Samsung SDI, one of the nation’s largest battery maker, sought to learn from a local fish-cake maker based in Busan, in an effort to innovate its operation and business strategies.Executives and employees of the battery firm looked at the example of family-run fish-cake maker Samjin Eomuk, which has survived financial difficulties and achieved market success by changing its strategy from business-to-business to business-to-customer.Samjin Eomuk was a small supplier of filleted fish on the brink

No weight-loss shortcuts have lasting effects: experts

South Korea’s largest cruise terminal opened Friday in Songdo, an international business district within Incheon, west of Seoul, port authorities said Sunday. Since 2013, the Incheon Port Authority had spent 28 billion won ($24 million) to build the two-story terminal with 7,364 square meters of floor space. Passengers can be seen in the new cruise terminal in Incheon on Friday. (Incheon Port Authority)“With the opening of the terminal exclusive for cruises, the port of Incheon has taken a leap

Hera, a luxury beauty brand under Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific, has launched a limited-edition collection in collaboration with Italian fashion brand Au Jour Le Jour, the firm said Sunday. The collection features an urban-chic concept that reanalyzes the retro trend, according to the company.  Hera X Au Jour Le Jour collection (Amorepacific)It comprises an eye shadow palette, Wonder Pearl Liquid lip gloss, Black Cushion pact, Cell Essence and Rich Curling mascara, packaged in a special bo

A co-chief executive officer of LINE Corp., Japan's largest messaging service provider, has been granted massive stock options, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, LINE, an affiliate of South Korea's dominant Internet portal and search engine Naver Corp., has decided to give 10.8 percent of its shares listed on Japan's stock market to its employees over the next three years as stock options, with Shin Jung-ho, named last month as a co-CEO of LINE, receiving 2.7 percent. Co-CEO

Korea Gas Corp. is to set aside 4.7 trillion won ($4.06 billion) to build hydrogen infrastructure and develop related technologies by 2030 as part of the nation’s push toward next-generation energy, according to the state-run natural gas company on Sunday. Kogas’ hydrogen plan comes as a follow-up to the Moon Jae-in administration’s hydrogen road map unveiled in January, which aimed to produce 6.2 million hydrogen-powered cars and distribute 15-gigawatt fuel cells for power generation by 2040. K

Management in Korea is a regular column written by the members of Egon Zehnder Seoul, touching on various aspects of Korean enterprises and business leaders and offering management tips. -- Ed.The recent ouster of Cho Yang-ho from the board of Korean Air, shortly before his death and after a series of leadership shortcomings including alleged misuse of company funds, is more than a turning point for one of Korea’s most visible companies. Even though the company had kept Cho as chairman (his son,

With heightened awareness here on increasing governance transparency and boosting investors’ rights, large businesses have been facing mounting pressure on all fronts, including the ways they conduct shareholders meetings, reform the power structure and dole out dividends.Since 2016, when a firm is spotted on the National Pension Service’s radar for paying “stingy” dividends to investors, they run the risk of being added to a blacklist that is disclosed to the public. And with the world’s third-

S. Korea’s tech players should watch out for intense competition in smart home appliance market

Daewoong Pharmaceutical's botulinum toxin Nabota received a positive opinion from European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), Friday.The CHMP opinion is a scientific recommendation for marketing authorization to the European Commission, which will now review the recommendation and deliver its final decision on the Company’s marketing authorization application. The decision will be applicable to all 28 European Union member states plus Iceland, Norway and Li

　Samsung’s first 5G-powered smartphone is expected to carry a higher price tag in the United States than in South Korea. 　US mobile carrier Verizon said Thursday that it had begun preorders for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which will hit Verizon stores May 16. The 256 GB option costs $1,300 and the 512 GB option is $1,400. 　But in Korea, where the model became available April 5 after the rollout of 5G commercial services here, the 256 GB model costs about 1.39 million won ($1,205), with the 512 GB

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Friday it will look into some 20 imported drinks for glyphosate residue.The US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund revealed in a report in February that glyphosate had been found in 19 out of 20 brands of 15 popular beers and five wines tested there. Glyphosate is an active chemical ingredient found in Roundup, the herbicide produced by Monsanto. Under the classification from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, glyphosate is classi

Dedicated cat owners are behind the boom in South Korea’s pet care market, market research firm Euromonitor International announced Friday.The size of Korea’s pet care market is estimated to surpass 1.8 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in 2019, twice what it was eight years ago. For that, Euromonitor credited cat owners’ careful attention to their feline friends.Spearheaded by squeezable packages of semi-liquid snack food, the cat snack market in Korea has seen explosive growth since 2017, the Euromo

The Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 media companies in 20 Asian nations, charted a new course for its future on the final day of its 20th anniversary board meeting Friday, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul.When ANN was founded in 1999, its founding members’ vision was to deliver news about Asia through Asian eyes. As the network marked 20 years of successful pan-Asian journalistic collaboration, its board gathered in Seoul to redefine ANN’s future vision and mission. ANN’s new tagline, “Bringing Asia

Branded pop-up stores play an increasingly important role in South Korea’s retail scene as a source of creativity, innovation and a brand new consumer experience. Many customers associate pop-ups with an experience different from what they expect from conventional brick-and-mortar stores.  (Louis Vuitton)“If this were a regular shop, I wouldn’t have stepped inside,” said Nam Yong-il, who visited LG Uplus’ fifth-generation-themed pop-up in Gangnam, Seoul, earlier this week. “But since it’s a pop-