HDC Hyundai Development Co. on Sunday called for an additional round of due diligence on Asiana Airlines as it reaffirmed its interest to close the $2.2 billion deal to take over the country’s second-largest full-service airline. However, this move is casting doubts over the successful closure of the mega-deal to acquire Asiana considering the aggravating financial situation of the airline amid the protracted COVID-19 impact on the aviation industry. The midsized construction unit of H

Mobility July 26, 2020

After months of negotiations and trading barbs, Jeju Air finalized its decision Thursday to scrap its plans to purchase Eastar Jet -- a decision that Jeju said was inevitable amid uncertainties, but was detrimental to the Eastar Jet that now faces real risk of bankruptcy. 　 “Despite the government’s willingness to support and mediate, the level of uncertainty facing Jeju Air was too high to move forward with the acquisition,” the airline said in a statement. Jeju Air, South K

Mobility July 23, 2020

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, traffic for the world’s busiest air route between Seoul and Jeju fell by nearly 30 percent during the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year. Nearly 5.59 million passengers made trips on the route between January and June – a 31 percent drop from last year’s figure of 8.18 million, according to data from Korea Airports Corporation, a public enterprise behind Gimpo Airport. In a report from aviation analys

Mobility July 22, 2020

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air said Tuesday it has closed its regional headquarters in Europe and Southeast Asia in an effort to “streamline” business operations as the coronavirus pandemic continues. A company official said the move was made to respond to the “changing business environment more quickly and effectively.” The work that had been undertaken by the regional headquarters will be handled by other regional branches. “We will create a globa

Mobility July 21, 2020

E-commerce giant Coupang has appointed software engineering expert Jeon Joon-hee as the new vice president of engineering for its express delivery service, the company said on Monday. Jeon, who has previously worked at global companies like Google and Uber, will focus on advancing Coupang’s express delivery service known as ”Rocket Delivery.“ “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the world is watching Coupang’s innovative delivery system, which is fast and precise.

Consumer July 20, 2020

Incheon International Airport Corp. says it is not going forward with a mythical bird-inspired logo for the corporation’s 20th anniversary next year after a leaked image online drew criticism. In an emailed statement on Sunday, the company confirmed it had ditched the new corporate identity design after “considering the majority’s opinions.” “It’s regretful that the draft was misreported as an official one,” the company said as it explained it was one

Mobility July 20, 2020

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said on Sunday that it plans to see its offshore wind power business generate around 1 trillion won ($831 million) in annual revenue by 2025. In a statement, CEO Park Gee-won said his company would contribute to creating South Korea’s ecosystem for offshore wind power as a leading company in the field and pledged to be actively get on board with the government’s Green New Deal. “The domestic market is expected to grow rapidly thanks

Industry July 19, 2020

Hyunda Motor became the best-selling car maker in Vietnam during the first half of this year, surpassing Toyota by a slight margin. The South Korean automaker sold 25,358 units during the first six months of 2020, according to data from Hyundai and the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, with its Japanese rival trailing by 181 units. Hyundai cars accounted for 21.3 percent of the market share, up 2.6 percentage points from the same time last year. It marks the first time the

Mobility July 19, 2020

Jeju Air said Thursday it can now walk away from a controversial 54.5 billion won ($45 million) merger deal with Eastar Jet after the troubled low-cost carrier failed to meet the deadline to fulfill its prerequisites. “Eastar Holdings has not fulfilled the prerequisites for its stock purchase agreement” by Wednesday midnight, Jeju Air said in a statement, adding that it is in a position to terminate the deal. “We received an official document yesterday from Eastar Holdings co

Mobility July 16, 2020

Sales of electric vehicles have taken a hit globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll on the economy, a new report has revealed. According to data from market analyst company SNE Research, global sales of electric cars between January and May this year dropped by 20.3 percent to 710,000 units, compared to the same time last year. Due to the worsening impact of the pandemic in the US and Europe in particular, global sales of electric vehicles in May were down by 28.7 perc

Mobility July 15, 2020

GS Engineering & Construction said Monday that it will begin using a four-legged robot named Spot at its construction sites following successful trials. This is the first time the robot -- developed by American engineering company Boston Dynamics -- will be put to work on construction sites in South Korea, said the building company, which is teaming up with construction software startup Cupix. During the tests earlier this month, Spot was equipped with cutting-edge devices such as an inter

Industry July 13, 2020

Premium cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo has launched its products in India through local retailer Nykaa’s online e-commerce channel, its manufacturer Amorepacific said Monday. Following the launch on Monday, the company said it plans to make Sulwhasoo available at Nykaa Luxe stores in major cities across the country, including Delhi and Mumbai. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion and a growing middle class, the South Asian country’s cosmetics market is estimated to be worth $14.8 bill

Consumer July 13, 2020

For this piece, we spoke to Azodi, a music producer who specializes in K-pop and J-pop and has a YouTube channel where he analyzes the production of K-pop songs. In recent years, Blackpink has become one of the biggest girl groups in the world, dominating the music scene with their signature powerful trap anthems. The group debuted in the summer of 2016 with the double-sided single “Square One” featuring “Boombayah” and “Whistle.” Through their journey to g

K-pop July 2, 2020

Sunmi is tackling city pop in her new single “pporappippam” which is slated for release Monday. While known for her dance-pop sound, the new song -- which translates to purple night in Korean -- sees the singer incorporate elements of city pop into her signature upbeat pop sound -- a subset of pop music originated in Japan in the ’70s. “Imagine a breeze that cools you down on a summer day at sunset after a hot day and you are looking up to the sky at a café terra

K-pop June 29, 2020

The members of Blackpink say they want to spread positive energy with their new single, “How You Like That.” It is the group’s first single since “Kill This Love,” which came out in April 2019. Ahead of the song’s release Friday, the bandmates discussed the experience of recording their first full-length album and collaborating with Lady Gaga during a livestreamed press conference. “This may sound a little bit grand. We really tried to give people a

K-pop June 26, 2020