The number of South Korean air passengers using domestic carriers increased in the first half to around 84 percent of pre-pandemic levels, government data showed Sunday. According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 53.4 million air passengers used both domestic and international routes in the first six months 2023, around 84 percent of the 63.6 million passengers in the January-June period of 2019. 2019 was the second year passenger numbers exceeded 60 millio

Industry July 2, 2023

Hyundai Pharm, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, is recalling some 20,000 bottles of Minoxidil, a drug for hypertension that is also widely used for treating hair loss, following a report by a pharmacist that a Minoxidil bottle was found to have contained tablets of the dementia drug, Tamirin, instead of Minoxidil, according to news reports on Sunday. The company said both Minoxidil and Tamirin bottles are produced at the same manufacturing facility, saying some Tamirin bottles were mistake

Industry July 2, 2023

A planned merger of South Korea’s top two air carriers is expected to face more delay as the European antitrust authorities have temporarily halted its probe into the 1.8 trillion won ($1.37 billion) high-profile deal. Korean Air said Thursday it has requested the European Commission to extend the deadline for its final decision on the merger with its smaller rival, Asiana Airlines, saying it will come up with measures to relieve their antitrust concerns. “We have asked for a deadlin

Industry June 29, 2023

HK inno.N, a South Korean pharmaceutical firm, has launched its anti-aging skincare brand bewants in overseas markets amid the craze for K-beauty products. The Korean pharmaceutical company's skincare brand bewants targets people aged between 20-30. The brand's lineup includes a wide range of skincare products that use plant-based extracts. In June, the company launched a lifting cream with both soothing and lifting effects. “Backed by increasing popularity in the local market, t

Industry June 28, 2023

South Korea’s precocious puberty treatment market has seen rapid growth in recent years, as much as parents’ growing interest in children’s height has led to shortages of the therapies. Precocious puberty treatment is prescribed to children whose puberty begins before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys. Children with early puberty may grow quickly at first compared to their peers, but they often stop growing earlier than usual, causing them to be shorter than average later

Technology June 28, 2023

Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Tuesday that the company has submitted a new drug application for its gastroesophageal reflux treatment, Fexuclue, to China’s drug agency. Fexuclue was officially launched in July 2022 in Korea as the country’s 34th new drug. Fexuclue is also the only P-CAB drug for gastritis indications in the country. Daewoong Pharmaceutical has submitted its NDA to China's National Medical Products Administration based on its clinical trial of the tablet-type drug

Technology June 27, 2023

The South Korean government on Monday met with local milling companies, upping the pressure on them to lower wheat prices in the fight on inflation, especially for daily food items such as instant noodles and milk. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a closed-door meeting Monday afternoon with officials from local milling firms including Daehan Flour Mills Corp., CJ CheilJedang and Samyang – the big three players in the industry. A ministry official declined to put too

Industry June 26, 2023

SK pharmteco, a global contract development and manufacturing organization under South Korean conglomerate SK Group, said Friday that its French subsidiary Yposkesi has completed construction of its second manufacturing facility for cell and gene therapies (C&GT) in Europe. Yposkesi’s second C&GT manufacturing site sits on 5,000 square meters of land in the Genopole campus, the largest biotech cluster in France. With the addition of the second site, Yposkesi’s biomanufactur

Technology June 23, 2023

South Korea’s leading massage chair maker Bodyfriend on Thursday launched a new massage chair, called Davinci, which analyzes users’ body composition and offers more customized massage options. “It has been widely accepted that massage chairs are mostly used by older generations. But the newly launched massage chair featuring bioelectrical impedance analysis is expected to appeal to younger generations,” Bodyfriend Chief Marketing Officer Song Seung-ho said during the lau

Consumer June 22, 2023

BGF Retail, the operator of South Korean convenience store chain CU, announced Tuesday that the company will expand its convenience store business into Kazakhstan. The firm plans to open the first CU store in Kazakhstan during the first half of next year and establish around 500 branches in the country in the next five years. When opened, Kazakhstan will become the first Central Asian country to have CU stores. BGF Retail says it would also be the first foreign convenience stores in Kazakhstan.

Consumer June 20, 2023

SK Chemical said Monday it has begun commercial production of a new diabetes treatment drug co-developed with AstraZeneca. Under their partnership, SK Chemical will be responsible for production of the diabetes treatment drug that will be supplied here and overseas countries in the future, SK Chemical added. “(SK Chemical’s new diabetes treatment drug) has shown the company’s capability in developing and producing medical products. (The new treatment) is expected to help SK Che

Technology June 19, 2023

South Korea’s growth hormone deficiency treatment market has seen stunning growth in recent years, particularly with growing interest in children’s height among parents here. “I heard that there are three things that moms in Daechi-dong (Seoul’s infamous private education district) do for their children these days: teeth straightening, squint eye correction and growth hormone treatment,” a 36-year-old working mom living in Gyeonggi Province said on condition of anon

Technology June 14, 2023

South Korean construction management firm HanmiGlobal announced a new welfare policy Friday under which it will promote any employee who will have a third child, and offer financial support for all workers expecting a child. The company said any employee expecting a third child will be promoted, regardless of the employee’s performance or the length of their service at the company. For those employees who will have a fourth child, HanmiGlobal will give financial support for hiring babysitt

Industry June 9, 2023

The chambers of commerce of South Korea and Japan agreed Friday to work together to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The agreement was reached between the KCCI and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry during a meeting held on Friday in Busan, attended by KCCI Chair Chey Tae-won and JCCI Chair Ken Kobayashi. Under the partnership, the KCCI will support its Japanese counterpart for a successful opening of the Osaka-Kansai

Industry June 9, 2023

Samsung Biologics said Thursday the company won a $411.3 million contract manufacturing deal from Pfizer to produce the US-based pharmaceutical giant’s biosimilar products. Even though the company didn’t specify the product name, industry watchers predict that the deal is highly likely to involve producing Pfizer’s Abrilada, a biosimilar to the autoimmune disease drug known as Humira. In the statement, Samsung said it will produce Pfizer’s multiple biosimilar products wit

Industry June 8, 2023