South Korean companies are ending strict pandemic-era rules and restrictions, resuming overseas trips and in-person meetings, as offices prepare to gradually shift to the “living with COVID-19” phase set to start next month. The move is also in line with rising vaccination rates across the country. According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 78.7 percent of the popul...

Stung by its employees‘ first collective action, Starbucks Korea said Sunday that it will hire 1,600 more baristas and store staff by the end of this year and improve working conditions. The hiring plan is part of the firm’s package of measures announced in response to recent complaints from in-store staff that they were overworked and underpaid. “We plan to hire in order to secure more staff a...

Porsche Korea just built an indoor playground in Seoul as part of its Porsche Dream Playground program. The carmaker said Thursday that it has completed construction of the playground on the premises of Seokgwan Elementary School in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul. Holger Gerrmann, CEO of Porsche Korea, and officials from the school and ChildFund Korea attended a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the p...

LG’s smart plant grower is about the size of a large oven and comes in two colors -- green and beige -- and is priced at 1.49 million won ($1,260). A miniature version, the LG tiiun Mini, will appear on the local market soon. Interest in home gardening has grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic started, as more people are staying home. In line with the trend, the market for plant-growin...

Along with food companies, local coffee chains launched Halloween-themed menus for the season. Hollys Coffee, a South Korean coffee chain, introduced three limited edition menus this month, inspired by various themes of Halloween. One of them is the “Witch Chocolate Berry Hollyccino,” a dark chocolate iced beverage topped with berry sauce and decorated with a chocolate witch garnish. Starbucks ...

For the proliferation of electric vehicles in South Korea, it is key to upgrade power systems installed at apartment buildings, the predominant type of housing in urban areas here, according to a recent study. Without significant improvement in residential buildings’ electricity capacity, the rush to install chargers at home parking spaces will entail blackout risks, the Korea Automotive Technol...

A Korean carmakers’ association has sent a letter to the US House of Representatives, asking it to reject a legislative bill to offer tax incentives for US-made electric vehicles, arguing the proposed plan could unfairly disadvantage foreign carmakers and limit customer choice. The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said Thursday the written letter, directed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...

Baristas and other employees of Starbucks Korea mobilized two trucks emblazoned with words of protest on Thursday, expressing their pent-up anger against the coffee chain and calling out treatment they consider inhumane. “Starbucks Partners are not expendable. Partners, who have raised their voices for the first time in 22 years, shall not be silenced,” read the message on the sides of both truc...

Authorities in Mexico ordered a recall of a Buldak, or “fire chicken,” ramen product for misleading customers with its label, despite having “no trace of chicken” in it. The Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer announced the recall decision Monday there, concerning Buldak Ramen Cheese and 11 other instant noodle products from across nine manufacturers. It targets a total of 129,937...

Convenience store chain Seven Eleven has partnered with a local mobility software startup to use drones for product delivery, the company announced Wednesday. According to Seven Eleven, it will develop systems and infrastructure for delivery drones with Pablo Air, with plans to launch a pilot run later this year. The firm will open a new location outside of the greater Seoul area, possibly in G...

South Korean instant noodle maker Samyang Foods is opening a branch in China, on the back of the worldwide popularity of its extremely spicy Buldak Ramen. The company said Tuesday the new office will launch in Shanghai in December, following the foundation of Samyang America in August. The China branch will focus on marketing and distribution of its products on the mainland, it said. China and ...

International sales of Nongshim’s spicy Shin Ramyun surpassed local sales for the first time in the third quarter of this year, the South Korean foodmaker said Monday. Sales generated outside of South Korea accounted for 53.6 percent of the product‘s 690 billion won ($600 million) total sales in the first three quarters of the year. This is the first time that more Shin Ramyun was sold overseas ...

In South Korea, too, job seekers interviewed by The Korea Herald expressed doubts. “My former colleague was considered ‘unfit’ for the job (in an AI interview) when he first applied for my company. He applied again a year later and was hired (after the process). That got me rethinking about AI interviewer’s credibility,” said a 27-year-old woman who wished to be identified by her surname Cho. S...

Baristas and employees of Starbucks Korea are fuming over excessive workload, after a recent marketing event drew customers lining up for hours. Saying the company has no consideration for the working conditions of its already-overworked staff, the employees said they may stage their first-ever collection action this week. A staffer at the US-based coffee chain, who requested anonymity, confi...

In a statement posted on the Dunkin’ Donuts’ Korean website, BR Korea said it was investigating hygiene standards at the factory and how well they were observed. “We are internally investigating the matter. The Korea Food & Drug Administration also conducted a spot check of the facility Wednesday morning,” read the statement. It also said it will “come up with internal and external measures” de...