Hit new game triggers explosive demand for Nintendo Switch, bringing Korea’s boycott of Japanese goods into question

SK Innovation President and CEO Kim Jun (right) conducts a job interview with a candidate via video conference amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak at the company’s headquarters in Jongro-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.   Kim called for “unprecedented measures to overcome unprecedented times.”  Candidates were not informed of the CEO’s participation in advance. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Samsung Electronics has requested an external compliance monitoring committee to defer the timing of its heir’s public apology to next month, according to the committee Thursday. The committee led by former Chief Justice Kim Ji-hyung last month had urged Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to apologize to the public on the group’s past scheme to succeed leadership from Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The letter was sent to seven Samsung affiliates governed by Lee, offering 30 days of consid

State-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. said Wednesday it would delay electricity bill payments for small businesses and underprivileged families struggling from the coronavirus outbreak. According to Kepco, small business owners using residential, industrial and general electricity and the underprivileged currently receiving fixed welfare discounts on electricity bills will be eligible for delaying their monthly payments for three months each from April to June. The application period

South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank apologized Thursday to the victims of “stench” incident at its refinery located in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, promising full medical support for their recovery. The company said it would pay the medical bills of local residents affected by the stench that originated from its refinery around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, while the facility was burning remaining LPG inside the pipes to prepare for the upcoming regular turnaround. “Hyunda

GS Caltex CEO Hur Sae-hong said Thursday the company will strengthen its environmental, social and governance strategy by reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollutants, speeding up its green management policy based on energy-efficient production facilities. The company said its facility in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, has replaced its fuel to liquefied natural gas from low-sulfur fuel oil after improvements on its production line. The move is expected to reduce carbon emissions significa

Fila Korea said Thursday that it had collaborated with BTS to launch the Love Yourself Collection -- 12 new items of clothing and shoes celebrating the K-pop boy group’s hit album. The FILA X BTS Love Yourself Collection is inspired by the artwork and graphic elements in the music videos for BTS hits “DNA” and “Idol,” released respectively in 2017 and 2018, the company said. According to the South Korean sportswear brand, the FILA X BTS Love Yourself Collection

McDonald’s Korea said Thursday more than 10 million cars made orders from McDrive, its drive-thru platform, in the first quarter of this year, surging sharply amid the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the burger chain, March saw the highest number of users for the drive-thru service, and sales went up by 30 percent on-year. The average value per order also rose by 15 percent. As people avoid face-to-face transactions with the social distancing trend, the burger chain said about 60 percen

Kia Motors’ midsized, eight-seat sport utility vehicle the Telluride is the 2020 World Car of the Year. This is the first time the Korean auto brand has won the top award. The automaker also took home the World Urban Car award for its subcompact crossover the Soul EV, which beat the Volkswagen T-Cross and the Mini Cooper SE Electric.  The Toronto-based World Car Awards, launched in 2004, are one of three major global automotive award programs, the others being the North American Ca

Shin Poong Pharm, the sudden and sole Korean beneficiary of the recent news of parasiticide ivermectin’s purported coronavirus-killing powers, is facing business uncertainties. The company’s uterine myoma treatment, a tablet of 5mg ulipristal acetate traded globally as Esmya, was found to have caused “serious liver injury” in a number of patients in Europe, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Esmya’s license is suspended in Europe until the Pharmac

LG Electronics on Thursday unveiled a render image of its upcoming flagship smartphone that is expected to be more focused on design, after more than a monthlong delay in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The released image highlights the design of the rear triple camera module that evokes the image of falling raindrops. The company has nicknamed it as “raindrop” camera, and will be released next month in South Korea. The main camera sits slightly above the surface while

South Korean scientists in Daegu have developed a diagnostic kit that will cut down the COVID-19 testing time from previous six hours to 20 minutes. This diagnostic agent has been transferred to a diagnostic kit maker called Mmonitor, whose website crashed due to heavy traffic as of 11 a.m., Thursday, upon the announcement by Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology. According to DGIST, its new diagnostic agent makes it possible to amplify genetic information of the coronavir

Professor expects stretchable devices to arrive in five to 10 years, forecasts skin-attachable screens in future

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday unveiled 5G versions of its mid-range smartphones as the South Korean tech giant aims to boost handset sales amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The world's largest smartphone vendor introduced the new Galaxy A71 5G and Galaxy A51 5G smartphones, expanding its smartphone lineup that supports the next-generation mobile network. The LTE versions of the Galaxy A71 and the Galaxy A51 were revealed in Indonesia this January and in Vietnam last year, respectiv

South Korea's two leading duty free operators have decided to give up their bids to operate stores at Incheon International Airport as the novel coronavirus has devastated business at the transportation hub, industry sources said Wednesday. The move by Hotel Lotte and Hotel Shilla comes as the business environment at South Korea's main airport has changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insiders said. The two companies should have signed new 10-year lease deals with Incheon Inter