South Korea plans to begin commercializing air taxi services in 2025, which will connect city areas and suburbs, according to the Transport Ministry’s urban air mobility roadmap. The government said it will first finish the development of an air taxi unit that can transport individual passengers. The ministry added that the UAM units will be initially designed to travel 30 to 50 kilometers between city centers and suburbs. The destinations will be approximate to other public transportat

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Tuesday their combined electric vehicle sales jumped 58 percent in the January-May period from a year earlier on demand from Europe. Hyundai and Kia sold 40,182 all-electric vehicles in the first five months, up from 25,454 units in the year-ago period, the companies said. Hyundai sells the pure electric Kona subcompact SUV and the Ioniq Electric in global markets, while Kia sells the Niro EV and Soul EV boxcar. "Demand for EVs

South Korean 5G mobile network users are estimated to have reached around 7 million as of late May, just 14 months after the country adopted the ultrahigh speed telecom service, data showed Tuesday.    The number of 5G subscribers in the nation is 6.9-7 million, roughly equal to 10 percent of all mobile service accounts, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. There were over 69.3 million mobile phone service subscribers in late April, with 5G users sta

Convenience store operators in South Korea are racing to beef up delivery services as a rise in the number of one-person households and the new coronavirus outbreak have raised demand for door-to-door services. Having an upper hand over major discount stores in terms of consumer accessibility, convenient stores are tapping delivery services as an additional sales channel amid the non-contact trend. BGF Retail Co., which operates the convenience store chain CU, introduced its delivery service

Samsung Electronics dodged a major blow Tuesday when a local court refused to grant prosecutors a warrant to arrest Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The Samsung heir faces accusations of involvement in a merger and accounting fraud involving key affiliates. Having served one year behind bars earlier, it’s a sigh of relief for South Korea’s largest conglomerate as it has avoided the prospect of once again losing guidance from its de facto leader. Samsung appears likely to focus on pla

    Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Monday they will extend the suspension of their domestic plants due to disrupted exports amid the new coronavirus outbreak.  Kia will suspend the No. 2 plant in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, from June 25 to 30 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive down overseas demand, a company spokesman said.  The maker of the K5 sedan and the Sorento SUV suspended the No.

BAT Korea said Monday it will kick off a promotional event for its latest product Glo Pro and Glo Series 2 Mini, offering them at discounted prices on its website and at convenience stores. BAT Korea said it planned the event to mark the successful launch of Glo Pro and to express appreciation to online customers. The tobacco maker said it is starting the event at its official website from Monday, and for convenience stores across the country from June 29. From the website, customers can

South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco said Monday its smart factory support program for small and medium-sized enterprises has been seeing positive outcomes, such as in their revenue growth. Since 2013, Posco has been running its “Productivity Innovation Program” initiative to assist SMEs in building their “smart” capacity. As of last year, the company said it had supported 1,094 companies with investments worth 22.8 billion won ($19 million). The companies in

The Korean government will toughen probes into large firms infringing on the technologies of small and medium-sized enterprises, officials said Monday. For this, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced it will move to revise regulations related to companies’ technology infringements to reinforce the investigative power. Currently, authorities have to suspend an investigation on alleged technology infringement in certain cases, including when a business is temporarily closed or a

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that with the launch of new models and shifting consumer tastes seeking more driving comfort, sales of its sedans recorded a three-year high.  According to South Korea’s largest automaker, sedans accounted for 48.5 percent of total passenger car sales in the January-May period, the highest figure since 2017, when it hit 50.1 percent.  In 2018 and 2019, sedan sales during the first five months accounted for 43.8 percent and 43 percent, respective

GS Caltex said Monday it has launched drone delivery services at its gas stations on Jeju Island, utilizing them as logistics hubs. According to the South Korean oil refiner, drones will deliver daily necessities to customers living in rural areas after they place orders through the app of its convenience store chain GS25. “Gas stations are easy for cargo trucks to enter, have enough storage space and are located all across the country, making them suitable for logistics bases,&rdquo

Parkinson‘s Disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome treatments development underway

Hanwha Energy Corp. and three other affiliates are considering entering the US hydrogen ecosystem, Hanwha said Monday, after a successful investment in a US hydrogen truck maker. In 2018, Hanwha Energy and Hanwha General Chemical Co. each invested $50 million for a combined 6.13 percent stake in Nikola Motor. Nikola Motor's market value stood at $12.2 billion on the day of its debut on the US Nasdaq market Thursday. Nikola's market debut raised the value of the stake held by Hanwha Energy an

Hyundai Motor Group announced Monday that it will provide its sales and auto parts dealerships 55.7 billion won ($46 million) in subsidies to stabilize their operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Auto dealerships of its main affiliates -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis -- will be given the subsidies to help them overcome the economic downturn. The size is a 70 percent increase from last year’s funding. Some 1,860 Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors dealerships across the country

Betting big on the South Korean market with a focus on superior customer service, Volvo Cars Korea has introduced a lifetime auto parts warranty here -- the first such guarantee by a carmaker here -- while vowing to increase its network by 25 percent. “The introduction of lifetime warranty will dramatically decrease consumer concerns over the maintenance cost of an imported vehicle, as well as enable them to enjoy the attractive features of our vehicles for a long time,” said Volvo