Hyundai Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz Korea and four other companies will voluntarily recall over 160,000 vehicles to fix faulty components, the transport ministry said Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of recalls by carmakers operating in South Korea and vehicle importers due to problems with vehicle components. The four other companies are Kia Motors Corp., Renault Samsung Motors Corp., GM Korea Co. and Daijeon Machinery Co., the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a st

Business sentiment in South Korea turned weak for December due to a recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local think tank said Wednesday.   The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 98.9 for December, down from 99.5 for November, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. "Business sentiment is expected to remain weak until next year due to uncertainties involving the pandemic. The government's aggressive

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to allocate 1.44 billion won ($1.29 million) through 2025 to foster experts of eco-friendly cars in sync with the country's green growth policy, which centers on breaking away from fossil fuels and utilizing more sustainable resources. Under the project, South Korea will spend the budget to educate around 480 experts of eco-friendly cars annually over the next five years, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The project is aimed at

Coupang was chosen as the most popular online retail platform by millennials in a survey conducted by the UnivTomorrow Research Laboratory for the Twenties, the firm said Tuesday. The survey also showed that 47.1 percent of millennial Koreans have joined the Rocket Wow Club, Coupang’s membership service. The term “millennials” here refers to those aged 15-34. Coupang was ranked as the favorite online shopping mall with 33.8 percent. Coupang enjoyed higher popularity among yo

Global top 10 unicorns by valuation

Large companies in South Korea sharply increased their cash reserves over the past year amid increased uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The cumulative free cash flow of 259 listed firms came to 28.1 trillion won ($25.3 billion) as of the end of September, up 163 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Free cash flow refers to cash a business generates after accounting for capital expenditures and taxes. Free cash flow indicates a com

Three people were killed in an explosion that occurred at a plant operated by South Korea‘s top steelmaker, Posco, on Tuesday, fire officials said. 　 The incident took place at around 4 p.m. with a roaring sound at its plant in Gwangyang, 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul, involving a blaze that was put out in about 20 minutes, according to the officials. 　 Authorities said the explosion appears to have started near a furnace while workers were handling high-pressure gas, adding that they

LS Group has kicked off a new era of management by promoting third-generation successors as CEOs. In the annual reshuffle conducted during a board meeting Tuesday, LS Group promoted Yesco Holdings Vice President Koo Bon-hyuk to president and CEO. LS Mtron Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Koo Bon-kyu was promoted to CEO. “LS Group retained CEOs of major affiliates including LS Cable & System, LS Electric and LS-Nikko Copper for the stability of the organization but appoi

GE said Tuesday it has clinched a deal to supply advanced gas equipment to the Naepo District Heating Plant, a regional heating supply system for the Naepo new town in South Chungcheong Province. GE said that per this deal, it will be equipping the plant with 7HA.02 gas turbine technology, which will provide approximately 500 megawatts to the national grid -- the equivalent output needed to power some 125,000 South Korean homes. It will also provide steam for district heating for more than 100

Vaccines differ in efficacy, distribution methods, affordability

Representatives from the Korean and US governments and industries joined to provide their insights on key factors that Korean companies should consider when investing in the US, at the Doing Business in Korea Seminar 2020, its second iteration, held in Seoul on Tuesday. The seminar was jointly hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Korea International Trade Association. It also covered the impact of the US presidential election on investment opportunities abroad. In his

Hyundai, Hanwha, LIG Nex1, KAI offer glimpse into unmanned combat technologies at Korea’s biggest land weapons expo

LS Cable & System said Tuesday that it has inked a five-year contract with Danish energy firm Orsted to supply high voltage export cables for offshore wind farms. Though the exact size of the deal is unknown, it is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, according to industry sources. LS Cable & System has participated in multiple offshore wind projects with Orsted. Previously, it supplied cables to the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea One and Two, in England.

Danish energy firm Orsted on Tuesday held a forum to explain how its 1.6-gigawatt offshore wind farm project to be built in the waters off Incheon can contribute to South Korea’s infant offshore wind power industry and the country’s ambitious green targets. At the Orsted 2020 Offshore Wind Industry Promotion Forum held at Conrad Seoul, in Yeouido, western Seoul, Orsted Asia-Pacific President Matthias Bausenwein said that the Incheon offshore wind project will offer massive opport

Posco, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, has been recognized for its environmental activities in a recent journal published by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, the company said Tuesday. “Posco’s efforts to clean and recover our planet’s oceans, as well as cooperate with steel industry on blue carbon, places it at the forefront in the battle against climate change,” the journal said. The journal illustrated Posco’s Clean Ocean Volunteer