Hyundai Motor rolls out truck-based camping car

Hyundai Motor announced Thursday the launch of a small-sized truck Porter 2-based camping car Porest, which can fit up to four adults. Porest -- a combination of “Porter” and “rest” -- was developed under the concept of moving house and will be launched next week here.  Amid increasing consumer demand for camping cars, the automaker said it has focused on making Porest’s interior space practical.  According to government data, the number of registered

MobilityJuly 2, 2020

McDonald’s Korea rolls out Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe

McDonald’s Korea said Thursday it is rolling out a deluxe version of its steady-seller Quarter Pounder with Cheese as a limited edition that will add more fresh vegetables to the standard burger. According to the burger chain, the Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe adds more fresh vegetables, including lettuce, tomato and onions, to the standard burger to bring a richer flavor. The new burger is available for a limited time until July 29. The Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe is al

ConsumerJuly 2, 2020

Baskin-Robbins hires BTS as to represent August flavor

Baskin-Robbins, the American ice cream chain that is operated by SPC Group in Korea, said Thursday it has hired K-pop boy band BTS to promote the flavor of the month in August. Baskin-Robbins said it has finished shooting the advertisement and photos to promote the new flavor of ice cream set for August with BTS, and will release them next month via social media and on cable TV. The company said it will also roll out various promotional goods, such as a “projection light” to cel

ConsumerJuly 2, 2020

Fiscal chief urges Japan to move on export curbs

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker on Thursday urged Japan to show sincere efforts to lift export curbs and resolve a yearlong trade dispute between the Asian neighbors. “(South Korea) calls on the Japanese government to make efforts with a sincere attitude to normalize its export regulations targeting the nation,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki during an economy-related ministerial meeting held at Seoul Government Complex. “The Korean government has stepped up ef

EconomyJuly 2, 2020

ZEISS Korea President Peter Tiedemann elected to lead KGCCI

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry elected Peter Tiedemann, president and representative director of ZEISS Korea, as its new German Chairman. At its 39th annual general meeting held on June 18 at the Grand Hyatt in Seoul, he was chosen to succeed Ingrid Drechsel, the former president of Bayer Korea. With more than 30 years of professional work experience, Tiedemann worked many years for Wacker Chemie in Germany, South Africa, Turkey, China and Singapore, and for more than 15 ye

IndustryJuly 2, 2020

Seoul to set up online data platform to fight viruses

The government said Thursday it plans to establish a so-called “bio data station” -- an online data platform for biotechnology -- in a bid to accelerate research and development in the emerging sector. Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki mapped out the plan for the biotech platform at an emergency economic meeting in Seoul. All the data linked to results of state-run research projects will be registered at the online hub for drug development and research projects including

MarketJuly 2, 2020

Hyundai Glovis clinches exclusive deal transporting Volkswagen cars

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it has clinched an exclusive five-year contract with Volkswagen Konzernlogistik, which deals in the logistics of European carmaker Volkswagen Group, for transporting their cars from Europe to China.  Volkswagen Konzernlogistik is based in Wolfsburg, Germany, and controls logistics, production and sales of vehicles from Volkswagen Group’s 12 finished car brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Bentley.&n

MobilityJuly 2, 2020

Hyundai Mobis invests W25b in US tech funds for future mobility

South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis said Thursday it has injected 25 billion won ($20 million) in Silicon Valley tech funds ACVC Partners and MOTUS Ventures, as part of its move to secure future mobility technology and next-generation business opportunities.  ACVC Partners and MOTUS Ventures have been actively discovering and supporting startups which focus on developing future mobility core technologies, including next-generation sensors, biometrics and robotics.  Hyundai Motor Group

MobilityJuly 2, 2020

GM Korea to invest $667m as planned amid virus woes

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Thursday it will invest 800 billion won ($667 million) as planned in the coming years, despite the new coronavirus outbreak. GM Korea President and CEO Kaher Kazem reaffirmed the company's commitment during his visit to the company's plant in the southern industrial city of Changwon on Wednesday. The Detroit carmaker has three Korean plants -- two in Bupyeong and one in Changwon -- whose combined output capacity reaches 630,000 u

MobilityJuly 2, 2020

SK hynix rolls out industry’s fastest DRAM solution for AI

SK hynix announced Thursday it has started mass producing the industry’s fastest DRAM solution HBM2E, 10 months after the chipmaker completed its development in August last year. According to the company, the HBM2E supports over 460 gigabytes per second with 1,024 inputs/outputs based on the 3.6 gigabit-per-second performance of each pin. It is the fastest DRAM solution in the industry, which enables transmission of 124 full-HD movies (3.7GB each) per second. The density is 16GB, mor

