Most Popular
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Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] The price of numbers: How rankings shape lives in Korea
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Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
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Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
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[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
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First lady’s Dior bag scandal to be at center of Assembly audit
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Yoon honors veterans of Korean War in trip to Philippines
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Seoulites celebrate coexistence at Wellness Seoul 2024
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[KH Explains] Can G-Star level up?
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[Lee Kyong-hee] Tone-deaf first lady causes chaos
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Wrinkle treatment companies vie to fill hole left by Meditoxin
“Saturated” is a word often used to describe the Korean botulinum toxin market, which has been dominated by first movers Medytox and Hugel. But the playing field is about to undergo a major shift, as No. 1 player Medytox faces the possible revocation of its license to sell cash cow Meditoxin. Anticipating the potential disappearance of Meditoxin, several players are already out to grab a slice of the pie. Hugel, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Huons, Chong Kun Dang and more are lining up
May 6, 2020
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Top Korean refiner hemorrhages W1.7tr in Q1 due to coronavirus
South Korea’s leading refiner and chemical company SK Innovation on Wednesday said it has swung to red with an operating loss of 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in the first quarter -- its worst performance amid the sharp slump in global demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company recorded revenue of 11.1 trillion won, a 12.6 percent drop on-year. Its operating loss was triggered by its ailing petrochemicals business, which lost 1.6 trillion won in the first quarter. “Due t
May 6, 2020
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Samsung heir pledges not to pass on group control to children
Apologizing for past wrongdoings while inheriting leadership from his father, Samsung Electronics heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong pledged Wednesday he will not hand over management control to his children. “I will not pass the company’s managerial rights to my children,” Lee said during a televised press conference, arranged upon the firm’s external compliance committee’s advice. He touched on issues chosen by the committee, including an apology over illegal
May 6, 2020
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[Breaking] Lee Jae-yong: I will not pass on Samsung’s management to my children
Samsung Electronics heir and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Wednesday said he plans not to pass on the management of the tech empire to his children, in a televised public apology in Seoul. “I would like to take this opportunity to say that I do not plan on bequeathing the management rights of the company to my children,” Lee said. “I have thought about it for a long time, but it is the first time to publicly say it,” he said as he stood before reporters to deliver the
May 6, 2020
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Number of full-time workers plunges in March amid pandemic
The true impact of the pandemic on the job market in March was far more serious than government data would suggest, a local research institute said Wednesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute said a team led by professor Park Ki-sung from Sungshin Women’s University reworked the raw material used to calculate the employment statistics, instead using the Full-Time Equivalent method to determine actual employment growth. Under the FTE method, an employee working 40 hours a week count
May 6, 2020
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[HERALD INTERVIEW] From mom with chronic pain to startup founder: Konny By Erin CEO shares her journey
When Erin Lim had her first baby three years ago, she never set out to start a company. She was desperate for a product that could help her carry her son with less pain, as her neck hurt every time she held him. “Products that hold the baby tightly and safely look ugly. But if they look fashionable, they don’t do their job properly,” Lim said. While she was struggling to solve the problem from a consumer’s perspective, her husband, Kim Dong-hyun, told her that instead
May 6, 2020
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Hyundai to begin construction of new HQ in May
Hyundai Motor Group is set to start constructing its 105-story Global Business Center in Seoul’s Gangnam-gu later this month -- six years after it purchased the site for a new headquarters. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Hyundai Motor Group, the South Korean automotive group recently handed in documents asking permission to break ground. The government is expected to grant permission as early as Thursday. The construction project was expected since the group bought t
May 5, 2020
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Nexon adopts subscription economy for shooting game Sudden Attack
Korean game company Nexon has changed the paradigm of shooting game by adopting a subscription model for its shooting game Sudden Attack. According to Nexon on Sunday, its first-person shooter game is offering a subscription service called “Sudden Pass,” in which subscribers can receive exclusive characters and items as they level up. Currently, users can buy the subscriptions for 12,800 won ($10.4) and participate in the second season of Sudden Pass, which is from April 9 to Jul
May 5, 2020
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From jjapaguri to BTS, big data shows Korean consumers’ taste
Food products were the most sought items and health supplements saw the biggest increase in demand by South Koreans, while achromatic colors continue to be the favorite hues, big data released by a logistics firm showed Tuesday. The findings were revealed by logistics firm CJ Logistics in its latest consumer trend report. After analyzing big data on 1.3 billion deliveries made in 2019, CJ Logistics -- which commands 47.2 percent market share -- gave details of consumers’ taste in five
May 5, 2020
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Where do EV batteries go when they die?
