the company’s position as the world’s leading textile company, the company said Monday.Cho’s attendance of the exhibition comes amid the company’s aggressive efforts to dominate the global textile market, following visits to Vietnam and India earlier this year. Hyosung Chairman and CEO Cho Hyun-joon (center) visits a client’s booth to examine latest trends during Intertextile

Despite signs of South Korea’s domestic auto market on track for a sales recovery, Renault Samsung Motors, the local unit of French carmaker Renault, has been hit with plummeting sales and constant friction with its labor union in wage negotiations, industry experts said Friday. It looks set to miss this year’s goal to sell 100,000 vehicles on the local market. The automaker sold 55,630 units here, down about 18 percent on-year, between January and August, data from the company showed. Among fiv

Korean aircraft manufacturer KAI has lost a multibillion dollar contract to build next-generation training aircraft for the US Air Force, thwarting its plans to expand exports, the company said Friday.With hopes to win the lucrative project, KAI had formed a consortium with the US’ Lockheed Martin to replace 350 units of the aging T-38 jets.The local stock market instantly reacted, with KAI’s shares sliding 28.5 percent to 35,750 won ($32.30) per share compared to the previous day’s close as of

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading chemicals company, held an event to bolster communication and understanding between millennial employees and executives, the company said Friday.The event was led by six new employees under the topic “happy companionship with millennials” during a workshop for some 300 executives, factory managers and chief researchers at its leadership center in Osan City, Gyeonggi Province, earlier this week. The participating newbies talked openly about the millennial generation

Hyundai Motor Group Chief Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun is expected to return home over the weekend after a weeklong trip to the US to persuade officials to allow exemptions from auto tariffs, industry insiders said Friday.According to Hyundai Motor, Chung flew to the US earlier this week to meet with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and officials to convey the automaker’s concerns and economic contributions, amid US President Donald Trump’s push to slap 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles.Th

Steel products made by South Korea’s SL Tech has been excluded from the US’ steel tariffs, marking the first case of exemption since the US imposed a quota on Korean steel shipments this May, industry sources said Thursday.The US Commerce Department earlier this week accepted US medical device manufacturer Micro Stamping’s request for a tariff exemption on ultrafine steel tubes imported from Korean steel company SL Tech.Micro Stamping uses ultrafine steel tubes made by SL Tech to produce medical

Hyundai Engineering signed memorandums of understanding with Indonesian officials on the expansion of its industrial facilities and the construction of a hydroelectric power plant there, an effort to increase its presence in the country’s growing market, the company said Wednesday.The industrial facilities specialize in the production of vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride. “Based on our experience with the perfectly constructed Asahimas vinyl chloride monomer production plant in Indon

Audi Korea delivered 700 units of the 2018 A3 40 TFSI compact sedan last month through its eight official used car dealerships nationwide, the company said Tuesday.Under a law enacted to improve air quality in capital regions, which was revised in 2013, carmakers that sell over 4,500 units annually are required to make up 9.5 percent of their sales with low-emissions cars such as pure electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.Audi Korea’s quota for this year is 3,000 units, which it has fulfilled th

Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Posco Daewoo, the trading unit of Posco, delivered gifts put together by employees to underprivileged children to share the holiday spirit, the company said Tuesday.About 300 executives and staff took part in putting together 360 gift boxes consisting of food and daily supplies, which were delivered to 360 underprivileged households in Incheon. “I believe Posco Daewoo should aim to be a good company where employees feel happy by creating new value and contributing t

Upon reaching a much-awaited consensus to reinstate remaining dismissed workers, SsangYong Motor, the local unit of Indian car maker Mahindra & Mahindra, vowed to make forays into overseas markets with three new models to be released next year, the company said Sunday.The carmaker’s management, labor union and the Korea Metal Workers’ Union agreed last week to reinstate 119 dismissed assembly workers who had been let go in 2009 when then-largest shareholder China’s state-run automaker SAIC Motor

GWANGJU, South Jeolla Province -- Naver, South Korea’s dominant internet portal, has opened its third Naver Partner Square venue for small businesses and creators in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, with the aim of making it the center of the region’s lifestyle and food businesses, the company said Thursday.Naver Partner Square was first established in southern Seoul in May 2013 as a place for entrepreneurs operating on Naver to receive education on online commerce in such areas as search adverti

Tension at GM Korea has escalated following state-run Korea Development Bank’s announcement that it filed a preliminary injunction last week against the company’s move to split the research and development center from the local unit as a separate corporate body.In response, GM Korea on Wednesday reaffirmed that the separation would boost efficiency and capacity of workers and management in R&D.It also downplayed the labor union’s claim that GM was laying the groundwork to pull out of Korea by es