[The Heirs (4)] Hurdles remain for second son in inheriting Hankook Technology Group

Despite public apathy and tougher shareholder censure, South Korea’s chaebol groups are preparing a generational shift in leadership. The Korea Herald looks at different conglomerates and succession scenarios. -- Ed.   Hankook Technology Group, formerly known as Hankook Tire, was founded in 1941 and was South Korea’s largest and the world’s sixth-largest tire manufacturer by revenue as of 2019. The group operates major units including Hankook Tire & Technology, Hank

July 19, 2020

Hyundai Motor becomes best-selling car maker in Vietnam in first half of 2020

Hyunda Motor became the best-selling car maker in Vietnam during the first half of this year, surpassing Toyota by a slight margin. The South Korean automaker sold 25,358 units during the first six months of 2020, according to data from Hyundai and the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, with its Japanese rival trailing by 181 units. Hyundai cars accounted for 21.3 percent of the market share, up 2.6 percentage points from the same time last year. It marks the first time the

July 19, 2020

Hyundai tipped to sell more than 100,000 new Grandeur sedans 8 months after launch

Hyundai Motor Co.'s new Grandeur sedan is likely to see its sales top 100,000 units this month, eight months after its launch in the domestic market, industry sources said Sunday. Hyundai Motor launched the face-lifted Grandeur in November last year and aimed to sell 110,000 units in the domestic market this year. According to the sources, Hyundai has sold 90,000 new Grandeur sedans through June this year since its launch. The new Grandeur has been the bestselling model in the domestic marke

July 19, 2020

Concerns raised over Tesla’s ‘misleading’ ad on autonomous driving system

After a German court ruled that Tesla’s advertisement on the capabilities of its autonomous driving system is “misleading,” a civic group in South Korea on Friday raised concerns and urged authorities here to inspect the firm. In a statement, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, a nonprofit organization, urged the US-based automaker to withdraw its advertisement, which it claimed is exaggerated to misinform consumers as if Tesla cars can fully drive on their own. On Tu

July 17, 2020

Transport Ministry orders recall of 34,268 cars from seven carmakers

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday it has ordered a recall of 34,268 vehicles -- sold by Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Renault Samsung Motors, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hanbul Motors and BMW Korea -- for faulty components.  The defective components found in 23 models sold by the seven carmakers include faulty air bag in Hyundai Motor’s Avante, loose nut for generator inside Carnival, worn-out gearshift for Soul EV and oil leak in Renault Samsung’s M

July 17, 2020

Eastar Jet’s labor union blames Jeju Air, govt. for failed M&A deal

South Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet’s unionized workers on Friday blamed Jeju Air and the government for the botched acquisition plan of its rival. The workers’ union argued that the government “neglected” the situation for three months, until the aviation industry’s economic situation severely deteriorated. “The government should actively step up, since the Moon Jae-in government and the ruling party cannot escape responsibility for the economic impac

July 17, 2020

Air Busan resumes flights to China amid pandemic

Air Busan Co., the budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Friday it has resumed flights to China as it obtained quarantine approval from the country. Air Busan is offering one flight per week on the Incheon-Shenzhen route on Fridays, the company said in a statement. "The company is targeting to increase the number of flights on the route to Shenzhen depending on the Chinese authorities' guidance," the statement said. The company also aims to restart services on the Inche

July 17, 2020

Jeju Air says it now has grounds to pull out of Eastar Jet merger

Jeju Air said Thursday it can now walk away from a controversial 54.5 billion won ($45 million) merger deal with Eastar Jet after the troubled low-cost carrier failed to meet the deadline to fulfill its prerequisites. “Eastar Holdings has not fulfilled the prerequisites for its stock purchase agreement” by Wednesday midnight, Jeju Air said in a statement, adding that it is in a position to terminate the deal. “We received an official document yesterday from Eastar Holdings co

July 16, 2020

Mercedes-Benz Korea unveils four high-performance models

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Thursday it is set to unveil, for the first time here, four new models under the premium high-performance brand Mercedes-AMG at the AMG Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. 　　 “There has been a growing demand for high-performance vehicles, especially among younger customers. In order to address this demand, the AMG brand is introducing a variety of performance models including the first-ever engine family 35 along with the 45 and the 45 S models,”

July 16, 2020

Hyundai to recall 272,000 cars in US on faulty socket

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest carmaker by sales, said Thursday it will recall more than 272,000 vehicles in the United States as the electrical socket in the dashboard can overheat and cause a fire. The latest recall affects the Elantra compact and Sonata midsize sedan produced between 2011 and 2012, and the Accent subcompact and the Veloster hatchback produced in 2012, a company spokesman said. The problem takes place when an air compressor used to inflate tires is plugged into t

