The mood is exuberant at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Automakers are flush with profits and the show gleams with performance cars, beefy trucks and exciting experiments, from plug-in hybrids to cars carved by a 3-D printer. Here are some key takeaways from the show, which opened to the public Saturday. Optimism The U.S. economy is rejuvenated. Interest rates are low and auto financing is readily available. Carmakers have lots of new offerings with cool

The government plans to invest 180 trillion won ($166 billion) this year to foster a start-up ecosystem, new industries and markets with growth potential. Five economic ministries and agencies including the Science Ministry reported their new policies to President Park Geun-hye at the government complex in Sejong City.The Industry Ministry said it set this year’s exports target at over $600 billion and foreign direct investment at more than $20 billion. President Park urged the economic minister

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, plans to integrate two onshore and offshore plant business units and begin voluntary redundancies to overcome its financial difficulties.But insiders said the merger of the two units is an apparent move to gradually withdraw from the money-losing onshore plant business “Top management ordered the business unit to stop activities to win new plant orders,” an industry source said. The company’s drastic measure came after it posted a record

Yuhan-Kimberly, Korea’s leading hygiene product-maker, disclosed its safety policy for baby care products on Wednesday in an effort to build customer trust and penetrate developed markets. The disclosed information includes ingredients used for baby care products. “The first-of-its-kind move within the industry is aimed at keeping the promise to customers at home and abroad about the safety of our baby products,’’ a company spokesperson said. Through gaining the trust of customers, the company a

Incheon City said Monday that it is in talks with Alibaba Group to attract investment from the Chinese e-marketplace giant. “The city has sought investment from the Chinese retail giant, promoting the city’s geopolitical advantage, since the latter half of last year, but more time is needed for both parties to develop the details of the investment plan,’’ Incheon City spokesman Woo Seung-bong said. The remarks came after a local newspaper reported that the port city, located 40 kilometers west o

Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s largest utility company, said Thursday that it would invest a record high of 5.5 trillion won ($5.01 billion) this year in improving the safety of power generation and distribution-related facilities and in developing new growth engines in the energy sector. The state-run KEPCO will increase investments by 54 percent in 2015 from a year ago, which is the largest investment plan in its 54-year-long history, company officials said.Under the plan, the power

In contrast to the stagnant growth of major domestic carmakers, sales of imported cars in the Korean market jumped 25.5 percent to a record high of 196,359 vehicles last year over the previous year, data showed Wednesday.The growth marks an upward trend for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. “It is a matter of time before we see the number of registered foreign cars exceeded 200,000 early this year,’’ an industry insider said, ad

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, said Tuesday it would invest about 81 trillion won ($73 billion) over the next four years to improve facilities, expand production lines, develop core technologies for smart and green cars, and construct its headquarters building. Under the investment road map, the automaker is expected to spend an annual average of 20.2 trillion won through 2018, which would surpass its previous high of 14.9 trillion won in 2014.Hyundai Motor’s new inves

Chung Eui-sun, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, visited the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas to showcase the firm’s future auto technology, the company said Tuesday.It is the first time the heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo has attended the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show since 2011.  Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (Yonhap)His attendance demonstrates the automaker’s attention to the global trend of convergence between cars and informa

Renault Samsung Motors unveiled the SM5 Nova, the latest edition of its flagship mid-size premium sedan, on Monday in Seoul to continue its sales momentum. The SM5 Nova adopts Renault’s new brand identity and boasts technological prowess and better fuel efficiency, the company said. The carmaker raised hopes for a repeat of last year’s success of the small crossover sport utility vehicle QM3 with the SM5 Nova this year. The success of the QM3 boosted Renault Samsung’s sales at home last year. Th

Korea’s infrastructure minister will seek to revive the stalled Thai water project during his visit to Bangkok that kicked off on Sunday, Seoul officials said.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Minister Seo Seung-hwan is in Bangkok on a two-day trip, aimed at discussing infrastructure projects promoted by the Thai government.“Discussion on bilateral economic cooperation will cover infrastructure projects, including the suspended multibillion dollar Thai water management proj

A monthlong drama that started with a flight delay over a packet of macadamia nuts continued Wednesday, when an arrest warrant was issued for Cho Hyun-ah, a former Korean Air executive accused of violating aviation safety law and obstructing the flight crew in their duties.Cho, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, became the first female chaebol scion to be held in a detention center.But the “nut rage” scandal spread to other members of the Cho family, after prosecutors reveal

POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, on Wednesday offloaded its shares in POSFINE, a slag powder producer, to a local private equity fund for an estimated 30 billion won ($27.5 million), industry sources said.Under the deal, POSCO sold its 69.22 percent stake in POSFINE to Hahn & Co. The move came two months after POSCO had opened talks with the fund in line with its reorganization efforts.Hahn & Co. also reportedly plans to acquire the remaining shares in POSFINE from Tongyang Cement & Energy Co

Dongbu Construction, a financially troubled construction arm of South Korea’s 18th-largest conglomerate Dongbu Group, said Wednesday it has filed for court receivership.“Our company has applied for the court receivership program with the Seoul Central District Court,” Dongbu said in its regulatory filing. Dongbu Group, whose business portfolio ranges from insurance and construction to steelmaking, has been under pressure from its creditors to beef up its worsening financial status.The builder ha

South Korea’s exports rose to a record high last year with the country’s overall trade volume also climbing to a new all-time high, the government said Thursday.South Korea’s overall exports came to $573.1 billion in 2014, up 2.4 percent from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports gained 2 percent on-year to about $525.7 billion. The country‘s trade surplus also rose to a new high of $47.4 billion.It marked the fourth consecutive year the country’s ove

KORAIL, the nation’s railway operator, announced on Wednesday it will launch a bid to offload its railroad unit Incheon International Airport Railroad as part of its efforts to reduce debt. The state-run enterprise and its financial investor Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance seeks to sell their combined 90.1 percent ownership of the debt-ridden railway line, connecting the airport with Seoul Station, whose value is estimated at 4 trillion won ($ 3.6 billion), including 2 trillion in debt. “The res

The chief financial regulator said Thursday that tackling household debts would take priority in government policies next year, along with economic reform to improve the fundamentals of the economy and sharpen competitiveness.“Restructuring of household debt is a top priority for financial stability in 2015,” Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon said in a New Year’s message.“We’ve set 2015 policy guidelines in order to improve the quality of household debts.”South Korea’s family l

The nation’s shipbuilding and steel industries, both of which were in recession last year, are forecast to go through another difficult year in 2015 mainly due to the worsening business environment. The Federation of Korean Industries, a leading business association in Korea, issued a dim outlook for the shipbuilding industry this year, which suffered from record losses in the second quarter of 2014.Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, reported record operating losses of 1

Korea and New Zealand on Monday initialed their free trade agreement, negotiations for which concluded on Nov. 15, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. “The FTA was initialed in Wellington by South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-lim and New Zealand Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade David Walker,’’ a ministry official said. Initialing of a free trade pact means that the two parties confirm every word on each page is final and will not be subject to changes before

Korea has become a sports powerhouse in terms of athletes’ performance, but it has made little progress in cultivating the sports industry. “The nation’s sports industry is still in an infant stage. Most firms in this sector (except a small pool of conglomerates) suffer from a lack of strategy and resources,” Choi Joon-seo, a professor of the sports industry and management department at Hanyang University, said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. He pointed out the local industry’s stru