The Finnish lifestyle brand Iittala opened a café inside the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul, where people can enjoy the brand’s beverages and deserts.　Beverages served include Americano served in Teeam cup to latte in Teema mug. People can also enjoy browsing tableware, fabrics and interior goods at the café. Those who return the beverage receipts will be given souvenirs. 　By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)

Industry Sept. 24, 2015

　The Coex Mall in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, will give up to 30,000 won discount for cosmetics and fashion goods purchased at the shopping mall.　Brands that are participating in the “Fall in Beauty” event through Sept. 30 are Natural & Organic, Nature Republic, The Face Shop, Duft & Doft, Laneige, Lush, Diptyque, Loccitane, Molton Brown, Burberry Beauty Box, Beyond, Skin Garden, Banilla & Co. Aritaum, Skin Food, It’s Skin, Etude House, Tony Moly, Kiehls and VDL. The coupons are downloadable

Industry Sept. 24, 2015

 　British fashion brand Burberry has joined forces with Korea’s leading IT platform company Kakao to introduce its latest 2016 Spring-Summer Ready-to-Wear collection. 　The users will be also able to participate in various promotions through KakaoTalk, watch the latest fashion show through Kakao TV and even purchase cosmetics goods featured at the show (and send it to a friend) through the KakaoTalk gift service.　Burberry has previously collaborated with Apple Music, Naver LINE and Snapchat. 　By

Industry Sept. 24, 2015

　　SK Chemicals, SK Group’s chemical manufacturing unit, said Wednesday that it will issue new shares worth around 200 billion won ($170 million) in a bid to raise funds for its future businesses, including biopharmaceuticals and environmentally friendly materials.　The paid-in capital increase will take place through a public offering, according to the company. The per-share price has been set at 57,800 won, which is 20 percent cheaper than the current market price.　The company said the newly acq

Industry Sept. 23, 2015

　South Korea’s central bank chief showed skepticism over the growing predictions in the market that the Bank of Korea would conduct a benchmark rate cut once more next month.　In a meeting with private economists Wednesday, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said his earlier remarks at the National Assembly did not hint that the bank was considering slashing the interest rate further from the current record low of 1.5 percent.  Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol. (Yonhap)　Lee had told lawmakers during the parl

Sept. 23, 2015

　South Korea’s SK Group, in partnership with Spain’s largest oils and gas company Repsol, is geared to expand its presence in Europe with the construction of the region’s largest lube base oils production facilities in Cartagena, Spain.　SK Lubricants -- the conglomerate’s lube base oils producing unit -- held a ceremony at the plant’s site Tuesday to mark the completion of the new facilities, established by the Iberian Lube Base Oils Company -- a 7:3 joint venture between SK Lubricants and Repso

Industry Sept. 23, 2015

SAMSUNG PARTNERS WITH DESIGNERS FOR TV -- Tech firm Samsung Electronics introduces the Samsung Serif TV, designed in collaboration with furniture designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, at the London Design Festival on Monday. (Samsung)

Technology Sept. 22, 2015

Samsung Electronics on Monday rolled out new solid-state drive storage devices for consumers and enterprises with an aim to beef up the firm’s SSD lineup and solidify its lead in the storage market. 　Holding the annual Samsung SSD Global Summit under the theme of “Marching into The Next Era” on the day in Seoul, the tech giant showcased five new SSD options, including a 2 1/2-inch SSD for consumers, dubbed the 850 EVO, which is based on technology that stacks up 48 layers of cells -- which Samsu

Technology Sept. 22, 2015

　The global display market has seen a boost for the past several years thanks to the brisk growth of information technology and electronics devices that deploy advanced display panels.　Market players, however, should brace for much fiercer competition due to market saturation for mobile devices and TVs, according to industry officials and analysts.　“The display industry basked in remarkable growth from 2010 to 2013 with the touch panel business, in particular, growing at the rate of 27.5 percent

Technology Sept. 22, 2015

For a country with a relatively young design history, South Korea boasts high design standards, characterized by innovation and a drive toward offering new solutions and services.　Yet, the excellence of Korean industrial design remains generally unknown to the rest of the world, due to the lack of a national brand image that is uniquely Korean, according to the managing director of Germany-based iF Design Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious international design awards.“The DNA of Korean

Industry Sept. 22, 2015

　South Korea and six Central American countries led by El Salvador began their first round of negotiations to seal a free trade agreement in Seoul on Monday. The talks will continue through Friday.　Cheong Seung-il, director general for FTA Policy at Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is representing Korea while El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Energy Luz Estrella Rodriguez de Zuniga is leading the talks on behalf of the six countries. Cheong Seung-il (second from right), Korea’s chief

Industry Sept. 21, 2015

　Shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a leading South Korean pharma company, surged by more than 11 percent Friday following news that the company has moved a step closer to globally commercializing a lung cancer treatment drug that is under development.　Hanmi is looking to carry out the Phase II clinical trials of its third-generation lung cancer treatment drug HM61713 -- sold in July to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim for around $730 million in the biggest local drug license agreement to date -- in

Industry Sept. 18, 2015

Lotte Group is speeding up its global hotel business expansion to compete with the world’s top-tier hotel chains like Hilton and InterContinental .　Lotte Hotels & Resorts said it aims to take over or build 33 hotels by 2018, and ultimately 50 hotels by 2020, with the latest being Lotte New York Palace in Manhattan. The group currently operates 11 hotels in Korea and six abroad.　The new five-star luxury hotel, previously named The New York Palace Hotel, was acquired for $805 million from U.S. rea

Industry Sept. 18, 2015

Samsung Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries on Thursday denied that they were seeking to merge again after last year’s failed attempt. 　“We are not considering a merger plan,” the two companies said in separate regulatory filings. 　The announcements came as their shares rallied after Samsung Heavy president Park Dae-young hinted they could seek to merge again.  Samsung Engineering (Yonhap)　In September last year, Samsung Engineering announced it would merge with Samsung Heavy to enhance its

Technology Sept. 17, 2015

An employee at leading online shopping site Auction, operated by eBay Korea alongside Gmarket, was charged Thursday with spreading malignant rumors regarding the death of a worker at rival firm Coupang, according to police.　　A 27-year-old female Auction employee surnamed Choi has been detained for spreading false rumors via KakaoTalk on Sept. 8 that “a 34-year-old female Coupang managing director died of a heart attack, likely stemming from extremely high workload pressures and frequent overtime

Industry Sept. 17, 2015