The son of the popular actor Song Kang-ho joined a South Korean professional football club Thursday.Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the top-flight K League Classic said they drafted right fullback Song Jun-pyung out of Yonsei University.The 20-year-old previously played on Maetan High School based in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, some 45 kilometers south of Seoul.In this photo provided by Suwon Samsung Bluewings football club, Song Jun-pyung (top row, second from R), son of the popular actor Song Kang-h

A photo of a coffee bar in Pyongyang carried by Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper published in Japan. (Yonhap)North Koreans in the capital city of Pyongyang are three times as rich as those in other areas, South Korea's state-run think tank said Thursday, in the latest sign of the deepening economic divide in the communist country.Pyongyang's per capita gross domestic product is estimated to be at between $2,658 and $2,715 as of 2008, compared with a range of $791 and $1,213 in the Sout

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese private fund management firm to invest in small and medium-sized firms with high potential, the trade agency said Thursday. KOTRA and KCA Capital Partners, which is partially owned by China’s leading investment group China International Capital, will cooperate to find companies in the fields of games and entertainment as well as consumer goods and help their entry into Chinese and Associ

Renault Samsung Motors, the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., will be fully in charge of the research and development of new sport utility vehicles for the Renault group, the company said Thursday.  Renault Samsung mid-sized SUV QM6 (Renault Samsung)The decision follows the success of the mid-size SUV QM6 which sold more than 10,000 units in Korea since its launch in September. QM6, also known as the Koleos overseas, was developed by the Renault Samsung Technical Center in Yongi

  The South Korean government and private entities will invest about 7 trillion won ($5.88 billion) in 12 new promising sectors over the next five years, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. The ministry and some 30 companies and organizations announced detailed strategies to boost the new industries selected as being central to South Korea’s “fourth industrial revolution.” The partnership picked the new fields based on macro trends, the country&r

More than 9,000 cars sold by GM Korea and Ford Sales & Service Korea will be recalled due to mechanical problems, the Transport Ministry said Wednesday. GM Korea, the South Korean unit of US carmaker General Motors, will recall 4,330 units of its minitruck Labo and 4,202 Damas minivans produced between Nov. 24, 2015 and Nov. 21, 2016, due to defective fuses that could interrupt fuel injection, causing the car to lose power, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Free repa

Hyundai Motor Group wrapped up its year-end strategy meeting on Tuesday, with plans to expand its SUV and new energy vehicle lines next year. The group, the owner of South Korea’s two biggest carmakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., will introduce more sport utility vehicles tailored to local markets and new energy vehicle lines to spur growth in 2017, the company said. Hyundai Motor Group headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)Both carmakers will unveil new small SUVs next year in Korea and in

Last week, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors won a total of four design awards at the Good Design Awards in the US. Hyundai Ioniq, the Kia K7 -- also known as the Kia Cadenza overseas -- the Kia Telluride and Genesis’ concept car “Vision G” were among 13 vehicles awarded in the transportation category at the oldest and the most prestigious architecture and design awards.  Genesis’ concept car “Vision G”　The annual awards are given to products with creative designs in various areas joint

SHARING WARMTH -- From left: Chung Moon-sik, head of the KT CS Labor Union, Lee Eung-ho, executive director of KT CS, Park Hyung-jung, head of the Daejoen branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Kang Tae-in, head of the Yongun Welfare Center, pose for a photo Friday. KT CS, KT’s contact business operator, donated winter supplies, such as oil and coal briquettes, worth 20 million won ($16,900) on Friday to low-income families. (KT))

Kia Motors’ hybrid crossover utility vehicle Niro has been recognized by the Guinness World Records for the lowest fuel consumption, the company said Friday. Kia Motors’ hybrid crossover Niro (Kia Motors America) 　The 2017 Niro EX traveled 5,977.9 kilometers from Los Angeles to New York City between Dec. 4 and 11, using a total of 183.6 liters of gas. This marks a record of 3.7 liters per 100 kilometers, for the lowest fuel consumption drive across the US from coast to coast.The official fuel ec

South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. is planning to show off its self-driving technology at the largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas next month, the company said Thursday.Two models of Hyundai’s Ioniq hatchbacks -- one electric and one hybrid -- will hit the road without a driver during the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held from Jan. 5-8. Hyundai unveiled its self-driving Ioniq concept car at the the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 16. The car has received

South Korea’s auto exports to Algeria soared in October as Hyundai Motor assembly plants have begun operations there, a trade agency said Wednesday. Exports of passenger cars to the North African country jumped 51.5 percent in the first 10 months of this year to $92.56 million due to high growth in October, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Shipments of commercial vehicles also rose 11.1 percent to $5.75 million during the same period.  The increase came

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on moves made by the companies and governments of South Korea, China and Japan in entering the new Industry 4.0 era. This is the third installment. -- Ed. Shenzhen, CHINA -- Displayed in front of the main building of the BYD Auto headquarters in Shenzhen, China, are the company’s signature lineups: the Tang SUV, Qin compact sedan, compact crossover E6, pure electric busses K8 and K9, as well as its latest brainchild, the Skyrail monorail