Chairman and CEO of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. Kim Seok-joon is visiting Dubai in the midst of a pandemic to supervise the details of the company’s $1 billion Royal Atlantis Hotel project, the company said Thursday. Kim, who left for the United Arab Emirates city earlier this week, will visit the construction site of the hotel whose work is set to be complete by June next year. He will also meet with the project owners during his trip. “Videoconferencing has had

Industry Sept. 24, 2020

Major retail businesses are offering free counseling services in response to a mental health crisis that has emerged in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Online retailer Gmarket announced plans on Wednesday to offer free psychological counseling for front-line medical staff who have helped fight the COVID-19 crisis. A total of 30 applicants will be chosen to get help from nongovernmental health care organizations, as part of the retailer’s crowdfunding project “Touch,

Consumer Sept. 23, 2020

Beers with a fruity taste are gaining ground in South Korea’s alcoholic beverages market, which has been dominated by domestic pale lagers such as Cass and Hite, as more people opt for light drinking with variations in taste, according to the industry. Convenience store chain CU said its sales of beers known for fruity notes, including Kronenbourg 1664, between January and August rose 9 percent compared with the same time last year. General beer sales also went up by 14.2 percent over the

Consumer Sept. 22, 2020

Incheon International Airport Corporation said on Sunday it had signed an agreement with Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and KT as part of efforts to move the Urban Air Mobility project forward, also known as “flying cars.” Under a memorandum signed by IIAC and UAM Team Korea on Friday, the companies will work together on a road map for “K-UAM,” a government-led project for next-generation vehicles, by building transport infrastructure and taking pa

Mobility Sept. 20, 2020

SK Holdings has raised 480 billion won ($409 million) by selling shares of logistics operator e-Shang Redwood Group through a block deal, with plans to invest the newly secured capital in its future growth engines, the company said Thursday. The deal saw 140 million shares sold at 22.50 Hong Kong dollars ($2.90) per share, accounting for 4.6 percent of the total stock, as SK Holdings collected the principal. Following the sale, SK Holdings now owns 6.4 percent of stock in the company, a share

Industry Sept. 17, 2020

Korean Air announced on Thursday it was injecting 1.1 trillion won into its subsidiary company Hanjin International to help pay off its debts and keep the latter’s hotel business afloat. The decision was made during a board of directors meeting on Wednesday, which will help pay back HIC’s debt worth $900 million while $50 million will be used to cover operating expenses for the Wilshire Grand Center in Downtown Los Angeles, a hotel HIC has operated since 2017. The airline said the

Industry Sept. 17, 2020

In a direct hit against the Transport Ministry‘s move to oust him, Koo Bon-hwan, chief executive officer of the state-run Incheon International Airport Corp., on Wednesday refused to step down for “ungrounded” reasons. “During a meeting with a senior official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport earlier this month, I was asked to resign on my own. I was told a dismissal would be recommended if I don‘t leave immediately,” he said during a pre

Mobility Sept. 16, 2020

Low cost carrier T’way Air will start flying to Wuhan, China once a week from Wednesday, becoming the first airline in the country to travel the route in eight months. The move comes after the Ministry of Transport gave the airline the go-ahead Tuesday night to offer flights between Incheon and Wuhan, one official at T’way Air said, after having obtained approval from China’s civil aviation authorities recently. The Incheon to Wuhan flights are known to be popular among busin

Mobility Sept. 15, 2020

Pernod Ricard Korea unveiled a series of new ads for its Jameson Irish Whiskey on Monday, featuring artists from various fields enjoying a whiskey highball. Each of the three ads features an artist enjoying whiskey in a different setting -- camping, a house party and a pub -- as part of the company’s “Why Jameson Highball?” campaign. The ads are posted on its social media platforms, including Instagram. The participating artists are Jackson Shim, J Black and Adoy. Pernod Ric

Consumer Sept. 14, 2020

Oriental Brewery Company led by CEO Ben Verhaert has extended payment deadlines to help wholesalers and small business owners affected by a recent spike in coronavirus cases in Korea. Earlier this month, the largest beer maker in South Korea, which is owned by AB InBev, announced it has allowed alcohol wholesalers across the country to pay for its products at a later date or pay in installments as part of its efforts to ease the burden on businesses that have been battered by stricter social di

Consumer Sept. 13, 2020

The consumption of jet fuel in South Korea saw a 40.5 percent year-on-year drop during the first quarter this year, according to the latest data from the Korea National Oil Corporation. With most international flights from Korea canceled due to weak travel demand and international travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the industry consumed just 11.59 million barrels of oil. Overall oil consumption was down 2.9 percent during the same period, standing at around 443.93 million barre

Industry Sept. 11, 2020

Air Busan became the first Korean airline on Thursday to fly a no-destination flight with a select group of passengers. The short-haul flight, which took off around noon from Gimhae International Airport, located on the western end of Busan, traveled over multiple areas of the country including Pohang, Seoul, Gwangju and Jeju Island for nearly two hours before returning to Gimhae. Students from the Department of Airlines and Tourism at Uiduk University were among those on board the plane as pa

Mobility Sept. 10, 2020

Philip Morris Korea on Wednesday called on the government to introduce separate regulations for heat-not-burn cigarettes, as it touted the latest authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration of its Iqos brand.　 The FDA decided in July to authorize the marketing of the company’s electronically heated tobacco system as a type of modified risk tobacco product in an industry first. There are two types of MRTP orders the FDA may issue: a “risk modification” order or an &ldq

Industry Sept. 9, 2020

Korean Air announced Tuesday it will enforce stricter rules for passengers to wear masks on board planes as part of safety efforts to prevent COVID-19. Starting Sept. 8, the national flag carrier will not allow passengers to board if they refuse to wear a mask, in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, with the exception of toddlers younger than 24 months and those with health conditions. The move is part of the airline’s Care First program, which consists of prevention and disinfec

Mobility Sept. 8, 2020

The total value of orders placed on food delivery apps in South Korea reached 1.2 trillion won in August, up 28 percent from July and setting a new monthly record, as the government introduced stricter social distancing regulations after COVID-19 cases rose again, according to data released by WiseApp Tuesday. Around 16 million people used the country‘s four biggest delivery apps -- Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, Baedaltong and Foodfly -- during the month of August, the data showed. Users of Bae

Consumer Sept. 8, 2020