Biannual esports league “League of Legends” Champions Korea’s 2019 spring split season opened Wednesday, with SK Telecom T1 and Jin Air Green Wings going head-to-head in the first match at LoL Park in Jongno, Seoul.The 10 teams competing in this split, which will continue through March, are the Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming, Gen.G, Griffin, Hanwha Life, Jin Air Green Wings, Kingzone DragonX, KT Rolster, Sandbox Gaming and SK Telecom T1.SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster have garnered much attention, w

Industry Jan. 16, 2019

The health supplement market grew 20 percent over the past three years to reach 4.3 trillion won ($3.8 million) in 2018 as compared with 3.5 trillion won in 2016, the Korea Health Supplements Association said, crediting the growth spurt to e-commerce channels.Tablets and pouch-type health drinks such as ginseng extract led the sales, according to a KHSA representative. The rapid growth of the market for health supplements was largely the result of strong purchases through online shopping platfor

Industry Jan. 16, 2019

Nexon is up for sale because of the dismal future of the Korean games industry, experts argued Monday in a discussion at the National Assembly about the potential sale of one of the country’s biggest game companies.Earlier this month, speculation spread that NXC CEO Kim Jung-ju had decided to put on the market 98.64 percent of shares in NXC, Nexon’s biggest shareholder. Kim later said he was considering various ways to make the firm more globally competitive.While Kim has neither confirmed nor d

Industry Jan. 15, 2019

Riot Games will become its own broadcaster for the biannual esports championship “LoL Champions Korea” starting this year, the company said Friday. Taking a step away from its former broadcaster partners OGN and Spotv, which have had the rights to broadcast LCK in the previous years, Riot Games is certain that its ownership of the game IP will outshine its novelty in the broadcasting area. “Our biggest strength is that we are the original developer and the IP owner of the game,” said producer Yi

Industry Jan. 11, 2019

Despite the growing mobile game market, more than 10 million people visited internet cafes, or PC rooms, in Korea last year, data showed Friday. Approximately 1.7 billion hours were spent playing games at internet cafes, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest report from statistics body The Log, which specializes in figures related to internet cafes. Broken down by The Log, if a person visits PC rooms at least once a week and around six times a month, spending 2.3 hou

Industry Jan. 11, 2019

Hugel, a South Korean botulinum toxin manufacturer, has completed the patent registration for its technology to develop patch-type BTX here, taking an innovative approach for an alternative to the conventional injection-type BTX.The biopharmaceutical firm announced Wednesday that it has secured and patented the technology to develop adhesive BTX patches with micro-needles coated with botulinum toxin. Although they may prickle, the company says they won’t hurt as much as a BTX injection.  Stock i

Industry Jan. 9, 2019

Korean pharma companies Handok and Genexine became joint majority stakeholders in US biopharmaceutical group Rezolute through a 50-50 joint investment of 28 billion won ($24.9 million), Handok announced Tuesday.Handok and its subsidiary Genexine now together hold 54 percent of Rezolute. The deal will allow the Korean pharma firms to acquire information about the work Rezolute has undertaken in biopharmaceutical development, and may also serve as a bridge to the US market. (Yonhap)Rezolute, estab

Industry Jan. 9, 2019

During the Consumer Electronics Show 2019, household appliance company Coway showcased its cutting-edge water and air purifier solutions and electronic toilet seat as part of its new technologies.Coway’s CIROO 2.0 filter system for direct water purification was awarded the CES 2019 Innovation Award in the home appliances category. Short for Coway Intensive Reverse Osmosis, the CIROO filter was recognized for enabling unlimited use of room-temperature and cold water. Its replaceable water channel

Industry Jan. 9, 2019

The number of South Korean manufacturing companies that posted operating losses spiked in 2017, data from Statistics Korea showed. According to the agency’s research on the corporate activities of major manufacturing businesses here, those who saw their yearly net profit ratios dip below zero percent rose 4.2 percentage points to 22.8 percent in 2017 from the previous year’s 18.6 percent. A net profit ratio refers to the ratio of net profits to net sales. A net profit ratio below zero percent tr

Industry Jan. 7, 2019

South Korea’s healthcare company Yuhan Corporation signed a deal worth over 878 billion won ($785 million) with US’ Gilead Sciences to jointly develop potential new drugs for the treatment of patients with advanced fibrosis due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the company said Monday.Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic and progressive liver disease characterized by fat accumulation and inflammation in the liver, which can lead to scarring, or fibrosis, that impairs liver functio

Industry Jan. 7, 2019

South Korean biosimilar firm Celltrion will establish a direct sales network for its drugs worldwide, and specifically Remsima SC -- a subcutaneous version of Remsima -- in an effort to secure price competitiveness and lead the global biosimilar market, its chief said in a New Year’s press conference last week.The firm is also working toward opening a joint company in China within the first half of the year as part of the plan, said Celltrion’s founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin. Apart from strat

Industry Jan. 6, 2019

NXC CEO Kim Jung-ju on Friday acknowledged widespread industry speculation that Nexon, South Korea’s biggest game developer and a subsidiary of NXC, is up for sale.“I am contemplating various ways to back up Nexon in becoming a more globally competitive firm,” Kim said in a statement.He also said that he would “jump into new challenges, without growing complacent,” indirectly admitting to the disposal plan.Kim Jung-ju (NXC)A day earlier, local media was abuzz with reports of Kim’s plans to put o

Industry Jan. 4, 2019

Truxima, Remsima and Herzuma -- Korean biosimilars for the treatment of different cancers and autoimmune disease -- are setting their own records in European market share, according to Celltrion Healthcare, the marketing and distribution arm of South Korean biosimilar maker Celltrion.Standing out in terms of market expansion speed has been Truxima, the firm’s Rituxan biosimilar used to treat blood cancer, which launched in Europe in 2017 and recorded 35 percent market share in the third quarter

Industry Jan. 4, 2019

Shock waves rocked the gaming industry and local market on Thursday upon news reports that nearly half of South Korea’s biggest game company, Nexon, is up for sale.Kim Jung-ju, founder and biggest stakeholder in Nexon’s holding company, NXC, has begun the process of selling the estimated 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion) in shares he and his wife own, the Korea Economic Daily reported. Kim has appointed Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to jointly supervise the sales, the report stated, adding the n

Industry Jan. 3, 2019

Shilla Duty Free, operated by Hotel Shilla, will open its store at Gimpo Airport on Jan. 9, expanding its presence to all three major airports in Korea, including Incheon and Jeju.  (Shilla Duty Free)Shilla announced Wednesday that the new 730-square-meter duty-free store at Gimpo Airport will have a selection of some 100 brands of liquor and tobacco and some 30 brands of fashion and cosmetics, targeting business travelers.Those who fly through Gimpo are mostly traveling for business, according

Industry Jan. 2, 2019