DAEGU -- With the aim of turning the former textile-industry city into an epicenter for the future car business, the Daegu city government held an international exposition on green and self-driving vehicles Thursday, with automakers and parts makers joining the drive. The second Daegu International Future Auto Expo, which kicked off for a four-day run jointly hosted by Daegu City and the Korea Academy for Automotive Engineering, attracted the participation of 248 companies from 22 countries at E

Mobility Nov. 1, 2018

The contents in this article are subjective and not intended as a professional recommendation. – Ed. Believe it or not, I am to stay away from chicken.Or at least that was the result of my recent trips to a traditional Korean medicine clinic.While most Koreans are used to herbal medicine and acupuncture, finding out one’s body type based on constitutional typology and sticking to respective dietary recommendations requires slightly more devotion and well, faith. With constitutional medicine trea

Culture Nov. 1, 2018

JINCHEON, North Chungcheong Province -- Hanwha Q Cells Korea, the solar cell and module manufacturer under Hanwha Group, on Tuesday revealed its factory in North Chungcheong Province, as it seeks to top the global solar power market backed by the smart factory and improved management efficiency.Hanwha Q Cells Korea’s smart factory in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, is the world’s largest single solar cell plant, where 2.2 million solar cells are produced daily, the company said.Sitting on

Industry Oct. 31, 2018

Lackluster sales at South Korean carmakers is taking a toll on local parts suppliers, with a growing number of them recording operating losses and seeking debt workout programs.Amid concerns that struggles at local carmakers would have a profound impact on local small and midsize parts suppliers, the government has stepped in to provide special credit guarantees worth 1 trillion won. (Herald DB)According to data from the Korea Auto Industries Cooperative Association, out of 89 listed first-tier

Mobility Oct. 29, 2018

General Motors CEO Mary Barra is planning a visit to South Korea soon to meet with stakeholders, a response to controversy over the US auto giant’s decision to spin off its research and development center as an independent entity.In a letter addressed to the carmaker’s labor union last week in response to its request for a meeting, Barra reiterated the significance of the spinoff and the carmaker’s long-term commitment to its operations in Korea.“With regard to General Motors’ long-term plans, w

Mobility Oct. 29, 2018

Kolon Plastics, an affiliate of South Korea’s Kolon Group, launched Kolon BASF innoPOM, a joint venture with German chemicals firm BASF, to make polyoxymethylene (POM) a plastic used in car parts, the company said Thursday. Backed by the world’s biggest POM production capacity and growing demand in the auto industry, the joint venture is expected to bolster Kolon’s annual revenue by 80 billion won ($70.2 million).Located in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Kolon and BASF each invested 30 bil

Industry Oct. 25, 2018

South Korea’s leading steelmaker, Posco, will support 5,500 job seekers over the next five years by offering job training as part of its vision for mutual growth with society, the company said Thursday. Its three education programs are an artificial intelligence and big-data academy for young adults, hands-on experience of working in the corporate world and an entrepreneur incubation school.To help participants focus on learning, Posco will cover accommodations and provide an allowance of betwee

Industry Oct. 25, 2018

South Korea’s leading steelmaker Posco will support 5,500 job seekers over the next five years by offering job training as part of its vision for mutual growth with society, the company said Thursday. Its three education programs are an artificial intelligence and big data academy for young adults, hands-on experience of working in the corporate world and an entrepreneur incubation school.For participants to focus on learning, Posco will cover accommodations and provide an allowance of between 5

Industry Oct. 25, 2018

Hyundai Mobis, South Korea’s auto parts supplier, has developed the “advanced adaptive driving beam” that ensures driving safety utilizing advanced driver assist systems as part of an effort to lead the future lamp market, the company said Wednesday.The AADB collects a wider range of information compared to the previous version, including information on car lanes using the camera, vehicles approaching from the back using radar, highways via navigation system, and other sources, the company expla

Mobility Oct. 24, 2018

Ahead of the launch of the Jaguar I-Pace electric sport utility vehicle here by the end of the year, Jaguar boasted the SUV’s outstanding driving range in the 378-kilometer drive from London to Belgian capital Brussels in September, the company said Wednesday. Powered by its advanced 90-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, the I-Pace has a maximum driving distance of 480 kilometers per charge and driving stability in freezing weather conditions of minus 40 degrees Celsius.In partnership with Posco

Mobility Oct. 24, 2018

Posco, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, flagged its best ever quarterly operating profit between July and September at 1.5 trillion won ($1.32 billion), showing a sharp 36 percent on-year surge, on the back of improved performance across most businesses, the company said Tuesday.Posting over 1 trillion won in operating profit for the fifth consecutive quarter, this is the company’s highest operating profit since the Korea International Financial Reporting Standard was implemented in 2011.The fi

Industry Oct. 23, 2018

As controversy persisted over GM Korea’s plan to spin off its research and development unit, the nation’s tripartite labor commission put the brakes on the labor union’s push for a strike in opposition to the move. State-run Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gull, meanwhile, asked the automaker to explain its plan in detail, adding that it was not necessary to “prejudge whether the spinoff (was) good or bad.”The National Labor Relations Commission on Monday ruled that further dialogue was

Mobility Oct. 22, 2018

Mergers and acquisitions are approached carefully and reviewed in depth. While they can help make the company an industry leader, they can also destroy in the company by overloading it in debt.Volvo Construction Equipment Korea, which was created when the Swedish company purchased the construction equipment business from Samsung Heavy Industries in 1998, celebrated its 20th anniversary last week in a festive mood, looking back on the growth achieved.Volvo CE President Melker Jernberg who visited

Mobility Oct. 21, 2018

GM Korea’s push to spin off its R&D center as a separate corporate body has fueled a new conflict with the state-run Korea Development Bank and unionized workers just seven months after they agreed on long-term cooperation this April.In the latest development, GM Korea’s shareholders will convene Friday afternoon to vote on the spinoff, following the Incheon District Court’s rejection of the injunction KDB filed to put off the vote.As the Korean carmaker’s second-largest shareholder, with a 17.0

Mobility Oct. 18, 2018

Amid South Korea’s increasing pivot toward the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, foreign diplomats from the region expressed confidence in deeper and diversified bilateral economic ties at a business forum organized by The Korea Herald on Tuesday.At “The Korea Herald Biz Forum: ASEAN and New Asia” in Seoul, envoys from the 10 member countries introduced investment opportunities from their home turfs, including the latest policies, free trade agreements, special economic zones, incentives a

Industry Oct. 16, 2018