[Business Diplomacy] Lessons from IRA: Hyundai Motor bolsters government relations in US

This article is the fifth installment in a series of interviews and analyses on how South Korean corporations can sharpen their diplomatic capabilities to brighten their prospects for overseas growth in this mega-election year around the world. -- Ed. Hyundai Motor Group has been exerting all-out efforts into strengthening its government relations capabilities in the United States after the Korean auto conglomerate got caught off-guard by the impact of the Joe Biden administration’s In

July 15, 2024

LS Cable vows stern measures against Taihan

LS Cable & System pledged Monday to take every legal action possible against Taihan Cable & Solution if the latter’s alleged theft of the former’s technologies is found true, labeling Taihan’s maneuver as a clear crime. The police have recently opened a probe into Taihan over the suspected violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act. Last month, the police initially suspected Gaun Architects & Engineers of leaking technologies it o

July 15, 2024

Hyundai Motor union secures wage deal without strike for 6th consecutive year

Hyundai Motor Company's labor and management have concluded their wage negotiations without a strike for the sixth year in a row, agreeing on the highest wage increase in the company's history. The union said Saturday its members have voted to accept a tentative wage deal reached earlier in the week. Under the agreement, Hyundai will increase workers' basic monthly pay by 4.65 percent, or 111,200 won ($81), and give a one-off performance-based bonus equivalent to 500 percent of

July 13, 2024

Coupang denies speculations of buying Homeplus Express

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Friday it is not considering acquiring a part of Homeplus, a supermarket chain grappling with poor performance in recent years. The announcement was made in response to local media reports suggesting that Coupang plans to acquire Homeplus Express from MBK Partners, the private equity fund that owns Homeplus. Homeplus' supermarket business comes in two types: Homeplus, a large discount store, and Homeplus Express, a smaller hypermarket. Homeplus o

July 12, 2024

Doosan Group realigns business structure to maximize synergy

South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group has decided to shake up its business structure to focus on clean energy and smart machine sectors to maximize synergy between it’s affiliates. According to Doosan’s regulatory filing Thursday, Doosan Bobcat, a compact equipment and industrial vehicle builder, will undergo a spin-off merger process to become a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of Doosan Robotics. Doosan Enerbility, which currently owns a 46 percent stake in Doosan Bobcat, will split i

July 12, 2024

Starbucks Korea vows to donate W1b for cultural preservation

Starbucks Korea said Thursday it has partnered with the country’s heritage service organizations to intensify its contribution to cultural preservation efforts. Starbucks Korea, the Korea Heritage Service and the National Trust for Cultural Heritage agreed to establish a national heritage protection fund during a ceremony held at the Starbucks Hwangudan branch in Seoul on Thursday. The event was attended by Starbucks Korea CEO Sohn Jeong-hyun, Korea Heritage Service Administrator Choi Eung

July 11, 2024

HD Hyundai gets green light to bid for US warship maintenance projects

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said Thursday that it has secured the right to bid for the United States Navy's warship maintenance, repair and operations, or MRO, projects to become the first South Korean shipbuilder to do so. According to the shipbuilder, HD HHI signed the master ship repair agreement with the US Naval Supply Systems Command. Under the agreement, HD HHI has been given the qualification to submit bids for MRO projects of the US Navy's warships as well as support ships of

July 11, 2024

McDonald’s unveils new Taste of Korea items

McDonald's Korea has introduced new items under its "Taste of Korea" lineup -- including a cheeseburger and a chicken muffin featuring locally sourced peppers -- highlighting its commitment to collaborating with rural areas across the country. In its fourth edition since 2021, this year’s Taste of Korea lineup focuses on peppers produced in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, in the Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Burger and Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Muffin. “McDonald’s

July 11, 2024

Hyundai Rotem renews K2 supply consortium with Poland

Hyundai Rotem has renewed a consortium agreement with Poland's state armament group PGZ to carry out the production and delivery of K2PL, the Polish variant of Hyundai Rotem's K2 Black Panther tank, the Korean company said Wednesday. The renewed contract has laid out the foundation for the two sides to engage in accelerating talks for a second K2 tank contract. According to Hyundai Rotem, the previous consortium, which began its term in March last year, reached its expiration date last

July 10, 2024

LS invests $681m to build largest submarine cable plant in US

LS Cable & System on Wednesday announced its plan to invest $681 million to build the largest submarine cable manufacturing plant in the United States. According to the announcement, the new facility will be in Chesapeake, Virginia. LS GreenLink USA, a US subsidiary of LS Cable & System, will break ground for the plant next year. The facility is expected to begin operations by 2027 and create over 330 jobs. The site will include a 200-meter-tall submarine cable manufacturing building, wh

