Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong’s life has been turned upside down since he was taken into custody on allegations of bribery Friday.For the second consecutive day on Sunday, Lee stood handcuffed and bound with white ropes in front of special prosecutors, his prisoner identification number marked on his navy suit.He is the first head of Samsung to be locked behind bars in the conglomerate’s history. At the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province just outside Seoul, he is being kept

Industry Feb. 19, 2017

STARBUCKS‘ DIGITAL RECEIPTS -- Starbucks Korea said Thursday that more than 500,000 people have signed up for its digital receipt program, which aims to reduce paper waste. In the past two months, Starbucks has issued 15 million digital receipts, saving 17,000 rolls of paper. (Starbucks Korea)

Industry Feb. 16, 2017

Online open market 11st has launched in Thailand, its operator SK Planet said Thursday.Thailand is 11st’s fourth overseas expansion following launches in Turkey in 2013, Indonesia in 2014, and Malaysia in 2015. The launch in Thailand will begin with over 3 million products across eight categories including fashion, electronics, and leisure. There will also be deals offered for a limited time with products curated by 11st. “We saw that Thailand’s e-commerce sector has huge growth potential consid

Industry Feb. 16, 2017

South Korea’s leading defense company LIG Nex1 said Thursday that it will be participating in the International Defence Exhibition and Conference 2017.In its seventh appearance at IDEX, LIG Nex1 will be displaying state-of-the-art products including the medium-range anti-air missile KM-SAM, Korean GPS Guided Bomb Kit, portable surface-to-air missile Chiron, Artillery Locating Radar and Software Defined Radio. In addition, LIG Nex1 will be introducing a powered exoskeleton robot that boosts the u

Industry Feb. 16, 2017

Shinsegae Department Store said Wednesday it has created a new jewelry brand called Addir that focuses on diamonds. Its products will be designed, sourced, manufactured and sold through Shinsegae Department Store. Addir opens at the department store’s Daegu branch Thursday and its Gangnam branch Friday. Addir at Shinsegae Daegu is shown in the picture. (Shinsegae Department Store)

Industry Feb. 15, 2017

Six in 10 Korean venture businesses fail within the first three years, according to a report Wednesday.In a report titled “2nd-round Startup Ecosystem in Numbers,” the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the number of venture companies in Korea had risen to over 30,000 due to continuous deregulation over the past decade. For example, the process for creating a startup business was reduced from 12 steps to two steps, speeding up the process from 22 to four days. However, a lack of an inv

Industry Feb. 15, 2017

Hambuger chain Shake Shack will be opening its third Korean branch in Dongdaemun, according to SPC Thursday.The store will be located on the first floor of the Doota building in Dongdaemun, a fashion shopping district popular among shoppers in their 20s and 30s as well as tourists. The opening is set for April. Shake Shack Dongdaemun (SPC)“Dongdaemun fits well with the lively image of Shake Shack, and allows us to service both Korean and foreign customers,” an official with Shake Shack said.Shak

Industry Feb. 9, 2017

The Small and Medium Business Administration said Thursday it had placed restrictions on the operations of warehouse discount retailer Costco’s branch in Songdo, Incheon, to help reduce damage to surrounding small businesses.According to the restrictions, Costco will be prevented from selling cigarettes or government-issued trashed bags, as well as Korean soju or beer products in small quantities. Ramen must also be sold only in packages of 15 or larger.The store will not be able to offer delive

Industry Feb. 9, 2017

Office worker Kim Ji-young recently attended a friend’s wedding wearing a rented dress. “I rarely have occasions to dress up, and I didn’t see the need to spend a lot of money on buying something I would probably only wear once or twice,” she said. “I have some dresses I bought before hanging in my closet, and every time I’m cleaning out my closet those are the first items I want to throw out because they just take up space. I don’t want to buy more.”Kim is not alone. As consumers pay more atten

Industry Feb. 8, 2017

Incheon International Airport Corp. said Tuesday that its third-phase construction project had reached 90 percent completion, on schedule for an October opening date.(Incheon International Airport)The 4.9 trillion-won ($4.28 billion) third-phase construction project includes the upcoming second passenger terminal as well as a traffic control center and the roads leading up to the terminal. Construction on the project began in September 2013.The terminal will be opened to the public after six mon

Industry Feb. 7, 2017

Personal care and household goods maker Procter and Gamble is under fire for selling diapers that allegedly contain potentially toxic substances.Although large discount retailers have pulled the company‘s Pampers Baby Dry diapers off their shelves following the controversy, the South Korean government has not been able to issue an official recall or pursue punitive measures because there are no clear regulations here regarding the detected toxins.On Jan. 24, French consumer magazine 60 Millions

Industry Feb. 7, 2017

It‘s a bad time to be in offline retail. Last year, department stores and discount retailers alike saw slow or negative growth as e-commerce operators grew, offering a wider range of products at lower prices with the convenience of online shopping. Consumers no longer saw merit in making their way to a retail outlet to purchase items that they could find online.Offline retailers, however, are changing their approach to attract customers back to their outlets, either by going big or going small.I

Industry Feb. 6, 2017

Korea‘s duty-free industry, once considered a bright spot in a sluggish consumer economy, is growing shaky due to continuous developments that could threaten the flow of inbound Chinese tourists and fickle government policies.Figures from Statistics Korea released Friday showed that direct online shopping by overseas shoppers for Korean products grew 82 percent on-year in 2016 to 2.28 trillion won ($1.98 billion), from 1.25 trillion won in 2015. Of that amount, nearly 1.8 trillion won, or 78 per

Industry Feb. 5, 2017

The Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology said recently that it will be taking part in creating a National Aeronautics and Space Administration-funded education program producing space educational content.Together with the US-based Wex Foundation and the International Space Exploration Research Institute at Hanyang University in Seoul, KICT was awarded a 1.48 billion won ($1.24 million) grant from the NASA, the institute said.  Vacuum chamber being built at KICT (KICT)“KI

Technology Feb. 5, 2017

The history of caffeination in Korea is long and winding, beginning with a tragic king who became the country‘s first coffee lover while fleeing in wartime. After decades of serving as a vehicle of socialization at coffee shops, coffee moved into offices and homes with the introduction of instant coffee mixes. People went back out to coffee shops to get their java once Western-style takeout cafes were introduced and now coffee is coming back into the home with small, inexpensive espresso machine

Industry Feb. 3, 2017