The Korea Herald is publishing a series of special reports on the glass ceiling in the financial industry, focusing on South Korea’s market compared to other major economies. Funded by The Korea Press Foundation, the series will evaluate where Asia’s fourth-largest economy stands in terms of gender equality, reflect on changes being made, and explore ways to boost inclusion in the sector. This is the final installment. -- Ed. Gender discrimination in the finance sector has long been

Togo Communication, a local PR agency based in Seoul, will hire new employees by conducting video interviews online as part of efforts to participate in nationwide campaign to contain COVID-19 virus, the company said Thursday. The agency will continue so-called “untact” job interviews with applicants for internships and accountant executive posts, until the government declares an end of the pandemic. “Even though we face the danger of COVID-19, we decided to conduct untact j

The freshly revamped Sonata by Hyundai Motor was named the best sedan at a motor show held in Saudi Arabia last week, raising prospects for its sales performance in the Middle East.In a vote by a group of auto journalists in the country Sonata won high scores in overall categories that examined the sedan’s design, safety technology and entertainment features, the company said. The result came amid the carmaker expanding its presence in the region’s largest auto market of 400,000-500,

Naver Financial, a financial platform by South Korean internet giant Naver, has attracted an investment of about 800 billion won ($683 million) from its financial partner Mirae Asset, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The investment will secure a stable financial structure for Naver Financial and forge a partnership between the two to take the lead in the country’s emerging “techfin” industry. Techfin refers to technology firms seeking to deliver financial prod

Hyundai Motor said Friday it has delivered the first batch of 20 Ioniq EVs to Indonesia, entering the ride-hailing market in the Southeast Asian country in partnership with Grab. The South Korean carmaker and Grab will operate ride-hailing services in Jakarta with the electric version of the compact starting early next year. They plan to expand the number of vehicles in operation by the end of the year. The Ioniq EV is capable of running 271 kilometers per single charge. It can be recharged to 8

The number of all-new K5 preorders has set a fresh record of more than 16,000 units sold in just three weeks, Kia Motors said Thursday as it launched the third-generation of the popular sedan officially on the same day. The number of preorders the K5 received is the highest among vehicles launched under the Kia marque, the company said. “Of all customers who preordered the K5, 53 percent of them were in their 20s and 30s, demonstrating overwhelming support and attention from younger genera

Hanwha Group named Lee Tae-kil, executive vice president of the group’s compliance committee, as the head of its communications committee in an annual executive reshuffle, officials said Thursday. Lee replaces President Choi Sun-mok, who moves to the committee’s advisory board.  After joining Hanwha Chemical in 1991, Lee climbed the corporate ladder by building his career in compliance and communications.The head of Hanwha’s communications committee oversees both the inter

An envisioned joint venture between Posco Energy and US-based FuelCell Energy is making little progress due to mutual differences, an industry insider said Wednesday.The energy unit of steel giant Posco produces molten carbonate fuel cell -- dubbed a second-generation technology -- with technology transferred from the US company.  FuelCell Energy CEO Jason Few was in Seoul to discuss the JV proposal. The talks, however, ended without any agreement, sources noted. The two had signed a memora

MALAGA, Spain -- It may be difficult to have it all, but Mercedes-Benz’s new compact SUV lineup of the GLB has certainly tried its very best. It’s a luxury family car with enough spacious cabin room for a third row of seats. It has strong and adaptive suspension and an intelligent four-wheel system that increases driving pleasure even on curvy, steep and inclined mountain roads. Above all, the spirit of a traditional SUV is intertwined with the latest auto technology, including the a

More than a half of new cars manufactured by South Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia sold in US were sport utility vehicles, reaching the highest mark since they launched operations in the world’s second-largest auto market, the companies said Sunday. Of the 1.2 million vehicles Hyundai and its smaller affiliate Kia sold as of November, 668,328 units or 55.4 percent of the total were SUV, from 30.9 percent in 2013. The number of SUVs sold by November already has surpassed the figure for las

Celebrating the launch of its latest overseas plant in India, Kia Motors said Thursday it will expand its portfolio of “Made-in-India” products next year and introduce fully digitalized sales and service channels for customers.The South Korean auto giant officially opened its new production facility in Anantapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, built with an investment of $1.1 billion. It started operations in July rolling out the Seltos compact SUV, the company’s first

GS Group said Tuesday that Huh Tae-soo, vice chairman of its TV shopping channel subsidiary, will lead the energy-to-retail giant and also be chairman of its board. The leadership succession at South Korea’s eighth-largest conglomerate will be carried out after a shareholders meeting next year.  Huh, who is now with GS Home Shopping, replaces his elder brother Chairman Huh Chang-soo who tendered his resignation, citing the need for a leadership transfer amid the fast-changing business

The heads of South Korea’s two major conglomerates, Posco and SK Group, attended a rare joint event Tuesday to promote corporate social responsibility, indicating a possible partnership to generate social value for sustainable growth.The purpose of the event, held at Posco’s head office in Seoul, was to share the steelmaker’s vision of becoming a responsible business entity and to present the CSR projects carried out by affiliates over the past 1 1/2 years. Posco Chairman Choi

Renault Samsung, a South Korean subsidiary of the French carmaker, sold 5,648 units of its sport utility vehicle QM6 in November, up 50 percent from the same month last year, the company said Monday.It was the first time since 2016 that sales of the QM6 surpassed the 5,000 mark. It ranked second in the mid-sized SUV segment, after Hyundai Motor’s Santa Fe, added the company. Driven by growing interest in vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas, 3,626 units of the QM6 LPe were sold