Hyundai Motor to field 9 new vehicles in China by end of 2021

Hyundai Motor will launch nine new cars in China by the end of next year to seek a turnaround in its sluggish sales in the world’s biggest car market. South Korea’s largest automaker announced Sunday that, starting next month with sport utility vehicle Palisade, it will introduce three sedans, three recreational vehicles and two electric vehicles in the country through 2021 to rebound after sales there plummeted in recent years. The automaker’s three sedans include the new

Aug. 30, 2020

Samsung Display sold Suzhou LCD plant to CSOT

CSOT, a panel unit of Chinese home appliance maker TCL, acquired Samsung Display’s Suzhou LCD plant for $1.08 billion, making China the producer of half the world’s large LCDs, industry sources said Sunday. According to the sources, CSOT signed a deal with Samsung Display to acquire 60 percent of the Suzhou plant for $1.08 billion. The remaining 10 percent will be owned by the parent company, TCL, and 30 percent by the Suzhou city government. The Suzhou plant was responsible for

Aug. 30, 2020

[Photo News] Luxury goods sales surge

Shoppers look at luxury goods at Lotte Department Store in Jamsil, Seoul, in July. Department store sales of luxury brands jumped more than 30 percent last month, although overall sales declined due to the pandemic and the rainy season, government data showed Sunday. Analysts say people spent more of their savings on luxury goods because they were not allowed to travel abroad during the holiday season. (Photo: Yonhap)

Aug. 30, 2020

SK Broadband moves to innovate pay TV service

As competition in over-the-top and pay TV services market intensifies, SK Broadband is seeking to overhaul its solutions. The company said Sunday it has changed the brand name to Lovely B tv, while adding new features and contents to its platform to increase user experience, including artificial intelligence recommendation engine and Supernova, which is designed to improve the quality of image and sound source based on AI-deep learning algorithms. The company has also transformed the user exp

Aug. 30, 2020

Binggrae’s wellness-focused yogurt products gain popularity

Wellness-focused yougurt products by Binggrae are gaining popularity recently, amid rising demand from health-conscious consumers, according to the company on Sunday. Dairy food company Binggrae has introduced several yogurt brands to the Korean market, contributing to growing the market. Its flagship yogurt product Yoplait topped the local market in sales last year, selling about 360 million units and recording some 140 billion won ($119 million) in sales. Alongside the prominent Yopla

Aug. 30, 2020

Hyundai E&C to start distributing first Hill State apartments in Gyeonggi Province in September

Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Sunday that the company will start distribution of its newly built Hill State apartments in the city of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in early September. The new complex consists of seven 20-story buildings with five basement floors and offers a total of 565 units in five different sizes ranging between 63 and 84 square meters. It is the company‘s first Hill State brand launched in the neighborhood in the vicinity of Samdong Station on the Gye

Aug. 30, 2020

Hyundai Oilbank files patent application for oil leak detection system

Hyundai Oilbank recently filed a patent application for its new oil leak detection system known as Hyundai Oil Leakage Monitoring Expert System, the company said Sunday. The newly developed system, also known as Holmes, can monitor possible oil leaks through detection sensors designed to keep an eye on fuel dispensers, allowing gas station owners to be updated in real time on mobile devices. Oil leakage at gas stations in downtown areas can lead to soil contamination underneath buildings, and

Aug. 30, 2020

[Herald Interview] A progressive launch of airline in midst of pandemic

Launching a startup, let alone a brand new airline, is not an easy task. And much more so at a time when the aviation industry has come to a near-halt. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, airlines across the world have been scrambling to survive, with most suffering heavy losses. But CEO of up-and-coming budget airline Aero K Mike Kang, a 44-year-old businessman who has held a senior role at entertainment mogul CJ E&M and equity firm EMP Belstar, will soon see his planes fly after receivi

Aug. 30, 2020

Colliers exec advises Korean investors to join debt financing for US warehouses

South Korean institutional investors may see opportunities in the US commercial real estate market as industrial properties in the country garner traction amid the resumption of sales activities, an executive at Colliers International said Thursday. While pointing out that major global blue-chip investors are increasingly tapping into top-tier warehouses in the US, Jeff Black, executive vice president of the company, said Koreans may have room to partner with them as long as they are willing to

Aug. 30, 2020

Top 10 Kospi stocks' market cap approaches 45%

South Korea’s 10 largest stocks trading on the main bourse Kospi are seeing its combined market cap account for 45 percent of Kospi constitutents‘ total market cap as local retail investors flock to the large-caps betting on changes in the domestic industry. According to data by the Korea Exchange, the top 10 large-caps on the Kospi stock market took up 44.78 percent of Kospi’s market cap on average in August, up over 11 percentage points on-year. The figure has been on a co

