Data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed Monday that foreign direct investment to South Korea fell 13.3 percent on-year in 2019 to reach $23.3 billion of investment in total.According to the data, last year’s FDI pledged to Korea was the second-largest amount after the $26.9 billion reported in 2018. The ministry said 2018 saw the record-high FDI thanks to earlier-reported investments by firms prior to the government’s planned abolition of corporate tax benefi

Hyundai Motor said Monday it has launched Kona Electric 2020, an upgraded version of the country’s most-sold electric vehicle last year.A total of 13,587 units of Kona Electric were sold in the domestic market last year, maintaining its top position in the EV market for two years in a row.  The automaker said all trims of Kona Electric 2020 have adopted 10.25-inch navigation, offering drivers with wider, clearer screen as well as various multimedia contents. The navigation program is

In a country where food trends come and go, stores selling black sugar milk tea and Mala xiang guo -- Sichuan-style spicy stir-fried vegetables and meat -- are widespread these days. Korea’s “sweet fever” peaked when Taiwanese boba milk tea franchise Tiger Sugar opened here in March last year, selling milk tea with dark brown sugar syrup called “heukdang” in Korean. In less than a year, Tiger Sugar has opened 16 additional stores in Korea.Coffee shops like Coffee Be

The country’s airlines are expanding their numbers of flights ahead of Seollal and throughout the holiday, industry sources said Friday. Seollal, the Lunar new year, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. This year’s Seollal falls on Jan. 25, with the holiday running from 24th until 27th.  Korean Air said it would add a total of 26 more domestic flights connecting Gimpo to Jeju, Cheongju to Jeju and Gimpo to Busan, from 23rd to 27th.Asiana Airlines said it will add 12 mor

Carmakers are rushing to launch new models in the first half of the year -- mainly market-dominating sport utility vehicles -- seeking opportunities to recover sales, according to industry sources.Hyundai Motor’s first-ever Genesis SUV GV80 opens up this year’s new vehicle lineup. The automaker released images of the luxury SUV GV80 on New Year’s Day, raising market expectations for the model set to debut in mid-January.  The three-row SUV from Hyundai Motor’s l

Amid forecasts of lower economic growth and harsher business conditions in 2020, South Korea’s business community is pushing to ease government regulations to stimulate aggressive investments and entrepreneurship, according to industry sources Wednesday.Heads of the country’s business lobby groups noted abandoning old regulations to seek new changes in 2020.The Federation of Korean Industries chief Huh Chang-soo said in his New Year’s address that future-oriented regulations ar

Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis unveiled its first sport utility vehicle on Wednesday, raising market expectations for the much-anticipated model set to debut in mid-January. The GV80, a three-row SUV, is the fourth model of the brand, which consists of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans.  The “V” in its name represents the “versatile” aspect of the luxury SUV, while the number 80 indicates its large size, Hyundai Motor said. Under the design concept of

After a bumpy year with flat consumer sentiment and global trade uncertainties, the automotive market is likely to face a similar business environment in 2020, with sport utility vehicles, electric vehicles and luxury cars remaining popular, according to market analysts.Hyundai Motor Group’s think tank for global business research and development center noted that the global auto market is estimated to record sales of 86.95 million units in 2019, down 5 percent from the previous year. This

Mercedes-Benz said Sunday its luxury flagship sedan the new Mercedes-Benz S 560 e has landed in South Korea, as part of the efforts to diversify its plug-in hybrid sedan lineup here. The German automaker’s S-Class sedan is conspicuous by its long wheelbase, spacious interior, innovative suspension system and high fuel efficiency, being a 70-year-long steady-selling luxury sedan, Mercedes-Benz Korea said.With the third-generation plug-in hybrid new S 560 e launching in Korea, the company sa

