South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled that the fixed book price system, which bans book price discounts of more than 10 percent, is constitutional. The article in the Publishing Industry Promotion Act on the fixed book price system states that the price of a book is determined by publishers and that online retailers are allowed to give a maximum 10 percent discount on all books published 12 months ago or more. It also stipulates that no more than 5 percent in bonus benefits such as membe

Social Affairs July 20, 2023

The Marine Corps came under fire Thursday after it was found that the troops conducted search and rescue operations for missing people without personnel wearing life vests. A young Marine was found dead Wednesday evening, 12 hours after being swept away during a search operation for missing people in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Marines were deployed to search for five missing people in the Yecheon-gun area after the region was hit by a landslide on July 15. During the operation, Lance Cp

Social Affairs July 20, 2023

Fatal flooding in underground spaces such as underpasses and underground parking lots during monsoon season has become an annual incident. At least 14 people have been confirmed dead in the flooding of the Gunpyeong 2 underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on Monday. In September last year, seven people died in a flooded underground parking lot after Typhoon Hinnamnor hit Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. In 2020, four people lost their lives when underpasses in Busan and

Social Affairs July 19, 2023

Two Korean organizations, the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea and Geumsan Ginseng and Herb Development Agency, initiated a petition on Tuesday calling for the English name of the plant "insam" to be distinct from the all-encompassing term "ginseng." They argue the broad categorization neglects the distinct cultivation, variety and health benefits of insam. According to the official guidelines for translating and notating public Korean terms into English by South Korea'

Social Affairs July 18, 2023

Kia’s manufacturing plant located in Anantapur, India, celebrated the manufacturing of its 1 millionth vehicle after four years on Thursday. Since setting up production in India in 2019, Kia has produced some 532,450 units of the compact SUV Seltos, accounting for the majority of those made there. Other vehicles produced there include 332,450 of compact SUV Sonet, 120,516 Carens and 14,574 of the Carnival minivan. At a ceremony celebrating the plant’s manufacturing milestone, executi

Mobility July 14, 2023

Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin, the elder sister of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, was spotted meeting with Geraldine Guyot-Arnault, co-founder of French fashion label Destree, in Seoul, Wednesday. Guyot-Arnault, the third daughter-in-law of Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH Group, was photographed with Lee at her brand’s launch party. The party was held to celebrate a pop-up store at a Hyundai Department Store branch in southern Seoul, according to her Instagr

Consumer July 13, 2023

South Korean cargo carrier Air Incheon said Wednesday it has launched a new route connecting Incheon and Kuala Lumpur, its second route to a Southeast Asian country following the first one between Incheon and Hanoi. The company said it plans to operate one flight over five days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday. Each flight will take off at 11 p.m. from Incheon Airport, stop for a layover at Haikou, China, and arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7:20 a.m., Malaysia Time. According to

Industry July 12, 2023

HiteJinro’s new beer brand Kelly sold 100 million bottles in 99 days since its market debut in April, according to the nation’s top beverage company Wednesday. Some 3.3 million boxes of Kelly, HiteJinro’s sixth beer brand and the first lager beer, were sold as of Tuesday. The company said the upbeat sales figure equates to 11.7 beers sold every second or 2.3 beers consumed by one person among the total population that is of legal drinking age. Kelly also set a record with hit

Industry July 12, 2023

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on Monday renewed his will to support the nation’s young talent, urging them to make Korea a “leading country.” “You should not remain satisfied with South Korea being among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries,” he said during a scholarship awarding event in Seoul on Monday. “The responsibility of making it a country that leads the world rests on your shoulders.” Chey, who doubles as t

Industry July 11, 2023

Hyundai Elevator has set the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, according to its latest 2022-2023 environmental, social and governance report released Monday. The report mainly discusses the company’s ESG vision and strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 based on the Science Based Target Initiative, which sets carbon reduction targets for companies to meet standards set by the Paris Agreement. The company said it plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 42 percent by 2030

Industry July 10, 2023

Posco Holdings said Sunday it has completed the construction of a new secondary battery recycling plant at the Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province. The new plant is operated by Posco HY Clean Metal, a joint venture set up between Posco Holdings, Huayou Cobalt and GS Energy. The facility is capable of processing 12,000 metric tons of black mass and collects 2,500 tons of nickel, 800 tons of cobalt and 2,500 tons of lithium carbonate from it. Black mass -- a powdery faction that co

Industry July 9, 2023

GS Engineering and Construction will completely rebuild its apartment complex in Incheon after an underground parking lot collapsed in April due to poor construction. The apartment complex, being built by GS E&C and developed by Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), was set to be completed in October. GS E&C will tear down and reconstruct 17 apartment buildings for 1,666 households in Geomdan New Town in Incheon. The reconstruction will cost the builder around 500 billion to 1 trillion won

Industry July 6, 2023

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air attracted the attention of the global airline industry during the annual gathering of the International Air Transport Association held in Istanbul last month, during which it shared its enhanced efforts for more sustainable management. Korean Air said it has focused on environmental, sustainable and governance management since 2021, and the same year also released its own ESG report. “Environmental issues, such as global warming, climate change a

Industry July 5, 2023

South Korea’s first Five Guys burger restaurant located in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, sold around 15,000 burgers during its first week, according to FG Korea, a food subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria, Tuesday. On average, Five Guys sold more than 2,000 burgers a day and up to 200 burgers an hour. Customers from various regions across Korea came to eat at Five Guys, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Daegu and Busan, the company said. There were even some that flew to Korea from Japan, which

Consumer July 4, 2023

AfreecaTV, one of South Korea’s biggest livestreaming platforms, met with global billiards industry officials at the venue of the Porto Three-Cushion World Cup in Portugal on Thursday to discuss ways to globally develop the billiards industry through its platform. AfreecaTV exclusively livestreamed two Three-Cushion World Cup tournaments, held in Portugal and Vietnam this year, respectively. “The key to the billiards industry’s success lies in a strong partnership with all the

Industry July 3, 2023