Aug. 30, 2020

Fears mount over impact of stricter distancing on Korean economy

Strengthened rules on social distancing imposed in an utmost effort to curb the resurgence of COVID-19 may drag down South Korea’s real economy, including private consumption, industrial output and employment, experts said Sunday.  As cluster infections are tied to enclosed areas such as coffeehouses, restaurants and indoor fitness centers, the government has decided to extend the current Level 2 social distancing for one more week until Sept. 6 in Seoul and the surrounding area, w

Aug. 30, 2020

Eastar Jet to send letters of intent to candidates this week

Low-cost carrier Eastar Jet is speeding up a new acquisition deal after talks with Jeju Air were scrapped last month. The airline said Sunday its financial advisers Deloitte Korea, Yulchon and Heungkuk Finance Group would send letters of intent to takeover candidates this week. Three to four large funds and companies are reported to have already expressed their intention to invest. An Eastar Jet official said, “There were some companies that can be known by their names, and some of

Aug. 30, 2020

KT to hire new employees via virtual recruitment

Telecom operator KT said Sunday that it would hire around 400 new employees through virtual recruiting this fall. “The company decided to hire new employees to offer jobs to young people, although there are difficulties in operating a workforce amid the coronavirus pandemic,” the company said. KT said it would hire 400 new workers, including interns who will later get opportunities to become full-timers. The divisions that are open to applicants include marketing & sales, netwo

Aug. 30, 2020

Samsung mass-produces most-advanced DRAM with EUV process

Samsung Electronics began operating its second production line in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the world’s largest chip plant, to mass-produce the most advanced mobile DRAM modules, the firm said Sunday. The assembly line has produced the industry’s first advanced third-generation 10-nano level (1z) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM using the extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, process technology for the first time, according to the tech giant. Samsung said the 16-gigabyte mobile DRAM has the hi

Aug. 30, 2020

Yoo to visit Geneva as WTO begins selection process for new head

South Korea's trade minister, who is running to become the new head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), plans to visit Geneva this week as the international body begins the selection process for its next leader. Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee will head to Switzerland on Monday as the WTO plans to launch the first round of the selection process on Sept. 7, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. During the first round, representatives from 164 member states will provide a ma

Aug. 30, 2020

Retail sales up 4.4% in July on online sales of groceries amid pandemic

Retail sales in South Korea advanced 4.4 percent in July from a year earlier as online platforms have enjoyed a spike in demand for groceries and home appliances amid the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 11.46 trillion won ($9.67 billion) last month, up from 10.98 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Online platforms led the growth, with their

Aug. 30, 2020

S. Korea likely to cut key rate this year: Fitch Solutions

Fitch Solutions, the consultancy arm of global credit appraiser Fitch Group, forecast that South Korea will further cut its policy rate by the end of the year, extending economic stimulating efforts amid the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. “We now expect the Bank of Korea to undertake one more 25 basis point rate cut before end-2020 in order to continue providing support to the economy,” the company said in a release. “We have also revised down our forecast for consumer price inf

Aug. 29, 2020

Korea restricts operations of cafes, restaurants in Seoul metropolitan areas

The government announced stricter social distancing measures Friday to ban food and drink consumption inside of cafes and restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan areas next week in efforts to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19. While the government had considered raising the social distancing rules to the highest Level 3 from the current Level 2 to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19, it decided instead to extend Level 2 measures for another week, with heightened rules. Starting from Sunday, eati

Aug. 28, 2020

Ikea, Lego Group team up to roll out Bygglek series

Global furnishing company Ikea and Lego Group on Friday introduced a new collaboration project Bygglek, which combines the concept of play and storage. The two companies said they have teamed up to develop a solution to facilitate playing with the lego bricks at home while lessening the burden of cleaning up and organizing. Bygglek is a box-shaped storage closet with the lego studs, allowing children to play, exhibit their work inside, and also store them after playing, Ikea explained. &l

Aug. 28, 2020

Coupang trials buy-now, pay-later service

E-commerce giant Coupang is trialing a buy-now, pay-later service. The new service is applied to products directly bought from and sold by Coupang, which are available for its next-day delivery service, Rocket Delivery, according to one official at the company, allowing users to purchase items on credit until the 15th of the following month. Up to 300,000 won ($253) in shopping items can be paid for later through the new service. It is currently being tested with a select few users, while an

Aug. 28, 2020