Most Popular
-
1
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
2
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
3
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
4
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
5
[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
-
6
S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
-
7
Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
-
8
Public backlash against division of Gyeonggi Province under 'corny' name
-
9
Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
-
10
[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
-
Stock price output mixed for ship-related sectors
Stock prices of the Korean shipping and shipbuilding industries for next year are projected to be mixed amid the market’s tough conditions and ongoing restructuring, experts said Thursday. Analysts said the financial resolutions of ailing shipping companies would lead to recovery of the stock prices of the shipping industry, but shipbuilders will see a rough year due to rising competition from China and Japan and the nature of their orders, which require extensive time to materialize.Since Hanji
Dec. 22, 2016
-
[Super Rich] Seven numbers to explain self-made billionaire owner of Smilegate
About a year and nine months ago, Kwon Hyuk-bin joined the list of South Korean billionaires. Kwon is the chairman of game making company Smilegate which is known for its hugely popular game “Crossfire.” He joined the club with 2 billion won ($1.6 million) in private assets. Kwon is regarded as the richest self-made man in Korea. This week, The Superrich Team takes a look at seven numbers that explain Kwon’s success story. Kwon Hyuk-bin, founder of Smilegate (Smilegate)1. 25: Kwon started his f
Dec. 22, 2016
-
[Super Rich] Five chaebol families make up one-third of top 100 richest in Korea
Unhealthy ties between Korean conglomerates and the government have long been cited as a factor that prevents Korea from moving forward. A recent comment by a chaebol chief at a parliamentary hearing over the alleged connections between businesses and the presidential office was a reflection of the reality.“It was near impossible to reject such a demand (from Cheong Wa Dae). That’s what it’s like in Korea,” said Huh Chang-soo, head of GS Group and chairman of the Federal of Korean Industries, at
Dec. 22, 2016
-
LX Corp. seeks to enhance citizens’ lives through Government 3.0
South Korea’s state-run land information provider LX Corp. is operating a number of services to boost the public’s access to information about land as part of a government-led initiative, the company said Thursday. Government 3.0 refers to a government-launched initiative aimed at improving people’s lives and supporting small entrepreneurs by making available land-related data.LX Corp. officials hold a meeting on the Government 3.0 initiative. (LX Corp.)The most notable service is the LX basic l
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Homeplus opens mall-style branch in Paju
Discount retailer Homeplus opened its 142nd branch with a mall layout that emphasizes experience over shopping, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday. Homeplus’ 66,000-square-meter Paju Unjeong branch is the company’s largest discount retail outlet in Paju. The mall includes stores directly operated by Homeplus as well as a culture center and a movie theater.According to the company, the branch’s layout reflects the recent trend of discount retailers by minimizing traditional grocery store offe
Dec. 22, 2016
-
E-Land under fire for alleged labor rights abuse
A union of part-time workers and labor activists called Thursday for the arrest of the CEO of E-Land Park and a crackdown on alleged unfair labor practices.Eight groups including the Arbeit Workers Union and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a press conference in front of the E-Land Park headquarters in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, to demand that the company‘s food business CEO, Park Hyeong-sik, be taken into custody for breaking labor laws.“Many of the workers affected by E-Land Park’s meti
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Korean Drug Ministry joins global pharma cooperation body ICH
South Korea’s Drug Ministry said Thursday that it has officially joined the international pharmaceutical cooperation body ICH, a move expected to ease the entry of Korean pharmaceutical products into overseas markets. The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is the sixth member of the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use, which aims to establish a shared international standard across all stages of the pharmaceuticals regulation pr
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Green Cross’ 4-strain influenza vaccine approved by WHO
South Korean biopharma company Green Cross said Thursday that its self-developed quadrivalent influenza vaccine has obtained the World Health Organization’s prequalification approval. The approval grants Green Cross eligibility to join the United Nation’s procurement bid for influenza vaccines in the future to potentially win vaccine supply orders from UN affiliates such as UNICEF and PAHO.Green Cross’ GC Flu Quadrivalent is able to protect against four strains of influenza -- two influenza A st
Dec. 22, 2016
-
S. Korean conglomerates still lack transparency in governance
South Korea's big businesses still lack transparency in their governance as owner families still have a strong grip on influence without seats on the board of directors through cross-ownership, the state corporate watchdog said Thursday.The percentage of owners or their relatives who are listed as board members of companies affiliated with 21 large family-run conglomerates stood at 17.8 percent as of April 1, down 0.6 percentage point from a year before, according to the Fair Trade Commission.In
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Korean Air pilots go on strike but with minimum damage
Unionized pilots of South Korea's largest flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co. went into a 10-day strike Thursday, but the company said customer inconvenience will likely remain at a minimum.On the first day of the walkout that will last until the end of the year, 18 out of 203 Korean Air flights, including four international flights, were cancelled due to the walkout, the company said in a press release.The four international flights cancelled included two to Japan's Narita airport and one to Osak
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Franchises less profitable than stand-alone shops
Despite much larger sales, franchisees in South Korea earn less money than owners of stand-alone stores due to higher costs, a report said Thursday.The operating margin for one-man franchise stores in the wholesale and retail sectors came to 12.8 percent in 2014, 10.5 percentage points lower than that for non-franchised shops, according to the report by the Korea Labor Institute.The margin, or the ratio of operating income to sales, for franchise stores with employees stood at 6.1 percent, also
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Outbound shipments of S. Korean venture firms jump 21 percent in Nov.
