Mercedes-Benz said Sunday its luxury flagship sedan the new Mercedes-Benz S 560 e has landed in South Korea, as part of the efforts to diversify its plug-in hybrid sedan lineup here. The German automaker’s S-Class sedan is conspicuous by its long wheelbase, spacious interior, innovative suspension system and high fuel efficiency, being a 70-year-long steady-selling luxury sedan, Mercedes-Benz Korea said.With the third-generation plug-in hybrid new S 560 e launching in Korea, the company sa

Mobility Dec. 29, 2019

Following Asiana Airlines’ new owner Hyundai Development Company finalizing a stock purchase agreement with the air carrier’s parent company Kumho Industrial on Friday, market analysts viewed that the priority mission for HDC is to improve the financial status of the debt-ridden air carrier. In short, it may cost the firm more than the promised 2 trillion won ($1.73 billion). According to the HDC consortium, which includes Mirae Asset Daewoo that will take 15 percent stake, it clinch

Mobility Dec. 29, 2019

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday its affiliate Mocean Lab has joined hands with the country’s car rental business association to develop a mobility service ecosystem in the rental car market. The mobility service venture set up by the parent group of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Rental Car Business Association for collaboration in the future mobility business. The association is the country’s largest group of car rent

Mobility Dec. 26, 2019

University students in South Korea still view tech giant Samsung Electronics as the most desirable future employer, a local survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 473 male students and 586 female students conducted by online job portal JobKorea, 10.6 percent chose Samsung Electronics as the company where they would most like to work. The next most popular answer was Korean Air (7.6 percent), followed by food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang (6.7 percent) and the Korea Electric P

Industry Dec. 26, 2019

The latest bone of contention between the labor union and management at Hyundai Motor was unforeseen in a country that boasts one of the highest internet penetration rates -- Wi-Fi use.On Tuesday, the automaker changed its decision to allow employees to use Wi-Fi at its manufacturing plant in Ulsan, and placed restrictions on use only during meal times and break hours. The decision was taken after criticism that employees spent a lot of their time surfing the internet or watching YouTube vi

Mobility Dec. 24, 2019

Lotte Duty Free’s online sales are expected to surpass 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) by the year-end, exceeding its target of 2.9 trillion won, according to the company. In the first half of this year, Lotte Duty Free recorded 1.42 trillion won in sales at its online mall, a 49 percent jump year-on-year.Last year, Lotte Duty Free raked 2.14 trillion won in online sales, up 46.3 percent from the previous year, the largest sales of an online duty-free outlet in the world.The company&rsq

Industry Dec. 24, 2019

A family war is brewing in Hanjin Group, one of Korea’s vast conglomerates which also owns flag carrier Korean Air, with siblings battling to assume management control. Late Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s eldest daughter Cho Hyun-ah is stepping up her attack against her younger brother and present Chairman Cho Won-tae, hinting at continued dispute about succession.Former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah said in a statement Monday via a law firm that “ Cho Won-tae’s busi

Industry Dec. 23, 2019

Korean confectionery company Orion said Monday it has tapped Vice President Lee Seung-jun as its new chief. Lee has served as head of Orion’s research and development center. He was promoted to president and will also head the company’s global R&D center, Orion said. After joining the company in 1989, he played key roles at product development and R&D teams in China as well as supervised megahit products including its signature corn chip Kkobup Chip, Market O Granola, Fr

Industry Dec. 23, 2019

Following the massive executive reshuffle at Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian auto giant that acquired SsangYong Motor in 2010, market insiders are speculating whether it will hamper investments in its ailing South Korean subsidiary. According to the Indian company, current Chairman Anand Mahindra will complete his term and take over a non-executive role as a chairman of the board of M&M from April 1. The group said that he will serve as a mentor and the board’s managing director to

Mobility Dec. 22, 2019

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, will strive to expand its logistics business via global network it has established this year, as well as make a “quantum jump” by penetrating into new markets in 2020, according to the firm. Under the 2020 vision, Hyundai Glovis said it will expand its non-subsidiary logistics business in the next year to step up as a global logistics firm. This year alone, Hyundai Glovis has clinched three partnerships with Chinese fi

Industry Dec. 22, 2019

South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group carried out a sweeping executive reshuffle Thursday to respond to the changing retail business landscape, with Lotte Department CEO Kang Hee-tae being promoted as head of the retail business unit.In a drastic annual year-end reshuffle, led by Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, the group replaced a quarter of 608 senior executives, to brace for digital transformation amid the surge in e-commerce. It was the first executive reshuffle led

Industry Dec. 19, 2019

Hanwha Energy said Thursday that it has joined hands with Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas) and Korea Southern Power (Kospo) to cooperate in infrastructure development projects for a gas plant and liquefied natural gas terminal in Vietnam.The affiliate of Hanwha Group plans to build a terminal for LNG imports and a power plant to produce electricity in Vietnam, where power supply and demand imbalance is a severe problem. In the case of Vietnam’s southern region, although half of the country’s

Industry Dec. 19, 2019

Han Sung Motor, an official local dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Korea, said it had sold artistic goods at its booth at the 2019 Seoul Design Festival to help children in need.The five-day annual event that kicked off on Dec. 4 involved rising artists and young designers as well as collaborative projects between art groups.  Han Sung Motor participated by arranging a collaboration project between its Dream Gream scholarship students and local design studio Maeum.Dream Gream is a schol

Mobility Dec. 18, 2019

Jeju Air, the country’s largest low-cost carrier by sales, said Wednesday that it had signed a deal to acquire 51 percent stakes in Eastar Holdings, the largest shareholder of a budget carrier Eastar Jet, in an apparent move to broaden its market share by absorbing an ailing air carrier.  Earlier this year, cosmetics-to-airline conglomerate Aekyung Group, which owns a 56.9 percent stake in Jeju Air, failed to takeover debt-ridden Asiana Airlines after the HDC Hyundai Development-Mirae

Industry Dec. 18, 2019

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it has introduced a mobile service for passengers to check whether their baggage is safely loaded.Those who fly with Asiana can check the status and the location of the baggage real-time via the carrier’s mobile application.The service will enhance passenger convenience and minimize the departure delay as location of luggage can be tracked during emergencies and baggage can be easily removed when the passenger gets off the plane, the company said.While the se

Industry Dec. 18, 2019