South Korea’s leading businesses are increasing their presence on Dow Jones indices, indicating improvement in the sustainability of companies from Asia’s fourth-largest economy, according to the firms on Sunday. SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, said it has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the 12th consecutive year. The telecom giant’s record marks the longest period on the index among Korean businesses and the first among Asi

South Korea is set to exclude Japan from its export control whitelist this week in response to Tokyo’s earlier decision to remove Seoul as a preferred trading partner and impose tighter controls on exports of high-tech materials that Korean tech firms need, officials said Sunday. Since the Aug. 12 announcement by Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo that Korea would drop Japan as a preferred trading partner, the ministry has completed the necessary administrative steps, such as soliciting opinion

The public image of a company is often represented by the products and services it provides -- an association process that might act to the disadvantage of a company like Cesco, which specializes in pest solutions.While maintaining steady growth, Korea’s No.1 anti-pests company once grappled with its unsophisticated corporate image and unpopularity among job seekers.But in terms of business figures, Cesco has had little to fret about, having established a unique reputation as the most trus

Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone shipments to Europe jumped in the second quarter from a year earlier, benefiting from Huawei's struggle with a US trade ban, a report showed Sunday. Samsung's smartphone exports to Central and Eastern Europe accounted for 40 percent of the market in the April-June period, up from 33 percent a year earlier, according to the market researcher Counterpoint Research. Its share was twice that of Huawei of China's 20 percent, it noted. The Korean tech fir

South Korea is moving to strip Japan from its list of trusted trading partners as early as this week, but it is still open to having last-minute negotiations with Tokyo, the trade ministry said Sunday.Seoul's trade ministry has completed nearly all procedures for the removal of Japan from its list of nations given favored export procedures for "operating an export control system that violates international norms," according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The move follows

South Korean imports of Japanese beer nose-dived this month due to a boycott of products from the Asian neighbor here amid a bilateral trade dispute, data showed Thursday. The combined imports of Japanese beer over the first 10 days of this month fell a whopping 99.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.Over the cited period, imports of Japanese cigarettes and beauty appliances also dropped 92.7 percent and 83 percent, respectively.South Korea'

Japan Tobacco International in Korea said Wednesday that its odor-reduced tobacco vapor product Ploom Tech will be sold at duty-free stores Lotte and Shilla Duty Free from mid-September. The heat-not-burn product, which was released in July, is the first e-cigarette to use hybrid technology by indirectly heating tobacco leaves through vapor.The price of the Ploom Tech starter kit is $27 and as part of the launch event, a limited number of mouth pieces will be offered for free, the company said.&

Coupang’s in-house deliverymen certification system has been recognized by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the company said Tuesday. It is the first delivery-related certification to be approved by a government agency.Coupang’s CS Delivery Expert certification, broken down to Fresh, Senior, Pro, and Master level, is used to rate the level of expertise of Coupang’s deliverymen Coupangmen.  Coupang explained that t

　The South Korean government on Wednesday filed a complaint over Japan’s tighter export curbs with the World Trade Organization, accusing Tokyo of taking discriminatory measures against Korea for politically motivated reasons.　During a press briefing in Seoul, the country’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said the Japanese government’s export controls targeting Korea violate WTO rules by regulating free trade for political purposes.　Early in July, Japan imposed export curbs on thr

Everyone deserves a garden, says Finnish smart gardening company Plantui

Insurance consulting and services firm Rich&Co. said it hosted its “Reach the Future Festival” at Kintex, Ilsan, Tuesday, gathering 3,000 of its employees to discuss the company’s vision and future steps. Among the company’s services is the “Good Rich” app to integrate and manage one’s insurance subscriptions. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it has agreed to join hands with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to secure new nuclear reactor projects overseas.The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) signed a memorandum of understanding with Barakah One Co. to jointly win nuclear reactor projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Barakah One Co. is a joint venture established by KEPCO and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. South Korea has been building four react

GS Engineering & Construction, a major builder in South Korea, said Tuesday it has secured a 275.5 billion-won ($231 million) order for a petrochemical plant construction project in Thailand. Under the deal with Thai firm HMC Polymers Co., GS E&C will build a polypropylene plant at a Map Ta Phut site in Rayong Province, Thailand. The company said it will take about 35 months to complete the polypropylene plant, which will have an annual capacity of 250,000 tons. GS E&C previousl

　South Korea’s credit card firms saw their combined earnings fall in the first half, hit by a decline in credit card processing fees, data showed. 　The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card, Samsung Card and KB Kookmin Card, came to 940.5 billion won ($789 million) in the January-June period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.　Earlier this year, the government cut credit card processing fees to

　The government’s plan to use a SpaceX projectile to search the orbit of the moon has been postponed to July 2022, the Science Ministry said Tuesday, amid lingering disputes over the projectile’s weight and design. 　During a press briefing in Sejong city, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced it had decided to delay the lunar projectile’s launch by 19 months. The projectile was supposed to be launched in December next year. 　According to the government, there had been dispu