Application-based food delivery orders jumped nearly 8 percent over the weekend compared with a week earlier due to high concentrations of fine dust air pollution, the country's leading food delivery app said Wednesday. From Friday to Sunday the number of app-based food delivery orders soared by 240,000 to 3.34 million, compared with a week ago, according to Baedal Minjok, or Baemin.  (Yonhap)"At this time of year, app-based food orders used to decline due to rising temperatures. But this year a

KT chief Hwang Chang-gyu delivers a keynote speech during 2019 MWC in Barcelona last week. KTSouth Korea has the most advanced 5G network in the world after using the Winter Olympics to showcase its edge and is set to roll out commercial services later this month, a London-based market researcher said Wednesday. According to Arthur D. Little's 5G country leadership index on over 40 countries, South Korea was identified as the 5G leader ahead of the United States, Australia, Qatar, Switzerland an

A full week after reports surfaced, SK Group confirmed Tuesday that its chief, Chey Tae-won, would step down as chair of the board of SK Holdings, the conglomerate’s holding company, to improve transparency in corporate governance.The company said in a statement that it was considering amendments to its articles that would forbid CEOs from concurrently serving as board chair. The board will also have more outside directors to make the organization more independent and transparent, it added. The

The South Korean government on Tuesday rejected the pricing plan of the country’s largest mobile carrier for its upcoming 5G wireless services.Following a meeting with an expert panel, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it cannot approve SK Telecom’s pricing plan. While it was not revealed exactly how much the mobile carrier is seeking to charge for the faster mobile service, the government said SKT’s pricing plan could “restrict the consumers’ right for choices.”  (Yonhap)“Since SKT

Major conglomerates in South Korea began recruiting staff this month, but they appear to have made noticeable changes in the way they hire new employees, according to industry watchers Tuesday.In a survey of 646 companies in Korea, 63.7 percent of large businesses in South Korea confirmed plans to hire new employees this month, according to Incruit, a local job seeking site.Affiliates of top conglomerates, such as Samsung, LG and SK, have also announced job openings and held a series of recruitm

South Korea’s Transport Ministry announced Tuesday that it has designated Fly Gangwon, Aero-K and Air Premia as new low-cost carrier operators after more than three years of hiatus due to overcrowding of the local LCC market.The ministry said Fly Gangwon, Aero-K and Air Premia have passed the reinforced criteria for LCCs. Under the revision, companies planning to carry out flight operations are required to have at least 30 billion won ($26 million) in capital and five airplanes before they can b

Global K-pop superstar group BTS will provide the new faces behind the Mediheal line of moisturizing masks from L&P Cosmetics. The South Korean skin care firm’s promotional videos featuring BTS hit social media at the start of March and are getting a heated response from fans. BTS will be Mediheal’s global ambassador for a year. L&P Cosmetics said it has collaborated with BTS since 2017, even before the singers signed on as its official models. The firm’s 3,000 special BTS packages, containing f

Volvo Korea launched its new crossover V60 in Korea on Tuesday as its first market in Asia, with the aim of continuing its popularity along with its best-selling XC60.Amid increasing demand for SUVs, Volvo Korea said its new V60 Cross Country -- which combines the comfort of driving a sedan and the driving performance of an SUV -- was built based on the module platform called Scalable Product Architecture.  The V6 Cross Country (Volvo Korea)The second-generation Cross Country V60 is now 74 milli

Experts say Korean firms lack eye for opportunities, while government puts too much pressure on too few

Samsung Bioepis has gained approval to sell bigger-size Ontruzant in Europe, the company said Tuesday.Ontruzant is a biosimilar for breast cancer treatment referencing Swiss firm Roche’s blockbuster drug Herceptin.Available as a powder used to make up a solution for adding to an infusion into a vein, the 150 milligram version hit shelves in Europe in March 2018, after gaining European Medicine Agency’s approval in November 2017. The firm can now sell 420mg versions of the biosimilar. Samsung Bio

South Korea set aside 235 trillion won ($209 billion) for trade finance with the aim of backing struggling exporters amid growing uncertainties over global trade and a slowdown in chip exports, the nation’s key export driver. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday, “This year, six financial institutions will provide a total of 235 trillion won, up 15.3 trillion won from last year, to back exporters through trade finance,” in a joint plan with other ministries, including the Finan

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor has joined a partnership with five global companies, including rival Toyota, to develop standardized parts needed for refueling hydrogen-powered commercial trucks, the company said Monday.The consortium also includes Air Liquide, Nel, Shell and Nikola, an US manufacturer of hydrogen trucks, it added. Fuel-cell bus by Hyundai MotorThe partnership is aimed at accelerating the use of commercial trucks powered by hydrogen and standardizing refueling technology f

Investigation completion date, merits of the case undecided yet

In response to the increasing popularity of car sharing, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors announced Monday the development of a smartphone-based digital key that allows multiple users to start, operate and control a single vehicle with smartphones.The newly developed technology allows users to access vehicles without the need for a smart key. The digital key installed in a smartphone allows the driver total access to the car, and the feature will be implemented in upcoming car models, the company sa

TOKYO -- The cost of generating solar energy can be reduced further even without state subsidies via technological advances that increase the power-generating capacity of each cell module, a marketing expert with a global photovoltaic system giant said last week.The levelized cost of a solar energy system -- that is, the net cost of installing it divided by the amount of energy it can be expected to produce over its lifetime -- has fallen rapidly in recent years. According to data compiled by th