Korean Air is facing hurdles in acquiring the cash-strapped air carrier Asiana Airlines as it awaits clearance from at least four regions the EU, the US, Japan, and China. The EU’s regulatory body, considered one of the biggest obstacles in the airline’s bid as it has been getting tougher over business mergers, recently asked Korean low-cost carriers Tway Air and Air Premia for their opinion on the merger between South Korea’s two biggest air carriers, according to the aviatio

Starting next month, South Korea and Japan will resume flight services between Seoul’s Gimpo and Tokyo’s Haneda airports. Korea Airports Corp. said during its regular briefing Tuesday that it is currently discussing the exact date and immigration procedures with the Japanese government before reopening flights between Gimpo and Haneda. Once resumed, there will be 16 flights provided every week by Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. The air route ha

South Korean tiremaker Kumho Tire said Monday that it has incorporated new and differentiated marketing strategies to accelerate business normalization. The tiremaker has launched a new commercial in April under the slogan, “There is no road you cannot go,” to express its belief that there is no road in the world that Kumho Tire can‘t go, said company officials. The commercial was uploaded to the tiremaker’s YouTube channel. Kumho Tire currently operates the largest Yo

Automaker says it wants to make South Korea a hub of its future mobility business

For the next three years, South Korean tech giant Kakao and SK Square, the ICT arm of conglomerate SK Group, will be banned from expanding their designated driver service business to make room for small and midsized enterprises entering the market, the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership said Tuesday. Other large corporations seeking to start chauffeur services are prohibited from entering the industry worth 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in the cited period as well. Although the decisi

The Porsche World Roadshow, featuring diverse driving programs such as circuit driving, slalom course, and launch braking offered by the German carmaker, resumed in South Korea on May 19 after skipping a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Porsche Korea had around 28 models including the Taycan GTS, a model yet to be launched in South Korea, lined up for test drives at Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The Taycan GTS was definitely the eye-catcher of the event, as not only it is t

South Korean carmaker surprises with combined $10.5b investment in US

General Motors on Friday named Roberto Rampel, current president of GM Technical Center Korea, as president and CEO of GM Korea. Rempel, an engineering specialist, will start his term on June 1 when his predecessor Kaher Kazem leaves for his new role as executive vice president of SAIC-GM in China. GM expressed high hopes for the new CEO in winning more customers in both domestic and exports markets, and improving the overall competitiveness of GM’s Korean operations. “The GM K

INJE, Gangwon Province - Toyota’s iconic motorsports car Gazoo Racing 86 is back, 10 years after its second-generation model was launched in South Korea. And while other models are sold on green credentials, the carmaker has made a play for petrolheads with the third generation of the car, increasing the size of the engine by 20 percent to 2.4 liters, and offering a maximum torque of 25.5 kilogram-meters. Design-wise, the GR86 is unremarkable, looking like a typical sports car that can b

Carmaker reportedly to announce another mega investment plan to build EV plant in US during Biden's visit

Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 loaded with Level 4 self-driving technology has started delivering food in California. Motional, a US autonomous vehicle company that Hyundai Motor Group and US mobility startup Aptiv formed, and Uber Eats began operating their pilot program of automated delivery service in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday. The partnership was announced in December. At Level 4, a vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and will not operate if all required conditions

South Korean sports utility vehicle maker SsangYong Motor unveiled its new mid-size SUV called Torres on Tuesday, scheduled to be launched next month. The launch of the new vehicle came amid growing financial pressure on the SUV maker, which has been struggling to find a new suitable buyer. The new vehicle was named after the Torres del Paine National Park located in Chile’s Patagonia region, a place often known as “the end of the world.” “We adopted the name Torres bec

Not only delivery delay, carflation is also on the way due to supply shortage, price hike in raw materials

Renault Korea Motors has added a new trim called Inspire to its XM3 SUV, which has been lauded for its distinct, upscale design. Named after the show car unveiled at the 2019 Seoul Motor Show, XM3 Inspire comes in two colors -- cloud pearl and sonic red. The Inspire trim of the compact SUV features ventilated leather seats, heated rear seats, customized ceilings, a shield to minimize wind noise when driving at high speeds and small design touches such as red lines on the air curtain, side fend

Volvo is close to catching up to German automaker Audi, which kept its title as the third top selling foreign car brand in South Korea, data showed Monday. According to Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Volvo Korea sold a total of 1,332 units in April overtaking Audi Korea which sold 1,051 units the same month. Compared to sales in March, Volvo Korea saw a 1.8 percent on-month sales increase in April while Audi Korea’s sales dropped by 9 percent. In April, Volvo