The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will post higher net profits next year on a rise in the number of travelers and lower oil prices, Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday.     While expecting the global airline industry to post a net profit of $35.5 billion in 2019, up 4 percent from $32.3 illion a year earlier, IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said airlines in the Asia-Pacific region will report a net income of $10.

GM Korea, the local unit of the US automaker, said Thursday that the state-run Korea Development Bank has completed recapitalization of $375 million as part of the rescue plan signed in late April, raising prospects of the automaker and its second-largest shareholder narrowing their differences on GM’s spinoff plan.This is the latest development amid ongoing talks between related parties after a Seoul court approved an injunction against the process related to GM Korea’s spinoff of GM Technical

Prosecutors raided the main offices of Samsung BioLogics Co. and its accounting firms on Thursday as part of a probe into alleged accounting fraud. 　The raids come about a month after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) ruled that Samsung BioLogics intentionally violated accounting rules ahead of its initial public offering in 2016. The case has been referred to the prosecution. 　The regulatory review centers on questions about the loss-making Samsung BioLogics’ reporting of sudden profits i

Kakao Mobility said Thursday that it will delay the formal launch of its carpool service that was initially slated for Monday, citing a need to engage in continued discussions with taxi drivers, the government and other industry stakeholders on the issue.The move came after a 57-year-old taxi driver burned himself to death in protest of Kakao’s carpool service plans Monday, shocking the public and driving up tensions between the company and taxi unions that have been staging fierce protests agai

Air Busan Co., a low-cost carrier in South Korea, said Thursday it will expand its market presence and boost its image by making full use of funds generated by its planned listing in the country's stock market this month.In November, the budget carrier won approval from the Korea Exchange for the initial public offering on the KOSPI.  (Yonhap)The company is to raise up to 20.8 billion won ($18.51 million), with the price per share being set at between 3,600 won and 4,000 won. "Through this listi

South Korea’s tax agency has launched an investigation into the local branch of US technology giant Google over allegations of tax evasion on the part of some local YouTubers, a move that signals stepped up government efforts to crack down on foreign tech firms long accused of taking a free ride on lax regulations.　The National Tax Service on Wednesday sent its auditors and investigators to the headquarters of Google Korea in Seoul to secure the company’s financial and accounting records.The NTS

KT signed an agreement with the United Nations Environment Program to provide consultations on uses of information communications technology with a view to resolving global environmental issues such as fine dust, the mobile carrier said Thursday.Under the agreement, KT will support UNEP in establishing an integrated platform for handling global environmental issues, data analysis on activities to reduce fine dust, and measures to help vulnerable groups of people to combat fine dust in developing

LG Electronics announced Thursday it will launch a 100-kilowatt energy storage system for solar power plants featuring LG Chem’s battery in an effort to expand into the ESS market. Named All-in-one ESS, the system is equipped with power-condition and power-management systems that increase efficiency and convenience for users, the company said.  (LG Electronics)Adopting LG Chem’s 274-kilowatt per hour battery, the ESS is capable of storing electricity for one full day for 25 households in Seoul.

SK Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary MobiledgeX to introduce mobile edge computing technologies to its fifth-generation network services, it said Thursday. Mobile edge computing refers to a set of technologies that enable computation on distributed devices known as smart devices or edge devices as opposed to primarily taking place in a centralized cloud environment.  SKT and MobiledgeX officials pose after an MOU signing ceremony on Thursday. (SK Tel

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipyard by sales, said Thursday that it has bagged a 634 billion won ($563 million) order to build two frigates.Under the deal with South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hyundai Heavy will deliver the two 2,800-ton ships by 2013 to the country's Navy. (Yonhap)The ship, 122 meters long and 14 meters wide, will have a maximum speed of 30 knots. The ships will carry a naval gun, various missiles and host of weapons control syste

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, has pledged 1.67 trillion won ($1.4 billion) in support of local small and midsize auto parts suppliers in a move to restore stability and bolster research and development, the company said Thursday.Due to tumbling sales at Hyundai and Kia, which stand as the world’s fifth-largest automaker, their parts suppliers have been posting operating losses or seeking debt workout programs in recent months. To assuage growing instability, in October t

Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday its Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric car has been awarded Europe's best in class for safety in the large off-road category for this year. The European New Car Assessment Program tested the Nexo in four categories: the safety of adult passengers, the safety of children in rear seats, the safety assistance system and the safety of passers-by and bicycles on roads, Hyundai said in a statement.  (Yonhap)"Hyundai is committed to provide customers and other road users w

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday it has promoted the status of its smart factory task force team to better help local businesses improve productivity of their production lines.The South Korean tech giant said it decided to launch the smart factory support center by expanding the task force team, which kicked off in 2015. (Yonhap)The move is seen as a response to the government's latest call to have conglomerates play bigger roles in creating jobs and fostering small and medium-sized compani

South Korea will announce a set of support measures next week for the country's troubled auto parts industry, a top official said Thursday.Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said the auto industry is a major priority as South Korea has been struggling to reinvigorate the manufacturing sector, a key part of South Korea's economy. (Yonhap)Hong did not provide any further details on the set of measures during a visit to a small auto parts maker in Asan, some 100 kilometers south of S

The Supreme Court has ruled that Samsung Electronics must pay a penalty to Korea Electric Power Co. for installing in-house electricity facilities to secure reserve power without permission from the electric utility company, court officials said Thursday.In a confirmation of lower courts' rulings, the top court said that Samsung's installation of unpermitted electricity facilities at its semiconductor manufacturing compound violated its electricity use contract with KEPCO. (Yonhap)KEPCO launched