South Korea’s largest cigarette and ginseng maker KT&G said Thursday its 2022 sales hit a record high of 5.85 trillion won ($4.65 billion), a 12 percent jump from a year prior, largely driven by its hot-selling heat-not-burn tobacco products. During the same period, the company reported 1 trillion won in net income, up 3 percent on-year. The company was especially buoyed by upbeat sales of HNB ...

Korean food giant Pulmuone is in talks with US food-tech company Yokai Express to sign a deal before July for the launch of vending machines that can cook instant meals, the firm said Tuesday. "Pulmuone is in due process of securing exclusive rights to distributing and installing Yokai Expresss' vending machines that will sell Pulmuone's products in Korea," a Pulmuone official told The Korea Her...

The selected items are then put into “auto baggers,” which automatically attach an invoice and seal the packaging after a worker puts the item into plastic wrapping paper. The wrapped items are then placed on top of Sorting Robots, which classify them by region and put them into appropriate boxes seconds after scanning the waybill address. Objects that weigh more than 8 kg are instead carried b...

KT&G, South Korea's dominant tobacco company, is making aggressive inroads into overseas markets in a bid to increase its sales and market share abroad, according to the company on Sunday. Aiming to foray into foreign markets, the company recently signed its first long-term sales and purchase agreement with global tobacco maker Philip Morris International. Under the 15-year agreement that lasts...

Four out of six South Korean companies picked the European Union’s upcoming due diligence act as the No. 1 concern for their ongoing environmental, social and governance efforts this year, saying heightened regulations could pose a direct threat to export-driven companies that are not yet fully ready. A survey of 300 companies affiliated with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the natio...

The recent data follows a series of controversies surrounding McDonald's hygiene at franchise stores. On Jan. 25, an online post showing a picture of yarn in a McDonald's McMorning pancake combo stirred controversy. "I bought two McMorning sets with my son, gave him a hotcake, ate a muffin, and after almost finishing everything, took something out from my mouth to find that I was chewing on a t...

In a bid to expedite its foray into the global market and ramp up its sales, South Korean tobacco company KT&G on Monday clinched its first-ever long-term contract with Philip Morris International to supply the global tobacco giant with its products. Under the 15-year sales and purchase agreement, KT&G said it will be supplying PMI with its heat-not-burn cigarette brand "lil" products, along wit...

Sun also said the company is further utilizing interactive functions of online platforms including YouTube livestreaming and Instagram Live to bridge the gap between in-person learning and remote learning. "Held once a week on average, the live sessions with students all over the globe allow for frequent interactions that are not confined by time or space," he said. The idea to launch a complet...

However, while Hangeul is suitable for learning on apps, YouTube and online courses, experts warn that people should not expect to gain fluency in the Korean language – which encompasses not only Hangeul, but other aspects of language such as grammar and speech -- through these mediums. "The transition in difficulty (for learning Korean language) is difficult to manage for apps and unqualified t...

Lotte Duty Free said Wednesday it clinched a 10-year contract to become the new operator of Melbourne Airport duty-free shops, in a bid to make further inroads into the Oceania market. According to the South Korean duty-free goods retailer, starting June 1, Lotte will offer a duty-free experience in the Australian terminal’s existing 3,600 square meter duty-free space, as well as the airport’s o...

US fried chicken fast food chain Popeyes is reporting strong sales after its return to the South Korean market. According to Silla Group, the operator of Korean Popeyes outlets, more than 5,000 customers visited its Gangnam branch during the first three days of the chain's relaunch, which took place on Dec. 16. In addition, as of Tuesday, more than 50,000 chicken sandwiches -- the chain's newly...

South Korea's top steelmaker Posco said Thursday it completed the restoration of its typhoon-hit steel manufacturing plants in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. According to Posco, all of its 17 steel manufacturing plants, which are responsible for more than one-third of Posco’s some 13.5 million metric tons of steel products produced annually, will go into full operation starting Friday. Posc...

Hazardous substances were detected in Korean food company Nongshim's flagship ramen products to Taiwan, according to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration Thursday. Nongshim's exports of Shin Ramyun Black Tofu & Kimchi cup noodles to Taiwan failed to pass the country's customs inspection, the TFDA said. According to the TFDA, 0.075 milligram per kilogram of ethylene oxide, or EO, had been fou...

Fashion and cosmetics retailer Shinsegae International said Tuesday it appointed a luxury fashion expert William Kim as its new CEO, in a bid to strengthen the company's luxury fashion business and sharpen the company's digital edge. Kim's previous career includes having served as a chief financial officer at Gucci, where he worked in teams with partners including Stella McCartney, Alexander McQ...