Companies

Samsung, LG air conditioner sales surge ahead of summer

Sales of air conditioners from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics grew sharply from a year earlier in the first quarter as consumers brace for what is expected to be an unusually hot summer, the companies said Thursday. Samsung Electronics said sales of its home air conditioners jumped 51 percent year-on-year in the January-March period. Sales in March alone surged 61 percent compared with the same month last year. LG Electronics said its first-quarter sales of air conditioners spiked 60 percent from a year earlier, with sales in March skyrocketing 80 percent year-on-year. Both companies said they have been operating their air conditioner production lines at full capacity to meet the soaring demand. In its annual climate outlook, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast a 60 percent chance that the summer of 2025 will be hotter than average.

Novelis supports wildfire recovery

Hyundai Mobis hosts mobility tech conference in Detroit to boost North American outreach

Hyundai Mobis, the car parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group, held an annual mobility tech show in the United States this week, highlighting its vision and investment strategy for the North American market. The company's fourth Mobis Mobility Day event was held in Detroit on Wednesday (U.S. time) and showcased its latest developments in software-defined vehicles, electrification and electronic components. More than 200 participants, including representatives from North American automakers and startups, attended the event, the company said. Hyundai Mobis engineers and staff from its North American research and development center led the presentations, offering a detailed overview of the company's global innovation strategy. With a significant share of the company's recent global orders coming from North American clients, Hyundai Mobis said it aims to deepen collaboration with local startups to co-develop cutting-edge technologies and improve market responsiveness.

POSCO chair promotes steel, energy businesses in Australia

POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa paid a three-day visit to Australia this week to strengthen the group's steel and energy businesses. The group said Thursday that Chang attended the World Steel Association's executive committee meeting in Sydney on Monday to discuss his company's planned construction of a steel mill in India and explore potential cooperation with global steelmakers in developing technologies to reduce carbon emissions. "With global steelmakers pursuing various technologies to cut carbon emissions, international collaboration on low-carbon steelmaking processes is more essential than ever," Chang said. POSCO, the group's steelmaking unit, was also selected a day later as a Sustainability Champion for the fourth consecutive year during the association's regular meeting, reinforcing its status as a global leader in environmental, social and corporate governance standards. On Wednesday, Chang visited Senex Energy's gas field in the Australian state of Queensland. Acquired by POSCO International in 2022 for AU$442 million ($270 million), Senex Energy operates gas fields on ru

Five foreign car brands to recall over 117,000 vehicles for faulty parts

Volvo Car Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Man Truck & Bus Korea and two other foreign car brands will voluntarily recall over 117,000 vehicles due to manufacturing defects, the transport ministry said Thursday. The five companies, including Jaguar Land Rover Korea and Nissan Korea, are recalling a combined 117,925 units across 49 models sold in Korea, according to the ministry. Volvo will recall 95,573 units of eight models, including the XC60, due to a software error in the event data recorder that may result in driving information not being properly recorded. Mercedes-Benz will recall 17,285 units of nine models, including the S580 4MATIC, due to insufficient durability in the brake hoses. Man Truck & Bus will recall 1,515 units across 24 models due to a defect in the central vehicle control system. Jaguar Land Rover will take corrective measures on 1,401 units of four models, including the New Range Rover P530 LWB, due to possible moisture entry in the rear camera that may obstruct driving. Nissan will recall 591 units of the Pathfinder due to a defective hood part, which could allow the h

'Matching subsidies' to spur growth of Korea's EV market

The nation’s electric vehicle (EV) market will pick up stronger-than-expected momentum for a rebound this year — buoyed by the government’s “matching subsidy” policy aimed at boosting carmakers’ discount campaign, experts and industry officials said Wednesday. Under the updated subsidy rule, the Ministry of Environment decided to increase its matching subsidy rate to up to 80 percent from 40 percent. Its expiration has also been extended to the end of this year from the first half. When carmakers offer larger discounts on their EVs, the authority increases its subsidy rate in proportion to the range of their discounts. For example, if a carmaker offers a discount of 6 million won to its EV priced at a range of 45 million won to 53 million won, the ministry offers half of the discount through the matching subsidy. This is an increase of 600,000 won from the previous policy. The latest decision is widely expected to spur demand for EVs, as carmakers are encouraged to offer bigger discounts for the vehicles, according to experts and officials from the industry. “The updated mat

Hanwha, Samsung face greater pressure to reduce migrant shipyard workforce

Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries are facing the risk of a labor shortage as the newly elected mayor of Geoje pushes to reduce their reliance on migrant workers at shipyards on the island in South Gyeongsang Province. Geoje Mayor Byun Gwang-yong, who won the April 2 by-election as the candidate from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has remained committed to supporting unionized Korean shipyard workers. These workers have repeatedly called on management to prioritize improving labor conditions rather than hiring low-paid foreign workers. When the government decided late last year to allow migrant laborers to make up 30 percent of the full-time workforce at shipyards, Korean workers demanded that the quota be rolled back to the previous 20 percent. “We need to reduce the number of migrant workers by rolling back the quota and hire more domestic workers instead,” Byun said last month during a debate with a rival candidate from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), which had been the ruling party until the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. While adjusting

Celebrating partnership

Crisis-reading insights, timely expansion shape SK’s growth history

SK Group celebrated its 72nd anniversary on April 8, marking a history that began with a textile mill built from salvaged machinery in the aftermath of the 1950-53 Korean War and has since evolved into a corporate empire spanning energy, chemicals, IT, semiconductors, batteries and biopharmaceuticals. Throughout the journey, crisis-reading insights and timely expansion efforts have served as pivotal inflection points for the group’s growth. And the groupis now envisioning artificial intelligence (AI) as the next one, which will navigate what SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won calls the “triple whammy” of tariff wars, inflation and rapid technological changes driven by AI. Textile to Chemical SK was founded by Chey Jong-gun, who was born in 1926 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. In 1944, he took his first job as an apprentice engineer at Sunkyong Textile in the city, which was at the time run by a Japanese owner. Chey left the company in 1949 to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur, but that path was soon disrupted by the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, which devastated nearly eve

CJ chairman visits Japan seeking Olive Young's entry

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun visited Japan last week to review the retail group’s local operations and explore expansion opportunities there, including beauty product retailer Olive Young’s entry into the Japanese market, the group said Wednesday. According to CJ, Lee paid a three-day visit to Tokyo from April 2 to 4, inspecting the group’s Japanese bases and holding meetings with counterparts in Japan’s entertainment, retail and financial industries. During his visit to CJ’s Japanese headquarters, Lee said the current popularity of Korean culture is not just a passing trend but a critical opportunity for global expansion, and the group’s established businesses in Japan, such as Bibigo, must not miss the momentum. “We need to accelerate localization and the establishment of global infrastructure to enhance competitiveness and swiftly expand into global markets, aiming for CJ to become a leading global company,” Lee said. During a meeting with CJ’s managing leaders, Lee asked them to proactively seek new business opportunities, such as Olive Young’s entry into the Ja