[THE INVESTOR] Prosecutors have found evidence that embattled Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering illegally raised money amounting to 10 trillion won ($8.6 billion) through accounting fraud, according to local news reports on Thursday. The prosecutors have placed travel bans on two former chief executives Nam Sang-tae and Koh Jae-ho of the world’s second-largest shipbuilder. The prosecution’s special force for anticorruption had secured evidence after raiding 10 organizations on Wednesday i

June 9, 2016

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean battery-maker Samsung SDI’s shares rebounded Thursday after Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk said the Korean firm may supply batteries for its energy unit. Earlier on Wednesday, Samsung SDI’s shares had tumbled 8 percent, as Musk denied news reports that Tesla would procure batteries for its electric vehicles from the Korean battery-maker. YonhapHe tweeted, “Would like to clarify that Tesla is working exclusively with Panasonic for Model 3 cells. News articles c

Business June 9, 2016

German automotive firm Continental AG’s interest in acquiring local tire company Kumho Tire has increased the pressure on Kumho Asiana Group chairman, as he has to solely prepare around 1 trillion won ($8.6 billion) to reacquire the firm. Local news reports said Tuesday Continental is in talks with financial investors to participate in the bidding for the Korean tire company, citing sources from the creditors of Kumho Tire. Other global firms, including French tire firm Michelin and Chinese stat

Business June 8, 2016

POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon (right) lights up the steelmaker’s reconstructed blast furnace No. 5 at Gwangyang steelworks in South Jeolla Province on Tuesday. The furnace grew to 5,500 cubic meters from 3,950 cubic meters following 112 days of repair works. (POSCO)

Industry June 7, 2016

Hyundai Motor has signed a deal with Turkmenistan’s government to supply 500 units of its large bus, according to the automaker Tuesday. Under the deal, Hyundai would supply 500 Aero City amounting to around $66 million, the largest overseas deal of its buses. This is equivalent to the shipments of 2,600 units of premium Sonata, which costs 30 million won ($25,800) each.  Aero City bus (Hyundai Motor)The automaker has already supplied 490 and 200 buses to the nation in 2009 and 2012, respectivel

Mobility June 7, 2016

S-Oil, the nation’s third-largest oil refiner, broke ground for its much-awaited residue upgrading complex and olefin downstream complex, the company announced Friday. Nasser Al-Mahasher, chief executive of S-Oil (S-Oil Corporation)This is the oil refiner’s first massive investment project since Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, became its largest shareholder by purchasing additional shares last year. The project worth 4.8 trillion won ($4 billion) is also the largest plant constru

Industry May 27, 2016

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction received an award from Middle East business media group MEED for successfully completing a thermoelectric power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh, the company announced Thursday. The “MEED Quality Awards for Projects” selects the best construction project in 16 areas including electricity generation, fresh water, oil and gas led by six member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.  Doosan

Industry May 26, 2016

Renault Samsung plans to launch a new sport utility vehicle named QM6 to replace current midsize SUV QM5 in September, company officials said Thursday.“We are aiming to roll out the new vehicle QM6 hopefully in September,” a company spokesperson told The Korea Herald. The company said it would showcase the fully modified SUV at the Busan International Motor Show slated to open on June 2, alongside other vehicles -- electric car Twizy and Renault Clio R.S. -- also to be rolled out in the second h

Mobility May 26, 2016

South Korea’s 30 largest business groups are down around 500 executives in the last year amid the nation’s prolonged economic slowdown, according to industry data Wednesday. Corporate researcher CEO Score said the total number of executives of the nation’s 30 largest conglomerates stood at 9,632 as of May, a drop of 4.8 percent from the same period of last year. By title, vice presidents, the lowest level among Korean executives, vacated the most jobs, accounting for more than half of total cuts

Industry May 25, 2016

South Korea’s steel industry is speeding up restructuring amid growing concerns over chronic oversupply in the sector, according to local news reports Wednesday. The reports said the Korea Iron & Steel Association -- whose members include all the major steel firms -- recently hired Boston Consulting Group to make a report on the steel industry’s restructuring measures. The report will reportedly include how to address chronic oversupply of the nation’s three largest steelmakers -- POSCO, Hyundai

Industry May 25, 2016

Sales of diesel cars may be hit as the government is reviewing raising diesel fuel costs and lowering gasoline prices amid growing concerns on toxic nitrogen oxide emitted by diesel engines, according to news reports Tuesday. “The government is considering raising diesel fuel costs and lowering gasoline prices to remove economic benefits going to diesel car owners,” a local media outlet reported, citing a senior government official of the environment ministry. (Yonhap)The speculation on lowering

Business May 24, 2016

The Korean government is set to participate in Sri Lanka’s $63.2 billion smart city development project, Seoul’s Ministry of Land announced Tuesday. The project is part of Sri Lanka’s plan to develop nine new towns in Colombo and its adjacent areas by 2030.The Land Ministry said Minister Kang Ho-in and Sri Lanka’s Megapolis Minister Champika Ranawaka inked a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on Tuesday for the partnership of the new city project. “We believe Korea’s experiences in developing

Industry May 24, 2016

Korean parts-maker Mando Corp. has partnered with Tesla Motors to jointly develop key technologies for the automaker’s future autonomous vehicles, according to local reports Monday. Mando began developing fail-safety technologies for the U.S. electric carmaker’s autonomous vehicles in the second half of last year, Maeil Business Newspaper reported.(Bloomberg)The fail-safety technology allows a car to continue its self-driving mode even in times of emergency without requiring drivers to take the

Business May 23, 2016

The demand for recreational vehicles is on the rise in Korea, with more young families seeking to enjoy convenient outdoor leisure activities during their holiday breaks. The local camping car market, which was initially formed with imported trailers from 2010, gained momentum in 2013 with the launch of the motorhome Starex camping car by the nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor.Airstream's Caravan (Bluebird Enterprise)Sales of recreational vehicles in the local auto market have jumped to ro

Business May 22, 2016