A handful of large companies in South Korea continued to dominate the country’s exports and imports, according to data released by the Korea Customs Service and Statistics Korea.As per the export data, 805 large companies -- just 0.8 percent of total exporting firms -- accounted for 66.6 percent in 2018, an on-year increase of 0.3 percentage point.The value of imports by 1,092 large businesses increased by 0.2 percentage point to reach $323 billion, having a 61 percent share of all imports

‘Game firm should do well in games to justify its high valuation’

Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil another artificial intelligence platform, named “Neon,” at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, according to reports on Monday. It was developed by Samsung Technology and Advanced Research Lab, based in the United States, under the leadership of the unit’s President Pranav Mistry, the youngest executive at Samsung. Neon is likely to be introduced as a new AI platform of Samsung. A recent tweet on the unit’s official Twitter a

Sports beauty company Powerful-X has been recognized for its contributions to the development of the sports industry, winning this year’s Sports Marketing Award given by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee. The health care cosmetics company, known for its pain relief cream, won at the fifth annual Sports Marketing Award ceremony for athletes, organizations and companies that contributes to development in the sports industry by the

EBay Korea, which operates South Korea’s leading online retailers Gmarket, Auction and G9, chose “Hyolo” as its keyword for shopping trends in 2020, reflecting the increasing number of shoppers living alone and their desire to live life to the fullest. Hyolo combines the Korean word “holo,” which means “alone” in English, and “YOLO,” the acronym for “You Only Live Once.” EBay Korea forecast that the major consumer segment in 2020

Amorepacific said Monday it will participate for the first time in the Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest electronics exhibition, next month.The South Korean cosmetics giant will present the 3D Printing Mask Pack, which won the CES Innovation Award in the 3D printing category, and an LED beauty device, which will be released by its brand Makeon next year.  The 3D Printing Mask Pack is a hydrogel mask pack manufactured using 3D-printing technology to fit the user’s fa

Jeon Soon-ok (center), chairperson of the ruling Democratic Party’s special committee on small businesses, and representatives of microbusinesses hold a press conference at the National Assembly on Monday opposing the sell-off of South Korea’s top food delivery application. Debate ensued after an announcement earlier this month that Germany-based online delivery service provider Delivery Hero would acquire an 87 percent stake in Woowa Brothers, the operator of delivery app Baeda

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and his mother Lee Myung-hee have publicly apologized for a family quarrel that broke out last week. “We sincerely apologize for causing trouble at Lee’s house last Christmas,” they said in the written statement released Monday. The public apology comes after Cho visited Lee’s home on Christmas day and had a quarrel with her. The photo revealed by Lee on the day showed pieces of shattered glass scattered on the floor and a wound on h

More women, younger executives promoted at Korea’s large companies

Biotechnology / LemonexLemonex, a global biotherapeutics and bioengineering firm, is garnering attention with its innovative next-generation drug delivery and biosensor technology on the basis of which it is developing immuno-oncology drugs, antibody and gene therapeutics. The company has won the 2019 11th Innobiz Company Award sponsored by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and hosted by The Korea Herald and the Herald Business and supervised by PowerKorea. Lemonex’s core technologies are

South Korea's labor productivity slightly fell in the third quarter from a year earlier, due mainly to an increase in the input of labor in the service segment, data showed Monday.The country's productivity index stood at 109.4 in the July-September period, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Productivity Center, a local industrial tracker.The index is calculated by comparing the added value and output with the amount of labor allocated for the production. A higher numbe

Sales at South Korean duty-free stores hit a new monthly high in November, industry data showed Monday, mainly on the back of China's annual shopping festival.The combined sales of local duty-free shops reached 2.29 trillion won ($1.98 billion) last month, compared with the previous monthly record of 2.24 trillion won in September, according to the data from the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. The sales increase was due to increased travelers from China during its Singles' Day that fell on No

Among franchise stores in Korea, fried chicken chains earned the least throughout last year, according to data from Statistics Korea last week.The number of franchise stores, the number of employees there and the annual revenue all inched up from the previous year.Gangwon Province had the largest number of franchise stores per capita, while South Jeolla Province had the least.Fried chicken chains earned an average of 169.1 million won throughout last year, the lowest among 12 types of franchises

Group chairman reportedly kicks up storm at mother’s house

Mercedes-Benz said Sunday its luxury flagship sedan the new Mercedes-Benz S 560 e has landed in South Korea, as part of the efforts to diversify its plug-in hybrid sedan lineup here. The German automaker’s S-Class sedan is conspicuous by its long wheelbase, spacious interior, innovative suspension system and high fuel efficiency, being a 70-year-long steady-selling luxury sedan, Mercedes-Benz Korea said.With the third-generation plug-in hybrid new S 560 e launching in Korea, the company sa