Purchases made using the internet and mobile devices in South Korea grew in October, government data showed, reflecting the popularity of smartphones, fast delivery and convenient payment options. 　Transactions made with computers, smartphones and tablets reached 11.8 trillion won ($9.9 billion) in October, up 17.3 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. This was attributed to increased demand for food, clothes and daily necessities, the agency said. (Yonhap)

South Korea aims to become the third-largest cosmetics exporter in the world by 2022 through extensive investment in research and development and concerted marketing efforts, the government said Thursday.The country's makeup products are globally competitive, with growth buoyed by popularity of the Korean Wave and the growing reputation of K-beauty as being high quality yet affordable, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.It said despite such gains, there is room for improvement, with South K

South Korea's antitrust regulator on Thursday voiced its opposition to a revised bill that would significantly restrict the business of ride-hailing operator Tada.The Fair Trade Commission said it will convey its stance to a parliamentary subcommittee later in the day as lawmakers begin deliberations on the revised bill.Tada, the Korean word for "ride," was launched in October 2018 and has rapidly grown to become Korea's leading ride-offering service. It offers ride-hailing services wi

 Samsung Electronics took a 71 percent share in the South Korean smartphone market in the third quarter, outstripping its rivals Apple and LG Electronics, a report showed Thursday. According to market tracker Counterpoint Research, the tech giant’s market share grew 67 percent on-year. Its crosstown rival LG Electronics saw its share unchanged at 17 percent, the data showed, although the company has witnessed a steady growth in the sales of its latest V50 ThinQ 5G model. Samsung&rsquo

South Korea’s third-biggest conglomerate SK Group announced Thursday that it has tapped four new CEOs with the goal of maintaining its “Deep Change” initiative amid persisting difficulties in the global business environment. The four newly promoted CEOs -- Park Sung-ha of SK Holdings C&C, Lee Young-wook of SK Materials and head of Investment Center 2, Choi Jin-hwan of SK Broadband and Cha Gyu-tak of SK Lubricants -- will join the Supex Council, the de facto control body of

In addition to Seltos, Kia plans to launch MPV, subcompact SUV next year to target world’s fourth-largest auto market

Cha University’s Region-Specific Resource Advancement Center in Northeast Region of Gyeonggi-do (GRRC) recently held a symposium to present cutting-edge technology on natural resources’ separation and refinement using Prep-HPLC technology, it said Thursday. GRRC is a regional platform to share the latest expert scientific opinions on participating corporations’ local natural resources-based novel drug development.  The event held on Sept. 27 marked the sharing of technolog

Korea Aerospace Industries has successfully performed the first flight test of its light civil helicopter, the firm said Thursday. The helicopter delivered its first flight performances for about 20 minutes after take-off, KAI said.The light civil helicopter, which began development in June 2015, is now applied with advanced technologies for the main gearbox, cockpit and canopy, KAI explained. It is also equipped with a main rotor and tail rotor with low vibration and noise.The copter can be dep

LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, and US auto giant General Motors have reportedly reached an agreement to set up an electric vehicle battery manufacturing joint venture in the United States.The two sides are expected to make an announcement on Thursday (US time) on establishing a 50:50 joint venture in Ohio, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.GM and LG Chem are expected to chip in more than $1 billion to set up an EV battery producing facility, Reuters said. LG Chem de

Swedish furniture giant IKEA said Thursday that it will open its third outlet in South Korea next week as it strives to strengthen its presence in Asia's fourth-largest economy.IKEA Korea said the 49,800-square-meter store set to open in Giheung on Dec. 12 will enhance accessibility to residents in the nearby area with new services such as home furnishing consultants and a seamless shopping experience offline and online.IKEA Giheung Market Manager Anje Heim said she is excited to "offer bet

Ballantine’s was the most consumed Scotch whiskey in Korea in the last three years with a market share of 28 percent, its distributor Pernod Ricard Korea said Thursday. “Data shows the international Scotch whiskey market in Korea grew by an average 7 percent every year since 2017,” said Florent Leroi, chief of Pernod Ricard Korea’s marketing division. “During this period, Ballantine’s revenue grew by an annual average of 9.2 percent,” Leroi said, un

South Korea said Thursday it will spare no efforts to support local manufacturers in overcoming the growing protectionism around the globe and revamp related policies to provide them with more leeway in rolling out investment."Despite the difficult business environment, we need to overcome various hurdles and challenges to maintain and beef up our competitiveness as a manufacturing powerhouse," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a meeting with business executives in Seoul.Partic

KT Corp., South Korea's major telecommunication service provider, on Thursday said it has agreed with China Mobile Communication Corp. to boost cooperation on 5G roaming services and a blockchain system. Using China Mobile's network, KT said its 5G roaming services in China will be available later this month. The two sides demonstrated their 5G roaming operations in May.KT said its "Narle" service, which allows a high-definition group video chat with a maximum eight people, also perfor

SK Innovation Co., a major energy and chemical company in South Korea, said Thursday that it has built its first electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing plant in China in the latest move to tap deeper into the world's largest EV market.The completion ceremony for BEST -- a joint venture established by SK Innovation, Beijing Automotive Group and Beijing Electronics -- in Changzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu drew more than 500 guests, including the companies' executives.BEST is