Antitrust regulator approves Emart’s takeover of eBay Korea

South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Friday approved a plan by E-mart, Shinsegae Group’s hypermarket chain, to acquire the Korean unit of eBay, judging that the acquisition will not restrain market competition. The Fair Trade Commission said the agency evaluated whether or not the acquisition would violate the country’s monopoly regulations, and to see if the companies would hamper competition in five sectors of the retail industry, including the e-commerce market, physical re

Oct. 29, 2021

Starbucks to provide free barista training to youth

Starbucks Korea will provide free barista training to as many as 200 young job seekers next year, as part of a government project to tackle youth joblessness. The coffee chain inked a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Wednesday to participate in the ministry’s “Youth Employment Support Project.”  The project aims to promote companies to provide work experiences and various job training programs for young job seekers. Starbucks is

Oct. 27, 2021

[Herald Interview] 'We send rockets to the moon, why can’t we make plastic-free pads?'

A woman gets through roughly 14,000 period pads over the course of her life, if that’s the menstrual product she chooses.  These disposable pads are about 90 percent polyester -- a type of plastic that is also used to make other everyday items like fishnets, plastic bottles and face masks. As a material, it is versatile and cheap, but it also takes around 450 years to decompose. With more women becoming aware of the global plastic waste problem, more options are being made availabl

Oct. 27, 2021

Coca-Cola debuts label-less bottles in S. Korea

The Coca-Cola Company on Monday released its first label-free plastic bottles in South Korea. The company has removed the plastic label to increase recycling efficiency and adapt to the nonlabel trend in the industry to protect the environment. According to the company, they implemented a contour crafting design on Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero plastic bottles. The history of the design goes all the way back to 1915, when the company patented the bottle designed with the curved shape and flow

Oct. 25, 2021

Facing lettuce shortage, restaurants toss the salad

Hamburgers and sandwiches may be served without lettuce for a while, as green vegetables are in short supply nationwide due to the unexpected October cold. Burger chain McDonald’s announced late last week that certain menu items will be served with “less or without any lettuce.” The company said the lettuce supply was “unstable” as a result of the sudden cold wave that hit the nation this month. “Orders that include lettuce will be compensated with a free

Oct. 25, 2021

Year-end spending on e-commerce platforms to increase this year: survey

Consumers are expected to spend more money during the year-end season this year amid growing excitement over the government’s gradual plan to live with COVID-19, a new survey has found. The survey, conducted on e-commerce platforms Gmarket and Auction earlier this month, showed consumers are willing to spend some 641,000 won ($546) on average during the platforms’ annual shopping event “Big Smile Day” – up nearly 200,000 won from one year ago. Among the respondent

Oct. 25, 2021

Coal briquette consumption projected to hit record low this year

South Korea’s coal briquette consumption is likely to drop below 500,000 tons for the first time this year on lower demand and higher coal prices. According to the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. on Sunday, domestic coal briquette consumption fell to 508,000 tons last year, a 21 percent drop on-year. The consumption of coal briquettes has been continuously falling since 2014. The number dropped from 1.9 million tons in 2013 to 1.6 million tons in 2014. The biggest

Oct. 24, 2021

[Weekender] How many tumblers do we need? The greenwashing dilemma

For years, Starbucks Korea enjoyed a boost in sales from its seasonal merchandise such as tumblers -- one of the franchise’s more popular items, often seen as an eco-friendly substitute for single-use cups. But when the coffeehouse chain unveiled a new range of Halloween-inspired items on social media earlier this month, the mood appeared to have shifted. “Introducing the Halloween merchandise mysteriously enchanted and kept in a wizard’s secret room,” a tweet from the

Oct. 23, 2021

Starbucks Korea to stop using disposable cups in Jeju

Starbucks Coffee Korea said Friday it will stop using disposable cups at all of its stores on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju within this year in the latest move to protect the environment. Starbucks said it eliminated all single-use cups at four of its stores on Jeju in July during a trial run before applying the policy to all of its 23 operations on the island. The four stores only use multiuse cups, both for drinking inside the shops and for take-out. Customers are asked to pay

Oct. 22, 2021

7 out of 10 Korean restaurants serve imported kimchi : report

Seven out of 10 restaurants in South Korea serve kimchi made in another country, said a local research institute in a report released Thursday. According to the Korea Foodservice Research Institute, which looked into the country of origin of food ingredients used at 976 restaurants across the country, 40 percent of the surveyed use kimchi made outside of Korea. Another 28 percent use both locally made and imported kimchi while 31.2 percent stick to Korean made kimchi. Most of the imported

Oct. 21, 2021

Gmarket promotes Korean products with Mega G sales event

With the Netflix hit “Squid Game” spurring interest in all things Korean, e-commerce giant Gmarket said it is offering discounts on various South Korean products for international consumers next month. The platform’s annual Mega G sales event will take place Nov. 1-12, as part of its year-end promotion Big Smile Day. A record-breaking number of Korean brands will participate in the discount event this year, the company said. Gmarket’s global shop is also becoming a h

Oct. 20, 2021

[Feature] Is a year-end spending spree on the horizon?

