[Herald Interview] ‘Women in leadership should be new normal’

Despite South Korea’s slow progress in breaking the glass ceiling, its tobacco industry has seen a leap forward in recent years. Last year, BAT Korea appointed its first female country manager. Philip Morris Korea has also made progress in building an inclusive work environment, with initiatives such as flexible working hours, remote working and half-day Fridays. In Korea, 33 percent of the company’s mid-level and senior management staff are women, with a goal of hitting 40 percent

March 7, 2021

FTC to revise e-commerce law in line with new shopping norms

When Kim Ji-young -- a pseudonym -- purchased a designer bag for 1.96 million won ($1,737) via an online community in 2019, she was told that delivery would take about four weeks as the bag was coming from another country. The bag, however, never arrived and the seller was nowhere to be found. Kim’s case is among the 69,452 cases of online shopping consumer damage reported to the Korea Consumer Agency in the past five years. While the e-commerce retail industry is growing by leaps and b

March 7, 2021

[Weekender] Cycling, a pandemic-perfect sport

From going out late at night to traveling abroad, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented us from doing many things we love -- except for cycling. On the weekend, serious cyclists with racing bicycles and more casual riders on Seoul Bikes mingle on the cycling lanes alongside the Han River in Seoul which cuts through the city and stretches nearly 500 kilometers. Kim Tae-gyun, a 37-year-old marketing director and a former PE teacher in Seoul, said cycling has become his go-to exercise as of lat

March 6, 2021

Online shopping grows over 20% in Jan. amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea grew more than 20 percent in January from a year earlier as the protracted pandemic promoted more people to buy products via e-commerce platforms, data showed Friday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.3 billion) in January, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The value of online shopping in January slightly declined from a record high of 15.9 trillion won in December last year but still

March 5, 2021

[News Focus] Who will acquire eBay Korea?

Alongside Coupang’s imminent debut on the US stock market, the local e-commerce market is in for another major event -- the sale of eBay’s Korean unit which operates one of the biggest online marketplaces here, Gmarket. According to industry sources on Thursday, major local retail giants and IT firms may be considering participating in the race to acquire eBay Korea. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the two advisory firms for the auction, have sent information memorandums, or I

March 4, 2021

Lotte Confectionery rolls out spicy tteokbokki-flavor sauce ice cream

Lotte Confectionery is launching a spicy cheese tteokbokki-flavored ice cream, the company said Tuesday. The new flavor is being introduced as a limited edition of Lotte’s Chal Tteok ice cream line. A total of 500,000 will be sold in retail channels including supermarkets and ice cream discount stores. To make the tteokbokki flavor, the company said it mixed Jalapeno into the orange-colored rice cake, which wraps around the cheddar cheese-flavored ice cream with spicy chips and cookie

March 2, 2021

Number of duty free store shoppers plunges to a record low in January

The number of shoppers at duty free stores stood at 343,983 in January, the lowest since the coronavirus crisis began to affect the South Korean economy last March, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. Some 280,000 South Korean nationals and 59,600 foreign nationals spent a 1.38 trillion won, the latest data from the association showed. The figure is down nearly 80,000 compared to December last year. Sales, however, are up 16.7 percent compared to the previous month. Compared t

March 2, 2021

Homeplus to sell cars, offer EV charging services

Homeplus will sell cars and install electric vehicle charging stations, as part of its efforts to provide more reasons for customers to visit its physical stores other than grocery shopping, the hypermarket chain said Monday. Homeplus’ plans for the new mobility service platform cover a wide range of services, and it is currently taking preorders for two electric motorcycles from DNA Motors -- EM-1 and Zappy 1 -- and preparing to launch a rental service, the company said. “By of

March 1, 2021

Philip Morris Korea wins legal battle against tax authority over trademark fees

Philip Morris Korea has won a legal battle worth billions of won against the country’s tax authority over trademark usage fees, according to legal sources. The Seoul Administrative Court on Monday ruled in favor of the South Korean unit of the international tobacco company, ordering a tax imposed by Seoul Main Customs worth 9.82 billion won ($8.7 million) to be canceled. The ruling comes four years after the Korea Customs Service ordered the company to pay some 3.4 billion won in customs

March 1, 2021

Fashion brand Badblood under fire for ‘blackfishing’ on Instagram

Women’s loungewear brand Badblood has been forced to apologize for darkening the skin of one of its models amid accusations of blackfishing. In a recent Instagram post, the brand offered its “sincere apologies” and asked for the “benefit of the doubt” after taking down the controversial post. “By increasing the contrast between our clothes and that of the model, we unfortunately thought our clothes would look even better,” the company said. The apolog

