[THE INVESTOR] The Seoul City government announced on July 21 that it will raise the subsidies for electrical vehicle owners by 2 million won (US$ 1,758) to boost sales. A resident who purchases a new electric vehicle will now receive 18.5 million won in assistance, up from 16.5 million won, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said. Hyundai Motor EV Ioniq / Hyundai MotorCorporate buyers will get 14 million won, up from 12 million won, while rental and leasing firms will earn 18.5 million won, a hi

Mobility July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Automakers are rolling out special edition cars for the summer, according to the industry on July 21.Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, recently released a special edition of its midsize sedan Sonata, which will go on sale until October. The special edition is installed with ventilated seats and a dual air conditioning system for driver and passengers to enjoy the cool ride under the scorching sun. The new Sonata features automatic defogging system to detect fog and m

Mobility July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s largest automotive parts supplier, has decided to recall 120,000 car air-conditioning filters after octylisothiazolinone, a toxic chemical substance, was detected, the company said on July 21.“We decided to pull every product from the shelf to put our customers at ease,” the company said. On July 20, the Ministry of Environment released a list of filters containing OIT levels that may be harmful. These filters, which were mostly manufactured by 3M, wer

Mobility July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, plans on giving some breathing room to Hanjin Shipping to stay afloat, by extending the due date of its corporate rehabilitation program. KDB and other banks will convene a meeting sometime this week to extend the initial Aug. 4 deadline by a month for Hanjin Shipping, according to sources.  The move will help the ailing shipper to gain more time to improve its financial status to avoid court receivership. Earlier in May, the

Industry July 21, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s largest automotive parts supplier, aims to target American and Japanese automakers to widen its business beyond local affiliates Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. Hyundai Mobis, which is highly dependent on local automakers, plans to increase sales of its auto parts to non-Korean manufacturers by 1.5 times by 2025, local news reported on July 25. According to reports, Hyundai Mobis’ overseas sales account for only about 10 percent of total sales, while the

Mobility July 20, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s antitrust agency has decided to press criminal charges against the former and current executives of Volkswagen Korea for deceiving customers with false advertisements in the German automaker’s emission rigging scandal. It also plans to fine the automaker a maximum of 88 billion won (US$ 77.02 million). The Fair Trade Commission has sent the assessment report to VW Korea, stating it has decided to sue 10 executives, including Johannes Tamer, the CEO of Audi Volkswagen

Mobility July 20, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Heavy Industries has won an additional contract to supply two vacuum vessel sectors, the key component of the multibillion-dollar project International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the company said on July 19. Under the US$101.6 million deal, HHI will build two of the nine vacuum vessel sectors (No.7 and 8) that make up the main body of the ITER, the world’s largest nuclear fusion machine being built in Cadarache, southern France. Each vacuum vessel sectors measures

Industry July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea’s state-run power utility firm, eyes to develop renewable energy with Mongolian and Japanese firms. Cho Hwan-ik, KEPCO CEO, signed a memorandum of understanding with Enkhbold Nyamjav, CEO of Mongolian energy company Newcom Group and Shigeki Miwa, CEO of Japan’s Internet firm SoftBank, to cooperate and make joint investments in the solar and wind power projects in Mongolia, KEPCO said on July 19. (From left) SoftBank CEO Shigeki Miwa, KEPCO C

Industry July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Propelled by Samsung Bioepis and Celltrion, South Korean biopharmaceutical companies are gaining a foothold in Europe with their biosimilars, cheaper copycat versions of biologics. Celltrion’s Remsima -- biosimilar replication of rheumatoid arthritis treatment drug Remicade -- and Samsung Bioepis’ Benepali -- biosimilar copy of Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment Enbrel – along with Flixabi, another Remicade biosimilar, are already selling in Europe, one of the world’ largest m

Industry July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] The South Korean government on July 18 decided to ease regulations on the gaming industry, such as revising the online game “shutdown law,” by leaving in to the choice of the gamers’ parents. According to the plans drawn up as part of the government’s strategy for boosting the game industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to lift the curfew imposed on underage users from accessing online games late at night. PororoEnacted in 2011 to curb video game addiction a

Technology July 19, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Heavy Industries has delivered the world’s largest semi-submersible drilling rig to a US contract driller last week as scheduled, the company said on July 18. In 2013, HHI won the US$630 million order from Texas-based Diamond Offshore Drilling to build the Ocean Greatwhite that measures 123 meters in length and 78 meters in width. The rig can operate in waters up to 3 kilometers deep and drill down to a depth of 10.67 kilometers from the sea surface.  Ocean Greatwhite / HH

Industry July 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] After two years of deadlock, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is expected to resume the suspended construction of a crude oil production facility in Kazakhstan within the year.The company said on July 18 that it has recently received the green light to resume the Kazakhstan project, following a new investment decision made by shareholders of Tengizchevvroil, the operator of the US$36.8 million Tengiz oil field, the largest investment by an oil company since 2014.Tengizch

Industry July 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] A tripartite committee struck a deal over the weekend to raise next year’s minimum wage to 6,470 won ($5.70) per hour, but the decision failed to satisfy the key parties represented, with businesses and laborers each claiming the agreement was disappointing.　On Saturday, the committee of representatives of labor unions, business groups and the government agreed to raise the minimum wage by 7.3 percent, a 0.8 percentage point lower than last year’s increase.　The decision was reache

July 18, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] POSCO Daewoo is set to supply 30 megawatts of solar modules to U.S. solar energy generators including Osgood Solar, the company said Sunday. 　The trading arm of POSCO Group said it had signed supply deals worth 20 billion won ($17 million) with the U.S. firms at the latest solar energy exhibition Inter Solar North America in San Francisco.　 POSCO DaewooThrough the deals, the local company’s solar modules will be installed at general houses and urban buildings in the U.S.　Amid grow

July 18, 2016