Hyundai Motor’s sports utility vehicle Palisade that debuted late last year has been named Car of the Year by a group of Korean auto journalists, the organization said Wednesday. The vehicle also scored highest marks in the SUV category, the Korea Automobile Journalists Association said in a statement. (Yonhap)The association that comprises 48 newspapers, TV stations and magazines tested 58 vehicles from 21 brands from late last year at three separate test-drive sessions. The Palisade scored 93.

Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., said Wednesday that the tech giant will focus on nurturing the non-memory chip and foundry business as part of its new growth engine.(Yonhap)Lee made the remark during his meeting with Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and others at the company's production line in Hwaseong, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul."There have been always crises, but we will overcome them through consistent innovation," Lee, Samsung'

　The combined number of passenger planes operated by South Korea’s six low-cost carriers extended to 140 airplanes last year, challenging the 167 airplanes owned by the national flag carrier Korean Air Lines, the government said. 　The six LCCs -- Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet and T’way Air -- have aggressively expanded their fleet to meet growing travel demand on short-haul routes to Asian cities. 　The budget carriers and two full-service carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana A

SK Holdings, the holding company of the nation’s second-largest conglomerate by market cap, has invested $100 million into American smart glass manufacturer Kinestral in a deal that gives the Korean company the right to manufacture and sell the product in China.Smart glass tints to darker neutral grays to block solar heat and light when voltage is applied. The product, used both for residential and commercial buildings, blocks 99 percent of ultraviolet light and reduces 30 percent of heat energy

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday that its employees had taken part in a volunteer activity near Seoul Station on Tuesday, handing out food to people in need to mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year.Some 30 members of the Eximbank volunteer team helped distribute food to homeless people and performed other chores at a local soup kitchen. Eun Sung-soo (right), chairman and president of Korea Eximbank, and bank employees hand out food for the homeless at a soup kitchen near Seoul S

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor is planning to launch its luxury brand Genesis in China, seeking a change in its sales strategy that has only targeted the mass market for years.Hyundai Motor is in preparation for the official launch of the brand, said officials in Seoul, and is looking for places to start the business in Shanghai.The carmaker is reviewing launches in the regional basis of the world’s largest auto market along with Shanghai to compete with other luxury automakers that have

Lee In-hee, an adviser to Hansol Group and the eldest daughter of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, died of an illness Wednesday. She was 90. Born in 1929, Lee was the eldest daughter of Lee Byung-chull, who has three sons and five daughters. Her younger brothers are Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, late CJ Group Honorary Chairman Lee Maeng-hee, who died in 2015, and late Saehan Media Chairman Lee Chang-hee, who died in 1991.  (Yonhap)Lee joined Hotel Shilla in 1979 as a permanent executive, w

SK Telecom’s navigation system T Map will run on vehicles of Singapore’s biggest car-sharing service provider Grab within the first quarter of the year, the South Korean mobile carrier said Wednesday. SKT and Grab have signed an agreement to set up the joint venture Grab Geo Holdings in Singapore, co-led by Grab’s service head Jerald Singh as chief executive officer and SKT’s navigation development chief Kim Jae-soon as chief technology officer. SKT CEO Park Jung-ho met with Grab co-founder and

South Korea’s top chat app operator Kakao has confirmed that it is reviewing a bid for gaming company, Nexon, but a rumored rival bid from Chinese gaming giant Tencent could prove stiff competition. 　Kakao said the company was reviewing the possibility of taking part in the bid for NXC Corp., the holding company that controls Nexon. NXC Corp. founder Kim Jung-jo is widely reported to have decided to sell his 98.64 percent stake. 　“There has been much internal discussion on the matter,” Kakao spo

Steelmaker Posco’s operating profit surpassed 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) for the first time in seven years due mainly to record-high profits from its overseas arms in Indonesia and India, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Posco said it posted 64.9 trillion won in sales, 5.5 trillion won in operating profit and 1.8 trillion won in net profit last year. Its sales rose 7.1 percent and its operating profit jumped 19.9 percent on-year.  (Yonhap)The growth was mainly driven by record-high

South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Corp. hosted a seminar with academics and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in an effort to seek new business models, according to the firm Wednesday. On Tuesday, MIT professors and six global startups visited Seoul to participate in the MIT industrial liaison program seminar hosted by Hyosung. The program is designed to support global companies and MIT academics in building business partnerships. Through the program, MIT introduces its

With a month to go before Saudi Arabia shortlists bidders for its nuclear power plants, the chief of South Korea’s state-run utility company Kepco believes preparation for the bid is going well. Saudi Arabia plans to build two power plants -- a total of 2.8 gigawatts -- with an investment of $12 billion by 2030. It is currently reviewing five consortium bidders, including a Korea Electric Power Corp.-led consortium, US-based Westinghouse Electric Corp., China General Nuclear Power Group, a Frenc

South Korean home appliance maker LG Electronics Inc. and portal operator Naver Corp. on Wednesday agreed to jointly develop an advanced guidance robot based on the high-tech mobility platform. LG Electronics and Naver's R&D subsidiary signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research and development of robot technology, expanding on their discussions made during the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (Yonhap)Under the agreement, the two Korean companies will explore wa

HiteJinro will be releasing premium a soju gift set for the upcoming holiday, the company said Wednesday.In a promotion using the latest consumer trend favoring “sohwakhaeg,” or “small but fully satisfactory,” the firm said it has designed the gift set to cater to premium soju demand at a reasonable price.(HiteJinro)The gift set will consist of two 375-milliliter bottles of Ilpoom Jinro 1924, a premium line of soju, as well as two shot glasses and two rocks glasses. The gift set will also contai