Homeplus has become mired in a controversy, with its contracted maintenance firm claiming the retailer pressured them to purchase vouchers during holiday seasons. Upon receiving the case, the Fair Trade Commission viewed that while Homeplus’ alleged action did not have a forced nature, the contracted company had reasons to feel pressured. It sent the company a warning, a mild form of discipline....

VORNADO Korea, a domestic marketing company that has imported air circulators from US-based VORNADO since 2007, has found its footing in the South Korean market. VORNADO, which started its business in the mid-1940 in Kansas, is a US-based company that manufactures household fans and appliances related to air circulation. It prides itself on its signature energy efficient Vortex Technology, which...

GS Group, a South Korean energy and engineering giant, has laid out plans to reinforce the competitiveness of its major businesses, discover unique growth engines and expand overseas projects. “Since its launch, GS has consistently pushed toward overcoming the limits of the domestic market to expand its business territory and adopt global strategies to create more jobs,” said GS Group Chairman H...

South Korea‘s state-run utility provider Korea Electric Power Corporation said Tuesday that it will begin operating its 1,560 electric vehicle charging stations in the nation starting on July 3. Of the total 1,560 EV charging stations, 569 are public charging stations that are available at Kepco’s operations center and public parking spaces, while the rest 989 are stations that are installed at ...

South Korea’s state-run Korea Gas said Monday that it will start importing US shale gas in July. Following a deal secured in 2012 with the Texas-based Cheniere to bring in shale gas, Korea has become the first nation in Asia to import US shale gas. From this year, Kogas will bring in 2.8 million tons of US shale gas annually for the next 20 years. Throughout 2017, the company will import some 1...

GS Caltex Chairman Huh Jin-soo hosted a musical concert in Seoul on Monday to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary with its longtime clients and business partners, the firm said Wednesday. “GS Caltex has grown along with customers for the past 50 years,” he said at the concert, which featured soprano Shin Young-ok and samulnori -- Korean traditional percussion -- musician Jang Sa-ik. “(The ...

Aparna Balakumar, a 21-year-old Australian student visiting South Korea, says she was a little nervous about coming to the country for the first time, fearing that her food options might be limited as a vegetarian. But after weeks of hunting in Seoul, she learned there are a significant number of vegetarian communities here and an increasing number of places to go that are vegetarian-friendly, w...

South Korea’s oil refining businesses set their dates for half-year interim dividends on the back of increasing first-half profitability, especially in petrochemicals and lubricants. The latest refiner to join the trend was SK Innovation, which on Friday set June 30 as its record date for the interim dividends, meaning holders of shares on that date will be eligible for the payment. The company...

South Korea’s bottled water market is expected to surpass 1 trillion won ($890 million) by 2020 on the back of rising popularity among single-person households and the use of online shopping platforms, according to a local market research firm. Between 2010 and 2016, the bottled water market posted average annual growth of 6.7 percent, while the average growth of overall nonalcoholic beverages w...

LG Display retained the world’s highest shipments of large panels for 30 consecutive quarters, a global market research company said Tuesday. LG Display, the world‘s largest liquid crystal display panel manufacturer, was first ranked No. 1 in the global large display panel market in the fourth quarter of 2009 and has maintained its position since then. In the first quarter this year, LG Display...

Hyundai Motor Group’s construction of its new headquarters Global Business Center in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul, is to be delayed after the Seoul Metropolitan Government rejected the company‘s first draft of an environmental impact assessment Tuesday. The government said that it would redeliberate the draft when the company revises it. “Hyundai Motor will conduct a thorough revising process t...

South Korean shipbuilders won the largest amount of new orders for the second straight month in May, according to data from a global shipping information company Monday. According to the UK-based Clarkson Research Service, Korean shipbuilding companies in May secured orders to build a total of 21 units worth a combined 790,000 compensated gross tons, a measurement to gauge the amount of work tha...

The energy industry has been showing mixed reactions to the anti-nuclear energy policy touted by President Moon Jae-in, taking a wait-and-see approach for now, as proponents and opponents alike weigh in on the efficacy, importance and reality of realizing no-coal, no-nuclear initiatives. Upon taking office last month, the Moon administration vowed to scrap all new constructions of new nuclear po...

South Korea’s leading chemical company LG Chem has landed a large-scale contract to supply seawater filters to water treatment company Metito’s desalination plants in Egypt, the company said Sunday. LG Chem’s latest supply agreement is expected to be worth some 10 to 15 billion won ($9 million to $13 million), similar to the contract signed to provide its filters for the Sohar plant in Oman last...

Hyundai Motor’s 2017 Genesis G90 luxury sedan was named the most satisfying vehicle on AutoPacific’s 21th Vehicle Satisfaction Awards, the company said Thursday. The VSAs are based on responses from some 54,000 owners of cars and light trucks released in 2016 and 2017. AutoPacific’s VSAs measure owner satisfaction with 49 separate attributes, ranging from interior comfort and styling to fuel eco...