Starbucks Korea said Monday it will expand its free coffee delivery it started in mid-February for workers at the disease control center hotline 1339 to the end of this month. According to the coffee chain, it has been providing 500 cups of coffee every day since Feb. 17 to three 1339 call centers, two operated by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul and Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and one operated in cooperation by National Health Insurance Service. O

Celltrion said Monday its Cheongju plant passed the US’ Food and Drug Administration’s additional inspection, opening up the path to a 1.2 trillion won ($985 million) human immunodecifiency treatment market. Celltrion manufactures three-drug-in-one-tablet HIV treatment CT-G07 at its plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The treatment is pending FDA approval for US commercialization. FDA had carried out an on-site inspection of Celltrion’s Cheongju plant in January to

Korean companies Genexine and Binex will jointly develop potential COVID-19 vaccine “GX-19,” in hopes of preventing yearly seasonal flus showing respiratory symptoms, the companies said Monday. GX-19 will be a DNA vaccine, developed using Genexine’s platform technology and manufactured at Binex’s “good manufacturing practice”-abiding facility. A DNA vaccine involves a DNA delivery vector fitted with the genetic information of a particular virus, to which the

Samsung, LG, Hyundai concerned about production disruptions, weaker consumer sentiment

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has decided to exempt franchise deposit of some 2,000 partner companies in charge of customer service across the country, which amounts to 2.2 billion won ($1.8 million). The automaker said 1,374 Blue Hands centers, a Hyundai Motor and Genesis’ official service provider, and 800 Auto Q centers, Kia Motors’ partner service and maintenance company, will have 50 percent of their franchise fees exempted for three months from March to May.  F

Doosan Solus said Monday that its subsidiary in Hungary had won a supply contract to provide 100 billion won ($82 million) worth of battery foil, used in electric cars, to a global battery manufacturer. According to the company, Doosan Corporation Europe clinched the four-year deal from 2021 to 2024. It is the second such deal for the overseas branch, the first having been signed around the end of last year. The South Korean copper manufacturer said the two contracts account for about 80 per

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest airline by sales, said Monday it has begun to use passenger jets to transport cargo on suspended routes amid the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Korean Air initially started to use grounded passenger aircraft to deliver cargo on routes to Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and Qingdao of China on Friday, the company said in a statement.  "The company is in talks with aviation authorities to expand the alternative use of passenger jets as cargo

A deliveryman was found dead while working after midnight for Coupang. The exact cause of death is not known. According to the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union on Sunday, the 46-year-old contract worker, surnamed Kim, was found Thursday around 2 a.m. between the fourth and fifth floors of a residential building in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The building had no elevator. “Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, deliveries of heavy daily necessities such as rice, drinking wa

More South Korean companies are ramping up virus prevention measures for their upcoming shareholder meetings by adopting electronic voting to join the country's efforts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Of the some 2,300 listed firms here, a total of 314 companies, including Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., will hold shareholder meetings this week amid concerns of COVID-19 infections. South Korea has so far reported more than 8,200 coronavirus cases.  Accordi

Samsung Electronics’ annual forums on its semiconductor foundry business strategy for this year have been postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the tech giant said Monday. The company posted the notice on its forum registration website. The first event of the forums was to be held in California’s Silicon Valley on May 20 and was supposed to kick-start the annual forum series that takes place worldwide, including in China, Japan and Germany. “The forums are pushed

South Korean airlines will apply no fuel surcharges on international routes in April to reflect declining oil prices, industry officials said Monday. The surcharges for one-way tickets on international routes will drop to zero next month from 19,200 won ($15) in March, an industry official said. If the average jet fuel price on the Singapore spot market rises over $1.50 per gallon, South Korean airlines are allowed to impose fuel surcharges starting one month later. Jet fuel prices averaged

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder in terms of the value of orders last year, said Monday that it has won a 400 billion-won ($330 million) order to build one frigate for the South Korean Navy. Under the deal with South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hyundai Heavy will deliver the 3,500-ton ship by 2024 to the country's Navy. The deal is for the first of six new 3,500-ton frigate vessels to be delivered to the Navy. The ship -- 129 meters long

Korean manufacturers, service providers seek direct rapport with consumers for data and brand awareness against spoon-feeding distribution by platform giants

A total of 314 South Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK hynix, will hold shareholders meetings this week. The companies have rolled out measures to counter concerns over potential spread of the coronavirus at the meetings. Samsung Electronics’ annual shareholders meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, with around 2,000 seats available. Samsung Electronics previously asked shareholders to make extensiv

The Korea International Trade Association is bolstering remote online export platforms to help domestic companies facing difficulties in export to find new export channels amid the coronavirus outbreak. The KITA said Sunday it has shifted its marketing efforts to the online sphere, strengthening its online business-to-business and business-to-consumer export platforms as series of offline export marketing events have been canceled or delayed by the worsening COVID-19 outbreak. According to