South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is probing the US franchise Subway over an allegation that it forced a local franchisee to shut down his shop without a proper reason, said officials and local news reports Sunday.　The Fair Trade Commission’s Seoul office recently concluded in its preliminary investigation that the American franchise might have violated the local franchise business law and filed the case to an in-house judging committee.The probe began as one store owner of Subway cha

The 30th CPhI Worldwide 2019, the biggest global event of the year for the pharmaceutical industry, is set to take place at Messe Frankfurt in Germany from Nov. 5 to 7. Every year, CPhI brings together more than 100,000 pharmaceutical professionals to network for business opportunities at venues across Korea, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Europe.CPhI Korea held its fifth annual event in August at the Coex exhibition hall in Seoul. The main event in Euro

South Korea’s declining exports are predicted to turn around in the first quarter of next year on the back of rising demand for chips and recovery in the global economy, a trade association said Sunday. “The nation’s exports are expected to bottom out this month and turn positive from the first quarter of next year due to the recovery in chip unit prices,” said Moon Byung-ki, a senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association’s trend analysis division,

GS Engineering and Construction said Sunday it had bought a nearly 50 percent stake in a $1.4 billion project to construct a petrochemical plant in Turkey.The South Korean builder has signed a shareholder agreement with Ronesans Holding of Turkey to acquire a 49 percent stake in Ceyhan Petrokimya Endustriyel Yatrim (CPEY), a subsidiary of the Turkish business group, the firm said. The signing ceremony was held in Istanbul on Sept. 26.  By buying the stake, GS E&C will also earn profits

SK Telecom said Sunday it has formed a strategic partnership with Now Corporation to build 5G infrastructure in the Philippines. SKT will share its know-how in 5G infrastructure design and construction, opening up the export of business-to-business solutions between Korea and the Philippines. By the first half of 2020, SKT will draw up a road map for 5G services, design infrastructure in the Philippines and provide education on core 5G technologies.  The company will later aid the building

More convenience stores in South Korea are suspending sales of liquid type e-cigarettes following a government warning for people not to use such vaping products due to serious health risks.Convenience store chains Emart24 and 7-Eleven announced Saturday they will halt sales of three flavored liquid e-cigarettes made by US maker Juul Labs and one from state-run tobacco maker KT&G.  The two retailers allowed their convenience stores to sell their remaining inventories of liquid type e-ci

Some 130,000 units of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone models are believed to have been set up on the first day of sales in South Korea, industry insiders said Saturday.Apple released its iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max in South Korea on Friday, targeting consumers looking for premium phones available in 4G LTE models.  The estimated figure is 30 percent more than the previous iPhone models -- the iPhone XS, Max and XR -- launched November 2018, according to industry sources. However,

South Korea's Hotel Shilla Co., which operates leading duty-free store Shilla Duty Free, said Friday it has acquired a 44 percent stake in US duty-free specialty retailer 3Sixty for $121 million. The acquisition is expected to help Shilla Duty Free make inroads into the American market. Under the deal with 3Sixty, Hotel Shilla could exercise its option to buy another 23 percent stake in the US firm in 2024. 3Sixty, one of the world's leading in-flight duty-free retailers, operates duty-free

South Korea’s major internet company Kakao said Friday that it would prevent users from posting malicious comments on its online entertainment news articles, pledging also to overhaul its search engine functionalities to address cyberbullying.During a press conference at its headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Kakao’s co-chiefs Yeo Min-soo and Joh Su-yong said the company would suspend its online comment service for entertainment news next month. The measure came after mo

　The South Korean government decided Friday that it would not seek special treatment reserved for developing countries in future negotiations at the World Trade Organization. The decision followed allegations from US President Donald Trump that some countries were unfairly taking advantage of developing nation status. 　During a nationally televised address in the morning, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government would no longer seek developing nation privileges

Apple’s newest handset goes on sale in Korea

LG Chem, South Korea’s leading lithium-ion battery maker, obtained the first quarterly surplus from its battery unit in 2019, despite a series of fires involving the firm’s energy storage systems, according to the company on Friday. Of the total of 380.3 billion won ($323.92 million) in operating profit for the July to September period, the company’s battery unit reported a 71.2 billion won operating profit, representing a swing back into surplus territory for the first time th

Following the South Korean government’s “strong warning” on the use of liquid-type e-cigarettes over health concerns Wednesday, the country’s major retailers are moving to suspend sales of the related products.The country’s largest discount chain E-Mart said Thursday it has decided to remove flavored liquid e-cigarettes including Viento’s Ice mango, Water melon and five different flavors, as well as Relx’s Mung Bean ice and Fruits, from its 74 E-Mart, Pi

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea's leading duty-free operator, said Thursday that it has won a bid to sell cigarette and liquor products at Singapore's Changi Airport.The retailer will operate 18 liquor and tobacco stores spanning more than 8,000 square meters across the airport's four terminals, replacing DFS, officials said. It marks the first time in the airport that a new operator is being awarded rights to set up shop, Lotte Duty Free said. The contract will last for six years and start in June

Pearl Abyss said it will showcase four new games targeting the global markets at the upcoming G-Star 2019 slated for Nov. 14-17 in Busan, South Korea. G-Star is Korea’s biggest annual game trade show where new games in developments are unveiled to the public and investors. Pearl Abyss, the company behind the globally-played Black Desert, said it will set up a G-Star booth where gamers from across the world will globally connect to experience diverse genre and platform of games.  Among