Competition is heating up between mobile messenger operators in Korea as Kakao Talk, the formidable smartphone application, appears to be developing its internet phone call services. Industry watchers said Sunday the venture firm has been recruiting engineers who have experience in mobile voiceover Internet protocol, technology that enables voice and multimedia communications between users via bro

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo has instructed his staff to actively publicize at home and abroad that Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have become global players with competitive technologies. Chung Mong-kooDespite marked growth in overseas sales, Hyundai and Kia had failed to garner international acknowledgement in the core technology sector.But this year, Chung’s pride and promotion str

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea second largest carmaker, has launched the small-medium K2 sedan in China. Kia’s compact sedan K2. (Yonhap News)More than 500 prominent figures, including Chinese government officials and executives from Hyundai Automotive Group, attended the function in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on July 20.Kia officials said K2 is a compact car strategically designed for Chinese cust

Jean-Marie Hurtiger, the outgoing CEO of Renault Samsung Motors Co., expressed satisfaction over the achievements in his nearly six-year reign and urged the company to continue localizing automotive components. Jean-Marie HurtigerIn his final official interview as chief, Hurtiger said he is proud to have renewed all of RSM’s vehicles, including the SM3, SM5, SM7 and QM5, as well as leading its cus

Kia Motors Corp., the nation’s second-largest carmaker, is increasingly betting on cutting-edge design to expand its market share, and the effort is showing off.Kia vehicles were taking over the first ever Automotive Brand Contest organized by the German Design Council in the past week. It was the winner in four categories. It was ranked “Best of the Best” after the compact Sportage SUV, Rio and a

Porsche AG may develop a supercar positioned higher than the 911 GT2 RS to broaden its line-up and sustain growth as orders cool from record deliveries last year. The car could be combined with additional variants of the Cayman and Boxster as well as extended-wheelbase and convertible versions of the Panamera four-door coupe, Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s sales chief, said in an interview. It would ai

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) ― The union attempting to represent workers at IKEA’s only U.S. plant is challenging the Swedish furniture giant’s vaunted corporate ethos, accusing the retailer of paying its American workers low wages and tolerating unsafe working conditions.Approximately 320 workers at IKEA’s Swedwood Danville plant will vote Wednesday whether to join the International Association of Mac

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Efforts to avert a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration failed Friday amid a disagreement over a $16.5 million cut in subsidies to 13 rural communities, ensuring that nearly 4,000 people will be temporarily out of work and federal airline ticket taxes will be suspended.Lawmakers were unable to resolve a partisan dispute over an extension of the agency’s operating autho

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Strong second-quarter earnings from McDonald’s, General Electric and Caterpillar on Friday are just the latest proof that booming profits have allowed Corporate America to leave the Great Recession far behind.But millions of ordinary Americans are stranded in a labor market that looks like it’s still in recession. Unemployment is stuck at 9.2 percent, two years into what economis

PALM DESERT, California (AP) ― Linda Christian, the Hollywood starlet of the 1940s who married heartthrob Tyrone Power and went on to become the first Bond girl, has died.Her daughter, Romina Power, says Christian died Friday in Palm Desert after battling colon cancer. She was 87. A 1948 file photo shows actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. (AP-Yonhap N