The Korea Herald

BMW appoints Korea sales chief as Malaysia CEO

Han Sang-yun, new CEO of BMW MalaysiaHan Sang-yun, head of sales at BMW Korea, will lead BMW Malaysia as the new managing director and CEO from January 2016, according to BMW AG on Friday. Han is the first Korean CEO to lead an overseas branch of the German luxury carmaker except the Korean market. The new head of BMW Malaysia has more than 20 years of work experience in different sectors of the auto industry from sales to marketing and product management and will be able to apply his experience

Mobility Nov. 7, 2015

BMW appoints Korea sales chief as Malaysia CEO

Hyundai Motor launches global luxury brand Genesis

Against the backdrop of the emblem of the company’s global luxury brand Genesis, Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun speaks at a launch event in Seoul on Wednesday. Hyundai MotorHyundai Motor, the nation’s top automaker, launched its global brand “Genesis” on Wednesday in response to the fast-growing luxury auto market.The carmaker said it chose Genesis -- the model name of its full-size sedan -- for its global luxury brand, considering the car’s global presence. The Genesis brand will be

Mobility Nov. 4, 2015

Japan unveils futuristic cars in Tokyo auto show

The biannual Tokyo Motor Show, one of the world’s top five automotive fairs, has been the perfect venue to look into directions Japanese carmakers are taking.The 2015 Tokyo auto show, which kicked off at the Tokyo Big Sight on Wednesday, features cutting-edge auto technologies of Japanese car manufacturers, including Toyota, Nissan and Honda.In particular, Japan’s global leadership in green cars such as plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles is taking center stage at the trade show, as German di

Mobility Nov. 1, 2015

Japan unveils futuristic cars in Tokyo auto show

Jaguar XF may face penalty over misstating mileage

Jaguar Land Rover Korea is likely to face a penalty in Korea next year for overstating the fuel economy of its 2015 Jaguar XF 2.2D, the diesel-powered British executive saloon, according to news reports on Sunday. “Jaguar Land Rover Korea overstated the fuel economy of its best-selling luxury sedan by more than 10 percent both on the city road and highway tests,” a Yonhap news report quoted an industry source as saying. The result is based on this year’s first-round fuel economy tests of 23 samp

Mobility Oct. 26, 2015

Nissan’s Maxima sedan ramps up performance

Nissan’s Maxima sedan has returned to Korea with stronger performance and an upscale feel. The Japanese carmaker’s all-new Maxima, which had its Asia launch on Oct. 1 in Seoul, is a four-door sports sedan boasting 303 horsepower. The 2016 Nissan Maxima, ranked the first in the “affordable large car category” by U.S. News & World Report, has one of the most powerful non-turbocharge six-cylinder engines on the market. Under the hood, the all-new Nissan Maxima’s 3.5-liter VQ-series V6 engine has be

Mobility Oct. 26, 2015

Hyundai Motor’s net profit falls 25.3% in Q3

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s top automaker, said Thursday that its third-quarter net profit sank 25.3 percent from a year earlier largely due to a drop in emerging markets’ currencies and increased costs.In a regulatory filing, the automaker reported a net profit of 1.21 trillion won ($1.06 billion) for the July-September period, compared with a profit of 1.62 percent a year earlier.Operating income declined 8.8 percent on-year to reach 1.5 trillion won over the cited period, while sales rose 2.

Mobility Oct. 22, 2015

Korea’s FEZs appeal to investors as gateway to China

Korea’s eight free economic zones nationwide, including Incheon FEZ and Saemangeum-Gunsan FEZ, are paying close attention to the National Assembly this month, with lawmakers starting discussions on the ratification of a free trade agreement with China, signed by the two governments in June.FEZs, specialized areas designed to encourage foreign investors, have long waited for the launch of the Korea-China FTA since the two nations started talks back in 2012, hoping the trade pact with the world’s

Oct. 13, 2015

Korea’s FEZs appeal to investors as gateway to China

Hyundai Motor stocks back on track after one-year slump

Investors are coming back to Hyundai Motor as a weakening won and strong sales of new cars at home in the third quarter give shares of the nation’s top automaker a chance to bottom out from the yearlong slump. The all-new Avante, which debuted in September. Hyundai MotorAccording to stock market operator Korea Exchange, shares of the carmaker rose about 27 percent for the past three months until last Friday when they closed at 167,000 won ($141.17). They have been in a slump for the past year si

Mobility Oct. 4, 2015

Hyundai Motor stocks back on track after one-year slump

Korea to probe Volkswagen for cheating emission rules

The South Korean Ministry of Environment said Monday that it would launch an investigation into diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audi cars here to test whether or not they complied with its emissions standards.Volkswagen’s diesel cars that the Korean authority is set to investigate include Jetta, Beetle, Passat and Audi A3 cars produced between 2009 and 2015. The move came on the heels of the news Friday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the German carmaker cheated on its emission

Mobility Sept. 21, 2015

‘Chinese superrich to sustain growth despite economic slowdown’

Despite the continued economic slowdown and a recent big stock market crash in China, the number of Chinese dollar billionaires is expected to hit a record high of 450 this year, up 26 percent from 358 in 2014, an expert on successful Chinese individuals said. Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report“Wealth creation in China has been extraordinary over the past 16 years. There was only one dollar billionaire when I started doing research on China’s rich people back in 199

Industry July 28, 2015

‘Chinese superrich to sustain growth despite economic slowdown’

[Photo News] KCCI Jeju forum kicks off

Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, makes opening remarks on the first day of the annual KCCI Jeju Forum at Hotel Shilla in Jejudo on Wednesday. KCCI

July 22, 2015

KEPCO installs energy storage system for frequency regulation

Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole power distributor, said Friday it had installed the country’s first energy storage system for power system frequency regulation at the West-Ansung substation in Gyeonggi Province. With the installment of ESS for frequency regulation, KEPCO said it would be able not only to reduce power purchasing costs, but also to lay the foundations for the development of related industries.Starting with the 28 megawatt ESS in the West-Ansung sub-station, KEPCO wil

Industry July 10, 2015

New Mercedez-Maybach S600 speeds up growth

Interest in the new the Mercedes-Maybach S600, with a local price tag of 294 million won ($262,000), is heating up among corporate executives. According to Mercedes-Benz Korea, the sub-brand of its premium product line S-Class neared its yearly target of 200 units in June, just three months since its April launch.“We introduced the two trims of S-Class cars with Maybach badges -- the Mercedes-Maybach S500 and S600. The combined sales of the two models reached 192 units by the end of June, and ab

Mobility July 5, 2015

Samsung hits back at ISS report

Samsung C&T on Sunday rebuffed a report by global shareholder adviser Institutional Shareholder Services that recommended its shareholders to oppose the proposed merger with Cheil Industries, the de facto holding company of Samsung Group. Samsung’s construction and trading unit said it was concerned that the report would mislead investors. “Despite the projection of a 22.6 percent stock plunge in the case of a merger failure, the ISS report recommended Samsung C&T shareholders to vote against th

Industry July 5, 2015

Future of Korea depends on first movers, not fast followers

There are so many issues going on in so many sectors of society in Korea and, yet, so little room to speak of the future. However, the best timing to prepare for a chaotic future is before a crisis. “Korea is a society moving forward, but it stands at a critical juncture. In a world of rapid change and fierce competition, Korea will lose ground unless it changes its fast-follower mindset, which worked well in an era of industrialization. Now, it needs a new model for future prosperity, led by in

Industry July 3, 2015

Future of Korea depends on first movers, not fast followers

Articles by Seo Jee-yeon