Most Popular
-
1
Seoul Fireworks Festival ends smoothly, but leaves piles of trash
-
2
Military aircraft evacuating S. Koreans in Lebanon returns home
-
3
Yoon set for talks with Marcos in Philippines
-
4
[AtoZ into Korean mind] The price of numbers: How rankings shape lives in Korea
-
5
Can Jennie break the K-pop solo artist slump?
-
6
Baseball star Hwang Jae-gyun, T-ara's Jiyeon file for divorce mediation
-
7
[Exclusive] Korea’s defense acquisition agency fails to meet legal standard for women representation
-
8
2 US B-1B bombers conducted joint drill with S. Korean Air Force on Oct. 1 Armed Force Day
-
9
First lady’s Dior bag scandal to be at center of Assembly audit
-
10
Firefighters’ 3,000 won meals spark nutrition concerns
-
Korean watchdog clears Oracle of bundling sales
South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it has cleared U.S. tech giant Oracle Corp. of unfair trading practices related to bundling its new softwares with maintenance services.Oracle has been under the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) investigation as the company sold its latest database management system (DBMS) with repair patches to deal with possible bugs and receive major upgrades. Its customers were not given the choice to switch to other companies' maintenance systems.The so-calle
April 13, 2016
-
Dior sparks outrage over photo for 'demeaning Korean women'
An artwork displayed by French luxury house Dior at its flagship store in Seoul has sparked public outrage, fueled by claims that it portrays Korean women as materialistic and morally loose.The controversial piece -- artist Lee Wan’s “Korean Woman” -- depicts a young woman with a pink Lady Dior bag standing in a backstreet of an unidentified adult entertainment district filled with signs advertising “room salons,” or hostess bars.The contrasting image of the Korean woman with Dior’s signature ba
April 12, 2016
-
Nongshim Japan’s sales rise 22.6% in Q1
South Korea’s largest food manufacturer Nongshim on Tuesday said its Japanese affiliate rose 22.6 percent on-year to reach $9 million in the first quarter, buoyed by its enhanced marketing efforts.It marks the biggest on-year sales hike ever recorded among Nongshim’s overseas branches as well as the largest sales volume logged by Nongshim since business began declining in 2012, the firm said.Nongshim’s “Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car” (Nongshim)“Since first exporting (its flagship spicy ramen) Shin Ram
April 12, 2016
-
SK Planet to challenge mobile shopping operators
SK Planet, operator of a major online open market 11ST, said Tuesday it would start selling selective products directly to customers, seeking to expand its presence in the online retail market dominated by supermarket chains and mobile shopping operators.11ST is an online platform where companies and customers freely trade products and change prices. But the company plans to present 600 daily items such as instant noodles, cooked rice, bottled water and detergents at discounted prices, challengi
April 12, 2016
-
SK has most companies in offshore tax havens
SK Group, the nation’s third-largest conglomerate, has the most offshore companies in tax havens, according to market data Tuesday. According to local business tracker Chaebul.com, SK operates 69 paper companies in the havens, the highest number among the nation’s top 61 conglomerates, followed by Lotte with 38 companies, Samsung with 20 and CJ with 12, as of 2014. By country, 32 of SK Group’s companies are located in Hong Kong, 32 on the Cayman Islands, three in Panama, one on the Virgin Island
April 12, 2016
-
Coffee franchises battle competition, slowing economy
Major coffee franchise operators in South Korea experienced sharp drops in profits last year in the face of intensifying competition from low-cost coffee vendors and the continued economic downturn.Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a U.S. franchise run by Seoul-based Mirae Asset Private Equity Fund, saw its net income decline by 67.4 percent on-year to 2.54 billion won ($2.22 million) in 2015, its regulatory filing showed. Its sales dropped by 5.1 percent on-year to 138.9 billion won in 2015, while its op
April 12, 2016
-
Passengers can carry beverages on airplanes
The Transport Ministry will partially allow passengers to carry beverages when they board an airplane on international routes, official said Tuesday.According to its announcement published in the government bulletin, travelers will be permitted to bring cold, lidded beverages purchased at duty-free zones and from areas beyond security check-ups. Hot beverages, such as coffee and tea, are not included in the list. (123RF)Previously, passengers were only allowed to take liquid items such as cosmet
April 12, 2016
-
Korean steelmakers accused of dumping in U.S.
U.S. steelmakers have accused South Korean rivals of selling their products at unfairly low prices in America after receiving illegal state subsidies, a trade body here said Tuesday.ArcelorMittal USA and two other American steel companies have filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate makers from South Korea, Austria, China, Brazil and eight other countries, according to the Washington office of the Korea International Trade Association.
