Hyundai Motor’s Kona EV has become the first home-made electric vehicle to surpass 20,000 in terms of registered unitsThe Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Sep. 14 that 20,215 Kona EVs were registered as of the end of July. The Kona EV made its debut in May last year. It surpassed t

A new office building for LG Electronics' North American operations will be completed this year in 10 years since the project began in 2009, the company said on Sept. 15.About 1,000 employees will work at the new building in New Jersey, the United States, which will serve as the control tower of

South Korean biosimilar drugs are contributing to medical expense reduction in the United Kingdom. These drugs are the same as original medicines in efficacy and safety but are more than 30 percent cheaper.The expenses for medicines and medical supplies fell 294 million pounds (US$367.32 million or

Hyundai Motor Group launched the Institute of Fundamental & Advanced Technology (IFAT) in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, last week to focus on innovative technologies for future cars.The new institute has put together fundamental technology R&D functions of the Central Research Institute. It is designed

As the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market continues to grow rapidly, competition is intensifying among EV battery companies to secure excellent human resources.Battery makers in China and Europe are scrambling to attract talented EV battery engineers from Korean companies, raising concerns

Samsung Electronics is analyzing how its partnership for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will affect itself. This is because its sponsorship can have a negative effect on its brand image with trade disputes going on between South Korea and Japan. Samsung Electronics is yet to launch large-scale Ol

The Korean shipbuilding industry took first place for the fourth consecutive month, winning 74 percent of the world's shipbuilding orders in August. However, some public opinions are criticizing the Korean shipbuilding industry, saying that Korean shipbuilders are rejecting a golden opportunity

The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Sept. 10 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on jointly making inroads into overseas nuclear power markets.Chung Seung-il, vice minister of trade, industry and energy of Kore

Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) will expand cooperation with Russian energy companies in the natural gas sector.The company held discussions on cooperation with major Russian energy companies at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok, Russia for four days from Sept. 3 (local time), KOGAS s

Hyundai Motor Group will introduce fast electric vehicle chargers to Korea, the group’s vice chairman Chung Eui-sun said at a meeting with reporters at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Messe, Frankfurt of Germany, on Sept. 10 (local time).The group is likely to introduce fast electric chargers being buil

South Korean solar power companies, which have been struggling in the face of a price war launched by Chinese counterparts, are showing signs of recovery as the global demand grew 24 percent on year this year.Hanwha Q Cells Co. saw its share of the local housing solar power module market increase 15

The Woori Finance Research Institute released on Sept. 10 a report on localization of industrial materials, components and equipment imported from Japan. It has found that six of the seven items it reviewed can be replaced with domestically developed ones within two to three years. Korea's impor

The Genesis division of Hyundai Motor announced on Sept. 9 that it has appointed Filippo Perini, former design head at Lamborghini, as head of the Genesis Advanced Design Studio in Europe.Perini will be responsible for advanced design development for the Genesis in collaboration with the Genesis Des

GS Engineering & Construction has won a petrochemical plant construction order worth about US$230 million in Thailand.GS E&C has landed “HMC Polypropylene (PP) 4” project from HMC Polymers, which is 41 percent owned by PTTGC, 29 percent by Lyondell Basell and 30 percent by others.The PP4 plant will

As part of its annual Shackleton Lecture Series, Dulwich College Seoul welcomed Welsh adventurer Ash Dykes, who spoke on his incredible journey as the first person to walk the full length of the Yangtze River.On the 4,000-mile (6,400 km) trek, which he completed on Aug. 12, the 28-year-old Dykes exp

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have made a strategic investment in Ionity of Germany, the largest EV fast charging infrastructure developer in Europe.The two companies have signed an investment and strategic business cooperation contract with Ionity to secure a 20 percent stake in it. The contract was

Hyundai Motor Group is seeking to move into the global renewable energy market in partnership with energy solution company OCI.The group signed an MOU with OCI on Sept. 9 to build energy storage systems (ESSs) by recycling waste electric vehicle (EV) batteries and carry out distributed power generat

With investors growing cold towards the biotech industry following the “Invossa debacle” and “SillaJen shock,” there will be a series of big announcements from biotech companies after the Chuseok holidays that can change the market atmosphere.Helixmith Co., formerly called Viromed, which ranks secon

A Korean consortium composed of Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and GS Energy announced on Sept. 9 that the first shipment of crude oil produced in the Haliba oil field in the United Arab Emirates arrived at Yeosu Port of Korea on Sept. 8. The Murban oil produced from the oil field is representative

Unionized workers at GM Korea have launched an all-out strike for the first time after the automaker was acquired by U.S-based auto giant General Motors Co. in 2002. They staged a full-scale strike in 1997 when the company was under now-defunct Daewoo Group.The union is demanding a 5.65 percent incr