South Korean construction companies have secured new orders worth $21.9 billion in overseas markets between January and August, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea, Sunday. The association said the total value of construction orders made overseas during the eight-month period was up by 19.9 percent on-year. It is also the first time that the value has surpassed $20 billion since 2018, when overseas construction orders in the January-August period were worth a combined

Industry Sept. 10, 2023

Gout has long been thought of as a “disease of kings” due to its apparent link to a diet rich in meat and alcohol consumption. With rapid economic growth and dietary changes, the number of such patients has almost doubled in South Korea over the past decade. More recently, the incidence has been rising in people in their 20s and 30s. According to the National Health Insurance Service, more than half a million Koreans (508,397) suffered the disease in 2022, compared to 265,065 patient

Industry Sept. 2, 2023

L’Oreal Korea, making its 30th anniversary this year, said Friday it would boost collaboration with South Korean partners to ride the K-beauty boom around the world. “Korea has a very strategic and strong role to play within the ecosystem of the North Asia Beauty Triangle,” Fabrice Megarbane, president of the company’s North Asia Zone and CEO of L’Oreal China, during a press conference at the Korean unit’s headquarters in southern Seoul. The North Asia Beauty

Consumer Sept. 1, 2023

Posco America, a subsidiary of Poscho Holdings, will relocate its headquarters from Atlanta to the nation's capital, in a move to strengthen its relations with the federal government and US Congress, the group said Wednesday. Posco America’s head Do Han-eui and other staff members will start to work at the new office in Washington from as early as this week. The group will also dispatch employees specializing in trade affairs from South Korea's office. The company’s new off

Industry Aug. 30, 2023

South Korean builder GS Engineering & Construction, facing an unprecedented business suspension for up to 10 months over the recent collapse of an underground parking lot it built, seems to have no other way but to go abroad to seek new business opportunities for the time being, industry sources said Monday. According to an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government will push to suspend the company’s operations for eight months under the land minister&

Industry Aug. 28, 2023

High-end Korean hotels have continued to raise prices this year of mango bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert popular in the summer, despite mango prices having stabilized. This year, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul sold its mango bingsu at 126,000 won ($94), 31.3 percent higher than last year. Shilla Seoul also raised the price of its progenitor luxury mango bingsu by 18.1 percent to 98,000 won, while Lotte Hotel increased the price by 4.5 percent to 92,000 won. The price rally drew particular attentio

Industry Aug. 23, 2023

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang said Wednesday it launched a new global marketing campaign for its Bibigo brand, dubbed “Live Delicious.” The campaign clip, featuring a TikTok-friendly dance and music, was distributed in Korea, the US, Europe, Japan, China, and Thailand via YouTube. “If the company’s past campaign for Bibigo aimed to build connections with customers by focusing on the integrity of our food products, the latest campaign focuses more on appealing to

Consumer Aug. 23, 2023

South Korea’s fisheries industry on Tuesday raised concerns over the business impact of Japan’s planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean later this week. “Concerns are mounting among merchants here as the latest announcement will lead directly to decreases in the number of visitors to fish markets, as well as in the overall consumption of fish and seafood,” an official from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperati

Consumer Aug. 22, 2023

Starbucks Korea said Friday that the company has launched its sixth community store nearby Dongnimmun Station in central Seoul, which will support descendants of Korea's national patriots. Starbucks Korea has been raising funds from its community stores by collecting 300 won ($0.22) for every product the company sells at its various community stores and delivering financial support to local communities since 2014. This sixth community store has been established near Dongnimmun Station and

Consumer Aug. 18, 2023

An independent compliance committee responsible for oversight of South Korea's largest conglomerate, Samsung, gave a partial go-ahead for the group’s reentry to the Federation of Korean Industries, the country’s largest business interest group. Samsung withdrew from the FKI in 2017, after a high-profile corruption scandal involving Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and the ousted former President Park Geun-hye. “The committee did not confirm whether Samsung should join or not

Industry Aug. 18, 2023

SK Biopharmaceuticals announced Friday that it had signed an out-licensing deal with Hikma MENA FZE, the Middle East and North Africa unit of British drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals, for its epilepsy medication Cenobamate. Cenobamate is a medication for partial-onset seizures in adults. The drug is currently sold under the brand name Xcopri in the US and Ontozry in Europe. Under the agreement, Hikma MENA FZE is granted rights to commercialize Xcopri in 16 countries in the Middle East and North A

Industry Aug. 18, 2023

South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion said Thursday it will merge with its sales unit, Celltrion Healthcare, next month to enhance business synergy and operational efficiency. “The boards of both companies have approved the merger proposal,” Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin said during a livestreamed online briefing later in the day. “The merger will be completed by Dec. 28.” According to the company, for every 1 share, Celltrion Healthcare's shareholders will

Industry Aug. 17, 2023

Seasonal fruits in South Korea could become vastly different in the following decades, as warmer temperatures will gradually reduce cultivable areas for popular fruit crops here. Apples, grapes and pears could slowly fade into the background, while tropical fruits such as mangoes and passion fruit take center stage. “We may not be able to see the change immediately. But, fruit crops that we will see at discount stores and traditional markets may change in the future. What we call seasonal

Industry Aug. 17, 2023

South Korean trading company STX announced Wednesday that the company's board has approved a spinoff of its new shipping and logistics firm, which is tentatively named STX Green Logis, ahead of its stock listing next month. STX said its shares will be divided in an 80:20 ratio between STX and STX Green Logis. For every 100 shares, shareholders will receive around 23 shares of STX Green Logics and 77 shares of STX. The price of STX Green Logis shares will be decided after the company makes i

Industry Aug. 16, 2023

Hyundai Bioscience said Sunday that it will co-develop a broad-spectrum antiviral drug with the US National Institutes of Health, a federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research and the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research. A non-clinical evaluation agreement was signed on Friday between Hyundai Bioscience USA, a US-based subsidiary of the Korean pharmaceutical company, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the NIH, the compan

Industry Aug. 14, 2023