April 12, 2016
-
Hotel Lotte steps up overseas push
Hotel Lotte, one of South Korea‘s leading hotel chains, said Tuesday it will seek more deals for managing overseas hotels to help expand its global reach. Officials of the hotel said Tuesday that the firm is working on deals to manage hotels in the Yantai and Shenyang areas of China, in addition to those in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, and Russia‘s Samara, by 2018. Lotte City Hotel Tashkent Palace (Yonhap)Hotel Lotte previously outlined plans to operate up to 50 hotels across the world
April 12, 2016
-
From a Korean orphan to NFL owner
No one would have thought that superrich NFL owner Kim Pegula had a sad past. The co-owner of high-profile professional American football teams -- along with her husband Terry Pegula -- has an estimated combined net worth of a whopping $4 billion, according to Forbes. Kim Pegula (left) and Terry Pegula, owners of NFL Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo BillsHowever, Kim started her life penniless. Abandoned in front of a police station in Seoul, Kim became an orphan when she was five years old. Nonethele
April 12, 2016
-
KEB Hana, Woori chosen as won clearing house in China
The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it has appointed branches of KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank in Shanghai, China, as clearing houses for won-yuan direct trading when the market opens. The envisioned currency market in Shanghai, scheduled to launch within the first half of this year, is Korea’s maiden step to allow offshore trading of its currency. China is Korea’s biggest trading partner, accounting for some 25 percent of its exports. Hana Financial Group (Yonhap)In Seoul, the won-yuan market op
April 12, 2016
-
Franchise coffee shops hit by cheap coffee amid economic slowdown
Major franchise coffee shops in Korea saw their revenue fall in 2015 in the face of tougher competition with cheap take-out coffee amid economic slowdown, heading to another tough year, data showed Tuesday.Homegrown coffee brands have sprung up in Asia's fourth-largest economy over the past decade to capitalize on the growing population of coffee drinkers, but their growth has slowed recently in the saturated domestic market. Adding to their woes, low-cost coffees at convenience stores and mini
April 12, 2016
-
Mutual growth through partnership between public and private sectors
With a sluggish economy and growing tension on the Korean Peninsula, the beleaguered government is desperately trying to seek a “breakthrough.” We cannot smoothly exit the current situation without taking any initiatives, just as we had surmounted past trials. For instance, construction and engineering companies have been suffering dues to losses from overseas projects and decreasing market share due to the curtailed or suspended number of oil and gas projects after the oil price drop in recent
April 12, 2016
-
[Photo News] CJ chairman meets with Heilongjiang secretary
CJ MEETS WITH HEILONGJIANG -- CJ Group chairman Sohn Kyung-shik (left) and Wang Xiankui, secretary of China’s Heilongjiang province, meet at the CJ E&M headquarters in northwestern Seoul on Monday to discuss ways to expand their collaborative partnership in the realms of business and culture. CJ currently operates an animal feed factory boasting annual output of 70,000 tons and three CGV movie theaters in Heilongjiang province. (CJ Group)
April 11, 2016
-
Behind fierce rivalry, e-commerce giants struggle to cover losses
Despite stellar performance that brought significant change in the retail market landscape, Korea’s mobile-focused e-commerce giants are facing a crisis as they struggle to cover the losses resulting from intense competition.Rumors have been circulating around the market that the three leading mobile shipping platforms are already in the red due to hefty spending into delivery and logistic service -- a common strategy to dominate the market with no concrete No. 1 player yet. They face a combined
April 11, 2016
-
Hyundai Heavy faces $100 mil. additional tax
Tax authorities in Seoul have slapped Hyundai Heavy Industries with an additional tax of 120 billion won ($104 million), the shipbuilder confirmed Monday. The National Tax Service recently notified the nation’s leading shipbuilder of its decision to impose the additional tax allegedly on a charges of corporate tax evasion. Its investigation into the country’s top shipbuilder began in April last year. Hyundai Heavy Industries (Yonhap)Hyundai Heavy Industries’ spokesperson said, “It is true that t
April 11, 2016
-
CJ CheilJedang’s kimchi probiotic approved by U.S. food regulator
Korea’s leading food maker CJ CheilJedang said Monday that an herbal probiotic found in Korea’s traditional cabbage dish kimchi has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP133 is now recognized as a new dietary ingredient by the FDA. It joins a handful of Korean ingredients already approved by the U.S. regulator including cynanchum wilfordii, ecklonia cava, black ginseng and bio-germanium.Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP133 (CJ CheilJedang)“The approval of
April 11, 2016
-
Cigarette warning labels spark questions about fairness
The tobacco industry is raising questions about fairness as new graphic warning labels have to be affixed on cigarette packs by year-end.According to industry officials, it is unfair to force such graphic labels on cigarettes but not onto other harmful products such as alcohol. Warning images for cigarette packs released by the Health Ministry on March 31 (Yonhap)“We have no choice but to follow the law once it’s implemented, but the images are overly graphic, beyond the point where they can be
April 11, 2016
-
Organica’s Honest Bars starts sales in Japan
TOKYO, Japan -- Korean natural food company Organica began selling its signature health bars -- Honest Bar -- in Japan for the first time starting April 1, the company said Monday. Nearly 2,000 bars were sold during the first 10 days of sales, according to official figures from Niku No Hanamasa, a top Japanese supermarket chain that is selling Honest Bar here. Hanamasa headquarters in the Ginza district of Tokyo. Kim Ji-hyun/The Korea Herald“It’s a great start,” said Natsuki Tomizawa, executive
April 11, 2016
-
[Herald Interview] ‘Flexible employment crucial for Korea’ : ManpowerGroup
The Korean government’s push to create a more flexible labor market, which includes plans to ease employment regulations and expand the use of temporary workers, has been hotly debated in the country over the past few years. Despite controversy, President Park Geun-hye’s proposed labor reforms are aligned with the structural changes that labor markets around the world are now undertaking, according to the chief of U.S.-based global staffing agency ManpowerGroup. “We think that Korea’s proposed l
April 11, 2016