Following Asiana Airlines’ new owner Hyundai Development Company finalizing a stock purchase agreement with the air carrier’s parent company Kumho Industrial on Friday, market analysts viewed that the priority mission for HDC is to improve the financial status of the debt-ridden air carrier. In short, it may cost the firm more than the promised 2 trillion won ($1.73 billion). According to the HDC consortium, which includes Mirae Asset Daewoo that will take 15 percent stake, it clinch

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday its affiliate Mocean Lab has joined hands with the country’s car rental business association to develop a mobility service ecosystem in the rental car market. The mobility service venture set up by the parent group of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Rental Car Business Association for collaboration in the future mobility business. The association is the country’s largest group of car rent

University students in South Korea still view tech giant Samsung Electronics as the most desirable future employer, a local survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 473 male students and 586 female students conducted by online job portal JobKorea, 10.6 percent chose Samsung Electronics as the company where they would most like to work. The next most popular answer was Korean Air (7.6 percent), followed by food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang (6.7 percent) and the Korea Electric P

The latest bone of contention between the labor union and management at Hyundai Motor was unforeseen in a country that boasts one of the highest internet penetration rates -- Wi-Fi use.On Tuesday, the automaker changed its decision to allow employees to use Wi-Fi at its manufacturing plant in Ulsan, and placed restrictions on use only during meal times and break hours. The decision was taken after criticism that employees spent a lot of their time surfing the internet or watching YouTube vi

Lotte Duty Free’s online sales are expected to surpass 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) by the year-end, exceeding its target of 2.9 trillion won, according to the company. In the first half of this year, Lotte Duty Free recorded 1.42 trillion won in sales at its online mall, a 49 percent jump year-on-year.Last year, Lotte Duty Free raked 2.14 trillion won in online sales, up 46.3 percent from the previous year, the largest sales of an online duty-free outlet in the world.The company&rsq

A family war is brewing in Hanjin Group, one of Korea’s vast conglomerates which also owns flag carrier Korean Air, with siblings battling to assume management control. Late Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s eldest daughter Cho Hyun-ah is stepping up her attack against her younger brother and present Chairman Cho Won-tae, hinting at continued dispute about succession.Former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah said in a statement Monday via a law firm that “ Cho Won-tae’s busi

Korean confectionery company Orion said Monday it has tapped Vice President Lee Seung-jun as its new chief. Lee has served as head of Orion’s research and development center. He was promoted to president and will also head the company’s global R&D center, Orion said. After joining the company in 1989, he played key roles at product development and R&D teams in China as well as supervised megahit products including its signature corn chip Kkobup Chip, Market O Granola, Fr

Following the massive executive reshuffle at Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian auto giant that acquired SsangYong Motor in 2010, market insiders are speculating whether it will hamper investments in its ailing South Korean subsidiary. According to the Indian company, current Chairman Anand Mahindra will complete his term and take over a non-executive role as a chairman of the board of M&M from April 1. The group said that he will serve as a mentor and the board’s managing director to

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, will strive to expand its logistics business via global network it has established this year, as well as make a “quantum jump” by penetrating into new markets in 2020, according to the firm. Under the 2020 vision, Hyundai Glovis said it will expand its non-subsidiary logistics business in the next year to step up as a global logistics firm. This year alone, Hyundai Glovis has clinched three partnerships with Chinese fi

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group carried out a sweeping executive reshuffle Thursday to respond to the changing retail business landscape, with Lotte Department CEO Kang Hee-tae being promoted as head of the retail business unit.In a drastic annual year-end reshuffle, led by Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, the group replaced a quarter of 608 senior executives, to brace for digital transformation amid the surge in e-commerce. It was the first executive reshuffle led

Hanwha Energy said Thursday that it has joined hands with Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas) and Korea Southern Power (Kospo) to cooperate in infrastructure development projects for a gas plant and liquefied natural gas terminal in Vietnam.The affiliate of Hanwha Group plans to build a terminal for LNG imports and a power plant to produce electricity in Vietnam, where power supply and demand imbalance is a severe problem. In the case of Vietnam’s southern region, although half of the country’s