T’way ranks first in LCC global customer satisfaction for 8th consecutive year

Hyundai Motor has launched a completely redesigned HB20 in Brazil, a compact hatchback made exclusively for the Brazilian market. The 2022 facelift comes three years after Hyundai Motor launched the second generation HB20 in 2019. While most automakers update their vehicles once every five years or so, the quick update highlights Hyundai’s efforts to maintain HB20‘s position as the most popular passenger car in Brazil. From January to May this year, a total of 34,897 HB20 units we

South Korean chemicals-to-materials firm SKC said Friday that the company has kicked off construction of Europe’s largest copper foil manufacturing factory in Poland. The firm’s copper foil manufacturing and investment unit, SK Nexilis, is spending 900 billion won ($693 million) to establish a copper foil production facility in Stalowa Wola, Poland, that has an annual manufacturing volume of 50,000 metric tons. Construction is expected to be completed by the first half of 2024. The

South Korean imported car dealer Han Sung Motor said Friday it has launched nonfungible tokens (NFTs), digital documents and digital warranty for its certified used car customers. The digitalization of the auto dealer’s documents is a step towards following the global trend of going online, communicating with younger generations, and creating “fandom,” said Han Sung Motor. The NFTs will contain pictures, videos and texts that certify ownership of the digital warranty for sec

South Korea's leading chemicals maker LG Chem Ltd. said Friday it has issued global green bonds worth $300 million to help bolster the competitiveness of its battery materials business and finance more investments in eco-friendly businesses. The parent company of major battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd. said the US dollar-denominated bonds carry a fixed interest rate of 4.436 percent. LG Chem said it will fully spend the proceeds from the debt sale in developing materials for electric ve

SD Biosensor Inc., a South Korean developer of COVID-19 test kits, said Friday it will acquire US diagnostic kit maker Meridian Bioscience Inc. for about 2 trillion won ($1.53 billion) in an effort to bolster its overseas operations. Through a consortium formed with SJL Partners LLC, a private equity fund, SD Biosensor said it has entered into an agreement with Meridian Bioscience to acquire the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company in an all-cash transaction. SD Biosensor will own about 60 percent of

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won met with Mexico’s top diplomat at the SK headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday, where he stressed that the conglomerate will play an active role in economic cooperation between the two countries. Chey also asked for Mexico’s support of South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. During his meeting with Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard, Chey talked about SK’s technology across such sectors as batteries, biotechno

Posco International said Thursday that the construction of an electric vehicle parts manufacturing plant in Mexico has begun to expand its business in the fast-growing sector, the company said Thursday. Located in Ramos Arizpe in the state of Coahuila in northeastern Mexico, the plant is set to be its first factory in North America. The construction of the plant will be completed within the first half of 2023, it added. The company plans to inject about 160 billion won ($123.2 million) by 2030

South Korean discount chain Homeplus said Thursday that it has carried out various marketing efforts by setting “Return” as the keyword that best describes its corporate activities in the first half. “To celebrate us returning to normalcy, Homeplus prepared for the change and made large-scale investments in the first half” a Homeplus official said. Return is also a term meant to encompass the ideals of reduction, tenant, upgrade, response and niche. Each word holds signi

The number of overseas travelers spiked to over 3.93 million in the first half of this year, surging 233.2 percent on-year, fueled by fully lifted aviation restrictions and antivirus regulations, according to Incheon Airport on Thursday. "The increase was most noticeable in May and June when the number of overseas travelers increased 44.6 percent and 34.4 percent on-month respectively. Most popular destinations were the US, Southeast Asia, and Europe,” said Kim Chang-kyu, public rela

Genesis strategizes for luxury niche market with uniquely attractive G70 Shooting Brake

Samsung Electronics’ extraordinary win streak over the past three quarters is likely to end in the second quarter this year amid growing uncertainties surrounding the war in Ukraine, rising costs and inflation fears. In its earnings guidance released Thursday, the South Korean tech giant projected its operating profits at 14 trillion won ($10.7 billion) for the April-June period, up 11.38 percent from a year ago. Its revenue also jumped 20.94 percent to 77 trillion won, the highest figu

Kyobo Life Insurance Co. on Thursday said the country's bourse operator will begin a preliminary assessment of its initial public offering (IPO). The Korea Exchange (KRX) has said it will launch a panel to review the IPO bid of South Korea's No. 2 life insurer eight months after its filing. Kyobo Life has been pushing to go public since 2018, but opposition from its shareholders has halted the process for years. Kyobo Life Chairman and the largest stakeholder Shin Chang-jae, as well as

The latest software update for KakaoTalk, South Korea's most popular mobile messaging app, remained suspended for a week on the Google Play store Thursday, following the refusal by tech giant Kakao Corp. to comply with Google's new in-app payment policy. Google turned down Kakao's submission application for the latest 9.8.6 version of KakaoTalk for Android on Google Play on June 30, citing Kakao's non-compliance with the policy, according to Kakao. The update remained unavail

HMM Co., South Korea's leading container shipper, said Thursday it has obtained a global certification for its efforts to promote workplace safety and workers' health. HMM said it has secured the top certification for its occupational health and safety management system from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The certification ISO 45001, the first ISO standard to address the discipline of occupational health and safety, is meant to help prevent workplace hazards