Sizzling temperatures that hit the country last month led to record-breaking electricity demand, data showed Monday. According to Korea Power Exchange, the country’s average maximum power demand stood at 82,007 megawatts last month, up 1.0 percent on-year -- the highest since records began in June 2005. The sudden surge of power consumption resulted from many households and buildings turning up the air conditioning due to the scorching heat wave and tropical nights across the nation thro

South Korea’s antitrust regulator has decided to put a brake on its plan to hold foreign business leaders of large corporations here amid looming concerns it could trigger a trade dispute with the US. According to multiple sources at the government and local reports, the Fair Trade Commission has canceled its plan to make a preliminary announcement next week on the revision of the enforcement decree of the monopoly regulation and fair trade act that aimed at designating foreigners as the

Design-wise, the new Seltos is not much different from the old version but in terms of performance, Kia’s facelifted compact SUV has changed so remarkably that it almost seems like a complete reworking. From the front, it is hard to tell the difference between the new Seltos and the previous version launched in 2019, while the rear has an updated bumper and new tail lightening. The car’s signature Starmap lighting has been applied across the width of the car and combined with an LE

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia signed a joint research agreement Wednesday with six government-funded research institutes that encompass aeronautics and space capabilities to develop mobility for moon surface exploration, the companies said Wednesday. Through this joint research, they will not only develop technologies needed to make mobility for moon surface exploration but also come up with specific strategies and methods to operate such mobility on the harsh environmental and geogr

Posco International, the trading arm of Posco Group, is supplying Incheon Airport with 23,000 tons of structural steel to be used in expanding the airport’s second passenger terminal. They will be supplying curtain walls and roofing materials made with eco-friendly materials until Incheon Airport finishes the construction of Terminal 2 by 2024, according to Posco International. A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building made of lightweight aluminum and steel that does not carry th

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will resume the “Doorknock” program this year after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it said Monday. AmCham’s delegation of top-level executives, including AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim, will be in Washington D.C. from this Wednesday to Friday to meet with key figures of the Biden Administration and Congress, it added. The delegation has secured more than 25 senior-level meetings with officials from various sec

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Friday welcomed the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s policy to expand corporate tax breaks, which are aimed at promoting active investments and job creation. “AmCham greatly appreciates the willingness of the Korean Government to listen and promptly respond to the concerns and recommendations of AmCham and the foreign business community,” Chairman and CEO of AmCham Korea James Kim said in a statement. “I also appreciate that th

South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution is poised to bolster business cooperation with US carmaker Ford. LG Energy Solution said Friday that it would provide more batteries for Ford, which has recently seen growing demand for its electric vehicles, such as the Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit. The battery maker has been supplying batteries for these two models since the second half of 2020. To supply more batteries to Ford, the battery maker will double its battery assembly lines in its bat

Samsung SDI held a ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday for its new cylindrical battery-making plant in Malaysia. The company will invest 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the new battery factory to have its construction finished by 2025 in response to the growing demand for cylindrical batteries. Starting from 2024, a year before the factory’s scheduled completion, the battery maker will manufacture cylindrical batteries known as 21700, which are a 21-millimeter-wide and 70-millimeter-

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank has withdrawn its application for an initial public offering with local bourse operator Korea Exchange, the firm said Thursday. The decision, which was reached Wednesday, comes after a general evaluation of the recent stock market conditions and stock price trend of other refineries, according to Hyundai Oilbank. “In the current market situation where it is difficult to be recognized properly by our excellent perfo

Incheon Airport is pumping up its Level 4 construction plan, a project to expand its second passenger terminal, to maintain its leading position as an air transport hub in East Asia. The 4.84 trillion won ($3.69 billion) Level 4 construction plan involves a major upgrade of the airport’s infrastructure, through measures such as expanding its flight network and building a new runway. This year, the Incheon International Airport Corp. will focus on the expansion of Terminal 2 and its parki

The number of damage claims over canceled or delayed flights has increased as airlines struggle with manpower shortages, according to the Korea Consumer Agency on Monday. A total of 213 air service-related cases requesting compensation were submitted from January to May this year. In April, when South Korea dropped the bulk of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the number of filed claims doubled on-month to 60, the agency said. The number of overseas travelers in Incheon Airport alon

Hyundai Motor is expected to renew energy efficiency competition among electric vehicles, with its upcoming Ioniq 6 boasting the world’s best energy efficiency. The Ioniq 6, Hyundai’s second all-electric vehicle that made its global debut at the Busan Motor Show on Thursday, has an energy efficiency of 6 kilometers per kilowatt-hour, the highest rate among EVs around the world. The carmaker pointed to its EV-dedicated platform E-GMP with optimal heat, battery and power control sy

The country‘s top shipping company HMM is aiming to become a global industry leader by investing 15 trillion won ($11.4 billion) over the next five years. “We consider this investment the least that we can do to make our company a sustainable and stable company amid growing uncertainties in the global shipping market due to environmental regulations and digitalization,” Kim Kyung-bae, CEO of HMM, told reporters on Thursday. HMM will be using 10 trillion won of that investment

After the anchor was lifted for a boat test ride off Incheon waters, captain Lee Jun-sik at Avikus, a local autonomous navigation software venture, turns to a tablet PC, not the helm, to steer the boat. Lee simply types in where he wishes to go and then the system automatically comes up with the best and safest route. “The route planning of the system comes after processing obstacles and marine-related data. Once the route planning is done and we touch this play button on the tablet, the