Kumho Tire said Tuesday it will sell its natural rubber processing plant in Vietnam to focus on its core business. The second-largest tire maker in South Korea said it has struck a deal with a joint venture between Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and Thanh Cong Group of Vietnam to sell its rubber factory. It plans to finalize the deal by May. The company opened the $4 million factory in southeastern Vietnam in 2007, which can supply rubber for 6 million tires a year.  The tire maker has b

SsangYong Motor's annual financial report was rejected by its external auditor due to its heavy debt, the cash-strapped automaker said Tuesday. SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, said in a regulatory briefing that Samjong KPMG gave a disclaimer of opinion for its 2020 financial report, questioning its ability to continue its business. The SUV-focused automaker logged 449.4 billion won ($398 million) in operating losses last year, increasing

LG Chem said Tuesday it is working with a local start-up to launch a door-to-door plastic retrieval service. South Korea’s leading petrochemical company signed an agreement with zero-waste packaging provider Innerbottle to start a service where residents can simply put plastic waste inside a bag outside their doors and let a worker pick them up. “For example, if a customer orders a cosmetic product from a brand that uses Innerbottle’s plastic container, an eco-bag will be s

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South Korea’s auto giant Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday unveiled a plan to build its own high-speed charging infrastructure for electric vehicle models under the new independent brand “E-pit.” Under the new system, electric cars embedded with Hyundai Motor’s exclusive platform may operate for up to 100 kilometers upon a single five-minute charge at E-pit stations. E-pit was inspired by pit stops where motorsports race cars pause for refueling, tire replacement, repairs

Like many global carmakers, Kia Corp. plans to take preorders online for EV6, its first all-electric vehicle built on an exclusive EV platform, slated for release here in July. But its labor union is opposing the idea, sensing a potential threat it poses to the job security of conventional sales staff. “The online preorder system introduced for the upcoming EV6 will infringe on the employment security of the sales workforce,” the Kia branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Uni

LG Group’s plan to name its new holding company “LX” faces a setback as another company threatens legal action to stop the move, claiming rights over the name. The state-run Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation announced Tuesday that it would take legal action against LG Group to prevent the South Korean conglomerate from using its trade name, which it has used for around 10 years. The Land and Geospatial Informatix Corp.’s steering committee met Friday to discu

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After the successful launch of South Korea’s next-generation midsize satellite Monday, Korea Aerospace Industries will be in charge of sending a second one into orbit next year, the company said Tuesday. The launch of the midsize satellite No. 1 was led by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and KAI participated as a co-developer. KAI will lead the launch of satellite No. 2 scheduled for January next year, with the help of technology transfers from the KARI. KAI will be responsible fo

S-Oil said Tuesday it has completed the upgrade of its Ulsan petrochemical plant to prevent sulfur and harmful vapor from being emitted into the air as part of an effort to accelerate the company’s environmental, social and governance efforts. According to the refinery, it has injected some 73 billion won ($64.9 million) into the expansion of its residue hydro-desulfurization capacity and the construction of a vapor combustion unit. The residue hydro-desulfurization unit, or RHDS unit,

SK Innovation will split off its battery unit into a wholly-owned subsidiary, a local media reported Tuesday. According to Herald Business, the Korean-language sister paper of The Korea Herald, SK Group chose a split-off over a spin-off to carve out the battery business, in a CEO meeting held earlier this year. In a spin-off scenario, the envisioned business would have become a subsidiary under SK Group, with SK Holdings and SK Innovation each holding a 33.4 percent stake in it. SK Innovat

Samsung Electronics has been chosen as a 5G network solution provider for Japan’s No.1 mobile operator NTT Docomo, the Korean tech giant said Tuesday. Samsung will support Docomo with its 5G technology, including O-RAN-compliant solutions, to bring enriched 5G services to Japanese users and enable digital transformation for businesses, it said. Docomo is Japan’s leading mobile carrier that has nearly 82 million users across the country. It launched 5G services in March last yea

Gmarket’s mobile app has undergone a complete reform to be more intuitive and easier to use, eBay Korea, the company behind the online marketplace, said Tuesday. According to the e-commerce platform operator which also runs G9 and Auction in South Korea, the app has been renewed to match Gmarket’s new brand identity. The changes are not just in the way it looks, but in the way the app operates to offer a more convenient shopping experience for customers, it stressed. Having la

Xiaomi Corp. on Tuesday said it will launch new midrange smartphones in South Korea as the Chinese tech giant tries to beef up its presence amid rumors that the country's homegrown brand LG Electronics Inc. may exit from the mobile business. Xiaomi said the Redmi Note 10 will be released in South Korea on March 30 at 218,000 won ($190), while the Redmi Note 10 Pro will hit shelves on April 9 at 319,000 won. The Redmi Note 10 Pro comes with a quad rear camera setup that includes a 108-megapixe

South Korea, home to chipmaking giants such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., was the world's third-largest market for semiconductor materials in 2020, a report showed Tuesday, moving down one spot from a year earlier after posting an under-par industry average growth. The country's chip materials market grew 3.9 percent on-year to $9.23 billion in 2020, according to the report from SEMI, a global industry association representing companies in the electronics design and manufacturi