Kim Chi-hoon, a former Korean Air executive director who was proposed as one of the inside directors for Hanjin Group, said Tuesday he was voluntarily resigning from the candidacy. His withdrawal deals a blow to a coalition formed by Hanjin Group heiress Cho Hyun-ah to counter her brother, Chairman Cho Won-tae, as Kim had been recommended by them. Kim reportedly said that he was “against what the coalition intends to do,” according to Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Hanjin Group

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Tuesday suspended one of its five main assembly plants in Ulsan due to a lack of parts from China amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Hyundai said the No. 1 assembly plant in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is set to be closed until Thursday, a move that will disrupt production of the Veloster subcompact and the Kona subcompact SUV. The latest halt came five days after Hyundai Motor resumed operations at the assembl

SsangYong Motor’s flagship sports utility vehicle Rexton Sports has sold more than 40,000 units annually for the second year in a row, the carmaker announced Monday.  This is the first time Ssangyong has sold over 40,000 units of an SUV brand two years in a row, the company said.  SsangYong Motor said 41,717 Rexton Sports vehicles were sold in 2018, accounting for 99.2 percent of the total number of pickup trucks sold in Korea that year. In 2019, a total of 41,328 Rexton Sport

South Korean airlines will lower their fuel surcharges on international routes in March to reflect lower jet fuel prices, industry sources said Monday. The surcharges for one-way tickets on long-haul international routes will drop by two notches to 19,200 won next month from 49,200 won in February, according to the sources. If the average jet fuel price on the Singapore spot market rises over $1.50 per gallon, South Korean airlines are allowed to impose fuel surcharges starting one month lat

South Korean carmakers said Monday they are on track for normalizing production later this week after suffering parts shortages from China amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp., and SsangYong Motor Co. -- are still struggling to get parts on time, although suppliers in China partially resumed operations last week with the COVID-19 virus outbreak showing no sign of slowing. They

Kia Motors Corp. on Monday unveiled the design of the all-new Sorento SUV ahead of its domestic launch next month as it strives to boost SUV sales further. The fourth-generation SUV adopts a new design concept, Borderless Gesture, which is defined by a combination of the "strong design heritage" of its predecessors and the "refined and delicate feel" of a sedan, the company said in a statement. The new Sorento's powertrain and other details will be released later, it said

  Mercedes-Benz has consistently commanded the top position in the South Korean imported vehicles market. Last year alone, it sold 78,133 units, led by its flagship sedan series E-Class. Compared to sedans, the German luxury automaker’s sport utility vehicles had taken a back seat. To expand its clout in the promising SUV sector, the automaker began bolstering its SUV lineup early this year, bringing back a facelifted version of the GLC compact SUV after four years. The GLC is on

Hyundai Motor is set to introduce two hydrogen-powered trucks in South Korea by 2023 and add 10 more in the following year in collaboration with a local port authority, the automaker said Sunday. The carmaker said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority on Friday to lay the foundation for hydrogen mobility and to vitalize the hydrogen economy at Gwangyang Port in South Jeolla Province. The region is home to petrochemical complexes that produce hydrogen as

A total of 17 Hyundai Motor Group car models received either Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety this year. The US awards recognize the safety of vehicles in crashes. According to South Korea’s leading carmaker, the Genesis G80, Genesis G70 and Nexo were named Top Safety Pick+, with the latter two recognized for their “good-rating” headlights for all trims. Top Safety Pick went to eight models from Hyundai Motor -- El

Korean Air’s unionized workers on Friday warned against a coalition comprising a Korean Air heiress and activist fund Korea Corporate Governance Improvement.  In an apparent scheme to oust incumbent Chairman Cho Won-tae, former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah and Hanjin Group’s largest and third-largest shareholders -- KCGI and Bando Construction -- said Thursday they are proposing eight figures, including former SK Group Vice Chairman Kim Shin-bae, as candidates for boar

The Netherlands’ flag carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines apologized Friday for banning South Koreans from using a restroom on a plane amid coronavirus concerns.  According to a Korean passenger onboard the KLM 855 flight bound for Incheon from Amsterdam on Monday, a hand-written note that read “cabin crew exclusive restroom” in Korean was posted on the door of a restroom. Koreans made up 135 out of 279 passengers on the plane.  When a passenger asked why the note wa

South Korea's exports of cars nose-dived 28.1 percent on-year in January, extending their slump for the sixth consecutive month due to a strike by Kia Motors Corp. and fewer working days, data showed Friday. South Korean carmakers shipped 150,974 units of cars overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports also fell 22.2 percent over the period to $2.85 billion. The country's outbound shipments of cars have be

Air carriers cut more routes amid dwindling customers, activate crisis management system, suggest employees to take unpaid leave

Hyundai Motor’s premium brand Genesis ranked No. 1 in overall vehicle dependability among all brands in the US, industry data showed Thursday. According to the “Vehicle Dependability Study” announced by annual ranking researcher J.D. Power, Genesis ranked the highest with the score of 89 problems per 100 vehicles in its first year of eligibility. The study measured the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of

All of Hyundai Motor Group’s listed subsidiaries will introduce an electronic voting system, with the aim of shareholder friendly management, the group said Wednesday. Until last year, Hyundai Glovis, Hyundai Bng Steel and Hyundai Motor Securities had preemptively introduced the e-voting system to allow wider participation from shareholders. This year, the remaining nine listed subsidiaries decided to adopt the electronic voting. The units are Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Hyundai Ste