July 16, 2020

Sales of electric cars dwindle amid coronavirus pandemic

Sales of electric vehicles have taken a hit globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll on the economy, a new report has revealed. According to data from market analyst company SNE Research, global sales of electric cars between January and May this year dropped by 20.3 percent to 710,000 units, compared to the same time last year. Due to the worsening impact of the pandemic in the US and Europe in particular, global sales of electric vehicles in May were down by 28.7 perc

July 15, 2020

EU suspends HHI-DSME merger screening again

The European Commission has again suspended the screening of Hyundai Heavy Industries’ acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, according to industry sources. Upon the suspension, the screening deadline, originally set for September, has been delayed and it is unlikely that the review will be completed within this year, according to industry watchers. The EU had previously suspended the screening twice as it had difficulty collecting screening data due to the coro

July 15, 2020

Renault Samsung Motors unveils face-lifted SM6

Renault Samsung Motors unveiled a revamped version of its midsized sedan SM6 on Wednesday, four years after it was launched.  The new SM6 has been upgraded by adopting a renewed powertrain to improve the driving performance, along with a new rear suspension and driving assistant function to offer driving comfort.  For the exterior, the automaker added new color options including silver, gray and red. The newly added dynamic turn-signal light has made the exterior more aesthetic

July 15, 2020

Korean Air releases video promoting hygiene procedures in planes

South Korean full-service carrier Korean Air has released a video featuring Korean Air CEO Cho Won-tae and some 30 employees disinfecting the inside of an airplane, the airline said Tuesday.  In a video titled “We are waiting for you,” which runs just over a minute and a half, Cho and the employees sanitize the interior of the plane by spraying disinfectant on shelves, monitors, safety belts, tables and lavatories. The disinfectant, called MD-125, is effective for seven days.

July 14, 2020

Jin Air to resume flight to Chinese city of Xian

Low-cost carrier Jin Air Co. said Tuesday it will resume its flights to the Chinese city of Xian, about six months after suspending them due to the new coronavirus outbreak. A 189-seat B737-800 is set to depart Thursday from South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju at 8:30 a.m. in the resumption of a weekly flight to Xian. Jin Air stopped its flights to Xian on Jan. 30 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic from China late last year. Jin Air had suspended all of its internationa

July 14, 2020

Mercedes-Benz Korea focuses on electrifying lineup through EQ tech

Since Mercedes-Benz Korea introduced its first E-Class premium family sedan lineup here in 2003, 239,760 of the cars had been sold as of June.  The current E-Class, the 10th-generation model, was launched in 2016. Within three years, it became the first premium sedan model from a foreign carmaker to achieve 100,000 units of sales in such a short time. Behind the popularity of the E-Class is not only its dynamic performance and intelligent driving assistant features, but a varied lin

July 13, 2020

Hyundai Motor’s sales of eco-friendly cars up 36.2%

Hyundai Motor Group’s sales of specific models -- hybrid, plug-in, electric and hydrogen-powered -- in the local market jumped over 36 percent in the first half of this year, indicating a growing preference for eco-friendly cars.  The top South Korean automaker said Sunday its sales of the eco-friendly cars stood at 67,798 as of June, up by 36.2 percent compared to the same period last year.  Specifically, it sold a total of 37,697 units, up by 29.3 percent on-year, while Kia

July 12, 2020

Car industry hit harder by COVID-19 than any other financial crisis: expert

COVID-19 has hit the global car industry harder than any other financial crisis, and car sales will not recover to last year’s levels until around 2023, a market analyst said Friday. Lee Bo-sung, the head of Hyundai Motor Group’s global business R&D center, delivered those predictions at a seminar organized by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association. Members of KAJA gathered at the AMG Speedway, a driving circuit in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to attend the seminar and s

July 12, 2020

S. Korea to expand routes to China to meet biz travel demand

South Korea is in talks with China to increase the number of flights to the country to 10 a week mainly to meet travel demand from businessmen, the transport ministry said Sunday. Korean airlines currently serve three routes from Incheon to Chinese cities and plan to resume flights on four more routes to the neighboring country this month, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "The (Seoul) government is in talks with the Chinese authorities to resume flights o

July 12, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] New Santa Fe: Hyundai’s family-friendly SUV gets smarter

Hyundai Motor’s new, face-lifted version of the Santa Fe is here with a much different look and smarter system, set to regain its reputation as the first SUV to sell 100,000 vehicles in South Korea. The automaker released the refreshed version of its signature family sport utility vehicle on June 30, two years after it launched the fourth-generation model in 2018. For the year, the car sold over 100,000 units, making it the first SUV in the 100,000 club. As changes are often subtle

July 9, 2020