Incheon Airport's Terminal 1 will undergo a 1.2 trillion won ($903 million) refurbishment starting from next year, the airport's operator said Wednesday. Separately, it added that it would seek to attract Chinese travelers, whose travel demand is expected to surge amid China’s recent lifting of a group travel ban to South Korea. “After conducting an open survey of Terminal 1’s facilities’ operational status, Incheon Airport will conduct a comprehensive repair of

Mobility Sept. 13, 2023

The South Korean unit of the global sports brand Adidas has been hit with backlash from its franchisees who claim that they have been subjected to years of repeated abuse of power from their parent corporation -- only to have their business contracts terminated via the head office’s unilateral announcement. The Adidas Franchisee Association -- comprising 76 Adidas Korea franchisees out of some 100 across the country -- said Tuesday it reported Adidas Korea to the Federal Trade Commission f

Industry Sept. 12, 2023

South Korean confectionery manufacturer Orion said Friday it will receive a cash dividend of 110 billion won ($82.5 million) from its Vietnamese subsidiary for the first time since its establishment in 2005. According to Orion, the company collected 50 billion won in dividends from Orion Food Vina Co., its wholly owned Vietnamese subsidiary, at the end of August. This marks the first time that Orion has brought dividends into its head office in Korea from its Vietnamese subsidiary. Orion said

Industry Sept. 8, 2023

Lotte Homeshopping, the TV channel of South Korean retail giant Lotte, initiated its first voluntary redundancy program amid spluttering financial performance, according to a company official on Friday. From Thursday to Wednesday, the company will allow employees aged 45 or older who have worked for Lotte Homeshopping for five years or more to apply for the program. The employees who voluntarily resign will be compensated with about two years' annual salary, along with reemployment suppor

Industry Sept. 8, 2023

After recording its best earnings last year, Chanel Korea is under mounting pressure to share more profits with employees in a fairer way, with its unionized workers threatening to go on a full-scale walkout ahead of its peak holiday season later this month. According to the Chanel Korea Union, affiliated with the Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Union, its members working at department stores and duty-free shops already staged a partial walkout over the past weekend. The union said i

Industry Sept. 7, 2023

Incheon Airport unveiled its vision to ramp up its customer services and fortify its partnerships with international airports around the world, during the 2023 ACI CX Global Summit held in Incheon, Wednesday. The 2023 ACI CX Global Summit is a global summit on airport customer experience organized by the Airports Council International. Incheon Airport was selected to host the event as the first South Korean airport to do so after it received a level 5 Customer Experience Accreditation -- the hig

Industry Sept. 6, 2023

DHL Express Korea, the South Korean unit of the international express logistics service provider DHL Express, said Tuesday it started the full-fledged operation of a high-tech logistics terminal in Incheon after completing a three-year expansion project that has boosted cargo handling capacity threefold. The global logistics firm invested 131 million euros ($141 million) to renovate and expand the DHL Incheon Gateway in 2019 in order to transform the facility into the largest logistics gateway i

Industry Sept. 5, 2023

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday it will go all-out to draw back Chinese travelers to capitalize on China's recent lifting of its ban on group travel to dozens of countries, through measures such as exempting Chinese tourists from visa issuance fees and fostering the development of premium tourism packages. "We will aim to triple the number of Chinese tourists recorded in the first half of 2023 (500,000) in the second half of 2023, and ultim

Industry Sept. 4, 2023

Five subsidiaries of South Korea's state-operated power utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. are currently putting in joint efforts to sue Australian laboratory giant ALS Coal, on the basis that it falsified coal quality inspections and allowed low quality coal to be exported to Korea, industry sources said Tuesday. According to an industry source close to the matter, the state-run subsidiaries under Kepco -- including Komipo, Korea Southern Power, Korea Western Power, Korea East-West Po

Industry Aug. 29, 2023

Amid ongoing delays in a high-profile merger between South Korea’s top two air carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, some market watchers are speculating that strategic investors are preparing for a possible third-party buyout of Asiana. Private equity funds are reportedly releasing requests for proposals to interested parties regarding the 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) Korean Air-Asiana deal to solicit responses, according to some investors. The requests come amid delays in the deal

Industry Aug. 28, 2023

South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion said it aims to log 3.5 trillion won ($2.6 billion) in revenue 2024 once its merger with two affiliates is completed, an increase of over 50 percent from the revenue estimated for this year. During an online meeting with investors on Thursday, Celltrion Founder and Chairman Seo Jung-jin said the company will consider an initial public offering of Celltrion Holdings, the holding firm of Celltrion Group, if necessary after the merger. When the merger o

Industry Aug. 25, 2023

E-Mart's convenience store chain, E-Mart 24, said Friday it will foray into the Cambodian market next year to tap into the country's economic growth potential. E-Mart 24 plans to open its first outlet in the country by the first half of 2024, becoming the first Korean convenience store operator to do so. The Korean retailer said it signed a three-way memorandum of understanding with a Cambodian retail firm, Saisons Brother Holding Corp. and Korean real estate Hanlim Architecture Group

Industry Aug. 25, 2023

South Korean steel giant Posco Group said Thursday the company will put in joint efforts with Hanwha Corporation Engineering & Construction and Korea Airports Corporation to build landing and take-off sites for urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles in Seoul, in a bid to further accelerate the commercial operation of an urban air transportation system in Korea. During a signing ceremony held at KAC's headquarters in western Seoul on Wednesday, the three companies signed a memorandum of under

Industry Aug. 24, 2023

ANDONG, North Gyeongsang Province -- Researchers wearing blue personal protective equipment hunker down over digital screens and packaging machine belts as thousands of syringes are briskly moved through machines at SK bioscience’s vaccine manufacturing facility, L HOUSE, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. After going through a series of procedures such as being analyzed for their defection rate and having plunger rods inserted into the syringes, the drugs are labeled and pac

Industry Aug. 23, 2023

South Korean retail conglomerate Hyundai Department Store Group said Monday it signed an agreement with global health care giant Nestle Health Science in a bid to expand its health-functional food business, one of its key growth drivers. During a signing ceremony held at Nestle's headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, the two companies agreed to establish a partnership for Hyundai's exclusive distribution rights of Nestle’s health functional food products in Korea. "The bio-hea

Industry Aug. 21, 2023