Hanwha Group, Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate by total assets, is poised to solidify its plan for succession, which will move from the current chairman to his three sons, as the company has taken a clearer stance on who will take charge of each business. According to the conglomerate, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn visited the headquarters of Hanwha Robotics in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday, with his youngest and third son Kim Dong-seon, who is the vice president of Hanw

Industry April 8, 2024

Hyundai Motor and Kia announced Monday that they have signed a strategic partnership with Exide Energy, a leading battery company in India, to speed up India’s transition into electric vehicles and expand the Korean automakers’ presence there. Under the partnership, Exide Energy will develop lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP, battery cells and supply them to the automakers’ manufacturing footholds in India. The LFP battery cells will be loaded onto the carmakers’ India-speci

Mobility April 8, 2024

The chief of the Porche's Panamera line said building a bigger local fandom will be the carmaker's most important goal as the sporty sedan's third-generation was rolled out in Korea. “The question is not only ‘how do we get the customers to the brand and how do we get them not only as customers and drivers of our cars' (but also) 'How do we get them as fans of the brand?’” said Thomas Friemuth, the head of Porsche’s Panamera product line at

Mobility April 7, 2024

Hyundai Motor Group has found itself at a crossroads as Boston Dynamics, a US-based robotics company that the Korean auto conglomerate acquired in 2021, struggles to find a breakthrough amid mounting losses. Over two years have passed since Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun appeared on stage with Boston Dynamics’ four-legged, dog-like robot, Spot, at the CES 2022 in Las Vegas. “Robots are getting closer to humans. Just like you are carrying your phone today, in the

Mobility April 7, 2024

Kia on Friday unveiled a plan to invest 38 trillion won ($28.1 billion) through 2028 in an investor relations event held at Conrad Seoul, vowing to lead the global auto industry’s automation. According to the Korean automaker, 65 percent of the large-scale investment will be injected into automation, 19 percent will be used for developing purpose-built vehicles, which were redefined as "platform beyond vehicles" at CES in January, 8 percent will be spent on the transition to soft

Mobility April 5, 2024

Multiple spelling errors have been found in the Korea AeroSpace Administration’s English-language job application, raising questions about the country’s professionalism and sincerity in recruiting professionals from overseas to its soon-to-be-established space body. KASA’s English job application, which can be downloaded from the new space body’s official website, on Wednesday showed that all four documents contained the same spelling mistake in the name of the agency. Th

Technology April 4, 2024

우주항공청이 5월 공식 출범을 앞두고 파격 조건을 약속하며 국내는 물론 해외 우수 인재도 유치하겠다는 야심 찬 계획을 내세웠지만 정작 가장 기본적인 영문지원서에 다수의 오타가 나와 지원자들과 학계의 빈축을 사고 있다. 4일 우주항공청 공식웹사이트에서 다운로드 받은 외국인 전형 지원서 총 네 건을 살펴보면 모든 서류의 머리말에 기관명이 "Korea AreoSpace Administration"이라고 표기되어 있다. 우주항공청의 공식 영문 명칭은 "Korea AeroSpace Administration"인데 '우주항공'을 뜻하는 영어단어 'aerospace'를 'areospace'로 잘못 표기한 것이다. 오타는 이뿐만 아니다. 이력서 문서 중 학위 취득 대학원의 국가를 표기하는 란에는 'country'가 아닌 'countr'라고 쓰여 있는데 바로 밑 대학교 국가에

한국어판 April 4, 2024

South Korean Conglomerate Hanwha Group on Tuesday reaffirmed its willingness to continue pushing for a takeover of Australian shipbuilder Austal despite the latter’s earlier announcement to reject the former’s offer due to low chances of obtaining regulatory approvals. According to media reports and industry sources, the value of the acquisition offer has been estimated between 895 million and 1.02 billion Australian dollars ($581 million and $663 million). Noting Austal’s posi

Industry April 2, 2024

LG Energy Solution said Tuesday that it has delivered the first battery cells produced at Ultium Cells’ manufacturing plant in Tennessee to its client. The battery products made at the Tennessee site will be loaded onto General Motors’ third-generation electric vehicles, including the Cadillac Lyriq. The Tennessee plant is the second battery production site of Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors. According to LG Energy Solution, the first batte

Mobility April 2, 2024

Stellantis will launch the Avenger, the Jeep brand’s first all-electric sports utility vehicle, in Korea in the second half of this year as the global automaker looks to focus on regaining customer trust and bolstering its brand image here, the company’s recently appointed head said Monday. “Challenges and opportunities still co-exist in (the Korean market),” said Bang Sil, managing director of Stellantis Korea, in her first press conference since starting in her role as

Mobility April 1, 2024

INJE, Gangwon Province -- “(Other carmakers) are worried when (they) see snow and rain, but we love it, and I think we’re going to have a great day,” said Robin Colgan, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Korea, as he greeted reporters taking part in the automaker’s test drive for the 2024 all-new Defender in Inje, Gangwon Province, on Tuesday. As the 48-kilometer test drive for the JLR’s flagship sports utility vehicle included on- and off-road routes that had m

Mobility March 31, 2024

Volkswagen Group Korea on Thursday appointed Steve Cloete to become the next head of Audi Korea as the German automaker looks for a breakthrough to turn around ailing sales in the local market. According to the announcement, Cloete will begin this new post at Audi Korea starting May 1. The new chief has over 27 years of experience in the automotive industry having worked at Hyundai Motor Group in South Africa and BMW Group in Bahrain. After joining Audi in 2014, Cloete worked in after-sales and

Mobility March 28, 2024

The Kia EV9, an all-electric large sports utility vehicle, won the World Car of the Year on Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show, marking the third year in a row for South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group to take the prestigious award. The EV9 beat out the EX30, Volvo’s electric subcompact crossover SUV, and the BYD Seal, a midsize sedan of the Chinese EV behemoth, to claim the highest honor. Kia’s electric SUV came out on top of the competition between 38 vehicles

Mobility March 28, 2024

Hyundai Motor Group announced Wednesday a grand plan to invest 68 trillion won ($50.7 billion) in Korea and create 80,000 jobs by the end of 2026 to secure future growth engines as a global first mover in the mobility sector. According to the auto conglomerate, 31.1 trillion won, about 46 percent of the investment, will be assigned to research and development to secure core technologies in improving product competitiveness, electric vehicle transition, advancing software-defined vehicles and int

Mobility March 27, 2024

Genesis, a premium brand under South Korean auto conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, unveiled two new concept vehicles -- the brand’s first full-size electric sports utility vehicle Neolun and the high-performance GV60 Magma -- at Genesis House New York on Monday, highlighting the future vision of the luxury automaker. “The Neolun Concept was inspired by Korea’s iconic moon-shaped porcelain jars,” said Luc Donckerwolke, chief creative officer at Genesis. “It’s

Mobility March 26, 2024