BMW Group Korea unveiled Monday its premium compact car brand Mini’s face-lifted third generation New Mini Clubman, maintaining its distinctive style within the compact segment.The four-door compact wagon has gone through detailed changes, such as an expanded front grille and aerodynamically improved side mirror cap, but also keeps the Mini’s design heritage, such as the Union Jack-themed rear design, the automaker explained. For Cooper S and Cooper SD models, adaptive light-emitting

LG Chem announced Monday it has become the first South Korean battery manufacturer to join the Responsible Minerals Initiative.RMI is a global association established in 2008 that monitors the ethical sourcing of minerals -- such as gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten -- mined in conflict regions. It also keeps an eye on the sustainable mining of cobalt, an indispensable raw material for batteries used for smartphones and electric vehicles.LG Chem said it joined the RMI to transparently source the

Korean retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group has appointed former Bain & Company consultant Kang Heui-seok as new chief of discount chain E-mart, in an earlier-than-expected company reshuffle.Kang joined Bain & Company in 2005 and was promoted to partner in 2014 to oversee the consumer product and retail projects. Before joining Bain & Company, he worked at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, dealing with agro-economic policy since 1994.  “The latest reshuff

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has developed the world’s first self-driving technology using AI-based machine learning, which detects the driver’s driving pattern and apply it to the smart cruise control system.In recent years, a host of carmakers have added advanced driver assistance systems to their models for safer and more convenient driving. One of the core technologies is adaptive cruise control, a function which makes a car slow down and speed up automatically to

Mercedes-Benz Korea, local importer and distributor of the German luxury carmaker, said Monday that it has launched its first pure electric car under its green car brand EQ.The new Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC made its global debut last year in Europe, and in March at the Seoul Motor Show.  For enhanced customer experience, the company also introduced premium charging services and has expanded charging networks.The new EQC is powered by an 80-kWh lithium-ion battery developed by Daimler sub

South Korea’s information communications technology exports have declined for 11 straight months due mainly to a slowdown in demand for memory chips, data showed on Monday. According to the Trade Ministry, Korea’s ICT exports stood at $15.8 billion in September, down 22 percent from the same period last year. The on-year decline has continued for 11 consecutive months since November last year. The shipment of chips last month stood at $8.5 billion, a 31.5 percent drop on-year. D

Egon Zehnder hosts annual Leaders & Daughters event in Seoul

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South Korea’s export of eco-friendly cars mainly involving compact sport utility vehicles such as Hyundai Motor’s Kona and Niro have expanded significantly, government data showed Sunday.According to data compiled by the country’s Transport Ministry and Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, exports of eco-friendly vehicles including electric vehicles and hybrid cars increased 41.8 percent to 189,033 units from January to September, compared to a year ago.  In Septemb

South Korean big-name beauty retailers are set to vye for a lion's share in the country's already saturated market, as the global heavyweight, Sephora, is set to open its first outlet in the country next week, industry sources said Saturday.Sephora will be coming to Parnas Mall in the posh district of Gangnam in southern Seoul next Thursday, Sephora Korea said. Spread across 547 square feet, the store will feature hundreds of cosmetics, skin care, body and fragrance brands, along with its own pr

 Samsung Electronics announced late Friday that the tech giant will update its software due to potential security breaches in flagship smartphone models Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, S10 5G and Note 10 next week. The announcement was made in response to recent reports of a case in the United Kingdom in which a user claimed that when her Galaxy S10 screen was covered with a silicon protective case, the device was unlocked with someone else’s fingerprint. The issue involved ultrasonic fing

The US Food and Drug Administration is likely to make a final decision in November on approval for Cenobamate, an investigational antiepileptic drug developed by SK Biopharmaceuticals.The company is the pharmaceuticals development business under SK Holdings. The firm has been researching for new treatments for diseases related to central nervous system since 1993. Since 2011, when SK Biopharmaceuticals was spun off to become a separate entity, the company has used roughly 480 billion w

Korean pharma and biopharma companies are considering the inevitable: the advance to the Chinese market. According to Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Friday, China was the second biggest market for pharmaceuticals after the US in 2018.The Chinese pharma market was set at $142.7 billion, still a far cry from the US at $361.5 billion. Japan trailed in third place at $108 billion and Germany at $71.7 billion. Korea ranked No. 13 worldwide at $17.4 billion.  Yuhan Corp., one of Kor

Samsung Electronics said Friday it has launched a new forum in Silicon Valley as part of the efforts to enhance competitiveness of its foundry business. Named as Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem, or SAFE, the forum has been designed to provide an opportunity for Samsung’s partner companies to directly meet with customers and discuss comprehensive design technology infrastructure -- including electronic design automation, intellectual property, cloud, design service, and packaging -- whic

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday it has decided to delay its judgment on the proposed merger of LG Uplus and CJ Hello, putting the brakes on the country’s third-biggest mobile carrier’s attempt to acquire the largest cable TV operator here. According to the Fair Trade Commission, its decision-making body failed to reach an agreement on the issue during the meeting held a day earlier. The FTC officials said they would revisit the agenda “after reviewing a sim