July 10, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace inks W1.4tr arms deal with Romania

Hanwha Aerospace has secured a 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion) arms contract with Romania to export 54 units of the K9 self-propelled howitzer and 36 units of the K10 ammunition resupply vehicle, the Korean defense firm said Wednesday. According to Hanwha Aerospace, the delivery of the arms machinery will begin in 2027 in phases. The company said it beat out the competing bidders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization such as Germany's PzH2000 and Turkey's Firtina to secure the cont

July 10, 2024

Hyundai Motor, Oxford establish Foresight Center

Hyundai Motor Group and the University of Oxford in the UK have established a joint Foresight Center to explore the former's long-term strategies and visions together, the Korean auto conglomerate said Tuesday. "The automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift and significant changes in business environments, leading to unprecedented uncertainty," said Kim Gyun, head of Hyundai Motor Group Business Intelligence Institute. "In such times, it is crucial for companies to m

July 9, 2024

HD Korea Shipbuilding launches translation service for foreign workers

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said Tuesday that it developed an artificial intelligence translation technology to support foreign workers. According to the company, the service named AI Agent was developed using generative AI technology and has been implemented at the HD Hyundai Samho shipyard in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province. Combined with the shipbuilder's self-developed messaging app Team Up, the AI Agent translates the messages originally written in Korean to a langu

July 9, 2024

Samsung union begins first strike

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics launched their first-ever strike Monday, demanding higher pay and warning of potential further action if the country's largest conglomerate does not meet their demands. The National Samsung Electronics Union, the biggest labor union of the conglomerate with over 30,000 members, making up some 25 percent of the workforce, said it kicked off the three-day strike starting with a rally at 11:00 a.m. in front of the main entrance of the company's pla

July 8, 2024

[Business Diplomacy] Importance of tracking money in politics

The United States and its capital, Washington, DC, have one of the biggest lobbying sectors in the world. Hilary Braseth, executive director of OpenSecrets, a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization specializing in tracking and publishing the money flows in politics, says transparency is integral to lobbying. “In the US, the case for making lobbying legal I believe, or some form of it legal, was on the basis of our Constitution, which some (court rulings) believe that (it’s) the F

July 8, 2024

Coupang to raise membership fee from Aug. 7

Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Monday it will raise its membership fee for existing members from 4,990 won ($3.60) to 7,890 won starting Aug. 7, prompting mixed expectations about the impact of the fee hike. This move follows Coupang’s decision to increase its membership fees for new members to the same price of 7,890 won starting on April 13. Coupang counted approximately 14 million members as of last year, more than double the 6 million in 2020 when it launched the membership servi

July 8, 2024

Hyosung wins W330b transformer order from Norway

South Korea’s Hyosung Heavy Industries said Monday it secured a 330 billion won ($240 million) deal to supply 420-kilovolt high-voltage transformers to Norway’s electricity agency Statnett. The project aims to expand infrastructure for renewable energy and replace aging facilities in phases by 2029. Out of the total order, Hyosung signed a deal for the first batch, valued at 304 billion won, Friday. Hyosung attributed the latest deal to its expertise spanning from design to installat

July 8, 2024

Hyosung's estranged son donates inheritance, seeks to end family feud

Cho Hyun-moon, former vice president of Korea's industrial chaebol Hyosung and the estranged second son of the late founder Cho Suck-rai, announced on Friday his decision to donate his entire inheritance to charity in hopes of ending the feud with his brothers. "I’ve set up a public trust and will donate every penny of the inheritance left to me by the late honorary chairman. I hope my brothers will support this initiative," Cho stated at a press conference in Gangnam, Seoul

July 5, 2024

LG Energy Solution CEO underscores stronger fundamentals

LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung said Thursday that the company needs to focus on strengthening fundamentals and review ways to cut down any dissipation amid the stagnating demand for electric vehicles forecasting a troublesome outlook for the battery industry. "As we have been pushing for aggressively winning contracts and expanding businesses, it's true that there have been a lot of inefficiencies across various sectors such as personnel, facilities, and purchases," he said

July 4, 2024

Starbucks Korea launches campaign to celebrate 25th anniversary

Starbucks Korea is launching the Festival for All promotional event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its operations in the nation, the coffee giant announced Thursday. This seven-day event kicks off Friday and features new food and beverage products from overseas branches. For beverages, the company will showcase its French vanilla latte and "The Melon Of Melon Frappuccino," initially launched in the US and Japan, respectively. The French vanilla latte includes two shots of blonde

July 4, 2024