Prosecutors raided additional offices of Lotte Group’s policy headquarters Thursday in order to gain evidence regarding alleged tax evasion by group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, officials said Friday.Shin is now suspected of evading roughly 600 billion won ($540 million) of gift taxes while transferring assets to his common-law wife Seo Mi-kyung and their daughter Shin Yoo-mi.  Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho (Yonhap)Prosecutors have collected preliminary evidence from a law firm that counseled Shin d

Industry Aug. 5, 2016

Samba dancers pose in front of Hyundai Department Store’s Sinchon branch in Seoul on Friday as part of the Samba Carnival Parade commemorating the Rio Summer Games. Hyundai Department Store will be showcasing the parade at 14 different branches through Aug. 21. (Yonhap)

Industry Aug. 5, 2016

Prosecutors raided additional offices of Lotte Group’s policy headquarters Thursday in order to gain evidence regarding alleged tax evasion by Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho, prosecutors said Friday.Shin is now suspected of evading roughly 600 billion won ($540 million) of gift taxes while transferring assets to his common-law wife Seo Mi-kyung and their daughter Shin Yoo-mi.  Shin Kyuk-hoProsecutors have collected preliminary evidence from a law firm that counseled Shin during the 2005 transfer, wh

Industry Aug. 5, 2016

The flat tire on an a Korean Air flight that landed in Jeju Airport on July 29 was likely caused by a foreign object rather than a problem with the tire or plane itself, according to the Transport Ministry on Thursday.A B737 carrying 147 passengers on Korean Air flight KE718 flew from Narita Airport in Japan to Jeju Airport, where it suffered a flat tire after landing.An analysis of the destroyed nose tire showed that the tire had been damaged by a foreign object, but it was not clear whether th

Industry Aug. 4, 2016

Lotte Corp. on Wednesday refuted mounting claims that its Lotte World Tower, the nation‘s highest building, will not be able to open within the year as initially planned.“Although it is true that Lotte Group as a whole is currently facing some issues, Lotte Corp. is not under investigation. There will be no problem in completing the tower within the year,” a company spokesman told The Korea Herald.The Lotte World Tower under construction (Yonhap)According to the spokesman, the 123-story tower is

Industry Aug. 3, 2016

Complaints filed against low-cost carriers greatly outnumbered those against full-service carriers, data showed Wednesday.According to data submitted by the Korea Consumer Agency to a lawmaker Wednesday, the agency took corrective measures for a total of 337 complaints filed against airlines last year, with just 136 of them related to full-service carriers Asiana Airlines and Korean Air.Between October 2015 and March 2016, 60.3 percent of the 446 complaints filed in relation to airline services

Industry Aug. 3, 2016

Sales of duty-free products nearly doubled last year’s levels due to the recovering tourism industry and continued high spending by Chinese tourists, data showed Monday.According to data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service, duty-free sales this June were 94.1 percent higher than June last year.  Tourists shop at Lotte Duty Free in Sogong-dong, Seoul. (Yonhap)“The numbers may be a bit misleading, because sales were so low last year because of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome s

Industry Aug. 1, 2016

Korean Air made the largest number of in-flight meals in its history on Saturday, the company said Monday.On Saturday, Korean Air produced 84,936 meals, breaking its record of 77,339 meals on Aug. 1 last year. This shows that a record number of passengers has been flying out of Korea.  Korean Air flight attendants pose with in-flight Korean cuisine meals. (Korean Air)In-flight meals are produced at facilities in Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport. Korean Air provides m

Industry Aug. 1, 2016

Incheon International Airport Corp. has signed a final agreement with Inspire Integrated Resort to begin construction on a resort complex on Yeongjongdo Island by 2020, according to the airport corporation and the Transport Ministry on Monday.Under the agreement, Inspire will invest $5 billion on developing 2.67 square kilometers of land. An artist’s impression of the planned Inspire Integrated Resort (Ministry of Infrastructure, Land and Transport)The first step will be to build the resort with

Industry Aug. 1, 2016

Household goods manufacturer Oxy Reckitt-Benckiser announced Sunday that it would provide up to 350 million won ($315,000) in compensation each to Korean victims of its lethal humidifier sanitizers. “The compensation package took into consideration the delay in preparing a proper response, and the severity of the issue (of the humidifier sanitizers’ danger),” the company said in a statement via its website. The company said it would begin taking applications for compensation Monday.Under the fin

Industry July 31, 2016

Incheon International Airport served its 500 millionth passenger Sunday, setting a new record for the largest number of daily passengers. According to Incheon International Airport Corp., the 500 millionth passenger, Kim Yong-geun, arrived at Incheon from Bangkok on Asiana Airlines flight OZ7423 at 10 a.m. He was greeted by a water salute from fire trucks and presented with a golden key by Incheon International Airport CEO Chung Il-young at a special ceremony. Incheon International Airport Corp.

Industry July 31, 2016

Gimpo International Airport is coming under fire for continued safety concerns linked to its ongoing remodeling project after consecutive fires and flooding.The latest incident broke out Friday at approximately 6:30 a.m., when water leaked from the ceiling near the convenience store on the first floor and restrooms on the second floor, according to Korea Airports Corp., which operates the Gimpo airport.“The water came into the waiting area when heavy rains flooded the canopy in the remodeling si

Industry July 31, 2016

The explosive popularity of Nintendo and Niantic’s augmented reality game “Pokemon Go” has set off a boom in Korea, with companies, the government and consumers thinking about how the combination of reality and digital imagination can change everyday life.For now, the primary focus is on games and entertainment as augmented reality is largely perceived as an advanced version of virtual reality. Virtual reality, which completely changes how users perceive their surroundings rather than adding com

Technology July 29, 2016

Vietnam Airlines, the largest carrier in Vietnam, was ranked as a four-star airline by British airline rating organization Skytrax, the airline said Thursday.Vietnam Airlines held an event on Tuesday at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul to commemorate the event. Airline officials met with Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Pham Huu Chi and the press to discuss Vietnam Airlines’ efforts to improve consumer service and airline safety. Employees of Vietnam Airlines pose with Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Pham

Industry July 28, 2016

Flight passengers in Korea hit an all-time high in the first half of 2016, totaling nearly 50 million, according to Transport Ministry data on Wednesday.Korea saw 49.8 million people traveling by air in the first half of the year, up 14.5 percent from last year and marking a record high. About 35 million of those passengers flew internationally.The number was up 44.5 percent on-year for the month of June thanks to the travel industry’s recovery from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome shock las

July 27, 2016