South Korea saw its first-ever decline in the overall number of registered fuel-powered vehicles last year, as reported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday. The total number of registered vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas fell by 85,000 to 23.647 million last year. This 0.4 percent decrease, the first since record-keeping began in the 1960s, was mainly driven by a downturn in diesel and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles, despite the regis

Korean automakers combine for over 1.1m units sold last year

Korean internet-only bank, Toss Bank, on Thursday rolled out its first foreign exchange service, pledging not to charge users any fees for converting foreign currencies. Under the new scheme, all users who open a foreign currency account on its banking app can exchange 17 foreign currencies in real-time and around the clock, without paying any fees for a lifetime. Until now, local banks have sometimes offered a reduction in or removal of currency conversion fees as part of special promotions. Bu

Posco International said Thursday that it will supply 1.03 million motor cores for Hyundai Motor Group electric vehicles produced in Europe. The parts are to be supplied to Hyundai Mobis’ EV factory in Slovakia from 2025 to 2034. Of the total, 550,000 units are to be sent to Hyundai Motor’s Turkey plant, while 480,000 units will go to Kia’s Slovakia plant. The company said the new deal gives a big boost to its upcoming production site in Poland. In June, Posco International est

Mobile chief also hints at imminent debut of Galaxy Ring health tracker this year

SAN JOSE, California -- Samsung Electronics' much-anticipated Galaxy S24 series has debuted to present what artificial intelligence can offer to change our daily lives. Combining on-device and cloud-based AI technologies, the latest smartphone models showed off some competitive new features with decent performances in image editing and translation, presenting competition for third-party apps. At the SAP Center, a hands-on experience zone was prepared, where visitors could check out the AI f

The global automotive market is projected to grow modestly this year, with a 1.6 percent increase to 84.12 million units signaling a tempered post-pandemic recovery, as global carmakers are looking to adopt strategies from Chinese carmakers to spur mass adoption of electric vehicles, according to Hyundai Motor Group's Business Research Center. Yang Jin-soo, head of the center’s auto industry unit, shared his insights at a seminar hosted by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association

Risk specialist urges readiness for supply chain crisis as part of permanent corporate monitoring

A shopper browses the milk at a supermarket in Seoul on Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, milk prices saw a 9.9 percent jump in 2023, the steepest surge in 14 years since the global financial crisis in 2009. The upward trend in milk prices also led to price hikes in other dairy products, including yogurt (12.5 percent) and cheese (19.5 percent). (Yonhap)

Celltrion said Thursday that the company’s three oncology biosimilar products -- Herzuma, Truxima and Vegzelma -- are making their foray into key European markets after winning multiple bids there. Celltrion secured bids in France to supply its cancer-fighting biosimilars to five regional drug purchasing organizations for public hospitals. Both Herzuma and Vegzelma will be supplied to two French public health agencies -- Graps and GAULoYS -- while Vegzelma alone won tenders from Grecaps, G

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin pays tribute to the group's late founder and honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, during a memorial service held at the retail giant's headquarters in southern Seoul on Thursday. The self-made entrepreneur passed away at the age of 97 on Jan. 19, 2020. (Lotte Group)

General Motors Korea’s Chevrolet Trailblazer, the carmaker’s popular compact sport utility vehicle, claimed the top spot on the list of the most exported cars of 2023, selling 214,048 units in overseas markets, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Thursday. Other top exporters included the Hyundai Kona SUV (212,489 units), the Hyundai Avante compact (206,371 units) and the Chevrolet Trax (181,950 units). (GM Korea)

Apple Korea on Thursday said that Apple Hongdae, the iPhone maker's seventh retail store in Korea and 100th store globally, will start operation at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Located near the bustling Hongdae subway station in western Seoul, the new store will have some 100 staff to assist customers as they explore the latest Apple products in multiple languages, including Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese.

Samsung’s first AI-powered smartphone comes with real-time translation, upgraded photo editing, heightened security

South Korean budget airline Jin Air Co. said Wednesday it posted record earnings in 2023 on strong demand, shaking off the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. Net income came to an all-time high of 135.8 billion won ($101 million) on a separate basis last year, the first black ink in five years, the low-cost carrier unit of top full-service airline Korean Air Co. said in a regulatory filing. Sales also hit a record high of 1.28 trillion won, up 115 percent from a year earlier and even up 40.3 p