Namyang Dairy chairman breaks pledge to resign, paid W808m in H1

Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik, who pledged to resign from the top post of the dairy firm due to a scandal in May, turns out to have reversed the decision to maintain his post, the company’s half-year report showed Thursday. According to the report, Hong remains registered as the chairman of the company as a full-time employee, and he was paid a total of 808 million won ($682,685) in the first half of this year. On May 4, Hong publicly announced he would resign after the

Aug. 20, 2021

From yachts to diamonds, convenience stores take Chuseok gifts up a notch

With the Chuseok fall harvest holiday just about a month away, convenience stores are rolling out some of the most unexpected luxury gift sets to attract customers. On Tuesday, CU, a leading convenience store chain here, said it is presenting some 500 Chuseok holiday gift sets in 16 product categories, including yachts and imported cars. BGF Retail, the firm behind the convenience store chain, said it is rolling out six different Bavaria brand yachts from Hyundai Yachts, with prices varying

Aug. 17, 2021

GS Retail-led consortium acquires No. 2 delivery app, Yogiyo

A consortium led by GS Retail Co., the supermarket operating unit of GS Group, has acquired Yogiyo, the No. 2 online food delivery app in South Korea, for 800 billion won ($684.3 million), the retailer said Friday. The consortium, including Affinity Equity Partners and Permira, has reached the deal with Germany's Delivery Hero for the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Yogiyo, according to the retailer. GS Retail said it will take over 30 percent of the share worth 240 billion won and pay

Aug. 13, 2021

Fears over milk price hike as inflation pressure mounts

Upward pressure is growing on retail milk prices, following an increase in the price of raw milk this month, but the government seeks to delay the price hike until the end of this year amid rising inflation. In July last year, the Korea Dairy Committee decided to raise the price of raw milk by 21 won to 947 won per liter starting this month, according to industry sources. The retail price of milk has yet to increase, but consumers will not learn until later this month, which is when major dai

Aug. 12, 2021

Delivery workers will take a break from Aug. 14-16.

Parcel deliveries will not be made from Saturday to next Monday to give delivery workers a break, following calls last year to improve the working conditions of delivery workers. According to industry officials Thursday, four major logistics companies – CJ Logistics, Lotte Logistics, Hanjin Transportation and Logen -- agreed to have Saturday, Aug. 14, as a “no parcel day,” allowing delivery workers a three-day holiday until next Monday. Monday has been designated as a subs

Aug. 12, 2021

Samyang Ramen gets facelift in taste, packaging design

Confectionary maker Samyang Foods is revamping its flagship instant noodle product Samyang Ramen to celebrate the firm’s 60th anniversary. According to the company Wednesday, various recipe changes were made to Samyang’s signature ramen to enhance flavor and texture. It increased vegetable contents by 30 percent in the seasoning powder, added beef flakes to enhance the product’s signature flavor, as well as renewed the dried noodles for a chewier texture. The spicier versio

Aug. 11, 2021

Shinsegae to open new store in Daejeon

Shinsegae Department Store will open a second branch in Daejeon on Aug. 27.  At 284,224 square meters, it is to be the brand’s third-largest store in South Korea. The new location, called Shinsegae Art & Science, will consist of a department store and the 193-story Shinsegae Expo Tower, furnished with an aquarium, science exhibition spaces, a multiplex cinema and an indoor sports theme park. The tower will also feature a five-star hotel called “Onoma.” It is to be

Aug. 10, 2021

Chanel Korea apologizes for personal data leak

The South Korean unit of French luxury brand Chanel has apologized after a recent cyberattack in which hackers leaked customers’ personal data. In a statement on the website on Sunday, the company said it had learned that the personal information of some customers from its membership database for the Fragrance and Beauty division-- including names, birth dates, phone numbers and shopping histories -- had been breached last week. Their payment information, IDs and passwords were not leake

Aug. 9, 2021

[Feature] Plastics pile up amid food delivery boom

Food delivery apps such as Baemin and Coupang Eats have brought us great comfort in this pandemic, as months of social distancing and restrictions on business hours left us with little choice. But as the market nearly doubled to 17.38 trillion won ($15.22 million) in South Korea last year, with 27 million monthly users and 120,000 riders according to Statistics Korea and the Fair Trade Commission, plastic waste has also increased considerably. In one Facebook group for people trying to avoid

Aug. 8, 2021

Oriental Brewery to produce beer using self-produced solar energy

Oriental Brewery said on Thursday that it has begun building solar power generation facilities at its beer production bases, a move that could offset over 5,600 tons of carbon footprint each year. Under the beer manufacturer’s decision to join the Renewable Energy 100 initiative, which is designed to encourage the use of solar power, it will become the first corporation to build its own infrastructure to generate renewable energy for self-consumption, the company said. The solar energy g

