US FDA clears new sunscreen ingredient. K-beauty's turn is still ahead

The US Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of its first new sunscreen ingredient in decades is like a flashing green light for South Korea, long practiced in the art of sunscreen, though it may not be quite as green as it seems. The agency approved bemotrizinol, or BEMT, the first new sunscreen active ingredient since the late 1990s, by amending the existing sunscreen monograph, with the new rules to take effect Aug. 9. In the US, sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter drugs, an

2026-07-31 12:39:37:00

CJ CheilJedang eyes sale of starch-sweetener business

CJ CheilJedang is reportedly weighing a sale of its starch-based sweetener business, the latest step in a broader effort to divest low-growth operations since overhauling its corporate structure earlier this month. According to industry sources on Wednesday, the South Korean food conglomerate is in talks with financial investors about a potential carve-out sale of the unit, with a local accounting firm advising on the process. Industry estimates put its value at around 300 billion won ($207 mill

2026-07-29 14:38:58:00

Posco advances rare earth supply deal in Brazil

Posco International is expanding into Brazil's rare earth market, partnering with a mineral exploration company to secure and diversify its critical minerals supply chain, the company said Wednesday. The trading and energy arm of Posco Group signed a memorandum of understanding with Meteoric Resources, an Australia-based rare earth developer, to secure a stable supply of rare earth materials, part of a wider effort to reduce reliance on any single country for minerals tied to national security a

2026-07-29 14:33:33:00

Hyosung lands Brazil transformer deal, grid-tech partnership

Hyosung Heavy Industries said Wednesday it won an order to supply ultra-high-voltage transformers for a Brazilian hydropower plant and agreed to jointly develop grid-stabilization technology with a global hydropower plant specialist. The South Korean company will supply six 500-kilovolt transformers to Andritz Hydro, a global hydropower equipment and services provider, for use at the Foz do Areia hydropower plant in Parana, Brazil. Andritz Hydro accounts for more than 25 percent of Brazil's hyd

2026-07-29 14:28:31:00

Is Homeplus built for Trader Joe's playbook?

Embattled hypermarket chain Homeplus is pinning its revival on a new type of store modeled on US grocery chain Trader Joe's, a leap of faith that has stirred both hope for a business remade and skepticism that a company on the edge of bankruptcy has the footing to pull it off. Homeplus laid out the plan last week, after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court extended its rehabilitation deadline to Sept. 4. Once 200 billion won ($136.8 million) in debtor-in-possession financing arrives, the retailer intends

2026-07-28 14:50:51:00

Mary&May rides viral campaign into global distribution channels

Mary&May, a Korean clean beauty brand, said Monday it is stepping up its expansion into distribution channels across more than 70 countries, riding the success of a global social media campaign that boosted the brand's visibility. The campaign, called "Tingle to Glow," asks customers to document their before-and-after results using the brand's PDRN Spicule line, which pairs microneedle technology with a plant-based skin repair ingredient. The brand said the tingle comes from microscopic needles

2026-07-27 17:44:44:00

K-beauty CEOs join Lee’s Brazil trip in Latin America growth push

South Korea's top beauty executives are accompanying President Lee Jae Myung on his state visit to Brazil through Wednesday, as K-beauty makes its deepest inroads yet into Latin America's booming cosmetics market, industry sources said Monday. The CEOs of the beauty delegation — Amorepacific Holdings' Lee Sang-mok, APR's Kim Byung-hoon, Goodai Global's Cheun Ju-hyuk and Silicon2's Kim Sung-woon — are set to attend a Korea-Brazil business roundtable Tuesday, alongside executives from other sector

2026-07-27 14:57:42:00

Seoul seeks to defuse US tensions over Coupang bias claims

South Korea's top trade negotiator traveled to Washington last week to ease US concerns over alleged discrimination against Coupang, the US-listed e-commerce giant at the center of a trade flashpoint between the two allies. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resource on Sunday, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with 10 senators and representatives — including Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Adrian Smith — from Tuesday to Friday to clarify that Korea's digital laws and policies are not bias

2026-07-26 14:31:45:00

IKEA opens first Incheon store in Songdo

IKEA Korea opened its first store in Incheon on Wednesday, expanding its urban-format outlet strategy as the Swedish home furnishings retailer broadens its offline footprint in major cities. The new IKEA Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo store, located on the basement level of Hyundai Premium Outlet Songdo, is the company's second urban-format outlet following its Seoul launch. IKEA plans to open additional stores in Daegu and Daejeon later this year. Occupying about 600 square meters, the store com

2026-07-23 18:11:45:00

Uber rides Baemin back into Korea's delivery race. What's at stake now?

Uber is coming back to Seoul seven years after the platform bearing its name failed to crack one of Asia's largest food delivery scenes, this time through the very nemesis that thwarted it at the time, Baemin, operated by Woowa Brothers. Uber signed a merger agreement with Baemin's German parent company Delivery Hero on Thursday valued at roughly $14.8 billion, folding Baemin in along with dozens of other platforms. Delivery Hero had run the 2010-born startup since 2019 with an 88 percent stake

2026-07-21 11:37:10:00