The only son of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun is under investigation on charges of smuggling liquid marijuana, putting the brakes on the food-to-entertainment giant’s succession plan.Lee Sun-ho, the heir-in-waiting of CJ Group, the 14th-largest conglomerate here, was allegedly caught by the customs service at Incheon Airport on Sunday attempting to smuggle liquid marijuana in cartridges into the country. The case was transferred to the Incheon District Prosecutors Office, authorities said

South Korea’s leading golf simulator maker, Golfzon, is seeking to enhance its business presence in Vietnam, riding on the sport’s growing popularity in the Southeast Asian country.By the end of the year, Golfzon plans to operate a total of 12 Vietnamese branches where people can play virtual golf at indoor facilities. Five branches have opened in the country since Golfzon began its business there last year. The company is also seeking to expand into the construction of outdoor golf

Singapore Airlines said Monday that Xavier Ho has been appointed as a new chief of the Korean branch. Ho, who joined the company in 2006 after studying civil engineering at National University of Singapore, has previously worked at Los Angeles, Colombo, Auckland, Jakarta and Osaka branches.Until recently, he led sales and operation in India as a manager at Singapore Airlines’ north Indian branch.The air carrier said Ho will help business growth in Korea and enhance customer services b

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that sales of its cars in Western Europe have surpassed that of Japanese rivals Toyota Motor and Honda Motor over the last 7 1/2 years. Its auto affiliates -- Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors -- sold 552,701 cars in the January to June period, about 70,000 more than those sold by Toyota and Honda. The two carmakers together make up roughly 6 percent of all automobiles sold in Western Europe.In the first half of this year, the combined sales of Hyundai and Ki

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest carmaker, said Monday its sales fell 6.2 percent last month from a year earlier due to lower demand in emerging markets. Hyundai Motor sold 363,045 vehicles in August, down from 386,885 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 9.7 percent to 52,897 units last month from 58,582 a year ago, while overseas sales were down 5.5 percent to 310,148 from 328,303 over the cited period, the statement said."Lower demand in

LG Electronics said Monday it will expand sales of its artificial intelligence-powered washers in 30 European countries this year. The South Korean tech giant has applied AI tech to the core component of its washing machines for smarter, more convenient management of clothes. LG said it will launch front-loading washing machines equipped with the firm’s flagship Direct Drive motor in 30 European countries, including the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland, by the end of the year. The DD m

Samsung Electronics will bet on its home purification solutions at Europe’s biggest consumer electronics fair, which kicks off this Friday. The company said Monday that it will showcase its clothing purification wardrobe “Air Dresser,” cordless vacuum cleaner “Jet” and windless air purifier “Cube” at the upcoming Internationale Funkausstellung, better known as IFA 2019, slated for Sept. 6 to 11 in Berlin.  Samsung referenced a survey of European con

SK Holdings will launch SK Pharmteco in January in California, consolidating its contract manufacturing organizations in Korea, the US and Europe with a long-term aim of a market debut in the US, the company said Monday.“With the future US IPO (initial public offering) of SK Pharmteco and with additional mergers and acquisitions, we will grow to become a global top 10 CMO,” said an SK Holdings representative. A contract manufacturing organization refers to a company that provides con

South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang was selected as the most preferred online shopping platform among Korean consumers for its speedy and accurate delivery, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey from the Korea Consumer Agency, Coupang scored the highest point total in overall consumer satisfaction, beating out its competitors. Some 1,200 consumers nationwide participated in the survey on the country’s six highest-earning e-commerce companies.In terms of consumer assessment about

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Monday it has sold its entire stake in Burger King Japan Holdings, nine years after it acquired the fast-food franchise. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Lotte Group has sold its stake to Hong Kong-based private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, the largest shareholder of Burger King Korea.  While the exact price of the sell-off has not been revealed, industry sources said the deal could be worth around 10 billion won ($8.26 mill

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its Half-Year Economic Outlook 2019 in Seoul in cooperation with the Incheon Free Economic Zone, the chamber of commerce said. The first part of the event, held to look at trends affecting trade between the two countries, was led by two distinguished speakers. Peter Winkler, deputy head of mission and the head of the economic department at the German Embassy, highlighted the transitions affecting the two countries’ energy sectors as w

　The South Korean market for ready-to-eat products increased 14 percent in 2018 on the back of rising demand from single-member households, seniors and others who seek convenience, data showed.　Sales of ready-to-eat meals reached 3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) in 2018, up from 2.6 trillion won posted a year earlier, according to the annual report released by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, as more customers sought hassle-free food items. (Yonhap)

World Semiconductor Trade Statistics has again lowered its global sales forecasts for 2019 and 2020, indicating a longer-than-expected downturn in the chipmaking market, according to the industry on Sunday. In its latest report, WSTS predicted that the global semiconductor industry would post annual sales of $406.5 billion this year, down 13.3 percent from last year. Compared with the previous WSTS report, released in June, the estimates are also lower.  Memory sales are forecast to plunge

Samsung Electronics along with 15 other partners have specified global standards to define the key performance attributes of 8K televisions with an aim to expand the ecosystem, the South Korean tech giant said Sunday. The 8K Association, a global nonprofit organization of TV and panel manufacturers, system-on chipmakers and content businesses, has announced the standards and performance specifications. The association has 16 member companies, including Samsung Electronics, AUO, Panasonic, Hisens

About 9,000 YouTube contents distributed in South Korea have been accused of copyright infringement since January this year, a lawmaker said Sunday, amid growing calls for the government’s enhanced oversight over the global video-sharing service. Citing data from the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of Democratic Party said there were 8,833 copyright infringement cases in YouTube as of last month. It was similar to the number of violation cases last year when 8,880 con