South Korea’s LG Electronics unveiled the LG V40 ThinQ, the first smartphone ever to be equipped with five cameras, saying it was looking to foster smartphone sales in anticipation of a 2020 turnaround, the company said Thursday. “We didn’t simply increase the number of cameras. We focused all our capacity (on cameras), which is the most (widely) used part of a smartphone and the one that gets the most complaints (from customers),” said Hwang Jeong-hwan, head of LG Electronics’ mobile communicat

Western cosmetics giants have dominated the beauty industry for a long time, but Korean brands are increasingly setting new standards of beauty, driven by the worldwide popularity of K-pop. A growing number of people, regardless of gender and age, are investing time and money on beauty products from Korea’s cosmetic shops. This includes a large portion of foreigners searching for K-beauty -- a new norm referring to a wide range of skin care and makeup products that originate from Korea, and the

Korean cosmetic firms jump into global makeup market following k-beauty trend

South Korea’s Daewoong Pharmaceutical said Thursday that it had voluntarily terminated its clinical trial application for its type A botulinum toxin drug Nabota that was approved by China’s drug regulator in January, citing the need for a production site change. The firm plans to submit a revised CTA by the year’s end, it added.　After submitting the CTA and successfully obtaining approval, Daewoong expects that it can initiate phase 3 trials for Nabota, to prove the drug’s efficacy in treating f

K-POP IN MEXICO -- Dancers perform at the “K-pop Party” festival organized by South Korea’s Daewoo Electronics in Mexico City on Sept. 30. The company said Thursday that the event featured a “Gangnam Style” dance contest, traditional Korean music performances and activities related to traditional culture, alongside booths introducing home appliances under the Daewoo Electronics and Dayou Winia brands. (Daewoo Electronics)

One in four family members of South Korea's major conglomerate owners have put up shares as collateral to take out loans from financial institutions, a market tracker said Thursday.CEO Score said that 178 owner family members of 51 conglomerates, known here as chaebol, have offered shares in their subsidiaries as collateral as of the end of September.The value of the shares used as collateral totals 11.74 trillion won ($10.4 billion), accounting for 13.4 percent of the combined shareholdings of

Former Bongousse Rice Burger CEO Oh Seh-rin has sparked controversy after he reportedly sold the company to popular Korean fried chicken chain NeNe Chicken without giving prior notice to franchise owners. NeNe Chicken recently acquired the burger franchise and replaced Oh with the current CEO Hyun Cheol-ho last month, a company official said Wednesday. With less than $100, Oh reportedly started out as a street food vendor in front of Dongwon High School and Dongwoo Girls’ High School in Suwon, G

Kia’s position as electrified brand, Hyundai as tech, innovative carmaker are keys for future success, say COOs

On the Bar is a regular column written by attorneys at Yoon & Yang LLC on various laws and regulations that affect running a business in Korea. The content provided here is general legal information. -- Ed.The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, popularly known as GDPR, was adopted in 2016 and took effect May 25, 2018. GDPR differs in many ways from Korean statutes such as the Personal Information Protection Act and tends to be vague about the tasks required of those wh

The labor union of Renault Samsung Motors is set to stage a partial strike Thursday, its first strike in four years, in a move that could lower the carmaker’s chances of renewing its contract on production of the Nissan Rogue sport utility vehicle next year, industry insiders said Wednesday.Ahead of the Chuseok holiday last month, the union held a vote, and 85.1 percent agreed to stage a strike after failing to reach a consensus in wage negotiations with the company.The union is pushing for a 10

All eyes on attendance of Naver founder Lee Hae-jin, Kakao founder Kim Beom-su

South Korea's plan to phase out nuclear reactors will increase its electricity purchase cost by 11 percent by 2030, a government report showed on Wednesday.Since taking office in May last year, President Moon Jae-in has pledged to close atomic power plants gradually and increase the ratio of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2030.The new energy policy has raised concerns that reduced dependence on coal and nuclear power and the still high production costs of renewable energy could lead to higher

Samsung Display said Wednesday that the company would supply 7-inch organic light-emitting diode displays for Audi’s first commercial electric sport utility vehicle, the e-tron. Samsung’s OLED displays will be used for the virtual side-mirror system in which the 7-inch OLED monitors are mounted on the left and right sides of the dashboard and connected to rear-view cameras. The virtual side-mirror technology provides different angles and views for highway driving, turning street corners and park

LG Electronics opened a new research and development center within the Gasan R&D Campus in southwestern Seoul that is dedicated to air-cleaning technologies and solutions, the company said Wednesday. Called the Air Science Research Center, it will focus on developing solutions for use in all LG air purifiers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers to upgrade their ability to eliminate dust, odors and microorganisms.  Researchers work at LG’s new R&D center for air-cleaning technologies and solutions

South Korea’s leading air carrier Korean Air has introduced ways to efficiently use its mileage system, Korean Air SkyPass. According to Korean Air, miles earned on the air carrier or partner airlines after July 1, 2008 are valid for 10 years from the date of the travel and can be used until Dec. 31 on the 10th year.  (Korean Air)The period is relatively longer than other airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, where mileage usually expires in three years. For American Airlines, United Airlines an