TechnologyJuly 2, 2020

Number of Chinese tourists to S. Korea dips 30% over THAAD row

The number of Chinese tourists to South Korea fell by more than 30 percent in the 2017-2020 period from three years earlier due to a bilateral diplomatic row, data showed Thursday. The monthly average number of Chinese tourists in South Korea reached 380,000 during the three-year period starting in April 2017, down 33.1 percent compared with the three-year span beginning in February 2014, according to data by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). The fall came as China -- South Korea's larges

EconomyJuly 2, 2020

S. Korea's exports of agricultural goods up 4.4% in H1

South Korea said Thursday its exports of agricultural goods and foodstuffs advanced 4.4 percent on-year in the first six months of 2020 as the global new coronavirus pandemic has sparked higher demand for processed products. The country's outbound shipments of agricultural products and foodstuffs reached $3.6 billion in the January-June period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Exports of fresh produce advanced 1.2 percent over the period t

EconomyJuly 2, 2020

[Monitor] Impact of telecommuting on work efficiency

Most managers in South Korean companies are of the view that telecommuting has either improved work efficiency and employee satisfaction or remains unchanged, a new survey showed Tuesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry surveyed personnel managers of 300 Korean companies on the status of remote work that is in force due to the new coronavirus outbreak. Around 83.6 percent said work efficiency was similar or has improved while 16.4 percent of the respondents said it has declined.

IndustryJuly 2, 2020

S. Korea's defense industry reports W3.3tr. of H1 sales

Local defense companies reported 3.3 trillion won ($2.75 billion) of sales in the first half of the year, with exports accounting for about 10 percent or 329 billion won, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Thursday. The number of people employed at defense firms was 33,103 as of June, down from 33,207 reported last year. In 2019, the defense industry reported 14 trillion won in sales, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Overseas sales stood at 1.77 trillion won, down 11.5 per

IndustryJuly 2, 2020

Seoul stocks open higher on pharmaceutical gains

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, led by pharmaceuticals. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.86 points, or 0.61 percent, to 2,119.56 in the first 15 minutes of trading. SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., the largest IPO offering of the year so far, spiked 29.59 percent on the day of its debut. Top pharmaceutical firm Samsung BioLogics surged 4.26 percent, with Celltrion spiking 3.87 percent. Most large caps were in positive terrain. Market bellwether

MarketJuly 2, 2020

French luxury brand Dior raises prices of major bags amid pandemic

The French luxury brand Christian Dior began to raise prices of its major bags Thursday, industry sources said, as people's demand for luxury goods has not been subdued even amid the pandemic-caused economic slump. Dior will increase the price tags of its major products, including Dior Lady bags, by around 10-12 percent, marking its first hike this year, according to industry sources. It followed a similar rise in October 2019. The latest hikes are reportedly applied to Dior's products sold i

IndustryJuly 2, 2020

With low interest rates and nowhere to invest, more opt to simply hold money

Major banks in South Korea saw their time deposits decline from a month earlier in June, while their money market deposits jumped sharply, apparently suggesting more people were hoping to invest their money amid record low interest rates but were unable to do so amid a coronavirus-caused slump, data showed Thursday. According to the data from five major local lenders, the combined outstanding time deposits at the banks came to 633.1 trillion won ($526 billion) as of end-June, down more than 10

MarketJuly 2, 2020

Seoul urges Tokyo to show 'sincere attitude' to resolve trade row

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance minister on Thursday called for Japan to adopt a "sincere attitude" in talks to resolve a trade row between the two Asian neighbors. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said South Korea "calls on the Japanese government to show a stance of progress with a sincere attitude to lift its export curbs." Seoul and Tokyo have been at loggerheads since July last year, after Japan abruptly rolled out restrictions on exports of key industrial materials to S

EconomyJuly 2, 2020

S. Korea's annual inflation unchanged in June amid pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's annual inflation remained unchanged on-year in June amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The consumer price growth remained flat last month compared with a 0.3 percent on-year decline in May, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. The nation's inflation rose 0.2 percent on-month, the data showed. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, rose 0.6 percent from a year earlier. Utility prices fell 0.3 percent on-yea

EconomyJuly 2, 2020

S. Korea to provide telemedicine service for overseas construction workers

South Korea is taking steps to provide telemedicine services to overseas South Korean construction workers amid heightened health concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the infrastructure ministry said Wednesday. The move is part of a broader effort to better protect South Korean builders, as 87 have tested positive for COVID-19 and three have died after contracting the highly infectious disease, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. There are estimated to be around 7

IndustryJuly 1, 2020