Renault Korea Motors’ XM3 E-Tech Hybrid has been named the Hybrid SUV of the Year at the Car of the Year event hosted by the Korea Automotive Journalists Association, the carmaker said Sunday. The XM3 has so far won three awards at the event, following two wins last year for Small SUV of the Year and Design of the Year. Produced at the carmaker’s Busan plant and exported around the world, the XM3 is a global project led by researchers at Renault Technology Korea. The coupe-type SUV

Following easing of restrictions, boost in Chinese demand, investment will offset Seoul's losses caused by lockdown

US resort developer's first resort complex in Asia awaits grand opening later this year

Cambodian students learn from an LG Electronics engineer on how to repair an air conditioner during a four-day training program held in Phnom Penh last week. The program, part of the tech giant’s social contribution activities, aims to help young job seekers in lower income countries. In Cambodia alone, LG operates similar classes at three job training schools. Another program in Ethiopia has seen almost 400 graduates since its 2014 launch.

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it is operating a pop-up store featuring Samsung Eco Friends accessories made of eco-friendly materials such as recycled plastic and vegan leather. Launched by Future Generation Lab, consisting of Samsung employees in their 20s, the company said, the accessory line aims to appeal to conscious consumption trends among younger consumers.

The future of the coin and bank note printing industry hinges on creative product planning amid the growing diversification of payment methods, the head of the state-run Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation said. During a gathering with delegates of global minting agencies, CEO Bahn Jahng-shick spoke of the KOMSCO's continued efforts to expand its coining business revolving around Korean cultural icons and content. “Now, more than ever, technological co

South Korea’s top four financial groups -- Shinhan, KB, Hana and Woori – saw their combined net profit last year hitting a record high of 15.85 trillion won ($12.53 billion), largely buoyed by robust interest. This figure broke last year’s record of 14.54 trillion won, as there was an 8.99 percent increase in net profit on-year. Shinhan reclaimed the top position among the four financial firms in Korea by posting a net profit of 4.64 trillion won. Following Shinhan, KB marked

Porsche Korea on Friday launched a two-week crowdfunding campaign for its bee conservation project, "Bee'lieve in Dreams," the automaker said. The first batch of honey that was harvested last year from the carmaker's 247-square-meter bee garden in Daemo Mountain, Seoul, has been put up for sale on Wadiz, a crowdfunding platform in Korea, until Feb. 24. All proceeds will be donated to efforts for growing honey plants and protecting bees from the risk of extinction, the Korean

Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s No. 1 messenger app KakaoTalk, said Friday that it plans to expand its vertical Korean language-based artificial intelligence services based on an AI language model called KoGPT this year. Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek said in its earnings conference that his group would seek to compete against global AI services with a specialized Korean language service. “The rise of hyperscale AI models like ChatGPT is both an opportunity and a crisis for Kakao,&rd

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis all ranked in top 10 of J.D. Power's study

Kakao Corp., the operator of the country's top mobile messenger, said Friday its 2022 net income fell 38 percent due to a base effect. The company's net profit totaled 1.02 trillion won ($810.2 million) on a consolidated basis in 2022, compared with a profit of 1.64 trillion won a year ago, according to Kakao in a regulatory filing. It posted 580.5 billion won in operating profit for the year, down 2.4 percent from 594.9 billion won the previous year. Annual sales rose 15.8 percent to

South Korea’s imports of kimchi touched an all-time high in 2022 amid galloping consumer inflation in the country, government data showed. Inbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish came to $169.4 million last year, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The on-year growth rate was the highest since the 53.8 percent surge recorded in 2010. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish normally made of fermented cabbage, salt and h

South Korea’s largest cigarette and ginseng maker KT&G said Thursday its 2022 sales hit a record high of 5.85 trillion won ($4.65 billion), a 12 percent jump from a year prior, largely driven by its hot-selling heat-not-burn tobacco products. During the same period, the company reported 1 trillion won in net income, up 3 percent on-year. The company was especially buoyed by upbeat sales of HNB products abroad that also stood at a record of 1.42 trillion won, a 13.8 percent growth year-

South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. said Thursday it will restart the appointment process for its new CEO, accepting applications from potential candidates until Feb. 20. Earlier in December, the company’s CEO candidate review committee appointed the incumbent CEO, Ku Hyeon-mo, as the final candidate to take the helm. But the decision faced opposition from the state-run pension fund and the company’s largest shareholder National Pension Service. Even though Ku seeking his seco

Korean steelmaking conglomerate Posco Group has pledged to donate $1 million to the Korean Red Cross to support emergency relief efforts in Turkey after a massive earthquake hit the country Monday. The group operates three facilities in Turkey, including the stainless steel plant Posco Assan TST, the manufacturing center Posco-TNPC and the Istanbul branch of Posco International. Although the three facilities are located far from the epicenter of the disaster and remain unaffected, some local wor