Ikea Korea saw its sales falling this fiscal year for the first time since its entry in 2014, the company said Wednesday, citing the lift of social regulations as a key reason for Koreans' reduced spending on home furnishing products. During a media conference, the South Korean branch of the Swedish furniture giant said it had recorded sales of 618 billion won ($444 million) between September 20...

The use of disposable cups has soared during the pandemic years, with the annual number exceeding 1 billion for the first time last year, a report showed Tuesday. According to an Environment Ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Joo-hwan of the ruling People Power Party, the number of single-use plastic and paper cups consumed at 14 cafe and four popular fast-food chains was 4.34 billion over th...

Kim Min-soo, a senior college student, stands next to his bicycle as he waits for a delivery order on a bustling street in Hongdae, western Seoul, on a Saturday afternoon. After a few minutes of waiting, his phone, adjusted to the handle of his bike, lights up with a message and notifies him of a delivery call from a to-go restaurant. With the app’s artificial intelligence navigation system show...

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it is offering a $100 million funding, consisting of a $55 million loan and a $45 million loan guarantee, to a Chilean mineral producer in efforts to help local companies secure a stable supply of lithium, a key material for batteries. SQM or Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is the second-largest lithium-producing company in the world that operate...

LG Innotek was acknowledged for its quality of automotive components provided to General Motors for five consecutive years, the company said Wednesday. The South Korean major electronics parts maker won the 2021 GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award, marking its fifth consecutive win since 2017. The award is given by GM every year to its partners whose supplies meet GM’s standard of zero quality...

Hyundai Motor Group has teamed up with Hanjin KAL, the parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air, and Incheon International Airport Corp. on Tuesday to jointly develop automation technology for Incheon Airport's smart cargo terminal infrastructure. The technology will be applied to Incheon Airport’s airsides, the aircraft take-off and landing areas such as runways. This business agreement...

HAMYANG, South Gyeongsang Province – A week before Chuseok, the sounds of a combine harvester's revving engine echoed in Gi-dong village of Hamyang, some 240 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The sound is not an unfamiliar one at any farm during harvest season around the country, but the scene was different as the machine cut and threshed grains underneath solar panels. Sleek, rectangular panels ar...

Steel giant Posco Group’s Representative Director and President Jeong Tak visited the Argentinian government Thursday to ask for the country’s support on South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 Busan Expo, the company said Sunday. Jeong met with Santiago Cafiero, the Argentinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to promote Busan as the No.1 port city that is most optimized to host a global exhibition. Jan...

Business leaders and experts gathered in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Friday to discuss ways to create a globally connected hydrogen ecosystem amid growing geographical uncertainties stemming from Russia's attack on Ukraine and worsening climate change. Jeong Marn-ki, president and CEO of the Korea Automobile Manufacture Association, called hydrogen a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels at t...

The world’s largest exhibition exploring the potential of hydrogen in the field of mobility kicked off in Korea on Wednesday, bringing industrial giants from in and out of the country with their latest technological achievements. H2 Mobility Energy Environment Technology, or H2 Meet in short, is the world’s only hydrogen industry exhibition. It was organized to bolster the country’s technologica...

South Korean chemical company LG Chem said Tuesday it is building its fourth carbon nanotube manufacturing plant to bolster its responsiveness to the rapidly growing demand globally, especially for electric vehicle batteries. Carbon nanotube, widely called CNT, is considered a next-generation material that offers equivalent level of electricity and thermal conductivity as copper and diamond, and...

Executives from financial firms were reaping astronomical salaries and bonuses amid increasing embezzlement, a lawmaker said Monday, quoting data. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Yang Jung-suk showed that a total of 327 embezzlement cases worth a total of 170 billion won ($126 million) had occurred at 78 financial firms from 2017 to August this year. According to the...

While touting South Korea’s unrivaled position as a digital hub in the Asia-Pacific region, foreign executives and experts called for a need to create sustainable regulatory environment to foster the country‘s digital prowess at a forum hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday. “Korea is a optimal place for digital transformation, and will rise as a regional digital hub for Asia Paci...

A global healthcare exhibition kicked off in Busan on Thursday to test the southeastern port city’s potential of becoming a healthcare hub in Northeast Asia, organizers said. The three-day 2022 Global Healthcare Week, which is taking place at BEXCO, brings experts, companies and hospitals specializing in senior care, beauty, bio, food and fitness together to provide the latest information, produ...

A bank employee in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, was forced to cook, wash dishes and clean clothes at her workplace over the last two years, a civic group said while filing the case to anti-corruption and labor dispute agencies. According to Gapjil 119, a civic group that campaigns against workplace abuses, one of the female employees working at MG Community Credit Cooperatives said she had to ...