Apologizing for past wrongdoings while inheriting leadership from his father, Samsung Electronics heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong pledged Wednesday he will not hand over management control to his children. “I will not pass the company’s managerial rights to my children,” Lee said during a televised press conference, arranged upon the firm’s external compliance committee’s advice. He touched on issues chosen by the committee, including an apology over illegal

Samsung Electronics heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Wednesday said he plans not to pass on the management of the tech empire to his children, in a televised public apology in Seoul. “I would like to take this opportunity to say that I do not plan on bequeathing the management rights of the company to my children,” Lee said. “I have thought about it for a long time, but it is the first time to publicly say it,” he said as he stood before reporters to deliver the

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it has developed the world’s first virtual engine sound system called Acoustic Vehicle Alert Sound with a vehicle’s grille cover.  The system was created by making use of the grille cover of the electric car, which has a completely blocked front grille unlike a combustion engine car that has an open-type grille in the front, as part of the speaker.  The sound system makes a beeping sound

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it has launched the latest version of its sport utility vehicle Palisade incorporating the highest-level trim, following consumer demand. The automaker has added the highest grade trim of 2020 Palisade called Calligraphy, a concept which was first introduced to the new Grandeur launched last year.  The all-new Palisade has applied a special radiator and intake grille, wheel designs, a skid plate and a body color cladding, the company said.  T

LG Electronics said Wednesday it has filed over 1,000 patents related to its proprietary steam technology. The South Korean tech giant has been highlighting the role of steam in home appliances ranging from clothes care systems, dryers and dish washers to ovens, amid the growing interest in health and hygiene in the wake of the coronavirus spread. Trademarked as TrueSteam, the LG steam technology was first applied to a washing machine in 2005, which helped enhance the washing quality by remo

Online shopping surged nearly 12 percent from a year earlier in March, data showed Wednesday, an apparent outcome of the new coronavirus outbreak that forced people to stay home. The value of online transactions came to about 12.58 trillion won ($10.3 billion) in the month, up 11.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The increase followed a 24.5 percent on-year spike the previous month. The sharp increase in March was largely attributed to the

The true impact of the pandemic on the job market in March was far more serious than government data would suggest, a local research institute said Wednesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute said a team led by professor Park Ki-sung from Sungshin Women’s University reworked the raw material used to calculate the employment statistics, instead using the Full-Time Equivalent method to determine actual employment growth. Under the FTE method, an employee working 40 hours a week count

With increase in server demand following the normalization of Chinese PC makers and wider non-face-to-face activities since the COVID-19 outbreak, DRAM contract prices surged in April, according to market researcher DRAMeXchange. The average contract prices of DDR4 8-gigabit DRAM, used for personal computers, came to $3.29 as of the end of April. It was up 11.9 percent from $2.94 in March. It is the first double-digit monthly rise for DRAM prices since April 2017. The price of NAND flash, wh

When Erin Lim had her first baby three years ago, she never set out to start a company. She was desperate for a product that could help her carry her son with less pain, as her neck hurt every time she held him. “Products that hold the baby tightly and safely look ugly. But if they look fashionable, they don’t do their job properly,” Lim said. While she was struggling to solve the problem from a consumer’s perspective, her husband, Kim Dong-hyun, told her that instead

Hyundai Motor Group is set to start constructing its 105-story Global Business Center in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu later this month -- six years after it purchased the site for a new headquarters. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Hyundai Motor Group, the South Korean automotive group recently handed in documents asking permission to break ground. The government is expected to grant permission as early as Thursday. The construction project was expected since the group bought t

Korean game company Nexon has changed the paradigm of shooting game by adopting a subscription model for its shooting game Sudden Attack. According to Nexon on Sunday, its first-person shooter game is offering a subscription service called “Sudden Pass,” in which subscribers can receive exclusive characters and items as they level up. Currently, users can buy the subscriptions for 12,800 won ($10.4) and participate in the second season of Sudden Pass, which is from April 9 to Jul

Food products were the most sought items and health supplements saw the biggest increase in demand by South Koreans, while achromatic colors continue to be the favorite hues, big data released by a logistics firm showed Tuesday. The findings were revealed by logistics firm CJ Logistics in its latest consumer trend report. After analyzing big data on 1.3 billion deliveries made in 2019, CJ Logistics -- which commands 47.2 percent market share -- gave details of consumers’ taste in five

Korea splurges on subsidies for EVs but lacks system to process used EV batteries

Retailers roll out themed goods as established brands aim to refresh identities

The operator of the ride-hailing service Tada has filed a constitutional appeal against a revised passenger transport service act, company officials said Tuesday, accusing the amendment of infringing on the freedom of corporate activities and other basic rights. The Value Creators & Company (VCNC) submitted the petition to the Constitutional Court on Friday, about two months after the National Assembly passed the revision that effectively bans the ride-hailing service. The act allows the