Global experts will discuss the role of green buildings in reducing carbon emissions at a three-day conference that kicks off in Seoul on Thursday, officials said Sunday.Hosted by the Korea Green Building Council, the conference brings representatives from the Asia-Pacific region together to seek ways to promote the use of environmentally friendly buildings after a landmark agreement reached in Paris late last year.Global leaders urged the building sector to devise ways to cut down carbon emissi

Heads of global carmakers are flocking to Korea recently, calling the nation’s fast-growing import car market an ideal test bed for their newest vehicles. Three chiefs of Infiniti, BMW and Volvo have chosen Seoul as the first destination for their trips to Asia this year. Last week, Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti -- the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Nissan -- visited Seoul to unveil the company’s new hatchbacks Q60 and Q30 along with Q80 Inspiration concept. It was the fir

Jaguar Land Rover’s premium compact sedan XE surpassed the Audi A4 in sales in the first quarter of this year, industry data showed. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the Jaguar XE was the third highest selling model in the segment of imported premium compact sedans, breaking into the top three position for the first time since its launch in Korea in September.  Jaguar XE (Jaguar Land Rover Korea)XE’s sales figures came in at 534 units in the January-March

The antitrust watchdog is likely to slap 13 Korean builders with combined fines of 500 billion won ($430 million) for collusion, industry sources close to the matter said Thursday. The sources said the construction companies, which include Hyundai E&C, Daewoo E&C and Daelim E&C are suspected of fixing prices for the liquefied natural gas tank project, which started in 2005. The project valued at around 1.3 trillion won was ordered by the state-run Korea Gas Corp. “We are making an investigation

NEW BULLET TRAIN, HEMU – New bullet train Hemu enters Gwangmyeong station in Gyeonggi Province, during a trial ride event on April 6. The train developed by Korean technologies is able to drive up to 430 kilometers. (Yonhap)

A recent deal bagged by a state-owned Chinese builder for a major construction project in Korea is causing local construction firms to feel the heat, according to industry sources close to the matter. Greenland Group, China’s largest real estate developer, said on Tuesday it had commissioned China State Construction Engineering -- the world’s third-biggest construction firm -- to erect Jeju Dream Tower on Jejudo Island. The Chinese developer got authorization to build the two 38-story buildings

GM Korea said Tuesday that it has decided to continue importing Chevrolet’s premium sedan Impala instead of producing them here.　“We decided to keep importing Impala to respond to the needs of clients, who want premium value of imported sedans, and to consider the company’s car portfolio under the government’s strict regulations on carbon emissions,” the company said in a statement.Chevrolet’s premium sedan Impala (GM Korea)The automaker said in order to maintain cost competitiveness, importing

K-water said it aims to take the lead in tackling Asia’s water scarcity in partnership with member nations of the Asia Water Council, an organization that aims to foster systematic regional cooperation on related issues.The Korean government agency for water resource development took the lead in establishing the council last year along with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to deal with water crisis in Asia. It is currently comprised of 26 member nations and 105 relevant organiz

Lotte Engineering & Construction, a construction arm of Lotte Group, confirmed Monday that it is being investigated by the National Tax Service. The tax authorities have been investigating the construction firm since March, reviewing its financial statements of the last three years. This is the company’s first tax probe since 2010 when it was imposed a fine of around 100 billion won ($87 million) for unfair business practices. A Lotte E&C official said, “This is just a regular tax audit.” But th

The nation’s top steelmaker POSCO plans to build a new wire-rod processing center in the United States to increase supplies to local carmakers, according to company officials Monday. The company said it would invest around $19 million to build a 34,000-square-meter plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana, with an annual production capacity of 25,000 tons of wire-rod -- a steel product used for premium vehicles.“We aim to supply more parts for premium cars of the U.S. automakers through the new center,”

