In celebration of the Chuseok holiday, Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea, is holding a promotional event for customers purchasing the GLC or the E-Class this month, the company said Friday. Each of these customers will receive a Mercedes-Benz trolley bag and the chance to enter a lucky draw. Fifty winners will receive invitations to Han Sung’s annual Oktoberfest event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul next month. The company also plans to hold a separate ev

Mobility Sept. 6, 2019

Kia Motors, sister company to Hyundai Motor, has hired Karim Habib, former designer for BMW and Infiniti, to fill an executive position at its design center. The Canadian designer built his career at BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti.At Infiniti, he worked on design projects including the electric vehicle concepts QX Inspiration and Prototype.Habib will work with Luc Donckerwolke, the former Bentley designer currently in charge of vehicle design for both Kia and Hyundai, the company said.By Cho Ch

Mobility Sept. 6, 2019

YEONGJONGDO, Incheon -- Kia Motors’ premium large sport utility vehicle Mohave has returned with a revamped look and high-tech features, along with an aim to sell 20,000 vehicles a year. The face-lifted SUV has already received 7,000 preorders in 11 days, according to Kwon Hyeok-ho, vice president of Kia Motors on Thursday.Styled as an urban vehicle, the Mohave face-lift embodies the carmaker’s future design direction built on its traditional frame body, he said. The number of preord

Mobility Sept. 5, 2019

SOKCHO, Gangwon Province -- Targeting a young market that is led by Hyundai’s first large sport utility vehicle the Palisade, GM Korea on Wednesday launched the Chevrolet Traverse, highlighting its “aggressive” price strategy, quality features and American heritage.Introducing the vehicle as a “super SUV,” the carmaker said the Traverse will expand the choice of Korean customers wanting to experience premium outdoor activities with driving convenience. The three-row

Mobility Sept. 4, 2019

Unionized workers and the management at Hyundai Motor reached an agreement early Tuesday on this year’s wages, after the union voted not to stage sit-in protests amid intensifying uncertainties over the business environment and the local auto industry. In a vote held Monday, 56 percent of Hyundai Motor workers approved a revised wage and collective bargaining deal, according to the union. The union formally approved the management’s proposal without a strike for the first time in eig

Mobility Sept. 3, 2019

The only son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun is under investigation on charges of smuggling liquid marijuana, putting the brakes on the food-to-entertainment giant’s succession plan.Lee Sun-ho, the heir-in-waiting of CJ Group, the 14th-largest conglomerate here, was allegedly caught by the customs service at Incheon Airport on Sunday attempting to smuggle liquid marijuana in cartridges into the country. The case was transferred to the Incheon District Prosecutors Office, authorities said

Industry Sept. 2, 2019

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo on Thursday stressed the importance of securing competitiveness in the development of new materials and components to ensure the group’s future growth, the company said. During a visit to LG Chem’s research and development unit in Daejeon, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul, Koo asked the company’s employees to jump into challenging R&D projects instead of focusing on mere short-term goals, to create “truly innovative value for customers.&rdqu

Industry Aug. 29, 2019

Marking the first case of a Korean conglomerate bringing its overseas manufacturing facility back home, Hyundai Mobis said Wednesday it will build a new plant to produce electric vehicle components in Ulsan, injecting 300 billion won ($247 million) in fresh investments.The new plant will be capable of producing core EV parts for 100,000 vehicles a year, with its operation starting in 2021, the company said.The auto parts maker’s decision of making a “U-turn” investment raises h

Mobility Aug. 28, 2019

 The private meeting between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo two weeks ago has raised the possibility that the two conglomerates may partner for battery development.The two met in Seoul on Aug. 13, both companies confirmed Tuesday without elaborating. They were accompanied by 10 top management officials from the groups’ energy, chemical and telecom units.  According to local reports and industry insiders, those who attended included SK E&S CEO

Industry Aug. 27, 2019

Samsung Electronics has retained its top position in terms of brand value, a report by a British industry tracker showed Tuesday.According to Brand Finance, the brand value of Samsung Electronics was 83.2 trillion won ($68.6 billion) this year, down 6.3 percent from a record high of 88.8 trillion won last year. The brand rating of the world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker dropped to AAA from AAA+, it added.The tech giant’s parent company, South Korea’s largest conglo

Industry Aug. 27, 2019

Carmakers here are mulling job cuts and restructuring as they enter the fog of uncertainties over a sharp drop in sales, continued confrontations with labor and the delayed launches of some new vehicles.Renault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of the French carmaker, said Sunday that it may consider slashing jobs in response to declining production volume at its plant in Busan and sluggish sales. The management met union representatives last week to notify the union of its plan to reduce producti

Mobility Aug. 26, 2019

Hyundai Motor has opened a multimedia showroom in Shanghai to promote its hydrogen technology for the next two weeks, the company said Monday.Named Hyundai Hydrogen World, the showroom will display the South Korean automaker’s technologies in fuel-cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen and its vision for the hydrogen economy, officials said. The 406-square-meter space has five zones to demonstrate air purification function developed for its latest FCEV Nexo, and to visualize the concep

Mobility Aug. 26, 2019

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Monday called for businesses to generate social value through technological innovation at a state-sponsored expo in the western Chinese city of Chongqing.During his opening speech at the Smart China Expo 2019, Chey said technological innovation would not only enhance the sustainability of companies but also maximize their capabilities in creating social value to help communities solve problems.“The theme of the expo, ‘Smart Technology: Empowering Eco

Industry Aug. 26, 2019

The name Korando, SsangYong Motor’s signature sport utility brand and the oldest such brand in Korea, has represented power, firmness and masculinity for the last 37 years. The all-new Korando that returned to the market early this year after an eight-year hiatus, however, flips the common image of the SUV on its head. It is stylish and sophisticated, yet affordable. The Korando gasoline model, launched six months after the 2.0-liter diesel version, showed no major flaws throughout the med

Mobility Aug. 25, 2019

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won called for strengthening the conglomerate’s competitiveness in innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, the group said in a statement Friday.“If we do not minimize trade cost and utilize innovative technology to effectively deliver the value customers are looking for, we cannot secure the future of SK,” he said as he wrapped up four-day in-house forum held in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday evening. “We need to redefin

Industry Aug. 23, 2019