The Ministry of Transport and Land on Friday advised the owners of BMW 520d sedans to refrain from driving the vehicle, citing safety issues.“(We advise) owners of the vehicles subject for recall to receive a safety check up as soon as possible and refrain from driving the vehicle until safety is ensured,” said Sohn Byeong-seok, the first transport vice minister.While apologizing for causing public concern, the vice minister said that the government would conduct a thorough investigation into th

Hanwha Chemical said Friday that it was currently reviewing a merger between its subsidiaries Hanwha Q Cells and Hanwha Solar Holdings, to boost efficiency of its solar modules manufacturing business.The company said that Q Cells has accepted a letter of intention for a merger from Solar Holdings, while the merger will be confirmed following Q Cell’s board of directors’ decision. Currently, Hanwha Chemical owns 100 percent stocks of Solar Holdings. Solar Holdings holds 94 percent stock in Q Cell

As Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun visited Kumgangsan in North Korea to attend a private service commemorating of her late husband Chung Mong-hun, shares rose Friday morning in expectation of the resumption of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Share prices of Hyundai Group’s affiliates, including Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Elevator and Hyundai-Rotem, were on upward trend this week.  Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun (Yonhap)On Friday morning, stock price of Welcro

Adding North Korea destinations will quickly boost South Korea's cruise industry, which has not been able to generate interest among the general public and the government, Harry Baek, CEO of Lotte Tour, said Friday.The company is viewed as a pioneer in South Korea's cruise tourism, having initiated the business in 2010. It has since added services to Japan, China and Russia. Harry Baek, CEO of Lotte Tour (Yonhap)"South Korea is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Once the cruise business picks

The country's biggest portal Naver has filed a civil suit worth 1 billion won ($890,789) against a piracy site that illegally distributed its webtoons, IT industry officials said Friday.The suit was formally filed on July 26 with the Seoul Central District Court against the operator of the site Bam Tokki, identified only by his last name Huh, according to the officials. (Yonhap)Naver claimed that the number of subscribers to its paid-for webtoon service fell from some 19.7 million in May 2017 to

Hyundai Motor has launched a campaign and programs tailored for female drivers in Saudi Arabia, joining a slew of global automakers eyeing a stake in the market to hike up sales in the region, the company said Thursday.During the company’s meeting of overseas representatives held last month, Hyundai said it would bolster sales in the Middle East in the second half of the year by targeting the Saudi Arabia market where a ban on female driving was lifted on June 24. A task force has been set up th

South Korea is ramping up efforts to win a bid for a Saudi Arabia nuclear project after facing a setback in acquiring a nuclear power plant construction project in the UK.On Wednesday, state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. CEO Kim Jong-kap met with Khalid Al-Sultan, president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to deliver Korea’s strong willingness to win the bid for Saudi Arabia’s new nuclear project, according to Kepco.Kim also conveyed the curren

Parisian luxury accessories house Faure Le Page will open its first store in Korea at Galleria Department Store in September, the South Korean retail firm said Thursday.A Faure Le Page store in Taiwan. (Faure Le Page)Faure Le Page is a French brand with a history dating back to 1717. The Faure Le Page store in Seoul will be the brand’s eighth brick-and-mortar store. There are already others in Japan and Taiwan. The brand’s signature leather bags and other small leather goods will be sold at the

Another automobile produced by German carmaker BMW 520d sedan caught fire while being driven on a local expressway on Thursday, further fueling safety concerns.Police said the vehicle caught fire at 11:47 a.m. in Gangwon Province in eastern South Korea.BMW Korea said late last month it will recall 106,000 automobiles after several 520d sedans caught fire. The massive recall will cover 42 different models, including the diesel-powered passenger car. (Yonhap)The German carmaker has identified exha

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Repeated government efforts to prevent cheap, low-quality package tours to South Korea by Chinese tourists are being questioned again as the number of travelers from the neighboring country increases, industry watchers said Thursday.The tally for June from the Korea Tourism Organization showed the volume of Chinese visitors to Korea shooting up 49 percent on-year after Beijing began to ease travel restrictions sparked by a bilateral diplomatic row. The nature of Chinese group tours to South Kore

Samsung Electronics Co. outpaced Apple Inc. in terms of profitability despite its weaker-than-expected smartphone sales, helped by strong sales of chips, industry data showed Thursday.The Korean tech giant posted an operating-profit-to-sales ratio of 25.4 percent in the second quarter by posting sales of 58.4 trillion won ($52.1 billion) and 14.8 trillion won in operating profit.  (Yonhap)Over the April-June period, Apple posted sales of $53.2 billion and an operating profit of $12.6 billion, in

BMW and the importers of Ferrari and Lamborghini models will voluntarily recall 270 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday. The move is part of the latest series of recalls by carmakers and importers to ensure vehicles meet safety requirements.  (Yonhap)The three companies plan to recall 10 different models totaling 270 vehicles. The models are the Ferrari California sports car imported by Forza Motors Korea and the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Coupe imported by

BMW Korea, the local importer and distributor of the German carmaker, will provide free car rentals for vehicle owners affected by its voluntary recall issued last week, the company said Wednesday.Owners of the 106,317 vehicles recalled related to an issue with engines catching fire will be able to rent cars free of charge in accordance with Korea’s standard auto insurance policy.In efforts to contain further incidents, BMW Korea plans to complete checkups on about 7,000 BMW vehicles that have b

Prosecutors opened an investigation on Wednesday into a financial regulator's complaint that a pharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Electronics Co. breached disclosure rules regarding a call option it gave to an American shareholder, officials said. The Securities and Futures Commission, under the Financial Services Commission, concluded last month that Samsung BioLogics deliberately did not disclose that it gave US firm Biogen the rights to buy stocks of its subsidiary, Samsung Bioepis, at a pre