Sales of liquor products jump in convenience stores, hangover cures sell less

A human life is not only determined by the genomic structure, but also by what types of viruses and microbiomes the body interacts with. CEO Yang Gap-seok of Macrogen, a company that has recently been touted as an essential cogwheel in the research to understand the novel coronavirus, says that what COVID-19 is doing will affect our short-term evolution. The company Yang represents has been leading the research for the virus specific to Korea. Macrogen was the first to identify nine muta

Porsche Korea said Thursday it has donated 649 million won ($527,000) to ChildFund Korea to continue its social contribution efforts in the country. The company has signed a memorandum of understating with the social welfare foundation and delivered the donation to build on its “Porsche Do Dream” campaign, which has been running for four years. “For the past four years, Porsche Korea has endeavored to create an environment where Korean children can follow and fulfill their

South Korean refiners are exporting more petrochemical products at lower prices as their storage facilities have reached their limit due to a sharp fall in domestic demand, industry sources said Thursday. According to the state-run Korea Natural Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Petronet, the domestic consumption of petroleum goods in February sank to 72.12 million barrels -- the lowest figure since 70.82 million barrels of April 2016 -- while outbound shipments in February rose 8.28

LG Display said Thursday it aims to complete its new organic light-emitting diode panel manufacturing plant in Guangzhou, China, soon and has deployed 290 engineers from here. The engineers flew on a chartered Korean Air flight after getting entry permission from Chinese authorities. They will stay at a quarantine facility prepared by the company for a certain period of time. All of them have tested negative for COVID-19. LG Display had planned to start operating the Guangzhou fab within

Korea’s trade on edge amid China’s production disruptions, US, Europe’s falling demand

GM Korea Co. and its labor union said Wednesday that they have reached a provisional agreement on their long-drawn wage talks. The understanding on wages and collective bargaining for the 2019 calendar year, comes after nine months of negotiations, with unionists giving up their demands for an increase in basic wages and special bonuses, the South Korea unit of US auto giant GM said. The carmaker said that while it could not afford to increase wages for its employees, it will give so-called i

E-commerce giant Coupang said Wednesday it will install Automotive Around View Monitoring system in all its vehicles to aid its delivery staff. The monitoring system allows the driver to get a 360-degree exterior view on the screen, using four cameras mounted underneath the outside mirrors. According to the company, it will complete installing the system in all vehicles before July. It is the first company in the logistics industry to introduce the technology for delivery workers, the compan

The COVID-19 outbreak is dealing a blow to farms and fisheries, particularly straining their supply plans for school feeding. In efforts to support the agro-fishery industry, the country’s major retailers stepped up to embark on various promotions to clear out stock on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday, the recent government decision to postpone the opening of schools for two more weeks until April 6 would lead to damages to about 40

Pablo Rosso, president and managing director of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Korea, has been appointed as the 13th chairman of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, according to the association on Wednesday.  He will be the first foreign chairman and serve a two-year term from April.  The association said that Rosso’s wide understanding and experience in the imported car industry had been considered to solve the tasks the industry now faces. “The i

The average amount of money transferred through local e-remittance services within a day during 2019 has increased by 124.4 percent to reach 235 billion won from a year earlier, according to Bank of Korea data Wednesday. The average amount of money transferred through e-remittance services in 2019 was 104.6 billion won, up by 76.7 percent from 35.5 billion won in 2018. The average daily uses of e-remittance services in Korea has marked 76.7 percent increase from a year earlier to mark 25 mi

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said Wednesday that it has partnered with global esports company Gen.G, to expand its customer base by promoting the brand. Gen.G is a global esports team that was launched in 2017. It was ranked sixth in the Forbes’ world’s most valuable esports companies last year, with top results at games such as League of Legends.  Han Sung Motor’s partnership with Gen.G is the first of its kind between a Korean imported ca

South Korean internet giant Kakao announced Wednesday that its co-CEOs -- Yeo Min-soo and Joh Su-yong -- will serve another two-year term. The decision was approved at its annual shareholders meeting held in the southern resort island of Jeju. “Kakao’s mission for the next 10 years is to make continuous renovation and evolution to minimize inconvenience of people,” Yeo said in the statement. “The company will also take the lead in resolving various kinds of social iss

In Europe, world‘s top television manufacturer has shut TV plants in Hungary and Slovakia, stopping all of its TV production activities for the European market.

Sudden shift to remote working upon coronavirus pushes local businesses to test solutions