Posco’s chief visited Argentina to check on the ongoing construction of a demonstration plant that extracts lithium collected from a local salt lake last week, the company said Wednesday.Stressing the importance of the steelmaker’s operation in the South American country for its sustainable growth, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo encouraged workers to complete the project safety and maintain the sound partnership with the community, the firm said.In an intermediate survey of lithium re

Mobility Oct. 23, 2019

While admitting that Hyundai Motor has made a relatively late entry into future mobility, the de facto leader of the world’s fifth-largest carmaker said Tuesday that he hopes to turn the company into a provider of related services that connect people’s physical distance.“It is clear that we are going to continue manufacturing cars. I believe that in the future, cars will take account for 50 percent share (by modes of transport), private air vehicle 30 percent and robotics 20 pe

Mobility Oct. 22, 2019

Mercedes-Benz Korea, local importer and distributor of the German luxury carmaker, said Monday that it has launched its first pure electric car under its green car brand EQ.The new Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC made its global debut last year in Europe, and in March at the Seoul Motor Show.  For enhanced customer experience, the company also introduced premium charging services and has expanded charging networks.The new EQC is powered by an 80-kWh lithium-ion battery developed by Daimler sub

Mobility Oct. 21, 2019

DANGJIN, South Chungcheong Province -- Despite increased automation, the steel-manufacturing industry remains among the most dangerous workplaces. Promoting safety awareness, building stronger compliance and ensuring continuous investments in safety features are crucial to turn steel mills into “zero harm” workplaces. And Hyundai Steel, the nation’s second-largest steelmaker, aims to set the example. “We want to change from a ‘have-to’ environment to a ‘

Industry Oct. 20, 2019

Macallan has released a new whisky called Edition No. 5, in collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute, to demonstrate its craftsmanship and pioneering design, importer Edrington Korea said Wednesday. Inspired by Macallan’s natural color spectrum, the Pantone Color Institute developed a new color it has named “The Macallan Edition Purple” for the first time in the world, and applied it to the packaging of the latest whisky product, it added.The color symbolizes the whisky b

Industry Oct. 16, 2019

Executives at South Korea’s large businesses are fewer in number this year and are getting younger, a study found Wednesday.According to recruiting company Unico Search, Korea’s top 100 companies had a total of 6,932 executives, around 100 fewer than last year. The majority, 60 percent, were between the ages of 45 and 54. The most popular birth year for CEOs was 1962. The 27-person list of CEOs born that year includes Korean Air CEO Woo Ki-hong, GS Engineering and Construction CEO Li

Industry Oct. 16, 2019

GS Caltex, a local oil refiner that has a vast network for energy distribution here, will open its first hydrogen refilling station in Seoul at a retail outlet that also houses other sources of energy such as electricity, liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline.Calling it Total Energy Station, the planned station will be built on 3,300 square meters in Gangdong, southeastern Seoul, to provide all sorts of energy needed for ground transportation. It will start operation in December.The hydrogen refi

Mobility Oct. 15, 2019

South Korea aims to become the world’s No. 1 green car provider and the first country to start commercial operations of autonomous driving in the next 10 years, the government said Tuesday. It will achieve the goal by promoting the convergence of industries, implementing policy support and injecting a combined 60 trillion won ($50 billion) from the private and public sectors. Highlighting the nation’s leadership in the areas of batteries, hydrogen, semiconductors and IT technology, P

Mobility Oct. 15, 2019

Storage for strollers, golf clubs and boxes of groceries, spacious backseats and high-end safety features are increasingly becoming important factors to customers in Korea seeking vehicles that fit their family-oriented lifestyles.Rather than choosing sedans with better driving performance, a growing number of customers -- particularly those in their 30s and 40s -- are looking for mid-sized sport utility vehicles in consideration of fuel economy, passenger convenience and ease of use.According t

Mobility Oct. 14, 2019

Dimitris Psillakis (left), CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Korea, and Mark Raine, vice president of product and marketing, pose for photos at a session held for the media to test the new Mercedes-AMG GT four-door coupe and E53 4MATIC+ at the AMG Racing Track in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Introducing the family of high-performance AMG vehicles, Psillakis said, “No matter which AMG model you choose, you will get a high-performance vehicle, which excites with powerful performa

Mobility Oct. 14, 2019

A YouTube video that chronicles SK hynix’s technological challenges over the years to mass-produce the world’s first 128-layer triple-level cell 4D NAND chip has received over 12 million views in less than two weeks of its release, the company said in a statement Monday.The corporate promotion video titled “Cheongju Jikji,” narrates how the company’s challenging spirit resembles the passion and drive that drove the inventors of the world’s first metal movable

Technology Oct. 14, 2019

Hyundai Motor has hired a former chief executive officer of Audi’s US division as the head of its luxury segment Genesis’ operations in North America, signaling the carmaker’s drive to expand its market presence in the world’s second-largest auto market.Mark Del Rosso, who led operations of luxury brands Audi and Bentley for two decades, will take the CEO position of Genesis’ US operations. He will lead the sales and marketing strategy of the brand under the command

Mobility Oct. 13, 2019

South Korea ranked 13th in terms of global competitiveness this year, backed by its leadership in information technology and strength to counter external shocks, a report showed Wednesday.The country saw its competitiveness rising two notches from last year and by four from 2017, the Finance Ministry said, quoting the report from the World Economic Forum. Among 141 countries studied by the WEF, Korea ranked tops in macroeconomic stability and dissemination of information and communications techn

Market Oct. 9, 2019

 The number of commercial vehicles sold by Volvo Trucks Korea has surpassed the 25,000 mark, a first for a foreign auto brand here, the company said Tuesday.The local importer and distributor of the Swedish carmaker delivered its 25,000th vehicle to a customer on Monday at its central cargo center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. After delivering its first vehicle in South Korea in 1997, Volvo Trucks Korea went on to sell its 5,000th in 2007 and reached the 10,000 mark in 2012. Since then

Mobility Oct. 8, 2019

A group of South Korean reporters covering automobiles picked Mercedes-Benz’s latest sports utility vehicle, the New GLE, as the car of the month, they announced Tuesday.According to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, the SUV from the German luxury carmaker earned 18.4 points of 25, taking the top spot for the monthly award. It competed against GM Korea’s Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Motors’ Mohave the Master.The association assesses finalists in five categories. The N

Mobility Oct. 8, 2019