The Korea Herald

Analysts paint rosy picture for duty-free bid winners

Analysts on Monday raised their target prices on shares of high-profile bid winners who will operate duty-free stores in downtown Seoul, citing that the retail giants secured a new growth engine amid sluggish domestic demand and rising competition.The upgrades in the target prices of the retail firms reflects expectations that the new stores will give a boost to the world‘s largest duty-free market, accounting for 13 percent of global revenues from duty-free shops in 2014. “The urban duty-free b

Industry July 13, 2015

Retail, tourism industries step up efforts to attract overseas tourists

South Korea’s tourism and retail industries are pulling out all stops to bring back tourists as the Middle East respiratory syndrome death toll remains flat with no new cases recently.(Yonhap)In order to revive the markets hit hardest by the MERS outbreak, the tourism, aviation and retail industries are working together to win back Chinese and Japanese tourists by holding events and inviting foreign tourism officials to ease worries and revive interest in Korean tourism.South Korea’s second larg

Industry July 12, 2015

Retail, tourism industries step up efforts to attract overseas tourists

Homeplus workers slam ‘secretive’ takeover

Unionized workers at Homeplus, owned by the U.K.’s Tesco, Thursday urged the company to ensure a transparent takeover for the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain and guarantee that the sell-off will not result in job losses. “Tesco is pushing a secretive acquisition deal with foreign private equity firms, which sparks concerns on possible massive restructuring and job losses,” a union member said during a press conference held at the headquarters of Homeplus in Seoul. The move comes after

Industry July 9, 2015

Homeplus workers slam ‘secretive’ takeover

Asiana’s second budget carrier unlikely to take off this year

Asiana Airlines’ plan to set up its second low-budget carrier within this year is unlikely to be realized as the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak has dealt a blow to South Korea’s second-largest carrier, industry sources said Tuesday. A customer waits for her tickets at Asiana Airlines Inc. booth at Kimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea. (Bloomberg)“It seems hard for the new budget airline to be established by the end of this year as it’s behind schedule in applying for the transportatio

Industry July 7, 2015

Asiana’s second budget carrier unlikely to take off this year

Retailers make all-out effort to win duty-free license

Major South Koreans retailers are making final pushes to win licenses to run duty-free shops in downtown Seoul ahead of the announcement of winners this week.The retail groups, which are on the hunt for the rare duty-free licenses, are making last-minute pitches on their plans for envisioned stores, including local development and inducement of Chinese tourists in a bid to obtain high scores for the bidding evaluation. The Korea Customs Service is scheduled to announce the two winners Friday, ba

Industry July 6, 2015

[Newsmaker] Busan port chief to head U.N. maritime body

Since Ban Ki-moon was first named new secretary-general of the United Nations in 2006, South Korea has waited for another Korean global leader to be named. Nine years later, the president of Busan Port Authority, Lim Ki-tack, has been elected to head the United Nations maritime body. Lim Ki-tack (Yonhap)The 58-year-old veteran is the first South Korean to take the secretary-general position of the International Maritime Organization, the U.N. agency responsible for the safety and security of shi

Social Affairs July 1, 2015

[Newsmaker] Busan port chief to head U.N. maritime body

[Photo News] Kumho's support for violinist

Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo (right) poses with violinist Lim Ji-young, the winner of the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. The chairman pledged to offer free business class flight tickets on Asiana Airlines to Lim for a year in a bid to support the talented young musician.(Kumho Asiana)

Industry June 30, 2015

[Photo News] Kumho's support for violinist

Asiana launches services to Rome

Asiana Airlines has launched a new service to Rome in a bid to expand its footprint in Europe, the South Korean carrier said Tuesday. "The new Incheon-Rome service will strengthen its European network by providing a wider variety of flight schedules, destinations and itineraries, which in turn will raise Asiana’s competitiveness,” Asiana CEO Kim Soo-cheon said.Asiana Airlines CEO Kim Soo-cheon (sixth from left) poses with Tiziana Di Molfetta (seventh from left), councilor at the Italian Embassy

Industry June 30, 2015

CJ opens sixth Bibigo store in China

CJ Foodville opened an outlet of its Korean dining franchise restaurant Bibigo in Wangjing, north of Beijing, in a bid to tap deeper into the Chinese market, the company said Monday. Customers dine at the Bibigo restaurant at Wangjing SOHO in Wangjing, north of Beijing, China. (CJ Foodville)The newly launched Bibigo store is the sixth restaurant in Beijing. The store is nestled at Wangjing SOHO, which consists of three mixed-use office and commercial buildings.“We expect that Bibigo’s brand awar

Industry June 29, 2015

Asiana Airlines faces $30m lawsuit over San Francisco crash in 2013

More than 50 passengers have filed a class action suit for compensation against South Korea’s No. 2 carrier Asiana Airlines over a crash landing in San Francisco, which killed three in 2013. (AP)Korean law firm Barun Law LLC filed the complaint on June 26 in the Seoul Central District Court on behalf of 53 plaintiffs -- 27 Korean, 25 Chinese and one Indian national who resides in Korea -- aboard Flight 214, which clipped a sea wall and slammed into a runway at the U.S. airport on July 6, 2013.“

Industry June 28, 2015

Asiana Airlines faces $30m lawsuit over San Francisco crash in 2013

MERS takes toll on airlines

The Middle East respiratory syndrome virus is hitting the local airline industry hard, forcing them to keep flights grounded. South Korea’s two major airlines and other five budget carriers have canceled a total of 1,102 international flights to and from the country scheduled from June 1 through October, a report from the Transport Ministry showed Thursday. (Yonhap)“The blow by MERS is much tougher than SARS. The second-quarter performance will likely sharply drop compared with last year or the

Industry June 25, 2015

Greek leader takes tough stance on bailout despite warnings

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says demands by the country's rescue lenders to slash pensions are “incomprehensible” and warned that a failure in bailout talks would hurt all of Europe.His comments were made as the country's central bank warned of “dramatic” economic consequences of not reaching a deal this week, and a day before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.Creditors had until last week pegged Thursday's meeting as a key date by which a breakthrough in the talks would have to be

World Business June 17, 2015

EU said to extend Russia sanctions amid elusive peace in Ukraine

European Union governments struck a preliminary accord to extend sanctions against Russia by six months to the end of January, to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin to bring peace to eastern Ukraine.Representatives of the 28 governments agreed on Wednesday in Brussels to prolong the trade and investment curbs, two EU officials said on condition of anonymity under EU media rules. Final confirmation of the move is due June 22, they said.The behind-the-scenes decision marks a victory for EU Presid

World News June 17, 2015

S&P upgrades POSCO's rating outlook to 'stable'

Global credit appraiser Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Wednesday it has revised up its credit outlook for South Korean steelmaker POSCO Co. to "stable" from "negative," citing the firm's recent efforts to improve cash flow. "We expect credit metrics for POSCO to improve this year, and for the company to start generating positive free operating cash flow for the first time since 2010 thanks to significant nondebt financing, declining capital investment, and stabilizing operating performance," said

Industry June 17, 2015

U.S. admiral to visit S. Korea next week

A U.S. Navy admiral whose command is responsible for an advanced missile-defense system will visit South Korea next week, government sources said Wednesday, amid ongoing debates here over whether Seoul should adopt the U.S.-led system.Adm. Cecil Haney, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, will arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a four-day stay, to meet with key military officials in South Korea, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo, sources familiar with the matter said. Haney also plans to

International June 17, 2015

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