The Korea Times

Hyundai, global production at record high

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ combined global production is expected to hit a record high in December, analysts said.Lee Myung-hoon, an analyst at HMC Investment & Securities, said Monday that Hyundai and Kia Motors’ global productions have grown 18.6 and 15.6 percent year on year, to record the largest monthly output ever.“The local factories are running to the maximum capacity. Following those companies’ annual wage talks ended, weekend extra working hours have expanded,” Lee said.“Chinese factories, whose production capacity has risen at the beginning of this year, are also revving up the production since Hyundai’s ix25 compact SUVs and Kia’s K4 sedans continue to enjoy sales hikes following their launches,” he added.The ix25 was launched in October and K3 in September in China.Lee said that companies’ accumulated annual production will hit 8.1 million this year, up 5.8 percent.The number will reach 8.3 million units next year, a 3.7 percent increase year-on-year, according to the analyst.   &

Dec 29, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Ssangyong Motor to recall 110,000 cars for defective wheel

By Park Jin-haiSsangyong Motor will recall more than 110,000 cars sold here due to defective wheels, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Friday.It will recall four models because defective ball joints may cause the wheels to separate from the axle, leading to an accident.It is the largest recall that the local automaker has done here.The ball joints are the pivot between the wheels that play a critical role in the safe operation of an automobile's steering.The defective ball joints affected 112,920 units of four models ― Rexton, Kyron, Actyon and Actyon Sports ― which were produced between June 1, 2005, and Nov. 17, 2010.Kyron is the subject of the largest recall with 37,313, followed by the Actyon with 28,724 and Actyon Sport with 27,068.  The company began repairing these vehicles’ defective parts free of charge in April.“After local automotive fan clubs for the vehicles raised the need for a recall, we have discussed the matter with the land ministry,” said a company official. “Up to today, about 50 percent of the

Dec 26, 2014By Park Jin-hai

People & Events

Maryland nominates first Korean-American secretary

Jimmy RheeBy Park Jin-haiJimmy Rhee, 58, has been proposed as Secretary of the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs in the U.S. state of Maryland.Rhee’s appointment still requires confirmation by the state Senate, but if confirmed, he will be the first Korean-American to hold the position.The office is in charge of connecting small businesses as well as those owned by minorities and women to state contracts and procurement opportunities.“Without help and sacrifice of the first generation immigrants, I would not have had this opportunity. I will work hard to make minority- and women-owned businesses get a fair chance in the government procurement market,” he said.Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan, who takes office Jan. 21, named Rhee as a cabinet member nominee.Rhee, whose Korean first name is Hyung-mo, immigrated to America in 1971 and attended the University of Maryland before completing an M.B.A. at Johns Hopkins University and graduating from the law school at Georgetown University.He headed a government consulting firm, GTSC, as CEO and was appointed assi

Dec 25, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Maryland nominates first Korean-American secretary

People & Events

Firefighters take semi-nude pictures to raise money for burned children

A firefighter models for the 2015 calendar made and distributed by the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters. He and 12 other firefighters posed for the photos to raise money for children suffering from burn injuries. / Courtesy of SMFDHBy Park Jin-haiA group of firefighters stripped off their uniforms to become semi-naked calendar models.Thirteen firefighters, who took part in a bodybuilding competition organized by Seoul Metropolitan Government to select the most physically-fit firefighters in May, decided to have their photos taken to raise money for the parents of burned children having financial difficulties for treatment.The Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters, which made and distributed the 2015 calendar, said that it adopted the idea from the United States and Japan where calendars featuring firefighters as models are hugely popular.The shooting took place over the past three months in Seoul.Two photographers, Kim Dae-hyung and Lee Jeong-bum, donated their talent for the goodwill mission.For each 10,000 won donated to the Hallym Burn Fo

Dec 25, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Firefighters take semi-nude pictures to raise money for burned children

Companies

Hyundai Motor to increase dividends

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor confirmed on Wednesday that it will increase dividends to boost shareholder’s profits for this year.However, the firm did not disclose the exact extent of the dividend hike.“To boost shareholder’s value, we have been buying back our own shares from last month.  In the same context, we have decided to increase dividends,” said the company in a public notice filed with the Korea Exchange.When it is approved through the board of directors and general shareholders’ meetings, dividends will be paid to shareholders early next year.The mid-term dividend payment has been positively reviewed, said the company.Hyundai Motor has been signaling several times that it will raise the dividend payments sharply, as part of its shareholder-friendly policy, after investors turned their backs upon the company’s controversial 10.5-trillion land purchase from KEPCO.To appease shareholders, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have been buying back shares worth a combined 670 billion won since November.After an announcement by Samsung Electronic

Dec 24, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Kia Sorento, Volkswagen Passat most prone to ignition failure

