German carmaker’s chief in Korea says 2020 crucial for its rebirth here, positive on launching mobility services, EV growth

S-Oil, headquartered in Seoul and wholly owned by Saudi Aramco, is unlikely to be affected by concerns about lower fuel prices and stricter environmental rules, according to analysts.The new International Maritime Organization rules -- IMO 2020 -- lowering the limit of sulfuric content in bunker fuel to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent will come into force in January. Refiners have been very worried, with the benchmark Singapore complex gross refining margin -- reflecting Asian refiners’ avera

"Lineage 2M," a new mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game by online game maker NCSOFT Corp., was the most popular game app on the Google Play Store's game sector as of Sunday morning, the company said.The new mobile version of mega-hit game "Lineage II" was released Wednesday on Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices.The game has already topped Apple's app store upon release.But NCSOFT did not unveil the sales figure and other details."Lineage M,"

Sales of Kia Motors Corp.'s K series midsized and large sedans are on course to reach a milestone with cumulative sales expected to exceed 5.5 million vehicles in 10 years since launching the brand, according to the carmaker Sunday. Kia Motors, which began selling the K7 large sedan in 2009, has sold 5.48 million vehicles of the K3 compact cars, K5 midsize sedans, and K7 and K9 large sedans so far this year. Over the past 10 years, Kia Motors has sold 2.53 million units of the K3, 2.44 million u

Hyosung TNS, a technology unit of machinery-to-chemical conglomerate Hyosung Group, said Sunday it is on track to post record sales on expanded exports of automatic teller machines.Hyosung TNS expects to report an operating profit of 65 billion won ($55 million) on sales of 700 billion won for the year, jumping from 25 billion won and 500 billion won, respectively, a year ago. "Hyosung has provided customized ATMs to meet each market's separate demands, like the ones delivered to Nigeria th

Samsung Electronics Co. is planning to launch the Galaxy Fold in more countries, including Brazil, New Zealand and Chile, as its first foldable device draws stronger-than-expected market response, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, the world's largest smartphone maker is considering releasing the device in some 30 countries by February next year. The tech giant has already rolled out the Galaxy Fold in 29 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan and France.

Vitabon, a South Korean venture firm, said Friday it has launched a trademark infringement suit against tobacco giant British American Tobacco.Vitabon claims that its nicotine-free aromatherapy device, named Sense, and BAT's hybrid e-cigarette product, glo sens, confuse consumers due to their similar names.  Vitabon said it has filed the lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court, demanding 110 million won ($93,000) in compensation and that manufacturing and sales of glo sens be banned i

CES 2020 likely to be second battleground between LG and Samsung

The European business community in Korea on Friday called for efforts to create a business-friendly climate for both Korean and foreign companies here, citing a growing number of criminal charges and regulations that hinder foreign investment.“Korean laws are very tough,” said Michael Reiterer, ambassador of the European Union to Korea, at an event held by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea, claiming that stricter regulatory measures were being imposed on foreign companies. &l

Nexon’s V4 and Zabob Studio’s Coin Princess won November’s G-Rank Game of the Month and Challenge Seoul award, respectively, the company said Friday.The G-Rank awards ceremony took place at OGN E-sports Stadium in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Thursday. November’s game, V4, is a mobile MMORPG made using Unreal Engine 4. It boasts high-end graphics, a vast virtual combat field and character customizing features that reportedly won many fans. Challenge Seoul award winner Coin Princes

South Korean imports of Japanese beer tumbled more than 99 percent on-year in the past two months due to a boycott of Japanese products amid a bilateral trade row, data showed Friday.South Korea brought in Japanese beer worth US$38,000 in October, down 99.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association. Imports of Japanese beer were valued at a mere $6,000 in September, 99.9 percent lower than a year earlier.During the July-October period, impo

South Korea's overall industrial output declined for the second straight month last month due mainly to a decrease in the production of auto and display panels, government data showed Friday.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed the country's overall industrial output fell 0.4 percent in October from a month earlier.The agency said auto output dropped 4.4 percent in October from a month earlier, and the production of electronic parts declined 7 percent.Meanwhile, the output of the service

South Korea and Japan will hold high-level talks with Japan in December, the first step toward resolving their bilateral trade row, Seoul's trade ministry said Friday.On Thursday, working-level trade officials from South Korea and Japan met in Seoul, apparently to discuss the schedule and agenda for director-general level talks."Through the meeting, the two countries agreed to meet in Tokyo around the third week of December on export policies," South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry

Including LG Electronics chief, executives in their 60s leave, passing baton to younger leaders

Hyundai Glovis said Thursday it has launched two joint ventures in China to make a foray into the local used car and shipping markets.The subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group and Beijing Changjiu Logistics have set up two separate JVs -- Beijing Changjiu Glovis Automobile Service and Shanghai Changjiu Glovis Shipping. The two JVs will be launched early next year, the company said without disclosing the size of investments.The first JV seeks to target China’s growing secondhand car market, whi