Netflix Korea, a Korean subsidiary of the global streaming platform Netflix, saw over 1.2 trillion won ($836 million) in sales for last three years but paid only 0.5 percent of its revenue in tax, a ruling party lawmaker said on Tuesday, raising suspicion that the US company may have been evading local taxes. According to an audit report of Netflix Korea released by Rep. Kim Seung-su of the People Power Party, from 2019 to 2021, Netflix Korea gained 1.23 trillion won and transferred 959.1 billio

Industry Oct. 25, 2022

KakaoTalk, South Korea’s immensely popular messaging app, has raised nearly 2.6 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in advertising revenue over the past 1 1/2 years, antitrust data showed Friday. According to data submitted by the Fair Trade Commission to Rep. Kang Min-guk of the People Power Party, KakaoTalk’s revenue from its ad platform Talk Biz amounted to 2.558 trillion won until the second quarter this year from January 2021. Talk Biz has two revenue sources -- KakaoTalk Biz Board

Technology Oct. 21, 2022

South Korean stem cell research company Miracell said Friday it had published the clinical trial results of a new regenerative skin stem cell therapy at a recent conference hosted by the IMCAS held in Bangkok. The clinical trial was conducted on a patient with psoriasis, a skin disease that is generally treated with steroids, but has a tendency to recur over time. The patent was found to have completed recovered after receiving intravenous injections with bone marrow stem cells and cells extract

Industry Oct. 21, 2022

The world is shifting toward a world of Web 3.0, the emerging blockchain-based platform, and the new era will drastically change the way people live, according to chairman of BOSagora Foundation Kim In-hwan, who spoke at The Korea Herald Biz Forum held at Four Seasons Seoul on Wednesday. As Web 3.0 moves away from having a central authority that governs the operations of the web, it will utilize its blockchain-based decentralized structure to strengthen individuals' ownership rights over their c

Technology Oct. 19, 2022

A recent report showed Monday that people in South Korea consume ramen 1.7 times a week on average, with Nongshim’s bestseller Shin Ramyun being the top pick. The report, published by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., is based on a survey conducted on 500 people aged between 15 and 65. By gender, men and women ate ramen 1.8 times and 1.5 times per week, respectively. Men in their 20s and 50s were the most frequent ramen consumers, eating ramen twice a week, while women in

Business Oct. 17, 2022

The longest-ever server outage for KakaoTalk, the nation's most popular messenger app, and its affiliated services, is prompting people here to seek alternatives, according to data on Sunday. As of 3 p.m. Sunday, the top downloads on Apple's app store were alternatives for Kakao's popular apps. Naver's messaging app Line topped the list, rising six steps since Saturday, while taxi reservation app UT came in second, with GPS location service Naver Map coming in third. Other mobility apps, such a

Technology Oct. 16, 2022

A fire Saturday at a Kakao data center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, has led to a server outage affecting the KakaoTalk messenger app, along with other apps such as Kakao T, Kakao Map, Kakao Metro, Kakao Webtoon, Kakao Bank, Kakao-owned portal Daum and music streaming service Melon. The internet connection for the apps has been unavailable since 3:30 p.m. "There has been a fire at SK C&C data center since 3:30 p.m. Work has begun to put down the fire, but we are uncertain when the fir

Industry Oct. 15, 2022

South Korea's leading refiner SK Innovation celebrated 60 years since its foundation with a new climate initiative to become more carbon-free on Thursday. The company said it would go beyond achieving its 2050 net-zero goals, pledging to drastically reduce its carbon emissions across all workplaces by 2062, its 100th anniversary. Under a new initiative, called "All Time Net Zero," the company aims to offset carbon emissions by recycling plastic, streamlining manufacturing processes and

Industry Oct. 13, 2022

South Korean wireless telecommunications operator SK Telecom, which operates its own metaverse platform called ifland, said Wednesday it signed a deal with United Arab Emirates’ top telecommunications carrier e& Group to provide its metaverse service to Middle Eastern countries. Under the memorandum of understanding, South Korea’s leading telecommunications carrier will be developing an optimal metaverse service tailored to Middle Eastern users’ tastes, based on the data e&

Technology Oct. 12, 2022

CHANGWON, South Gyeongsang Province -- The factory automation spearheaded by robots has allowed LG Electronics’ home appliance manufacturing plant, located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to boost productivity and ensure workplace safety. “Over the course of five years of operation, we saw a nearly 25 percent increase in output, along with a similar employment rate for the last five years,” said Kang Myeong-suk, a task leader at LG’s kitchen appliances division,

Technology Oct. 10, 2022

  The first-ever expo for electric and autonomous driving agricultural machinery will be held from Nov. 8 to 10 in Jeju, according to the expo organizing committee Sunday. Officially titled ‘IEVE : The 1st Electric and Autonomous Agricuture,' the expo is co-hosted by the International Electric Vehicle Expo, Korea Global EV Association Network, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Forum. The expo organizing committee appointed Oh Young-hun, governor

Industry Oct. 9, 2022

Hyundai Engineering said Tuesday that it is planning on expanding its corporate social responsibility projects to support the disabled and low-income households. Under the plan, the firm, which has been conducting charity drives with the Goodwill Store since 2017, a rehabilitation facility for the disabled, will provide educational services, repair low-income residents’ houses and establish a community center for Koryoin, or ethnic Koreans living in Central Asia. "Hyundai Engineering

Industry Oct. 4, 2022

SPC Group has opened three more Paris Baguette stores in Paris this year to expand its business in the European market, the South Korean food and beverage giant said Tuesday. The latest Paris Baguette store is set to open in Montparnasse, a major commercial district in the southern part of Paris on Tuesday, local time. The opening of Paris Baguette Montparnasse branch follows two branch openings in February in other parts of the French capital -- in Boieldieu and Corolles. With a floor area of 1

Consumer Oct. 4, 2022

Leading refiner SK Innovation said on Monday it held a tree planting ceremony for SK Ulsan Forest of Happiness, in celebration of the company’s 60th year anniversary on Monday. The ceremony, held in light of the company’s initiative to achieve net-zero emissions, was held in the forest fire-damaged area of Ulju. The company will be planting 180,000 wild cherry trees in 60 hectares of land there with a budget of 1 billion won ($690,000) for the forestation. Participants of the ceremon

Industry Sept. 26, 2022

A new nature-friendly camping site run by Kumho Resort, a leisure unit of Kumho Petrochemical, has made a successful debut in July, the company said Sunday, adding that the company would invest more to expand the business. "We will continue our investments in Asan Spafore so that the camping site can become a leading glamping site," said Kumho Resort CEO Kim Sung-il. "We will listen carefully to customers to provide a high-quality camping experience suitable for our premium facili

Industry Sept. 25, 2022