South Korea‘s food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group said Friday it will start offering paid leave of up to three days to employees who get vaccinated for COVID-19. Including the day of vaccination, two more paid days off will be provided for each of the two shots and an additional day to those who experience symptoms from vaccination. “After a staff meeting last week where opinions on vaccine leave were heard, we decided to take on board those that are in the best interests

Industry May 14, 2021

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang posted a record-breaking 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of this year as the business continues to grow in size but its operating loss nearly doubled due to an increase in operating and administrative costs. According to the firm’s earnings report, revenue was up 74 percent compared to one year ago, its biggest Q1 sales figure to date. “We ended the quarter with 16 million active customers, a 21 percent year-

Consumer May 13, 2021

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on Thursday it has approved a merger deal between web portal giant Naver’s streaming platform V Live and Weverse, a fan community platform created by entertainment company HYBE. The decision, which was made last week, comes after the FTC concluded the move is unlikely to reduce competition in the market following a review. Following a greenlight from the regulators, the move will see Weverse Company, a subsidiary of HYBE, take over V Live and Naver wi

Industry May 13, 2021

South Korean liquor maker HiteJinro said on Wednesday it will bring popular lager Terra to the US, Singapore and Hong Kong. The move marks the first time the green-bottled beer will be sold outside Korea since its release three years ago, with a batch of 1.2 million 330-milliliter bottles set to hit the shelves in Hong Kong first, before they are made available in the US and Singapore. Terra will be supplied to Korean communities in the countries first, where high demand is expected, before be

Consumer May 12, 2021

Once fueled by an emphasis on social distancing and hygiene woes, contactless businesses are continuing to thrive in Korea nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic as companies rush to prepare for the post-pandemic era. Lee Do-shim, a 29-year-old Pilates instructor in Sejong City, is among the many who have become used to meeting basic necessities such as grocery shopping and getting takeout food without human interaction. “After the pandemic began, social distancing became the norm

Consumer May 12, 2021

Self-employed business owners suffered a major setback last year, with half of all sectors posting revenue drops from the previous year totaling 19.4 trillion won ($17.42 billion), new data revealed Tuesday. According to data from the National Tax Service obtained by Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, 29 out of 52 categories of self-employed business owners saw their revenue drop last year, with restaurateurs suffering the biggest loss as they saw 5.73 trillion evapor

Industry May 11, 2021

The designer behind a controversial image used by South Korean convenience store chain GS25 -- accused of being “misandrist” -- has apologized to customers, store owners and colleagues for the inconvenience her work caused but rejected claims that she was part of a group known for mocking men online. In a post uploaded on Blind, an anonymous forum designed for employees of a corporation to discuss internal affairs, the designer, who remains anonymous, said she was breaking her silen

Consumer May 10, 2021

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has unveiled satellite recordings of some of South Korea’s landmarks captured by the country’s next-generation medium-sized satellite, including the Government Complex in Sejong, Seoul Olympic Stadium and the easternmost islets of Dokdo. The satellite, Compact Advanced Satellite 500 or CAS500, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakhstan on March 22, becoming the country’s first national land observation satellite.

Mobility May 10, 2021

Naver plans to expand its research and development network in the North American region, particularly focusing on Silicon Valley, as part of its globalization efforts, according to officials. The research team is seeking talent from across the globe who will be allowed to work in either Korea or the US, the South Korean internet giant said at 2021 Naver Search Colloquium which took place online on Friday. Kim Jin-young, the newly appointed Head of Data Science and Director of US R&D at Nav

Technology May 7, 2021

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s top messaging app KakaoTalk, posted a record-breaking revenue of 1.25 trillion won ($1.1 billion) for the first quarter, up 45 percent from a year earlier, the company said Thursday. Its operating profit also rose by 79 percent to a record-breaking 157.5 billion won during the same period, largely on the back of its taxi-hailing and digital wallet services. The relatively new platform business, including Talk Biz, Portal Biz and New Business, ra

Technology May 6, 2021

Several South Korean retailers including convenience store GS25 and an online fashion store were forced to delete advertisements after critics accused “pinching hand signs” of being a symbol of misandry.　 In a statement to store owners on Tuesday, GS25 CEO Cho Yoon-sung apologized for the design of a poster that caused “pain” and “inconvenience” to customers and vowed to “thoroughly” investigate those involved in making the image. The now-deleted

Consumer May 4, 2021

Incheon International Airport Corporation on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement with Israel’s state-owned aerospace and aviation manufacturer, Israel Aerospace Industries, to build an aircraft conversion center at Incheon Airport. The deal will see IIAC begin work on building infrastructure, with production of the first batch of passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft set to begin in 2024 in collaboration with South Korean aviation service company Sharp Technics K. After fending

Industry May 4, 2021

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog will meet to weigh the penalties to impose on Samsung Group later this month over accusations that it has unfairly favored one of its subsidiaries for in-house cafeteria businesses. The Fair Trade Commission will hold a two-day meeting sometime around May 26 and hear opinions from major Samsung subsidiaries before finalizing the level of punishment, according to industry sources. Though the meeting often takes a day with all nine members present including

Industry May 2, 2021

South Korean shipbuilders are leading the race for liquefied petroleum gas carriers as they have secured over 70 percent of shipbuilding orders this year so far, new data has revealed. According to shipping and offshore data researcher Clarksons Research on Sunday, a total of 44 LPG-fueled vessels totaling 1.06 million compensated gross tons have been ordered worldwide this year as of late last month. Among those, South Korean shipbuilders bagged orders that amount to 31 LPG tankers, or nearly

Industry May 2, 2021

Having a lot of tabs open while browsing for clothes online? For a growing number of shoppers, those days are over. Similar to how going to a shopping mall with a wide range of brands seems more of a safe bet than having to travel between stores far apart from each other, more people in South Korea are turning to platforms like Musinsa and Zigzag -- algorithm-driven e-commerce fashion platforms where shoppers are presented with items from thousands of brands. Musinsa, which boasts some 6,000

Consumer May 1, 2021