South Korea is pushing to expand its electric vehicles market, vowing to use massive subsidies to get 350,000 of them on the road by 2022, but is it feasible? The plan comes without specific guidelines on how to collect and retrieve the vehicles’ key components -- EV batteries -- when they are dead. As per regulations, since December 2018, when drivers of subsidized EVs scrap their cars, they must return dead batteries to municipalities they received subsidies from, according to the Mi
May 5, 2020
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[Monitor] Asia’s travel industry to take hardest hit from COVID-19
A total of 100.8 million jobs dedicated to travel and tourism are forecast to be slashed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. Asia’s travel industry is projected to be hit hardest, with an estimated 63.4 million job losses, the data showed. The job cuts are expected to shave about $1.04 trillion off the region’s aggregate gross domestic product. That would account for nearly half of the world’s tot
May 5, 2020
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Meditoxin license revocation hearing postponed
The Drug Ministry hearing that could potentially revoke the pharmaceutical license for Meditoxin, South Korea’s first botulinum toxin product, was postponed on the day it was scheduled to be held, Monday. The hearing is the pharmaceutical firm’s last chance to express its side of the story before the Drug Ministry makes a decision as to whether to withdraw its approval to manufacture and sell the drug. It would have been a fateful day for Medytox, had it not been for a personal m
May 4, 2020
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[Monitor] Korea’s exports plunge 24% in April
South Korea saw its exports sink 24.3 percent in April from a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic and falling oil prices. The country also saw the first monthly trade deficit since 2012, data from the Trade Ministry and the Korea Customs Service showed. Exports reached $36.9 billion, compared to $48.7 billion a year ago. Imports also declined 15.9 percent on-year to $37.8 billion. Imports surpassed exports by $950 million in the month, breaking the 98 consecutive months of trade surplus.
May 4, 2020
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[Obituary] Korea Petroleum Association Chairman Kim Hyo-seok passes away
Korea Petroleum Association Chairman Kim Hyo-seok died at the age of 70 on Saturday from chronic illness. He was born July 15, 1949 in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province. The location of the funeral is Seoul St. Mary’s Funeral Hall. The burial will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Yongin Rodem Park in Gyeonggi Province. The three-term lawmaker was appointed as the chairman of KPA in November 2017. After earning bachelor’s degree in business administration in Seoul National Uni
May 3, 2020
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Five F’s to lead market trend in post-coronavirus era: report
The Korea International Trade Association on Sunday released a report defining the new consumption trend amid the coronavirus pandemic, encouraging local companies to prepare accordingly. Defining the new trend as “five Fs,” KITA said the market trend would revolve around fun, fitness, family, economic freedom and faith. The report pointed to the physical and psychological weariness caused by the pandemic. “Amid the virus outbreak, fake news reports increased rapidly, whi
May 3, 2020
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Samsung remains on top in struggling smartphone market
Samsung Electronics has stayed on top in the global smartphone industry during the first quarter this year, according to a recent report. According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics‘ market share during the first three months reached 21 percent, with shipments of 58.3 million smartphone units. The South Korean company’s shipments in the first quarter fell 19 percent on-year when compared with 71.8 million units in the first quarter of 2019. That wa
May 3, 2020
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Korean conglomerates’ net income halves: FTC
The Fair Trade Commission Sunday added five more business groups to its list of corporations with total assets of 5 trillion won ($4.1 billion) or more to its watch list, but said the firms’ net profits had almost halved since last year. According to FTC Sunday, the business groups suffered a 48.1 percent on-year plunge in net income in 2019, from 92.5 trillion won to 48 trillion won, citing sluggish sales in semiconductors and petroleum products The groups’ total revenue dipped
May 3, 2020
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Export outlook in May bleak as pandemic woes continue
The outlook for South Korea’s exports, which plunged in April due to the novel coronavirus, remains grim as the pandemic persists in key trading partners the US and Europe. Korea’s exports fell 24.3 percent in April to $36.9 billion year-on-year due to weak global demand triggered by the novel coronavirus. The country’s trade balance posted a deficit of $950 million, the highest deficit in 99 months. All major export items, including chips, shipbuilding, petrochemicals and
May 3, 2020
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Korea's April exports sink 24% over virus pandemic
South Korea's exports plunged 24.3 percent in April from a year earlier as the country suffered from a double whammy of the new coronavirus pandemic and the falling oil prices, data showed Friday. Outbound shipments came to $36.9 billion last month, compared with $48.7 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports moved down 15.9 percent on-year in April to $37.8 billion. The country suffered a trade deficit of $950 milli
May 1, 2020
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Large firms cut jobs by more than 10,000 over two months
The number of workers subscribed to the national pension program has dropped by more than 10,000 over the past two months in South Korea, as the global COVID-19 pandemic has dampened corporate business, according to a local corporate tracker on Wednesday. CEOScore surveyed 492 companies out of the nation’s top 500 companies on the number of their employees who joined the mandatory National Pension Service. According to the survey, the number of pension subscribers stood at around 1.6 mi
April 30, 2020