Exports by South Korea's venture firms jumped over 21 percent from a year earlier last month, a local trade organization said Thursday, marking the first double-digit growth in over a year and possibly heralding an imminent improvement in the country's overall exports.According to the Korea International Trade Association, outbound shipments by local venture firms came to $1.69 billion in November, up 21.6 percent from the same month last year.The November tally marked the first double-digit gro
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Graphic warnings to appear on cigarette packs
Cigarette packs sold in South Korea will carry graphic images showing the harmful effects of smoking starting this month, the government said Thursday.Earlier this year, a related law was passed to introduce a total of 10 graphic health warnings to be placed on the upper part of both sides of a cigarette packet. The photos are required to cover more than 30 percent of both sides of a packet, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. All cigarette packs have to carry one of the 10 desi
Dec. 22, 2016
-
Chicken prices feared to soar over AI outbreak
Chicken prices in South Korea are likely to jump next month due to a possible undersupply following the deadliest outbreak of avian influenza, industry sources said Thursday.South Korea has destroyed more than 20 million chickens and ducks at nearly 400 farms across the nation since the first case of bird flu was reported in mid-November at a chicken farm on the southwest coast. People shop for chicken at a grocery store in southern Seoul on Dec. 16, 2016. (Yonhap)According to the Korea Broiler
Dec. 22, 2016
-
S. Korean mortgage rates rise on US factors
South Korean mortgage rates gained considerably in November from the previous month due to rising market interest ahead of a US rate hike, data showed Thursday.Annual mortgage rates charged by South Korea's top five lenders -- KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank and NH Bank -- averaged 3.28 percent last month, up 0.28 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data by the Korea Federation of Banks.The increase was attributed to a rise in COFIX, a benchmark lendi
Dec. 22, 2016
-
SK seeks growth, change in massive reshuffle
SK Group announced Wednesday the new lineup of it top decision-making council, called Supex, and promoted young CEOs of its five affiliates, seeking a generational shift in management. The nation’s third-largest conglomerate named Cho Dae-sik, CEO and president of SK Holdings, as the new chairman of the Supex Council. It also replaced the heads of five council committees on energy, internet and communications technology, communications, shared growth and human resources.“To cope actively with th
Dec. 21, 2016
-
Special counsel puts Samsung merger at center of Choi probe
The independent counsel team looking into the corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil kicked off its official investigation Wednesday, putting a controversial merger between two Samsung affiliates at the center of its initial probe.Investigators of the special counsel team raided the National Pension Service’s asset management office in Seoul, the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Sejong and residences of executives involved in last year’s mer
Dec. 21, 2016
-
Reasons behind Starbucks’ mega success in Korea
Seventeen years after it opened its first store in Korea in front of Ewha Womans University, Starbucks Korea celebrated the opening of its 1,000th store last week in the upscale Cheongdam shopping district.The landmark is the result of aggressive expansion by the Korean arm of the Seattle-born coffee chain, which opened 131 new stores between 2015 and 2016. Korea is the fifth country to have 1,000 Starbucks stores after the US, Canada, China and Japan. Sales have grown in step with the number of
Dec. 21, 2016
-
[NEWSMAKER] Korean Air on hot seat over air rage incident
Korea’s flagship air carrier is likely to spend Christmas fending off controversy over the training of its cabin crew and labor relations, as an in-flight incident involving an international pop star took off Tuesday via social media, just ahead of a scheduled strike by its pilots.On Tuesday, singer-songwriter Richard Marx posted multiple times to his official Facebook page about a four-hour “chaotic and dangerous event” on Korean Air Flight 480’s Prestige business class, flying from Hanoi, Viet
Dec. 21, 2016
-
Korea to pour W7tr in future industries over five years
The South Korean government and private entities will invest about 7 trillion won ($5.88 billion) in 12 new promising sectors over the next five years, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. The ministry and some 30 companies and organizations announced detailed strategies to boost the new industries selected as being central to South Korea’s “fourth industrial revolution.” The partnership picked the new fields based on macro trends, the country&r
Dec. 21, 2016