Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, denied a media report Wednesday that it is seeking to build a factory in Mexico, calling it "groundless."Bloomberg earlier reported that Hyundai Motor is pushing to build a plant in Mexico, citing an interview with a high-ranking official of the local unit of the automaker. He was quoted as saying that Hyundai's car production in the country will likely start in a few years. "That is his personal opinion, and the decision to build a plant is totall

Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. saw domestic sales of their full-size sedans drop sharply in the face of intensifying competition from foreign brands, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data, Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker, sold 19,919 units of the Grandeur during the first quarter of this year, down 15.7 percent from a year earlier. The Grandeur was one of the best-selling cars, with over 93,000 units of the model sold last year. The sales

Sales of Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S6 Edge, a curved sister of the new flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone, have been much higher than expected, industry sources said Tuesday, with its supply unlikely to meet surging demand for the time being.Samsung rolled out the latest smartphone models in 20 countries on Friday, hoping they will help revitalize its ailing mobile business and take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone lineup.According to the sources, sales of the Galaxy S6 Edge currently make up about 50 p

South Korea's top portal operator Naver Corp. said Monday it will seek to add more transparency to its management of privacy by having exclusive lawyers review and possibly reject warrants, amid rising concerns over the government's censorship online."Starting in April, Naver will adopt a new system in which lawyers review warrants issued by state investigators, to make sure that they do not violate the rights of unrelated users," the company said, adding it will not respond to requests that may

Lotte Group said Sunday it plans to relocate the offices of its founder and chairman to a 123-story skyscraper under construction in southeastern Seoul, in an apparent bid to ease the public's concerns over the building's safety.  Under the plan, group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, and his son Dong-bin, the group chairman, will move their offices to the skyscraper next year, along with 200 other employees. Their offices are currently located in central Seoul.  "Lotte World Tower will become the pride of

Hyundai Engineering Co. and LG International Co. said Thursday that they have "in effect" clinched a combined $4.8 billion worth of deals to improve and build plants in Turkmenistan.  The consortium led by the two will sign a $940 million contract with Turkmenistan's state-run oil company on Monday to modernize refinery plants there, they said.  The deal is designed to construct facilities that remove sulfur from gasoline and diesel produced by plants located 500 kilometers northwest of its capi

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea's leading home appliance maker, said Thursday it has rolled out its latest premium TV models in the United States, as part of efforts to grab a bigger share in the North America region.   LG unveiled the Ultra OLED TV and Super Ultra HD TV before the press at a launch event held in New York, the company said in a statement.   The Ultra OLED TV and Super Ultra HD TV are the latest 2015 models that were showcased in Seoul in late February. The debut of these two mo

Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea's No. 2 steelmaker, said Wednesday that its board approved a deal to take over Hyundai Hysco Co., a move expected to increase synergy between the two companies.The takeover deal was approved at a board meeting held earlier in the day, Hyundai Steel said in a regulatory filing.Under the deal that needs to be endorsed in a shareholder meeting, Hyundai Steel will issue new shares and change them with those of Hyundai Hysco at a ratio of 1 to 0.8577. Hyundai Steel plan

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group has been increasing expenditures in research and development projects in its technology affiliates, data showed Wednesday, in an apparent bid to foster new growth engines amid sluggish performances.  Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung's mainstay unit, allocated 15.3 trillion won (US$14 billion) for R&D last year, which accounted for 7.4 percent of its revenue, industry data showed. The figure marks a 1.5 percentage point rise from 5.9 percent posted two

Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday posted a market-beating quarterly profit on growing demand for memory chips and displays, signaling the tech giant may be pulling out of an earnings slump.  In a regulatory filing, Samsung said its operating profit rose 11.5 percent on-quarter to 5.9 trillion won ($5.44 billion) in the January-March period, though it represented a 30.5 percent drop from a year earlier.  The first-quarter operating profit was far above the median market forecast of 5.47 trillion

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. estimated its first-quarter operating profit at 5.9 trillion won ($5.44 billion) on Tuesday, which beat a market consensus and pointed to a recovery in its earnings.  The operating profit was up 11.53 percent from the 5.29 trillion won for the October-December period of 2014 but down 30.51 percent from the 8.49 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.  The estimate hovered far above the median forecast of 5.47 trillion

Samsung Electronics received a top prize in this year's environmental award organized by the U.S. government, becoming the first South Korean electronics company to receive the award for three consecutive years, the South Korean tech giant said Monday.  Samsung won the "sustained excellence" prize in the 2015 Energy Star Award organized by the Environmental Protection Agency, the company said in a statement. The honor is the highest prize given to companies credited for high energy-efficient pro

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top automaker, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Monday that they have sold over 10 million vehicles in China, a milestone achieved in just 13 years since its entry into the market.The two said that their cumulative sales in China came to 10,000,776 units as of last Friday, topping the 10 million mark for the first time since its debut there in 2002.Hyundai Motor has sold some 6.55 million vehicles in China, while Kia Motors has sold about 3.45 mill

Hanwha Group, a South Korean chemicals and financial conglomerate, said Monday it has clinched a $2.12 billion order to build the infrastructure for a new city currently under construction in Iraq.The agreement signed with Iraq's National Investment Commission calls for Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp., the building arm of the conglomerate, to build the social infrastructure as part of the company's Bismayah New City project in the Middle Eastern country, the group said in a press release

South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group on Monday signed on as a sponsor for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Samsung, which is also among the global Top Olympic Partners for the International Olympic Committee, reached an agreement worth 100 billion won ($91.9 million).PyeongChang, an alpine town located 180 kilometers east of Seoul, will host the country's first Winter Games in 2018. Samsung Group is the sixth corporate sponsor for the PyeongChang Winter Games, joined by the likes of Korea