McDonald’s Korea has received the Prime Minister’s Commendation award for eco-friendly business operation, the company said Monday. The fast food chain received the award for its efforts to reduce the use of plastics and switch to more eco-friendly packaging. In May, the company ditched plastic lids for its ice cream McFlurry and it continues to introduce electric motorcycles for its McDelivery service to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The award was granted on the 12th anniversa

Industry Sept. 7, 2020

Over 60 percent of international companies have either shaken up their global value chains or have plans to do so amid growing protectionism around the world, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Sunday. A total of 246 companies in fields such as materials, devices and equipment were analyzed by officials at the state-funded trade organization, who looked at their business decisions over the past five years such as relocation, investments, mergers and acquisitions. Changes to globa

Industry Sept. 6, 2020

  진행자: 임현수, Kevin Lee Selzer 1. Far-right pastor claims COVID-19 outbreak a fraud 요약: 사랑제일교회 전광훈 목사가 정부의 방역 조치를 '사기'이라고 주장했다. [1] As soon as he had recovered from COVID-19 on Wednesday, Jun Kwang-hoon, who leads the Seoul-based Presbyterian church that has emerged as the country’s second-biggest virus cluster, called the government’s antivirus measures a “fraud” designed to destroy his church. *As soon as: ~하자마자 *Presbyterian: 장로교 *Emerge: 나타나다 *Fraud: 사기 [

Podcast Sept. 3, 2020

Despite months of back-and-forth and attempts at breakthroughs, the acquisition talks between HDC Hyundai Development Company and Asiana Airline are likely to fall apart, according to reports Thursday. In an email Wednesday, the building company once again told Korea Development Bank, the airline’s creditor, to undertake a fresh round of due diligence for 12 weeks, local reports revealed. KDB and the airline’s owner Kumho Industrial have been adamant against another round of due dil

Mobility Sept. 3, 2020

Health and beauty store Olive Young said Thursday it was preparing to apply for an initial public offering in 2022. CEO Koo Chang-gun announced the decision on the company’s in-house communication app “Olive Lounge” on Wednesday where he said work to file for an IPO in 2022 would start next year, with plans to attract pre-IPO investment. “It is to secure assets to support the company’s future growth. But there won’t be any change to majority shareholder CJ

Consumer Sept. 3, 2020

E-commerce firm WeMakePrice said Wednesday that grocery shoppers can now receive a full refund for perishable goods if the products are not up to their standards. The new initiative comes after the online retailer trialed a similar service last month for meat products and nuts, which the company says was met with a warm reception. Dissatisfied shoppers can now order meat, vegetables, fruits and seafood products that are quality assurance approved and request a full refund until the following

Consumer Sept. 2, 2020

DRINK RESPONSIBLY -- Oriental Brewery CEO Ben Verhaert, who also goes by the Korean name Bae Ha-jun, attends an event to launch a campaign against drunk driving at a driver’s test site in southern Seoul, Wednesday.  OB has teamed up with the Road Traffic Authority for the campaign.

Consumer Sept. 2, 2020

Hanwha Group’s skyscraper 63 Square, more commonly known as 63 Building, made a cameo appearance with BTS at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. During the septet’s performance of their new single “Dynamite,” Seoul’s landmarks stood tall in the backdrop alongside a display of fireworks over what appears to be the Han River. “Shining through the city with a little funk and soul,” bandmate Jin belted out the last round of the chorus as the conglomerate

Industry Aug. 31, 2020

Incheon International Airport Corp. is set to post an annual deficit of over 430 billion ($ 363 million) won this year, according to its latest projection Monday. As things stand in August, the airport is on course to be in the red this year, marking the first time in 17 years since 2003. The projection comes following a sharp drop in the number of flights and revenue during the first half of 2020, which saw its previous projected deficit grow over time since the first quarter. “The pro

Mobility Aug. 31, 2020

Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Sunday that the company will start distribution of its newly built Hill State apartments in the city of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in early September. The new complex consists of seven 20-story buildings with five basement floors and offers a total of 565 units in five different sizes ranging between 63 and 84 square meters. It is the company‘s first Hill State brand launched in the neighborhood in the vicinity of Samdong Station on the Gye

Industry Aug. 30, 2020

Hyundai Oilbank recently filed a patent application for its new oil leak detection system known as Hyundai Oil Leakage Monitoring Expert System, the company said Sunday. The newly developed system, also known as Holmes, can monitor possible oil leaks through detection sensors designed to keep an eye on fuel dispensers, allowing gas station owners to be updated in real time on mobile devices. Oil leakage at gas stations in downtown areas can lead to soil contamination underneath buildings, and

Industry Aug. 30, 2020

Launching a startup, let alone a brand new airline, is not an easy task. And much more so at a time when the aviation industry has come to a near-halt. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, airlines across the world have been scrambling to survive, with most suffering heavy losses. But CEO of up-and-coming budget airline Aero K Mike Kang, a 44-year-old businessman who has held a senior role at entertainment mogul CJ E&M and equity firm EMP Belstar, will soon see his planes fly after receivi

Mobility Aug. 30, 2020

E-commerce giant Coupang is trialing a buy-now, pay-later service. The new service is applied to products directly bought from and sold by Coupang, which are available for its next-day delivery service, Rocket Delivery, according to one official at the company, allowing users to purchase items on credit until the 15th of the following month. Up to 300,000 won ($253) in shopping items can be paid for later through the new service. It is currently being tested with a select few users, while an

Consumer Aug. 28, 2020

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Thursday it has met its target for the first half of the year owing to new overseas deals. The company won has won orders worth 6.4 trillion won ($5.39 billion) during the first half of the year, racking up 3.949 trillion won in revenue and 202 billion won in operating profit. Compared to the first half of 2019 when domestic orders accounted for more, this year saw Daewoo E&C land orders worth 2.68 trillion won from overseas, including the Train 7

Industry Aug. 27, 2020

In a world first, beauty and cosmetics conglomerate Amorepacific has developed a clinical evaluation method for blue light, the company said Thursday. The study by the firm’s research body, the Anti-Pollution Research Center, discovered that blue light -- high-energy light in the blue band with a wavelength between 380 and 500 nanometers in the visible spectrum -- can cause skin pigmentation at the point of 456 nanometers. After developing a clinical device that emits blue light, resear

Consumer Aug. 27, 2020