Feb. 28, 2021

Aberlour Craftsmanship Award names latest recipient

Pernod Ricard Korea has chosen the second recipient of the Aberlour Craftsmanship Award, an award named after the single malt Scotch whisky distillery of the same name, to recognize socially responsible talents, the company said Friday. Mun Seung-ji, a furniture designer and the founder of Team Virals, has been given the prize for creating zero waste eco-friendly furniture. “Through the Aberlour Craftsmanship Award, we seek to create a positive impact on consumers by recognizing those wi

Feb. 26, 2021

[From the scene] Seoul’s newest, biggest department store offers new shopping experience

As the era of coronavirus pandemic stretches on further, shopping at a touch of the fingertips from home has certainly become the new norm. Yet in bid to compete in a retail industry that is losing all boundaries, Hyundai Department Store is offering a whole new look of what the megasized retail outlet of the future should be, opening a new department store in the office district of Yeouido in Seoul on Friday. The Hyundai Seoul kicks off as the biggest department store in Seoul, with 89,100

Feb. 26, 2021

[Herald Review] Hanmac: OB comes up with a fairly good rice-based lager

Oriental Brewery unveiled its new beer “Hanmac” late last month, boasting it as “Korea’s representative lager project.” As the label suggests, the company, famous for its pale lager Cass, set the bar high for itself. ”Some lagers are more than just beers and represent their regions as they do in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. We hope that ‘Hanmac’ will captivate consumers with its refreshing flavor of Korean rice and become a true &ls

Feb. 25, 2021

Coupang’s early morning delivery service tops customer satisfaction index

Coupang boasted the highest customer satisfaction rate among e-commerce platforms providing early morning delivery, according to a new survey by the Korea Consumer Agency. The e-commerce giant, famous for its subscription-based Rocket Delivery service, had a score of 3.81 and was followed by SSG.com, another online marketplace owned by Shinsegae Group, and grocery delivery firm Market Kurly, whose scores were 3.76 and 3.72, respectively, the agency said Wednesday. The online survey asked a sam

Feb. 24, 2021

Snack firm Orion completes construction of factory in India

South Korean confectionery maker Orion Corp., famous for the nation’s beloved Choco Pie snack, said Tuesday that it has completed the construction of a production plant in the state of Rajasthan, India, accelerating their efforts to branch out into the world’s second most populous country. 　 The new manufacturing site marks the company’s 10th factory built abroad, following five in China, two in Vietnam and two in Russia. The move will help cut down logistics costs as items,

Feb. 23, 2021

Coway achieves record sales of W3.2tr in 2020

Coway achieved its highest annual sales of 3.2 trillion won in 2020, largely backed by the growth in overseas purchases, the Korean home appliances rental company said Thursday. Last year, Coway said its annual sales increased by 7.2 percent, when compared to the year earlier, thanks to its thriving overseas business. The operating profit and net profit stood at 606.4 billion won and 404.7 billion won, jumping 32.3 percent and 21.8 percent on-year, respectively. “Amidst internal and e

Feb. 18, 2021

Baemin founder pledges to donate over half of his wealth

Kim Bong-jin, the founder and CEO of Woowa Brothers -- the company behind South Korea’s top food delivery app, Baemin -- has pledged to donate more than half of his assets through the Giving Pledge -- a philanthropic campaign launched by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. “My wife Sul Bo-mi and I hereby pledge that we will return more than half of our wealth to society during our lifetime. Our lovely children, Hanna and Jua have agreed with our decision,” Kim said Thu

Feb. 18, 2021

[Photo News] Royal Salute Contemporary Art Digital Festival

Scotch whisky brand Royal Salute is holding a pop-up art exhibition at Seoul Auction‘s Gangnam Branch that continues until Tuesday. The show features contemporary artwork inspired by the whisky brand from five artists including Kim Sun-woo, qwaya, 275c and Adrian Seo and Sung Nak-jin. Alongside the artwork, a range of Royal Salute whiskys, including this year’s latest lineup and limited editions, are also on display -- including the 29-year-old Pedro Ximénez edition. Entry

Feb. 17, 2021

W2.4tr spent on Coupang and Coupang Eats in January: report

Shoppers in South Korea spent some 2.4 trillion won on fast-growing e-commerce giant Coupang and its food delivery app Coupang Eats last month, according to data released from industry tracker WiseApp on Wednesday. The latest data showed some 20 million people spent a total of 2.4 trillion won during the month of January, with each spending a total of 144,000 won per month on average on both apps. The data is based on credit card and debit card transactions and bank transfers of South Koreans

Feb. 17, 2021

BAT Korea to reach wider audience with modified risk tobacco products through digital marketing

BAT Korea reaffirmed its plan to reach a wider audience with potentially-reduced risk products on Tuesday as it cited the success of recent digital marketing efforts to promote e-cigarettes. “Sales promotions for Glo Pro last month took place both online and in-store and it was especially well received online and we managed to sell out the stock we prepared quicker than expected,” said Yu Jung-min, head of offline activation at BAT Korea during an online press event. “Diversi

Feb. 16, 2021