Kia Motors’ SorentoBy Park Jin-haiKia Motors’ SUV Sorento and Volkswagen’s Passat sedan received the most complaints about critical ignition failures in local and imported cars, figures show.Out of 702 such complaints to the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) between 2010 and 2013, most were about the Kia Sorento R (69), followed by the Hyundai Santa Fe (52) and the Renault Samsung (39).Overall, most complaints were about Kia cars (243), followed by Hyundai Motor (186) and GM Korea (116).There were 64 complaints about imported cars. BMW (15) and Volkswagen (14) topped the list, followed by Mercedes-Benz (nine), Land Rover (five) and Volvo (five).By model, Volkswagen Passat received the most complains (six), while BMW Cooper and Mercedes-Benz ML280 received four complaints each.About 80 percent of complainants said the ignition stopped while they were driving. Sixty percent said the failure happened when they accelerated.“When ignition goes wrong while someone is driving, it poses a tremendous safety risk to drivers because it affects the steering and brakes,” a

Dec 23, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai Motor expected to increase dividends sharply

By Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor Group is expected to raise dividend payouts by a large margin, following Samsung Electronics which announced it was considering a 50 percent dividend hike from last year, analysts said Monday.“For Hyundai Motor, there are expectations in the market for higher dividend payouts of over 3,000 won per share. Last year, it paid 1,950 won for each share, which was much lower in comparison to other companies,” said Kim Jin-seong, an analyst at Meritz Securities.Hyundai Motor Group’s dividends payout, with the exception of its affiliates that recorded deficits, was 5.96 percent last year, while Samsung Group’s was 8.47 percent.Hyundai Motor’s ratio of dividend to profit marked 5.94 percent, while its smaller sister firm Kia Motors and automotive parts maker Hyundai Mobis reached 7.43 and 5.49 percent, respectively.Shin Chung-kwan, an analyst at KB Investment and Securities, also predicted that the dividend payout for Hyundai Motor will be more than 3,000 won this year, being the first in line among Hyundai Motor Group affiliates.&ldq

Dec 22, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hankook Tire decides to buy 19.5% of Halla Visteon

By Park Jin-haiLeading local tire maker Hankook Tire has decided to buy a 19.49 percent stake in Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. (HVCC) for 1.08 trillion won from  Visteon Corp., the company said Friday.Meanwhile, a local private equity fund, Hahn & Company, will buy a 50.5 percent stake in HVCC.  Through the stock purchase agreement, Hankook Tire has become the second-largest shareholder of HVCC, the world's second-biggest producer of air-conditioning and heating systems for vehicles.The U.S. automotive parts supplier Visteon Corp., HVCC’s biggest shareholder, has put its 69.99 percent stake in HVCC on the market, worth 3.9 trillion won.Hankook Tire has also secured the preemption right, so when HVCC’s largest stakeholder Hahn & Company resells the shares, it will have the right to acquire those shares ahead of other competitors.The deal will be completed in the first half of next year after the approval of the relevant authority and shareholders.The tire maker has long been interested in mergers and acquisitions as a way of expanding its tire busin

Dec 18, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hyundai's Genesis named safest car of the year

Hyundai Motor’s luxury Genesis sedanBy Park Jin-haiHyundai Motor’s luxury Genesis sedan has been named the safest car of the year by the government.In vehicle safety tests carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Genesis scored 96.6 points out of 100.The test evaluated 13 domestically sold cars from nine carmakers and announced the 10 safest vehicles Wednesday by totaling the scores of each vehicle in four safety tests including, crash and pedestrian safety experiments.The Genesis received perfect scores in the frontal and side-impact tests, and also topped the pedestrian safety test with 25.6 points.The safety tests were conducted on seven locally produced vehicles, including the Hyundai Sonata, the Spark EV and the Cruze of GM Korea, a local unit of U.S. automaker General Motors, and Kia's Soul and Sorento.The ministry also tested six imported vehicles, including the Volkswagen Golf, the E300 of Mercedes-Benz, the Lexus ES350 and the QM3, an SUV imported and distributed by Renault Samsung, the local unit of the French automaker Renault.Kia&

Dec 17, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Companies

Hanwha not to fire Samsung employees

By Park Jin-haiShim Kyung-seb, representativedirector of Hanwha Corporations’explosive divisionKim Hee-cheul, Hanwha Q CELLSCEOHanwha Group announced Sunday that it will guarantee the job status of employees of four Samsung affiliates, which will be acquired in a mega deal.To oversee the commitment, Hanwha, which is the nation’s tenth-largest conglomerate, has created a special task force, said a spokesman at Hanwha.The taskforce will be comprised of two teams divided into the machinery/defense industry sector and petrochemical sector.The former will be headed by Shim Kyung-seb, representative director of Hanwha Corporations’ explosives division, while the latter will be under the control of Kim Hee-cheul, Hanwha Q CELLS CEO.Hanwha stressed that the launch of the task force is mostly aimed at absorbing Samsung employees with ease.“The Samsung workers affected because of the deal won’t be fired and the acquired four affiliates will be under independent management from the rest of the Hanwha affiliates,” said the spokesman.It also added that various

Dec 14, 2014By Park Jin-hai

Park Jin-hai

Read more

Hyundai, global production at record high

Ssangyong Motor to recall 110,000 cars for defective wheel

Maryland nominates first Korean-American secretary

Firefighters take semi-nude pictures to raise money for burned children

Hyundai Motor to increase dividends

Kia Sorento, Volkswagen Passat most prone to ignition failure

Hyundai Motor expected to increase dividends sharply

Hankook Tire decides to buy 19.5% of Halla Visteon

Hyundai's Genesis named safest car of the year

Hanwha not to fire Samsung employees

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