Mercedes-Benz faces lawsuit in Korea over electric vehicle fire

SEOUL, October 10 (AJP) – A group of 24 people, including owners of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles (EVs), on Thursday filed a damages suit against the German luxury automaker and its local sellers in connection with a massive fire involving a Mercedes-Benz EV in August. A Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan exploded in the underground parking garage of an apartment complex in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Aug. 1, sparking a fire that injured about 20 people and damaged hundreds of other car

October 10, 2024

Samsung falls to third in Forbes' world's best employers ranking

SEOUL, October 10 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has dropped from its four-year reign as the top company in Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list, now ranking third behind Microsoft and Alphabet. Forbes on Thursday announced the result of its survey of over 300,000 employees from 50 countries to evaluate 850 multinational companies. The assessment criteria included willingness to recommend the employer, along with factors such as salary, talent development and re

October 10, 2024

Hyundai Mobis to make debut at Paris Motor Show

SEOUL, October 9 (AJP) - Korean auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. said Wednesday that it will participate in the Paris Motor Show for the first time, aiming to accelerate its expansion into the European market. The company, affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, plans to showcase 10 strategic technologies during the Oct. 14-18 event, including next-generation electric vehicle (EV) drive systems and battery system assemblies (BSA). Hyundai Mobis said it will operate a booth for pre

October 9, 2024

Saudi prince visits Naver's futuristic office to explore advanced technologies

SEOUL, October 9 (AJP) - Saudi Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf on Tuesday visited Naver 1784, a futuristic office featuring various advanced technologies owned by Naver, the largest web portal in Korea. The Saudi prince, serving as the mayor of Riyadh Region, explored innovative technologies, including digital twin solutions and a dual-arm robot. Naver plans to establish its digital twin platform for five Saudi cities, laying the foundation for developing essential service

October 9, 2024

LG Electronics estimates 20% decline in operating profit

SEOUL, October 8 (AJP) – LG Electronics estimated on Tuesday that its third-quarter operating profit dropped 20.9 percent year-on-year to 751.1 billion won ($556 million), largely due to soaring shipping costs and increased marketing expenses. In its preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2024, LG reported that sales are expected to reach a record high of 22.18 trillion won, a 10.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to a regulatory filing. Th

October 8, 2024

Financial watchdog probes 'overheated' battle for control of Korea Zinc

SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) – Korea's financial watchdog launched an investigation on Tuesday into possible unfair trading practices related to the ongoing battle for control of Korea Zinc. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), ordered a probe into the "overheated" tender offers for the world's largest zinc smelter. "If any unfair trading, such as rumor-spreading, aimed at disrupting the tender offers is discovered, strict measur

October 8, 2024

Samsung Electronics estimates lower-than-expected Q3 earnings

SEOUL, October 8 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that its third-quarter operating profit likely surged 274.5 percent year-on-year to 9.1 trillion won (US$6.7 billion), which fell short of market expectations and prompted the head of its chip business to issue a rare apology for the poor performance. In a regulatory filing, the tech giant estimated its July-September revenue reached a record high of 79 trillion won, up 17.21 percent from a year earlier, surpassing the pr

October 8, 2024

Game developers to showcase new titles at G-Star 2024

SEOUL, October 08 (AJP) - Korea's largest gaming exhibition, G-Star 2024, is set to showcase a range of new titles when it opens on Nov. 14 in Busan. The four-day event, sponsored by leading game developer Nexon for the first time in seven years, is expected to feature a record-breaking 3,281 booths, including 2,364 in the business-to-consumer (B2C) area and 917 in the business-to-business (B2B) section. Several major gaming companies have confirmed their participation, inclu

October 8, 2024

SK Bioscience to acquire stake in U.S. biotech firm

SEOUL, October 8 (AJP) - SK Bioscience, developer of Korea's first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, said Tuesday it will invest $3 million to acquire a stake in U.S.-based Fina Biosolutions. Fina Biosolutions possesses key technologies for conjugate vaccines that prevent diseases such as pneumococcal, meningococcal and typhoid fever. The company holds proprietary technology for manufacturing the CRM197 protein carrier, crucial in developing conjugate vaccines. SK Biosc

October 8, 2024

Toy market for adults surges as 'kidults' seek childhood nostalgia

SEOUL, October 7 (AJP) - Kim Geun-tae, a 27-year-old chip industry employee, recently found himself drawn to Loopy, a pink beaver character from the children's TV series “Pororo.” "I was so captivated by Loopy's expressive emojis on KakaoTalk that I ended up purchasing every series available," Kim said. Upon learning of a Loopy-themed pop-up store in Seoul, he made the hours-long trip from his home in Daejeon, just to buy a plushie and a figurine of

October 7, 2024