Lawmakers agreed Tuesday to pursue changes to current tax legislation that would raise individual consumption taxes on heat-not-burn tobacco products to the same level as combustible cigarettes. The Glo system from British American Tobacco is displayed. (Yonhap)The taxation committee discussed three different proposals regarding the consumption tax on the new types of e-cigarettes that heat, rather than burn, tobacco to create vapor. It decided to impose a tax of 594 won (52 cents) per pack of 2

Industry Aug. 22, 2017

Beer was the most imported type of alcoholic beverage in Korea this year, data showed Tuesday. This was the first time that imports of beer topped imports of other drinks such as wine and whisky. According to the Korea International Trade Association’s data information system, Korea imported $143.92 million worth of beer from January to July this year, marking a 50.5 percent rise from the same period last year. Imports of wine during the same period reached $111.46 million, while that of whisky

Industry Aug. 22, 2017

Lawmakers are set to discuss increasing the individual consumption tax on heat-not-burn tobacco products Tuesday, raising questions about how changing taxes will affect consumer prices of heated tobacco sticks.“If the consumption tax on heated tobacco sticks rises, we have no choice but to strongly consider raising consumer prices,” said an official of a tobacco company. IQOS (PMI)Currently, heated tobacco products, including the IQOS system from Philip Morris International and Glo from British

Industry Aug. 21, 2017

Consumer concerns about eggs contaminated with insecticides persisted Friday, as the government announced the results of its inspections on all large-scale egg farms.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday that it carried out inspections on 1,239 farms with layer hens and found that 1,190 of them complied with safety regulations, while 49 did not. The 1,190 qualified farms, which account for about 95.7 percent of all egg supply in Korea, will be permitted to immediately r

Industry Aug. 18, 2017

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Shinsegae Group‘s shopping mall brand Starfield held its pre-opening for its Goyang branch on Thursday, putting its family-friendly entertainment facilities front and center. Starfield Goyang is designed to fill a gap in the underserved consumer market in the residential area northwest of Seoul. It is the third mall to be operated by Shinsegae under the Starfield name, after Starfield Hanam and Starfield Coex.With store spaces covering 135,500 square meters and 4,500

Industry Aug. 17, 2017

Traces of banned or excessive levels of insecticides were found at additional egg farms and distributed batches of eggs in South Korea on Wednesday, as the government rushed to inspect large-scale ranches in response to spreading fears of contaminated eggs.An inspection of 84 stores selling eco-friendly, organic eggs revealed two products contained excessive levels of bifnethrin. The two products were Fresh Large Homeplus eggs and Buja Teuknan eggs. This is the first time that excessive levels o

Industry Aug. 16, 2017

The Korea-US free trade agreement may not be the cause of the increasing trade imbalance between the two countries, according to a report from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade Sunday.In the report, researcher Kim Ba-woo claimed that there was no statistically significant correlation between the rise of Korean exports to the US and the Korea-US free trade agreement going into effect.“Although it is true that the trade imbalance after the FTA was led by an increase in Korean ma

Industry Aug. 13, 2017

Dunhill maker British American Tobacco is throwing its hat into Korea’s heated tobacco market with the upcoming release of Glo, presenting an alternative to Philip Morris International’s existing IQOS products.On Thursday, BAT announced through a press conference at The Four Seasons Seoul that it will be opening its first Glo flagship store in the Garosugil shopping district of Seoul on Sunday, kicking off its sales in Korea. BAT Korea Executive Director of Legal and External Affairs Bae Yoon-su

Industry Aug. 10, 2017

The Korean cosmetics market is a jungle. With its vast spectrum of cosmetics brands at every price point and rapid-fire changes in the latest trends, it is one of the most competitive consumer industries here.But the zeal of brands to constantly come up with new, exciting products can often overwhelm consumers who find it difficult to decide on products to buy.To increase convenience for customers and to help them find the best products, Korean cosmetics companies have found ways to incorporate

Industry Aug. 10, 2017

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (Yonhap)진행자: 원호정, Paul Kerry1. 특별검사팀, 이재용 삼성전자 부회장 12년 구형박영수 특별검사팀이 이재용 삼성전자 부회장에 대해 징역 12년을 구형했다. 이는 2006년 김우중 대우그룹 회장에게 구형한 15년 이후 최대 구형량이다. 25일 법원 1심 선고에서 형량이 어떻게 나올지 관심이 모아지고 있다.아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638Samsung, heir's fate hangs on 'trial of the century'[1] With the court ruling on Samsung's de facto chief scheduled for Aug. 25, question

Podcast Aug. 9, 2017

Local whisky maker Golden Blue said Wednesday that its sales for the first half of 2017 exceeded expectations, boosted by the popularity of its Phantom whisky products in a stagnant spirits market.Golden Blue sold 180,000 9-liter cases of its signature Golden Blue whisky and Phantom products in the first half of 2017, rising nearly 10 percent on-year. Phantom whisky products (Golden Blue)The major driver of sales was Phantom, a new line of products released last year that is mainly marketed to t

Industry Aug. 9, 2017

McDonald’s Korea has asked the local court to block the release of results from a consumer group’s analysis of hamburgers being sold at fast-food chains and convenience stores in Korea.According to McDonald’s Korea, the survey’s results are invalid because the analysis did not follow proper procedures. “We were able to verify through security cameras that a sample collected for the survey was not stored and shipped according to protocol,” an official with McDonald’s Korea said. The official said

Industry Aug. 9, 2017

The saturated convenience store market is seeking ways to continue growth as it faces intensifying competition from latecomers to the industry, further to be burdened by a hike in the national minimum wage.According to data from major convenience store chains, there are over 34,000 convenience store outlets currently operating in Korea -- about one store per 1,500 people. The number of convenience stores has continued to rise quickly since 2013, when there were just over 25,000 stores according

Industry Aug. 8, 2017