Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Friday it will shut down one of its three plants in China this month due to a slump in sales in the world's top auto market. The assembly line in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, will be used by Kia's local business partner Dongfeng Yueda in a long-term lease contract, a company spokesman said. The carmaker plans to produce vehicles such as the Sportage sport utility vehicle and the localized KX7 SUV at the plant until the end of

South Korea and Norway have agreed to strengthen ties in hydrogen energy and shipbuilding areas with the summit between the two countries’ heads of state serving as an opportunity to pursue future partnerships. During President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Norway on Thursday, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in hydrogen energy to make the most of Korea’s strength in hydrogen-powered vehicles and Norway’s in production and supply capabilities.Wit

South Korean oil refiner S-Oil appointed Hussain A. Al-Qahtani as new CEO during its general shareholders meeting, the firm said Thursday. Before joining the firm, Al-Qahtani, 52, served as president and CEO of Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company from 2016. Throughout his 29-year career at Saudi Aramco, Al-Qahtani has assumed key roles in production, engineering and projects building expertise and leadership skills, according to the firm. The new Saudi Arabian CEO majored in chemical engine

 　South Korean companies will experience faster, more predictable and applicant-friendly patent system in the future both here and overseas as efforts are underway to create an efficient and transparent ecosystem, the country’s top intellectual property official said on Thursday.　During his interview with The Korea Herald, Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Park Won-joo said top IP officials from five major countries agreed to streamline patent registration processes for applic

LG Chem announced Thursday its first joint venture with China’s No. 1 automaker Geely Auto Group for the production of electric vehicle batteries, with a plan to secure capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours by late 2021. The South Korean battery manufacturer said it signed a contract with the Chinese automaker on the establishment of the joint venture, with an equal amount of financial investments from each company, at Geely’s research center in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday. Under

IP5 heads adopt joint declaration in Incheon under KIPO chairmanship

GC Pharma and affiliate GC LabCell said Thursday they have jointly established a cell therapy development company called Artiva Biotherapeutics. Artiva Biotherapeutics was launched in March in San Diego, the US, with GC Pharma and GC LabCell holding 56.67 percent and 37.77 percent stakes, respectively. “This research and development body is to globalize the cell treatment being developed centering on GC LabCell,” a representative from GC Pharma said.Artiva Biotherapeutics will focus

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors said Thursday that they are investing in US self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation to develop and further enhance the autonomous vehicle platform. The investment is part of the automakers’ plan to become a game changer in the global autonomous driving ecosystem and to launch an autonomous vehicle at an early stage, Hyundai Motor Group said, without disclosing the size of the investment. The two companies will strengthen c

Sale of 35 percent stake in LG CNS accelerates focus on AI, big data, 5G and VR

The Korea Corporate Governance Improvement Fund, the second-largest stakeholder in the country’s flagship carrier, Korean Air, has publicly denounced the return of the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s younger daughter to a management role in light of the damage she has inflicted on the corporate image and the value of the company’s shares.The KCGI, which holds a nearly 16 percent stake in the air carrier, released a statement Wednesday saying Hanjin Group’s decision to reinsta

Korean firms seek next mega-hit AR content to boost 5G, but absence of killer contents raises questions　

Under KIPO’s chairmanship, top IP policymakers seek ways to strengthen partnerships, discuss impact of AI

To promote its 8K display technology, Samsung Electronics sponsored the 8K Display Summit, a gathering of industry experts in Manhattan, New York City, the company said Wednesday.“With the rapid expansion of 5G wireless network technology, (the) 8K display market is expected to make great strides,” said Sonia Chen, director of display marketing at Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions America, at the event. “In particular, it will receive the spotlight among the millennia

Renault Samsung’s QM6 GDe has hit record-high sales in the country’s midsized gasoline sport utility vehicle category, retaining its top position since its launch in 2017, data showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the carmaker sold a total of 41,191 units of QM6 GDe from September 2017 to April, which accounts for 61.2 percent of the total sales of midsized gasoline SUVs sold here in three years. The automaker said as another 2,050 units

South Korean oil and chemical company SK Innovation plans to support local social ventures through crowdfunding, the firm said Wednesday.A social venture is a firm that focuses more on addressing social problems and less on profit. Selected social ventures will be supported by SK Innovation employees through crowdfunding. Each employee can voluntarily invest up to 1 million won ($846) in the social ventures. For every 1 million won raised, SK will match the investment. Profits will later be