BAT Rothmans, the Korean unit of British American Tobacco, said Tuesday it unveiled a special McLaren livery design inspired by its e-cigarette products for the 2024 F1 Japanese Grand Prix. According to BAT, the unveiling of the livery is part of the "Driven by Change" project, a collaboration campaign between the tobacco company and the McLaren Formula 1 Team. Launched in 2021, this collaborative initiative aims to provide emerging talents worldwide with the opportunity to design li

Lee Boo-jin, the president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, will reportedly sell some 440 billion won ($325 million) in Samsung Electronics stock, in an apparent bid to pay off her inheritance tax. Industry sources revealed Tuesday that Lee, a member of the Samsung Group founding family, is assessing buyer demand for a block deal involving 5,247,140 shares in the tech giant. Should the sale proceed, her shareholding in Samsung Electronics would decrease from 0.89 percent to 0.8 percent. The

Mobile messenger KakaoTalk's once-overwhelming lead in the instant messaging industry in Korea has continued to falter, as a report Tuesday showed that the number of people regularly using the application has fallen to the lowest figure in 22 months. The monthly active users -- those who used a service at least once a month -- for KakaoTalk in March was 44.97 million, down from 45.19 million the previous month. It marked the first time the figure for the instant messaging service had dipped

Daewoo Engineering & Construction announced Tuesday that three of its projects were winners of the 2024 Red Dot Design Award. Among the awarded projects is the Artistic Playground, installed at the Daechi Prugio Summit apartment complex in Gangnam-gu, southern part of Seoul. This space incorporates free-form play structures that resemble artworks drawn with a 3D pen in circular patterns. It was designed to inspire creativity and imagination, beyond conventional playground models. The playgro

Hyundai Rotem said Tuesday that it has completed a quality inspection of the KTX Cheong-ryong, its newest bullet train that has a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour, before it gets handed over to the Korea Railroad Corporation for operation. Hyundai Rotem's new bullet train has undergone over 180,000 km of test rides on railroads across the country since October 2022. The KTX Cheong-ryong will begin operations next month. (Hyundai Rotem)

Big companies in South Korea increased their investments in research and development activities last year despite decreased earnings, a corporate data tracker said Tuesday. Their combined R&D investments rose 9.4 percent to 73.42 trillion won ($54 billion) in 2023 from 67.14 trillion won a year earlier, according to a recent survey of 224 firms by the data tracker CEO Score. They suffered declines in sales and operating profit due to an economic slowdown but they executed their planned R&

The US government announced a plan Monday to award Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. some $11.6 billion in grants and loans to support the chipmaker's investment for three fabrication plants in Arizona, as it strives to boost domestic semiconductor production. The Department of Commerce has signed a preliminary agreement with TSMC Arizona Corporation, a TSMC subsidiary, to provide up to $6.6 billion in grants and about $5 billion in loans under the CHIPS Act to back TSMC's investment of mor

The announcement from Burger King's South Korean operator that it would stop selling its popular Whopper lineup has stirred up controversy and mixed opinions over whether it is merely a marketing stunt or not. Early Monday morning, Burger King informed customers through its website and mobile messenger KakaoTalk about the end of Whopper sales. "Whopper sales will end after 40 years," the announcement read. "We thank everyone who has loved the Whopper all this time." Acco

Absence of court involvement ‘exceptional’ for Korea, experts say

Hanjin Group, the South Korean aviation conglomerate behind the nation's flag carrier Korean Air, announced Monday the release of a biography honoring the life and accomplishments of its late chairman Cho Yang-ho. The book, titled “Charting New Horizons: the Life and Legacy of Cho Yang-ho”, was unveiled during Cho's memorial ceremony held on the same day in Singal, Yongin, Gyeonnggi Province. After joining Korean Air in 1974, Cho Yang-ho emerged as a visionary figure in the

Seven out of 10 retailers in Korea say they feel threatened by the rapid expansion of Chinese e-commerce platforms, especially the big three -- AliExpress, Temu and Shein -- an industry-wide survey found Monday. Of the 500 retailers surveyed by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the nation’s largest business lobby, 69.4 percent said their businesses are under threat by the Chinese rush, while 74.4 percent expected heightened competition in the market. Almost 60 percent of online

Hanwha patriarch makes consecutive appearances at Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Robotics

Korean automakers join hands with leading Indian battery firm Exide Energy

South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been boosting investment in the US to secure federal subsidies and get ahead in the intensifying competition in the advanced chip packaging and artificial intelligence chip sectors. Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chipmaker that also runs chip design and foundry businesses, is reportedly planning to increase its investment in its semiconductor fabrication plant currently under construction in Taylor, Texas. According

CJ Foodville, the operator of the South Korean bakery chain Tous Les Jours, said Monday it plans to establish a training center in the US aimed at enhancing the service and operational expertise of its local franchisees there. This initiative comes as CJ Foodville has recently experienced an increasing number of inquiries from Americans interested in operating Tous Les Jours franchise outlets in the US, the company added. According to CJ Foodville, contracts for new franchise openings have alrea