Korean beauty and household product manufacturers said Monday they are considering taking out antimicrobial substances from all products, in the latest response to aggravating toxic chemical fears. The nation’s two largest cosmetic giants -- Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health -- are seeking ways to get rid of CMIT and MIT, ingredients that have been linked to an ongoing deadly humidifier disinfectant case.The government approves the use of the two substances for washable cleaning products,

Mobile app-driven new businesses are budding in the automotive after sales and service market, drawing the attention of investors focusing on start-ups, and the car wash business is no exception. The car wash sector in Korea, which is crowded with small players, has recently seen a resurgence as an online-to-offline business.“An O2O car wash mobile application, matching an offline service provider with a customer regardless of time and place, tremendously saves the customers’ time without any ad

Hyundai plans to expand sales with rollout of Solati this year

(Hyundai Motor)Hyundai Motor held its third urban racing event, the Brilliant Motor Festival, on a city circuit in Songdo International Business District, Incheon, over the weekend as part of its ongoing push for performance carsAccording to the carmaker, the annual event, the nation’s only in-city racing competition, attracted around 150,000 visitors this year, up from last year’s some 100,000 visitors.“We will continue to ramp up our efforts to create the nation’s motorsports culture that is s

Namyang Dairy Products will be fined 500 million won ($420,000) for its past unfair practices towards retailers instead of the original fine of 12.3 billion won, the Fair Trade Commission confirmed Sunday.The decision is in accordance with a court decision passed in January 2015 by the Seoul High Court and affirmed by the Supreme Court in June, citing lack of evidence for the full penalty.In 2013, the FTC reported Namyang to prosecutors for bullying sales agents and retailers into buying excess

Volkwagen AG has rolled out a set of measures, including expensive recalls and cash rewards, to placate customers cheated over gas emissions in the United States and Japan, but Korean customers seem to be left in the lurch by the emissions scandal, industry sources said Friday.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers' Association (KAMA), Volkswagen cut the prices of popular Golf and Polo models in Japan and extended the warranty service period and other benefits.In the U.S., the German au

Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest automaker, said Thursday it will release Ioniq models in Europe in the second half of this year.Although details were not revealed, the automaker is preparing to bring its environment friendly Ioniq lineup into about 15 European countries. Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq hybrid model (Hyundai Motor)“Europe is an appealing market for the Ioniq models since it emphasizes the importance of environment,” said a company official.“We’ll first bring electric models into the ma

LG Household & Health Care, South Korea’s leading maker of household goods, said Wednesday that its humidifier disinfectant sold back in the late 1990s did contain potentially harmful chemicals, but that they were used in small amounts that would not cause damage.　Earlier in the day, local news agency Newsis had reported that LG’s “119 Humidifier Disinfectant” product sold from 1997 to 2003 had contained benzalkonium chloride (BKC) a toxic substance that can be fatal when ingested.According to t

Korean consumers planning a class-action suit against Nissan Korea will also target Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan, naming him as one of the defendants, a local law firm handling the case said Thursday.Barun Law has about 30 Korean owners of Qashqai, an SUV made by Nissan, who have expressed intent to file the lawsuit against Gosn and Takehiko Kikuchi, the head of Nissan Korea, according to the law firm and industry sources. The filing is expected next week at the Seoul Central District Pro

Lim Young-deuk, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor’s international plant support division, has been appointed new chief executive of Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, the company announced on Wednesday. Lim, 60, will take office on Thursday, replacing the incumbent CEO Chung Myung-chul, who has been transferred as an adviser of the auto parts maker.  Hyundai Mobis’ new CEO Lim Young-deuk (Hyundai Mobis)The new head formerly served as chief of Hyundai Powertech

Renault Samsung, the Korean unit of French automaker Renault, said Wednesday it plans to launch its ultramini Twizy electric vehicle in the second half of the year.The automaker has been pushing to debut the model, but government regulations have delayed its arrival in the Korean market. Renault Samsung’s ultramini electric vehicle Twizy (Renault Samsung)The situation, however, turned around as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced Thursday it would soon lift the specific

BMW Korea, the local unit of the German automaker, will recall a total of 3,511 sedans due to potential problems related to the fuel pumps and airbags of 16 models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday.According to the ministry, 1,751 units manifested potential defects in the fuel pump, which may abruptly cause engines to shut off. BMW Korea’s diesel lineup, including the 320d and 420d coupe models, are subject to the recall plan. BMW Korea’s 320d model (BMW Korea)Be

A female model poses inside the 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn convertible at its launch event at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul on Wednesday. The British super luxury car maker expects its soft-top convertible to lead sales of its Korean unit this year. The price of the new Dawn starts from 449 million won ($379,704). (Yonhap)

Although diesel cars have retained the sales crown in Korean auto market over the past few years, signs of a slowdown are starting to show with consumers looking at wider options following a series of emissions scandals and the government’s push to regulate toxic nitrogen oxide emitted by diesel engines. Until last year, diesel-powered cars accounted for more than 50 percent of the local auto market after growing fast from 30 percent in 2010 thanks to its high fuel-efficiency and government back

Nissan Korea, the local unit of the Japanese automaker, will soon face a class-action suit over the emissions fraud claim on its Qashqai compact crossovers.Local law firm Barun said Monday it is preparing a class-action suit against Nissan Korea by gathering all the Qashqai owners. Nissan Korea’s compact crossover Qashqai (Nissan Korea)“As of now, we have five people for the suit. The number (of people) is yet small due to the relatively small sales of the Qashqai units, but it can still go up,”