Japanese automaker Honda Motor unveiled its new dual-sport motorcycle Africa Twin and concept trike Neowing here, targeting a greater share of the Korean market. “We are aiming to sell 16,000 units this year to grab a 20 percent share in the local market,” said Seo Jung-min, an executive of Honda Korea, at the launch of the Seoul Motorcycle Show 2016, held on March 31. Honda’s dual-sport motorcycle Africa Twin (Honda Korea)Honda was the third-largest player in the segment with a 17 percent marke

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee is known as Korea’s most powerful and the wealthiest business tycoon, but he is also an avid art collector – a side of the man not well-known to the public. Samsung’s chief is currently the largest private holder of artworks in the nation, with more than 150 national treasures in the company’s Ho-Am Art Museum and Leeum museum. “Lee learned how to collect art pieces from his father Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung,” said Lee Chong-sun, who worked as a dir

With art auctions booming in South Korea, auctioneers are increasingly a crucial factor in boosting sales at such events. “Auctioneers play a key role in setting market prices during art auctions,” Kim Hyun-hee, an experienced auctioneer for Seoul Auction, said in an interview with The Korea Herald.“They need extensive understanding and knowledge of art to induce participants to compete for the best prices,” she said. Kim, who studied history in college and art history in graduate school, starte

Given the current low interest rates, negative rates, low inflation and slow growth, investors are in search of alternative investment products that offer higher returns than savings.Stocks and equity funds are ideal during low inflation, but can be volatile when unpredictable forces suddenly catch markets off guard. Gold and U.S. dollars are attractive assets in times of uncertainties, in addition to bonds that can offer steady monthly returns.Bids are placed on “Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle

Lotte Rental, the car rental service unit under Lotte Group, said Thursday that it had the most cars of any Asian rental firm, including Japan’s Toyota Rent-a-Car. Compared to the Japanese company’s 110,000 units, Lotte boasts 130,000 units as of last year, ranking first in Asia and sixth globally, according to the Korean car rental association.  Lotte Rental’s promotion poster Lotte RentalLotte said it aims to rank fourth globally by 2020. Lotte has retained its No. 1 position domestically, hav

BMW’S NEW MAXI SCOOTERS -- BMW Korea unveiled its new maxi scooters C 650 Sport and C 650 GT at the opening of the 1st Seoul Motorcycle Show in Coex on Friday. Prices start from 15.9 million won ($13,900) and 16.5 million won, respectively. (BMW Korea)

(Yonhap)The government plans to establish a new team under the Transportation Ministry to exclusively support self-driving and eco-friendly cars, according to officials Wednesday. The ministry said it plans to create a high-tech auto technology division in May at the latest, with the aim of backing the autonomous and eco-friendly vehicle industry, which is still at a nascent stage here. “We plan to separately manage autonomous car technologies, which have so far been supervised together with oth

The Korean Transportation Ministry has filed a complaint against the Korean unit of German carmaker Mercedes-Benz with the prosecution on charges of having installed automatic transmissions without proper authentication procedures, officials said Tuesday. The ministry said it filed a complaint with the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office against Mercedes-Benz Korea’s chief Dimitris Psillakis, accusing him of violating the automobile management act and clean air conservation act. The carmaker fail

Kia Motors launched its first hybrid compact sport utility vehicle Niro on Tuesday, targeting sales of 40,000 units worldwide this year. “We have set a goal of selling 18,000 units of Niro domestically and 20,000 cars globally, targeting young singles and couples in their 20s and 30s,” said Kim Chang-sik, executive vice president of domestic sales, at the launch of Niro in Seoul.  Kia Motors president Park Han-woo (right) and executive vice president Kim Chang-sik pose at the launch of compact S

Hyosung Group chairman Cho Suck-rae’s leadership and vision helped the spandex-maker garner record earnings last year, company officials said Monday. “Hyosung’s spandex business, which generated more than 40 percent of total operating profits last year, is the outcome of chairman Cho’s strong tenacity in developing the synthetic fiber,” a company official said. Hyosung’s researchers conduct an experiment on polyketone material. (Hyosung)He recalled that Hyosung had to struggle for seven years an