South Korea's leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. emerged as the top auto seller in Vietnam in the first five months of this year, outpacing its Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., industry data showed Thursday. Hyundai Motor sold 24,420 units in the Southeast Asian nation in the January-May period, edging out Toyota's 24,112 units, according to the data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA). Hyundai's smaller affiliate Kia Corp. sold 23,440 units in Vietnam over the sam

KAIST, South Korea's top science university, said Thursday it is teaming up with K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment Co. to conduct joint research on digital avatars for virtual concerts in an effort to boost development in metaverse technology. The metaverse -- a virtual environment where users interact through digital avatars -- has recently grown in popularity as the pandemic limits in-person contact. K-pop artists have been at the forefront in adopting the technology, holding virtual meetups

Mercedes-Benz Korea has brought its most luxurious sedan, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, to the Korean market, as the automaker marks the 100-year anniversary of the launch of its first Maybach vehicle, the company said Wednesday. The newly-launched Mercedes-Maybach S 580 4Matic has undergone a complete makeover from the model that was first launched in 2015, and will strengthen its leadership in the luxury flagship sedan segment, the automaker said. Since its introduction, more than 60,000

The Korea District Heating Corp. said Wednesday that it will launch a circular economy project to turn plastic waste into hydrogen. According to the KDHC -- one of the world’s largest district heating companies that serves over 1.5 million customers here -- it has partnered up with the Korea Energy Agency, SK Ecoplant and GS Power to develop a city model of the circular economy where plastic waste is converted into oil, then finally into hydrogen. The project will heat plastic waste u

Winia Dimchae, a South Korean home appliance brand specializing in kimchi fridges, announced Wednesday that the company would begin local sales of its ultra-low temperature freezer for COVID-19 vaccines, named Medibox. According to Winia, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has recently granted approval for the company’s Medibox, developed by WInia‘s telecommunications apparatus affiliate Dayou Plus. The new vaccine storage system has been categorized as a blood bank refrigerato

SoftBank Ventures Asia said Wednesday that it has injected $9 million into the series A funding of VoyagerX, a South Korean artificial intelligence software developer. SoftBank was joined by Altos Venture and Yellowdog in the round, which chipped in $9 million each making the total investment at $27 million. VoyagerX will use the funds to develop more advanced AI services and hire 100 more employees by next year. Founded in 2017, VoyagerX builds AI solutions and tools that leverage deep lear

Hanwha Defense on Tuesday displayed weapons that have localized key parts at the Korea Defense Component and Equipment Fair 2021 held in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. At the event, the defense affiliate of Hanwha Group showcased Cheonma, South Korea’s first short-range surface-to-air missile system deployed since 1999. Since this year, Hanwha Defense localized parts that are no longer produced and some of imported parts such as power suppliers, providing business opp

Through its first event to introduce an array of 5th generation network technologies late Tuesday, Samsung Electronics has put its emphasis on preemptive investments in 6G to cement its position in the global network industry. Samsung is increasing its efforts on the 6th generation of wireless connections, to bring hyper-connected experiences to users, the tech giant announced during the virtual event streamed live from Seoul to the world. Called “Samsung Networks: Redefined,”

Employees to work remotely from Jeju for a week

South Korea's oceans ministry said Wednesday it plans to speed up efforts to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases from older ships in line with new environmental regulations from an international body. Last week the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced its plans to adopt tougher environment rules on ships built before 2013, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Previously, the restrictions on greenhouse gases from ships were applied to those built after January 201

Chipmakers worldwide will break ground on 29 new semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) by 2022, including two in South Korea, a report showed Wednesday, as they try to meet rising demand. Semiconductor firms will start the construction on 19 new high-volume fabs by the end of this year and another 10 in 2022, according to SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. "Equipment spending for these 29 fabs is expected

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday unveiled a set of innovative 5G solutions, three chips and one antenna radio, at its first virtual showcase event. Called “Samsung Networks: Redefined,” the show was streamed live from Seoul at 11 p.m., Korean time. It was the first event hosted by Samsung’s network business. The virtual event was held ahead of Mobile World Congress 2021, an offline event slated for June 28 in Barcelona, Spain. Last year’s congress was canceled due to th

South Korean property developer Sung Jung Co. said Tuesday the court has selectedit as the final bidder to acquire financially troubled budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court accepted Eastar's plan to sign a contract with Sung Jung on Thursday, Eastar Chief Executive Kim You-sang said over the phone. Early on Tuesday, Sung Jung received contract documents from the bankruptcy court through the deal's lead manager Deloitte Anjin LLC to buy Eastar, the company's Chairman Hyoung

How Miso became the first Korean firm to be included in the growth program of Silicon Valley startup accelerator who discovered Airbnb, Doordash and Dropbox

Death of restaurant owner after dealing with Coupang Eats customer marks latest controversy surrounding the company