For a year and a half, South Korea’s tourism, cosmetics and liquor businesses endured the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, hope is on the horizon. As early as next month, the country shifts to “living with COVID-19” mode. Accordingly, many of the virus containment measures that restricted gatherings and human contact are set to be eased. “I literally can feel the eagerness of people to have a party and enjoy the things that have been taken away from their

Oct. 20, 2021

Paris Baguette franchise to launch in Indonesia

SPC Group’s bakery chain Paris Baguette will enter Indonesia, opening its first franchise store in Jakarta next month, it said Monday. According to the South Korean food and bakery maker, it has has set up a joint venture with Indonesia’s Erajaya Group for the purpose. The joint entity will operate Paris Baguette bakeries in Indonesia. Following the November opening of the first store in the capital, more Paris Baguette stores will be added in major cities like Bali and Medan, SP

Oct. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Starbucks Korea to hire 1,600 new staff this year

Stung by its employees‘ first collective action, Starbucks Korea said Sunday that it will hire 1,600 more baristas and store staff by the end of this year and improve working conditions. The hiring plan is part of the firm’s package of measures announced in response to recent complaints from in-store staff that they were overworked and underpaid. “We plan to hire in order to secure more staff and enhance work efficiency at stores nationwide. The company is also reviewing p

Oct. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Plane ticket sales to Europe spike

Sales of air tickets to Madrid increased 625 percent on-month in September amid growing hopes for a resumption of overseas tourism, as vaccination speeds up in South Korea. According to Interpark Tour, a leading travel agency here, demand for flights to European destinations sharply increased last month, compared with a month earlier. Sales of plane tickets to Zurich soared 275 percent, while those for Amsterdam grew 250 percent. Paris saw a jump of 76.3 percent, followed by Istanbul at 68 p

Oct. 15, 2021

Food and coffee brands offer Halloween specials

Although normally celebrated at bars and clubs in South Korea, Halloween this year may look a little different as the pandemic puts paid to nights out partying. The retail industry is coming up with creative Halloween-themed treats and drinks to capture customers planning to celebrate at home. South Korean confectionery maker Orion dressed its signature Choco Pie in a Halloween costume this year. It launched a limited edition “Halloween Choco Pie,” using traditional flavors of H

Oct. 14, 2021

Franchise stores enjoy bump in numbers

Franchise stores grew in numbers during the coronavirus pandemic last year though sales remained nearly unchanged, a new report from corporate tracker CEO Score showed Wednesday. The number of franchise brand stores in 2020 increased by 4,559, up 4.5 percent compared to 2019, according to the report which drew data from the Fair Trade Commission. With a total of 105,837 stores operated by top franchise brands last year, the figure was a 11.1 percent jump compared to 2018 when the number stood

Oct. 13, 2021

JTI Korea launches ‘MEVIUS Sky Blue Longs’

JTI Korea has released a new cigarette from its global tobacco brand MEVIUS, as part of efforts to expand its product lineup and provide more options for consumers. The new MEVIUS Sky Blue Longs has the same thickness as the existing MEVIUS Sky Blue, but comes with a 15-millimeter increase in length. The new product is designed for consumers who want a longer experience with MEVIUS‘ “unique soft taste” and “high product quality,” the company said Tuesday. The mov

Oct. 12, 2021

Shinsegae Group’s anti-protest policy in breach of constitution: lawmaker

Retail giant Shinsegae Group is in breach of the constitution over its workplace policy that prohibits employees from partaking in political activities, lawmaker Song OK-joo’s office said on Tuesday. Supermarket chain Emart has a workplace policy banning staff from distributing handouts or putting up banners and posters as well as staging a protest without permission from the company, a review of the company’s internal rules found. Rep. Song’s office found that a similar work

Oct. 12, 2021

KT&G to build forest to help tackle climate crisis

South Korea‘s top tobacco maker KT&G plans to build a forest as part of their efforts to help tackle the global climate crisis. The opening ceremony for the project took place last Wednesday with officials from KT&G, Eastern Province Forest Service and social enterprise Tree Planet. The new project is designed to contribute to carbon neutrality with trees planted to pull in carbon dioxide and fine dust, helping reducing greenhouse gas. Once the forest has been built, the plan wi

Oct. 12, 2021