More people are using OTT services amid mounting fears over the month-old coronavirus epidemic, according to data collected by local over-the-top streaming service operators. Disaster films are especially popular, the data showed. According to data collected by Watcha, the number of viewers using its OTT service Watcha Play peaked Jan. 27-31. The total number of minutes that viewers spent on the platform reached its highest point Jan. 27 and remained at similar levels throughout that time fram

WASHINGTON -- Hyundai's new Sonata commercial featuring Chris Evans and other stars came in a close second in USA Today's ranking of Super Bowl ads, the outlet said Monday. The 60-second commercial played during the first quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League. It garnered 6.98 points out of a total 10 on USA Today's Ad Meter, which ranks Super Bowl commercials by consumer rating. The winner was Jeep, which scored an average of 7.01 points. In th

Sales at South Korean duty-free stores hit a new annual high of over 24 trillion won last year, industry data showed Tuesday, mainly on the back of more foreign customers, mainly Chinese visitors. The combined sales of local duty-free shops reached 24.86 trillion won ($20.87 billion) in 2019, up 31.1 percent from a previous record of 18.96 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. Sales at the local duty-free shops witnessed a slight fall i

According to local corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute, Samsung Electronics’ ailing Chairman Lee Kun-hee will soon receive a dividend of 353.8 billion won ($296 million) for 2019. The firm analyzed the dividend status of Lee Kun-hee, his wife Hong Ra-hee and his son Lee Jae-yong for 10 years from 2010. Hong, formerly director of Samsung Museum of Art Leeum, is estimated to receive dividends of 76.7 billion won, and Lee Jae-yong receives about 59.5 billion won. Over the last decad

Samsung Electronics will temporarily shut down its flagship store in China amid growing fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus, company officials here said Monday. Samsung will close its flagship store in downtown Shanghai until Sunday, they said. The 800-square-meter store, the largest Samsung store in China, opened last October and sells various products, from smartphones to tablets. "We decided to temporarily close the store for safety," a company official said. "

Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipyard in South Korea, said Monday that its net losses widened in the fourth quarter from a year earlier due to one-off costs.  Net losses for the October-December period deepened to 124.2 billion won (US$104 million) from 105.7 billion won a year earlier, the company said.  The company said it set aside 67 billion won as loan-loss provision for the delay in payment from a client.  Samsung Heavy posted an operating loss of 215 billion w

Global memory chip production appears to be unaffected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China, a market researcher said Monday, as no chip manufacturing facilities in the virus-hit country have so far closed or suspended operations.  TrendForce said overall production of memory chips, such as DRAM and NAND flash, is likely to remain unaffected by the deadly virus in the short term as global chipmakers' plants, including those run by South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK h

The outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus has led to controversy about whether it is right for face mask manufacturers to raise the prices of their highly sought-after products. While overall prices of such masks appear to be on the rise, the CEO of Coupang said the South Korean e-commerce firm will freeze the prices of face masks being sold on its platform. “Although the market price of masks rose as demand increased, we have frozen our prices for retail masks,” Coupang CEO Kim Bom-

KT has recently changed its database management system operator from Oracle to a third-party business, according to industry sources Monday. The mobile carrier has reportedly chosen Rimini Street as its database management system provider. A deal was signed considering costs and more efficient services, the sources explained. The partnership indicates KT’s attempts to opt out of overall reliance on Oracle products for its database system. It has not renewed Oracle’s DB license i

As Cho Hyun-ah teams up with KCGI and Bando, Cho Won-tae expected to present detailed management plan soon

All three South Korean lithium-ion battery makers saw alarming falls in their operating profits in 2019, but showed hopes that they could reap bigger profits from the growing electric vehicle battery market this year, according to the companies on Monday. Joining the announcements by Samsung SDI and SK Innovation last week, LG Chem said Monday its annual operating profit plunged 60.1 percent from 2018 to 895.6 billion won ($749 million) last year. Although the company posted its best sales

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor announced Monday it has won an order to supply 1,000 Sonata airport taxis in Saudi Arabia, strengthening its foothold in the Middle East. The country accounts for an estimated 40 percent of all vehicles sold in the Mideast, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The company has signed a contract with the Saudi transportation company Al-Safwa to supply 1,000 new Sonata DN8 sedans. The automaker delivered 100 vehicles to K

Daewoo Engineering & Construction said Monday it has agreed with South Korean financial institutions to jointly invest in the construction of a new town project in the center of Hanoi, Vietnam. According to Daewoo E&C, it signed an investment development contract worth $388 million with the Korea Development Bank and other Korean financial institutions on Jan. 20, to construct buildings, including a hotel, and residential and commercial buildings, inside Starlake City in Hanoi. This i

Korea’s top cosmetics maker Amorepacific Group said Monday it confirmed a business partnership with PT Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP), a leading retailer in Indonesia, strengthening its position as global beauty brand in the region. According to the company, Amorepacific President Bae Dong-hyun and MAP Group CEO Virendra Sharma inked the agreement at the MAP headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Under the partnership, Amorepacific will present its cosmetics brands, Sulwhasoo, Lanei

Top executive of retailer has aggressive plans for expanding market share in South Korea