Upward pressure is growing on retail milk prices, following an increase in the price of raw milk this month, but the government seeks to delay the price hike until the end of this year amid rising inflation. In July last year, the Korea Dairy Committee decided to raise the price of raw milk by 21 won to 947 won per liter starting this month, according to industry sources. The retail price of milk has yet to increase, but consumers will not learn until later this month, which is when major dai

Consumer Aug. 12, 2021

The South Korean unit of French luxury brand Chanel has apologized after a recent cyberattack in which hackers leaked customers’ personal data. In a statement on the website on Sunday, the company said it had learned that the personal information of some customers from its membership database for the Fragrance and Beauty division-- including names, birth dates, phone numbers and shopping histories -- had been breached last week. Their payment information, IDs and passwords were not leake

Consumer Aug. 9, 2021

Food delivery apps such as Baemin and Coupang Eats have brought us great comfort in this pandemic, as months of social distancing and restrictions on business hours left us with little choice. But as the market nearly doubled to 17.38 trillion won ($15.22 million) in South Korea last year, with 27 million monthly users and 120,000 riders according to Statistics Korea and the Fair Trade Commission, plastic waste has also increased considerably. In one Facebook group for people trying to avoid

Consumer Aug. 8, 2021

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is looking into a case filed by legal counselling app LawTalk earlier this year against the Korean Bar Association after the organization decided to ban its members from joining such platforms. The clash between the disruptive mobile service and the bar association, which led to a series of tit-for-tat actions including a Constitutional Court case, could be judged from a fair trade point of view, if the FTC determines the association as a business assoc

Industry Aug. 8, 2021

Oriental Brewery said on Thursday that it has begun building solar power generation facilities at its beer production bases, a move that could offset over 5,600 tons of carbon footprint each year. Under the beer manufacturer’s decision to join the Renewable Energy 100 initiative, which is designed to encourage the use of solar power, it will become the first corporation to build its own infrastructure to generate renewable energy for self-consumption, the company said. The solar energy g

Consumer Aug. 5, 2021

In a further sign of growing popularity of online services, South Koreans in their 50s and 60s are increasingly using streaming services and food delivery apps during this pandemic, a new report has revealed. The findings come after Hana Institute of Finance, a research institution under Hana Bank, analyzed online credit card payment data between 2019 and 2020 to study generational differences in online consumption behavior. Though the use of video streaming services such as Netflix used to

Consumer Aug. 4, 2021

Online fashion retailer Musinsa said Tuesday it would invest a further 14 billion won in fashion startups through its venture capital Musinsa Partners to bring the total investment to 60 billion won within this year. Established in 2018, Musinsa Partners is a joint venture capital firm that has invested some 46 billion won in medium- and small-sized enterprises and startups in the fashion industry. The latest announcement is part of the company’s drive to boost the fashion industry, incl

Consumer Aug. 3, 2021

Korean Air has operated 10,000 cargo-only passenger flights as of Sunday, the airline said on Monday, as it pivoted to the cargo business amid a decline in air travel demand during the pandemic. The airline first flew a passenger flight carrying only cargo on the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh route in March last year. Since then, it has operated such flights on 65 routes to North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, China and Japan, transporting 400,000 tons of cargo around the world. Some 40 tons of cargo

Mobility Aug. 2, 2021

Department stores and big supermarkets will start requiring customers to scan QR codes or submit to written entry logs to shop starting from Friday in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The measure was drawn up and confirmed by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Tuesday as a way to strengthen COVID-19 prevention efforts as cases continue to rise in South Korea. Stores that are bigger than 3,000 square meters are required to adopt a QR entry log system, while

Consumer July 30, 2021

US-based coffee roaster and retailer Blue Bottle Coffee opened a store on Jeju Island on Friday. The opening of the ninth location in South Korea also marks the first store to be located outside of Seoul. Dubbed Blue Bottle Jeju Cafe, the new outlet is located in Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup of Jeju City, on the western side of the island. The newly opened store reflects the regional traits of the island both in the space and on the menu, opting for low walls and a minimalistic interior design with

Consumer July 30, 2021

South Korean food and beverage company Nongshim announced Thursday plans to increase the price of its flagship instant noodles including Shin Ramyun by an average of 6.8 percent starting mid next month. Nongshim last hiked ramen prices in 2016. The latest move comes after rival ramen maker Ottogi announced earlier this month its first price hike in more than 11 years. When broken down by brand, Nongshim’s flagship Shin Ramyun will see a 7.6 percent increase in price while the prices of

Consumer July 29, 2021

Orion, a South Korean confectionery company widely known for Choco Pie, said on Thursday its cumulative revenue had reached 1 trillion won ($873 million) in Russia. The trillion-won threshold was broken after the company racked up 50.6 billion won in sales for the first six months combined this year, following the precedents in China and Vietnam. Efforts to create localized new products, as well as a wide range of biscuits and its popular Choco Pie, tapped into Russia’s dessert culture a

Consumer July 29, 2021

Hankook Tire & Technology, the world‘s sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, is further expanding its portfolio of Original Equipment tires by working with global automakers and ramping up efforts to secure core technology in the field. It has so far struck a partnership with 46 car brands for some 320 models across the world, according to the company on Wednesday, including premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Hankook Technodome, its flagship research and development faci

Mobility July 28, 2021

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said on Tuesday it has renewed its sponsorship contract with English football club Tottenham Hotspur. The long-term extension to a deal that was first signed in 2016 marks the third time the company has continued its support for the team as their official tire partner. The move comes after South Korean player Son Heung-min recently signed a new four-year contract with the team until 2025. Son’s presence means his team also has many fans in his home cou

Mobility July 27, 2021

In a sign of growing popularity, revenue from South Korean instant noodle exports reached a record high of 368.7 billion won ($319 million) during the first half of this year, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure broke the previous record of $302.8 million set the same time one year ago and was up 5.8 percent. When broken down by country, China was the largest importer of South Korean instant noodles where $68.13 million worth was sold. The US was the second-largest m

Consumer July 26, 2021