Aug. 5, 2021

Thousands of pubs, karaokes disappear amid social distancing

The number of pubs and karaoke parlors has plummeted due to lost profitability from COVID-19 and tough social distancing rules, data from the National Tax Service showed Wednesday. The number of stores registered as pubs across the country stood at 27,840 as of the end of May, according to the tax authority’s survey on 100 key sectors of the self-employed segment. The figure dropped 3,636 or 11.6 percent from last year. The number of stores registered as semi-pubs -- whic

Aug. 4, 2021

Streaming services and food delivery apps catch on with older generations during pandemic: report

In a further sign of growing popularity of online services, South Koreans in their 50s and 60s are increasingly using streaming services and food delivery apps during this pandemic, a new report has revealed. The findings come after Hana Institute of Finance, a research institution under Hana Bank, analyzed online credit card payment data between 2019 and 2020 to study generational differences in online consumption behavior. Though the use of video streaming services such as Netflix used to

Aug. 4, 2021

Musinsa to invest W14b in fashion startups within this year

Online fashion retailer Musinsa said Tuesday it would invest a further 14 billion won in fashion startups through its venture capital Musinsa Partners to bring the total investment to 60 billion won within this year. Established in 2018, Musinsa Partners is a joint venture capital firm that has invested some 46 billion won in medium- and small-sized enterprises and startups in the fashion industry. The latest announcement is part of the company’s drive to boost the fashion industry, incl

Aug. 3, 2021

[Photo News] Starbucks Korea, Mini launch collaboration merch

Starbucks Coffee Korea and auto brand Mini Korea have collaborated to launch three drinks, two food items, six pieces of merchandise and three voucher cards.  Under the slogan “We’re different but pretty good together,” the two companies are running a seasonal promotion campaign organized to show respect for diversity, from Tuesday to Aug. 23. (Starbucks Korea) 

Aug. 2, 2021

[Feature] Expensive tastes: Luxury labels create cafes in Korea

  Kim Seon-young has never owned anything by Hermes or Dior. But, instead of bags or shoes, she has eaten food and drunk beverages from the luxury brands. Her first taste of luxury was at the Hermes cafe, which she found through Instagram. She then went to the Cafe Dior in February and had a scoop of ice cream and drank iced coffee with her boyfriend. Kim paid 70,000 won ($60) at Cafe Dior, but said it was definitely worth the price. “I wanted to experience something special a

Aug. 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Department stores and big supermarkets start QR code scans as cases rise

Department stores and big supermarkets will start requiring customers to scan QR codes or submit to written entry logs to shop starting from Friday in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The measure was drawn up and confirmed by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Tuesday as a way to strengthen COVID-19 prevention efforts as cases continue to rise in South Korea. Stores that are bigger than 3,000 square meters are required to adopt a QR entry log system, while

July 30, 2021

Blue Bottle Coffee arrives in Jeju

US-based coffee roaster and retailer Blue Bottle Coffee opened a store on Jeju Island on Friday. The opening of the ninth location in South Korea also marks the first store to be located outside of Seoul. Dubbed Blue Bottle Jeju Cafe, the new outlet is located in Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup of Jeju City, on the western side of the island. The newly opened store reflects the regional traits of the island both in the space and on the menu, opting for low walls and a minimalistic interior design with

July 30, 2021

Nongshim announces price hike for instant noodles

South Korean food and beverage company Nongshim announced Thursday plans to increase the price of its flagship instant noodles including Shin Ramyun by an average of 6.8 percent starting mid next month. Nongshim last hiked ramen prices in 2016. The latest move comes after rival ramen maker Ottogi announced earlier this month its first price hike in more than 11 years. When broken down by brand, Nongshim’s flagship Shin Ramyun will see a 7.6 percent increase in price while the prices of

July 29, 2021

Orion’s accumulated revenue in Russia surpasses W1tr

Orion, a South Korean confectionery company widely known for Choco Pie, said on Thursday its cumulative revenue had reached 1 trillion won ($873 million) in Russia. The trillion-won threshold was broken after the company racked up 50.6 billion won in sales for the first six months combined this year, following the precedents in China and Vietnam. Efforts to create localized new products, as well as a wide range of biscuits and its popular Choco Pie, tapped into Russia’s dessert culture a

July 29, 2021

South Korean instant noodle exports hit record high

In a sign of growing popularity, revenue from South Korean instant noodle exports reached a record high of 368.7 billion won ($319 million) during the first half of this year, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure broke the previous record of $302.8 million set the same time one year ago and was up 5.8 percent. When broken down by country, China was the largest importer of South Korean instant noodles where $68.13 million worth was sold. The US was the second-largest m

July 26, 2021