Edison Motors, a little-known electric bus manufacturer, seems likely to emerge as the preferred bidder for SsangYong Motor, South Korea’s longest-running car brand, which has experienced debt troubles in recent years. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court said a consortium led by Edison Motors is the only remaining bidder, effectively making it the preferred buyer. Its competitor, another consortium led by EV firm Electrical Life Business and Technology, was excluded from the list as it failed

Industry Oct. 20, 2021

Among major Korean conglomerates, Kumho Group has been under the microscope of Korea’s Fair Trade Commission the most, a lawmaker revealed Wednesday. According to data submitted by the FTC to Rep. Kim Hee-gon of the main opposition People Power Party, the state-run antitrust watchdog’s Business Group Bureau in charge of overseeing company irregularities has conducted 10 investigations into Kumho over the past four years. Since September of 2017 when the bureau was established up

Industry Oct. 20, 2021

South Korean steelmaker Posco has succeeded in locally producing special steel pipes for hydrogen transportation and will supply them for the first time to the city of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, the company said Tuesday. Until now, South Korea has relied on imported, small-caliber seamless steel pipes with a width about 15 centimeters for hydrogen transportation. Bigger pipes, as wide as 20 centimeters, are needed to carry the big volume of hydrogen transfer needed in the hydrogen test bed ci

Industry Oct. 19, 2021

Hyundai Glovis, the logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, is joining hands with Air Products & Chemicals, a US-based industrial gas manufacturer, to speed up the development of a liquefied hydrogen supply chain, the company said Tuesday. Hyundai Glovis CEO Kim Jung-hoon signed the supply chain agreement during a videoconference with Air Products & Chemicals Asia President Wilbur Mok as well as Korea unit CEO Kim Kyo-young. “We expect a great synergy from the partnership, a

Industry Oct. 19, 2021

Some 247,000 sole proprietors have lost jobs amid prolonged social distancing regulations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. According to Yonhap News Agency’s analysis, 247,000 people who were self-employed in mid-September last year lost their jobs and fell into the category of the unemployed and economically inactive within the past 12 months. The report defines unemployed as those who are able and willing to work and who have been in search of a job but unable

Industry Oct. 18, 2021

Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo has been chosen to lead the executive board of directors for the World Steel Association, the South Korean steelmaker said Thursday. Choi, who is a member of the association’s executive committee, was appointed to lead the entity along with two other board members, during the annual conference held online on Wednesday, Posco said. The World Steel Association is one of the largest industry associations in the world, representing global steel producers, natio

Industry Oct. 14, 2021

Private and public stakeholders in the development of self-driving cars have established the Korea Autonomous Industry Association on Wednesday in order to better prepare for the coming new mobility era. Some 30 government officials and company executives attended the launching ceremony held in Yeouido, Seoul, including Park Jin-kyu, the vice minister for industry, and Hwang Seong-kyu, the vice minister for transport. Aside from private firms, two state-run organizations -- the Korea Automot

Mobility Oct. 13, 2021

Hyundai Motor is to open a self-driving technology test bed at its R&D Center to speed up development, the automaker said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said it has been setting up the infrastructure needed for researchers to try out different autonomous driving technologies at its Namyang R&D Center. Located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the Namyang center is the main research institute for Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive affiliates, Hyundai an

Mobility Oct. 12, 2021

Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party’s standard bearer in next year’s presidential election, is hoping to establish several new taxes, which would support his basic income plan. And as much as his universal benefit policy would weigh on the country’s fiscal management –- a minimum 1 million won ($890) subsidy to every individual each year -- the liberal politician is talking trillions of won in new tax revenues. A key measures that the Gyeonggi Province governo

Industry Oct. 11, 2021

South Korea’s business leaders on Monday asked political parties to put the economy on the front burner of the presidential election in March, delivering a list of economic agenda that need to be addressed by presidential candidates. The 73 board members of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea’s largest private economic organization, said the letter outlined three propositions, 10 agenda items, five reform tasks and 70 action plans for political groups to consider in t

Industry Oct. 11, 2021

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reiterated the country’s commitment to the hydrogen economy, while meeting government and industry officials Thursday. Attending a briefing session on the progress of the country’s hydrogen programs, he also encouraged chiefs of major conglomerates, including Hyundai Motor Group and SK Group, in attendance to continue their effort for building a hydrogen ecosystem. “A hydrogen economy is one of the core areas the government is working on f

Industry Oct. 7, 2021

Hyundai Motor’s little mini SUV, the Casper, is here, creating a buzz in the A-segment market, where the competition has long been dull. This new Casper is Hyundai’s first A-segment release in 19 years, and already it’s received record preorders. Even the president lined up to buy one. The Casper is slightly more expensive than its rivals the Chevrolet Spark and the Kia Ray, but there’s a reason for that. It comes with advanced driver assistance functions that are of

Mobility Oct. 6, 2021

To respond to the growing pressure to meet net-zero pledges, steelmakers around the world must work together to find ways to decarbonize steelmaking, mostly likely with the use of hydrogen, the chief of South Korea’s top steel manufacturer said Wednesday. Hosting the Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making Forum 2021, the world’s first international forum on hydrogen steelmaking, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo highlighted the need for urgent, concerted action as an industry and an open pla

Industry Oct. 6, 2021

Japan’s export restrictions on three key industrial materials critical for South Korea’s chip and display industries has had little impact against the target materials, but worsened overall trade between the two countries, a major business representation group here said Tuesday. Releasing an analysis, the Federation of Korean Industries urged Japan and its new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to lift the export restrictions the country imposed against Korea in July 2019. According t

Industry Oct. 5, 2021

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The Korea Pavilion at the pandemic-delayed Expo 2020 Dubai finally opened Friday, taking visitors on a journey of the present and future of Korea. The fifth-largest exhibition site at the fair, which was the world’s largest event since the global virus crisis, the Korea exhibit dazzled visitors with 1,597 colorful, rotating cubes mounted outside the building in what is meant to represent the dynamism of its culture and people. Inside, a plethora of advance

Industry Oct. 4, 2021