Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor posted half of its operating profit in the second quarter from a year earlier. But the earnings still came above market expectations due to the launch of new models. 　 Hyundai Motor’s operating profit fell 52 percent to 590 billion won ($493 million) and sales dropped 19 percent to 21.86 trillion won, according to the firm’s regulatory filings Thursday. Net profit fell 62 percent to 377 billion won. The automaker said, “The globa

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, traffic for the world’s busiest air route between Seoul and Jeju fell by nearly 30 percent during the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year. Nearly 5.59 million passengers made trips on the route between January and June – a 31 percent drop from last year’s figure of 8.18 million, according to data from Korea Airports Corporation, a public enterprise behind Gimpo Airport. In a report from aviation analys

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air said Tuesday it has closed its regional headquarters in Europe and Southeast Asia in an effort to “streamline” business operations as the coronavirus pandemic continues. A company official said the move was made to respond to the “changing business environment more quickly and effectively.” The work that had been undertaken by the regional headquarters will be handled by other regional branches. “We will create a globa

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to send businessmen on chartered flights to Vietnam and China this week as the new coronavirus pandemic has virtually suspended global air traffic, disrupting their travels. Under the plan, around 570 businessmen from 240 companies will start being sent to Vietnam on chartered airplanes Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Through August, South Korea plans to send 1,500 workers to the Southeast Asian nation. The flight to Chin

Heirs of South Korea's top two conglomerates -- Samsung and Hyundai Motor -- will discuss possible cooperation in the electric vehicle (EV) and mobility businesses, the groups said Tuesday. Lee Jae-yong, Samsung's de facto leader, shared his views on future mobility solutions with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun following his visit to the automaker's Namyang Research & Development Center in Hwaseong, south of Seoul.  Lee was accompanied by Samsung Electronic

South Korea’s rental service firm SK Rent-a-Car said Monday it has launched a rental service for Tesla Model 3 at its 10 branches in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province “As demand for electric vehicles continues to increase, we have recently released new products of Tesla, the most favored EV of customers,” a company official said. A total of 21 Tesla Model 3 units will be offered as short-term rental cars. Customers can make reservations through the firm’s website or custome

Volvo Cars Korea said Monday it will no longer offer pure diesel or gasoline cars starting with its 2021 models and instead sell only hybrid cars. According to the automaker, Volvo cars will be available only in mild hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with its 2021 models in Korea, as it aims to become carbon neutral by 2040. Korea will be the first country where Volvo won’t sell pure diesel cars at all, the company said. Volvo Cars Korea will replace D5, T4, T5 and T6 inte

Incheon International Airport Corp. says it is not going forward with a mythical bird-inspired logo for the corporation’s 20th anniversary next year after a leaked image online drew criticism. In an emailed statement on Sunday, the company confirmed it had ditched the new corporate identity design after “considering the majority’s opinions.” “It’s regretful that the draft was misreported as an official one,” the company said as it explained it was one

SsangYong Motor on Monday unveiled a teaser image of its first electric vehicle, which has been developed under the project name “E100.” The automaker’s new, electric subcompact sport utility vehicle is set to be released in the first half of next year. Prior to the launch of the new EV, the automaker released an image that graphically expresses its exterior design. The firm said the overall design is based on a streamlined line that reflects aerodynamics optimized for urban

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Monday that it has won an 86 billion won ($71 million) deal from a European company to build two petrochemicals (PC) carriers. Under the deal, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., a shipbuilding unit of Korea Shipbuilding, will start constructing the ships in November and deliver them to the buyers from the second half of 2021, Korea Shipbuilding said in an e-mailed statement. The deal has an option to build an additional PC carrier. So far thi

Chairman sells all shares to Cho Hyun-bum, whose legal trouble lingers

Hyunda Motor became the best-selling car maker in Vietnam during the first half of this year, surpassing Toyota by a slight margin. The South Korean automaker sold 25,358 units during the first six months of 2020, according to data from Hyundai and the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, with its Japanese rival trailing by 181 units. Hyundai cars accounted for 21.3 percent of the market share, up 2.6 percentage points from the same time last year. It marks the first time the

Hyundai Motor Co.'s new Grandeur sedan is likely to see its sales top 100,000 units this month, eight months after its launch in the domestic market, industry sources said Sunday. Hyundai Motor launched the face-lifted Grandeur in November last year and aimed to sell 110,000 units in the domestic market this year. According to the sources, Hyundai has sold 90,000 new Grandeur sedans through June this year since its launch. The new Grandeur has been the bestselling model in the domestic marke

After a German court ruled that Tesla’s advertisement on the capabilities of its autonomous driving system is “misleading,” a civic group in South Korea on Friday raised concerns and urged authorities here to inspect the firm. In a statement, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, a nonprofit organization, urged the US-based automaker to withdraw its advertisement, which it claimed is exaggerated to misinform consumers as if Tesla cars can fully drive on their own. On Tu

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday it has ordered a recall of 34,268 vehicles -- sold by Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Renault Samsung Motors, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hanbul Motors and BMW Korea -- for faulty components.  The defective components found in 23 models sold by the seven carmakers include faulty air bag in Hyundai Motor’s Avante, loose nut for generator inside Carnival, worn-out gearshift for Soul EV and oil leak in Renault Samsung’s M