Officials disinfect BMW Group Korea’s showroom in Seoul on Thursday. The German automaker’s Korean unit said it has been emphasizing contactless customer service and strengthening disinfection at its showrooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  BMW Group Korea has donated 800 million won ($664,000) to the Community Chest of Korea to help fight the coronavirus. By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

After the National Assembly passed a controversial bill last week that dealt a severe blow to ride-hailing service Tada, service operator VCNC has decided to “indefinitely terminate” the service on April 10, according to the company on Thursday.  VCNC said that it has requested 30 percent of its 20 employees resign, following the company’s plan to downsize the workforce due to the suspension of the service.  On Friday last week, Korean lawmakers voted to pass the r

  South Korean airlines are halting more flights as countries around the world increasingly imposed entry restrictions in their fight against the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. Asiana Airlines Inc. said Thursday it will suspend all of its flights to Thailand beginning Saturday through the end of this month as travel demand dried up amid virus fears. It is the first time for the country's second-biggest airline to suspend the route to the Southeast Asian country since it began s

The Genesis G90, a luxury flagship sedan from Hyundai Motor, has been picked as the safest sedan by the US institute that evaluates vehicle safety, the automaker said Thursday.  According to the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the G90 was designated the Top Safety Pick+, the highest possible honor, becoming the third and last Genesis sedan to earn the designation. In February, the Genesis G70 and G80 were also named the Top Safety Pick+.  Established in 1959, the US inst

With South Korean air carriers slashing the number of routes they operate over the COVID-19 spread, their plan to lease new aircrafts to increase competitiveness has hit turbulence, according to industry sources Wednesday.  Asiana Airlines’ budget carrier Air Busan had signed up to lease two Airbus 321 Neo LR aircrafts and is scheduled to receive one this month. The model can fly up to 7,400 kilometers, covering midrange routes such as to Singapore, Jakarta and Bali.  Accordin

HDC Hyundai Development Co., a midsized construction company, said Wednesday its takeover of Asiana Airlines Inc. is going as planned despite the spreading coronavirus outbreak. In December, the HDC-Mirae Asset Daewoo consortium signed a deal to acquire a 30.77 percent Asiana stake from Kumho Industrial Co., a construction unit of Kumho Asiana Group, as well as new shares to be issued and the airline's six affiliates, for 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion). "There have been growing concern

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is credit negative for its rated transportation companies amid declining traffic volumes. The extent of the virus' adverse impact on the transportation industry will depend on the duration of disruptions and evolving public sentiment, Moody's said in a statement. "Given the spread of the coronavirus, people in Korea will be less likely to commute and go out for social and business gatherings, thereby

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, has offered a voluntary leave program to its employees, sources here said Tuesday, as the company suffers a sharp drop in travel demand amid growing angst over the novel coronavirus. Korean Air's flight attendants who have worked for the company for at least two years can take up to three months of voluntary leave starting this month, according to sources. This is the second time that the air carrier has offered such a program to its

The number of passengers using Incheon International Airport in the first week of March dropped by 80 percent on-year, the lowest since 2003, according to the airport operator Tuesday. Incheon International Airport Corp. said that from March 1-8 the number of passengers who transited South Korea’s gateway airport came at 298,307, less than one-fifth of 1,536,594 last year.  During the first week of March, an average number of passengers using Incheon airport was around 37,000. 

Renault Samsung Motors said it started delivering its new premium sport utility vehicle unit XM3 on Monday, with 8,542 preorders -- which opened on Feb. 21. The company is of the view that its TCe 260, a high-performance1.3-liter gasoline turbo engine co-developed by Renault Group and Daimler Automotive Group, has captivated customers, taking up 84 percent of the preorders so far. The carmaker has introduced two versions for the new SUV line -- TCe 260, and a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, GTe.

South Korea’s largest gateway begins full-fledged temperature monitoring program of all outbound passengers

South Korea’s aviation industry is likely to see losses from the coronavirus outbreak snowball to at least 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) by June, according to industry sources on Sunday. With more international routes shutting down as countries announce entry bans on people traveling from Korea, at least 5.8 trillion won of losses are expected from the country’s eight air carriers, based on the calculation from their flight records as of the fourth week of February.  But such

Japan's entry restrictions for visitors from South Korea are dealing another blow to airlines and travel agencies already hit by the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, the companies said Friday. Local airlines and travel agencies have been struggling with a sharp decline in air travel demand for more than a month after South Korea's first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on Jan. 20. Adding to their woes, Japan announced Thursday that visitors from South Korea and China will have to stay

Korean Air said Thursday that it had begun checks on all passengers’ temperatures on international routes to check for the COVID-19, as part of the company’s preventive measures. The air carrier said it had secured eight thermal imaging cameras and handheld, non-contact infrared thermometers to check if a passenger’s temperature was below 37.5 Celsius degrees.  Passengers with body temperatures above 37.5 Celsius degrees will be refused boarding, Korean Air said. 

Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday unveiled images of its luxury brand Genesis’ third-generation G80. The new G80 comes back in seven years. It is Genesis’ flagship model since 2008 when it was launched. An accumulated 210,000 units of G80 have been sold in the local market as of 2019.  Genesis Design Center chief Lee Sang-yub said that the latest G80 has been designed under the concept “athletic elegance,” putting its representative design features such as quad lamp