Mercedes-Benz Group CEO Ola Kallenius on Thursday touted South Korea’s level of automotive technology and the importance of the German automaker’s partnership with Korean companies. “Korea is hugely important for us. But not just in the battery cell space where we have strong partnerships for years,” said Kallenius in a press conference at Hotel Shilla in central Seoul. “This is one of the leading nations in automotive innovation and I don’t think we build a s

Mobility Aug. 24, 2023

Poland has decided to acquire military vehicles made by Kia, opening up more possibilities for the South Korean automaker’s defense products in Europe. The Polish Ministry of National Defense announced last week that it had approved the Polish Armaments Group’s 270 million euro ($293 million) contract to acquire 400 units of Kia’s Raycolt reconnaissance vehicles, called Kia Light Tactical Vehicles. PGZ is an arms procurement holdings company established by the Polish government

Industry Aug. 23, 2023

Researchers in South Korea have developed the world’s first technology with the potential for treating sarcopenia, an age-related disorder with progressive and generalized loss of muscle mass and strength, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology said Tuesday. The research team led by Kim Min-seok, a biology professor at DGIST, turned to electrical stimulation as a solution to cope with sarcopenia. The scientists first developed an electrical stimulation screening platform that

Technology Aug. 22, 2023

A district court has ruled in favor of NCSoft, a major South Korean game developer, in an intellectual property suit that could significantly impact the landscape of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, in the country. Lineage, a megahit MMORPG developed by NCSoft in 1998, has led to the birth of the term “Lineage-like games” – referring to many MMORPGs that resemble major aspects of Lineage such as the user interface and basic playing rules. However, th

Industry Aug. 20, 2023

Kia on Thursday highlighted the stylish and bold exterior of the new Sorento, the South Korean automaker’s latest facelifted sport utility vehicle, as it announced the SUV's official launch in the country. “The new Sorento is a facelifted model of Kia’s core model that has received much love and interest worldwide,” said Yoon Mun-hyo, head of Kia’s Next Design Exterior Team 2, at a launch event held at the Grand Walkerhill Hotel's Aston House in eastern Se

Mobility Aug. 17, 2023

진행자: 간형우, Naomi Ng 1. Tumultuous World Scout Jamboree comes to end with K-pop flair, apology 기사 요약: 말 많고 탈 많았던 제 25회 세계 잼버리 대회 K팝 콘서트와 함께 마무리 [1] The 25th World Scout Jamboree, after a tumultuous 12-day run, came to an end Friday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. *tumultuous: 떠들썩한, 소란한 [2] Despite the frequent changes and troubles that plagued the Jamboree, around 40,000 participants gathered in Seoul for the closing ceremony and for the “K-pop Super Live” concert that followed. *fre

Podcast Aug. 17, 2023

Hyundai Motor Company on Wednesday signed a deal to acquire General Motors’ auto manufacturing plant in Talegaon, in the western state of Maharashtra, India, further strengthening the South Korean automaker’s will to expand its market share in the world’s third-largest car market. Hyundai said the two sides decided to not reveal the amount of the acquisition. According to Hyundai, it will be able to fully acquire the rights to the GM site once it obtains the Indian government&r

Mobility Aug. 16, 2023

SK On announced Wednesday a 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) investment in expanding the battery production capacity by adding a third plant in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. Marking the South Korean battery maker’s largest investment in the country, the expansion will bring up the Seosan site’s total annual production capacity to about 20 gigawatt-hours by 2028, enough to be supplied to 280,000 electric vehicles. The company will break ground for the third plant this year, aimin

Industry Aug. 16, 2023

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will attend IAA Mobility 2023, a major global automotive fair, for the first time next month, signifying the South Korean electronics giants’ emphasis on the automotive electronic components market. IAA Mobility, which is set to take place in Munich, Germany, from Sept. 5 to 10, will draw not only some of the top global automakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz but also IT and chip giants like Amazon, Meta and Qualcomm. Hyundai Motor Group said it is n

Industry Aug. 15, 2023

South Korean researchers have developed a new type of fabric that can generate electricity from sweat and body movements, opening a new chapter of next-generation smart clothes. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday, two teams of researchers at the institute’s electronic materials research center came up with the stretchable, washable energy-harvesting fabric that enables biomechanical and biochemical power generation. The researchers weaved two different fa

Technology Aug. 15, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group on Monday joined hands with NaaS, a Chinese electric vehicle charging service provider, to innovate in the EV charging market. Officials of the South Korean auto giant and NaaS signed a memorandum of understanding at the Chinese firm in Beijing to develop EV charging services tailored to fit Chinese customers and push for EV-lifestyle services. NaaS, established in 2019, is considered the first Chinese company professionalized in EV charging information services. According to

Mobility Aug. 14, 2023

Hanwha Group, South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate, is looking to bolster its robotics business as it plans to establish a new robotics corporation. Hanwha announced Friday that its robot and automated guided vehicle businesses under the factory automation department at Hanwha Corporation/Momentum would be split off into a new robotics firm named Hanwha Robotics. The company said the split-off is taking place to sharpen each business’ expertise. “Through the establishment

Industry Aug. 14, 2023

Halley’s Comet, arguably the most well-known comet in the world, is a short-period comet that comes close enough to the Earth about every 76 years that it can be seen with the naked eye. It was last observed in 1986 and is forecast to return in 2061. The comet is named after English astronomer Edmond Halley, who worked out the pattern by which the comet comes back to the Earth over and over. Although he did not live to see his prediction of the comet’s return in 1758 or 1759 prove tr

Technology Aug. 13, 2023

The Korea Herald still serves as the window into Korea even after 70 years of its establishment, says Porsche Korea CEO Holger Gerrmann. “If you look back, the foundation (of the Herald) was on the 15th of August, 1953, which was a very important time to show the world what was going on in Korea and how things were developing in Korea,” said Gerrmann in an interview with the Herald, referring to the aftermath of the Korean War. “I think from a diplomatic and international point

70th anniversary Aug. 13, 2023

Nexon has come out on top in second quarter earnings among major Korean game developers, becoming the only company to post on-year growth in both sales and operating profits during the period. Nexon on Wednesday reported 902.8 billion won ($685.3 million) in sales and 264 billion won in operating profit in the April-to-June period, up 12 percent and 22 percent on year, respectively. The game maker thrived in the second quarter thanks to the success of strong intellectual properties and new title

Industry Aug. 10, 2023