Corporate entertainment expenses at South Korean companies declined by more than 200 billion won ($180 million) from 2015 to 2016, as a result of the anti-graft law that took effect on Sept. 28, 2016.According to corporate entertainment expenses calculated based on corporate tax records, companies spent a total of 10.6 trillion won for entertainment purposes in 2016.It marks a decrease of 245.1 billion won from a total of 10.89 trillion won in entertainment expenses observed in 2015, prior to th

Word is spreading that Samsung Electronics might be planning to outsource production for some of its mid- and low-end Galaxy-series phones destined for the Chinese market, industry sources said Thursday. According to some news reports, Samsung’s mobile business executives led by Executive Vice President Roh Tae-moon visited China’s Wintech, Xiaomi’s original design manufacturing branch, to discuss the possibility of manufacturing Samsung phones at Wintech’s factory. Samsung’s public relations of

Twenty-one major South Korean coffee shop and fresh juice franchises have come under fire for violating the nation’s Food Safety Act, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Thursday. The ministry inspected 4,071 establishments Aug. 13-17. Franchises that were found to be in violation included Tom N Toms, A Twosome Place, Paris Baguette and Ediya Coffe. (Yonhap)The franchises were found to have violated a number of food safety laws from selling and using expired products to failure

Samsung Electronics unveiled its fifth web drama series “Ambergris” earlier this month, depicting a dystopian future where humanism is revived with the help of artificial intelligence.The story is of a woman taking a life-risking journey to find a whale in the sea in 2053, when the world is on the brink of the apocalypse due to severe micro dust.The main character, played by I.O.I’s Kim So-hye, longs for a whale she saw with her mother years ago, replaying her memories with virtual reality devic

Hyundai Development Company’s apartment complex Cheongju Gagyeong I-Park 3 in North Chungcheong Province has completed its sales, the firm said Thursday. Cheongju Gagyeong I-Park 3 has been touted as a new residential complex with a good transportation network.  Cheongju Gagyeong I-Park 3 (HDC)The apartment is located adjacent to Osong Station on the Gyeongbu KTX high-speed train as well as Cheongju Station, a railway line that connects Daejeon and other regions of North Chungcheong Province. Th

The South Korean government on Thursday gave the green light to the long-debated opening of duty-free shops at airport arrival areas, starting with a six month-trial at Incheon Airport.According to the Finance Ministry, the decision was made during a meeting of economy-related ministers on Thursday. The deregulation measure intends to reduce discomfort experienced by tourists and boost the competitiveness of domestic airports, it added.Since 2003, the introduction of duty-free shops in areas whe

Four out of 10 South Korean users of YouTube spend an hour or more watching videos on the platform on a daily basis, according to survey results recently released by local pollster Embrain.Of 1,000 Korean YouTube users aged 19-59 surveyed, 42.58 percent responded that they spend at least one hour on the video platform each day. The proportion of those who were spending more than three hours on YouTube was 5.2 percent.By demographic, the majority of those who responded they were watching more tha

South Korean cybersecurity service provider Raonsecure said Thursday that its FIDO biometrics authentication solution has received FIDO2 certification from the FIDO Alliance, an organization that standardizes and promotes interoperability among authentication devices.　Raonsecure obtained the FIDO2 certification in two categories. The company’s TouchEn OnePass system was certified for the server section while the Raon FIDO Dongle was certified in the authentication device area.TouchEn OnePass is

Kwon Young-soo, second in command of LG Group, headed for Poland to visit an electric vehicle battery plant operated by LG Chem, according to multiple sources Wednesday.The vice chairman arrived in Wroclaw on Tuesday with LG Chem’s top executives. The group includes LG Chem‘s Energy Solution‘s President Kim Jong-hyun.Kwon’s trip appears to be part of the vice chairman’s recent moves to check out the current statuses of key businesses, they said.LG Chem built the EV battery plant in nearby Kobier

S. Korean chipmaker seeks to attract global talent and soften corporate image

CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik won Van Fleet Award from the Korea Society on his contribution in strengthening ties between South Korea and the United States, the company said Wednesday.The award was accredited to his work on introducing Korean culture to the US and bridging the two countries as the former head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it added. CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik receives the Van Fleet Award from Korea Society Chairman Thomas Hubbard (left) and Korea Soci

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s largest automotive alliance, has topped global sales in the first half by selling 5.53 million units, the company said Wednesday. The Franco-Japanese partnership topped the list again this year for the second time, with a 5.1 percent increase on-year. It took the top honor last year. The sales growth was driven by increased demand for crossovers, sport utility vehicles and pickups as well as zero-emissions electric and hybrid-electric models, the alliance s

The Korea Herald takes Nexo for the longest test-drive in the world, from Seoul to Ulsan -- the city of hydrogen

South Korea’s duty-free shops run by family-controlled conglomerates such as Lotte and Shilla posted some 10 trillion won ($8.95 billion) in combined sales last year, nearly 99 percent of total sales, data showed Wednesday.  (Yonhap)According to Korea Customs Service data quoted by Rep. Park Young-sun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, sales of chaebol duty-free stores -- Lotte, Shilla, SK Walkerhill, Shinsegae, Doota, HDC Shilla and Galleria -- came to 10.6 trillion won in the last year,

A senior researcher of local tech company Poinix grabbed attention at the international noise control conference with her study on the close-proximity method, according to the company Wednesday. Kim Hyun-jin, senior researcher at Poinix, presented her research on comparing measurement on noise reduction of quiet pavement at the International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering that took place from Aug. 26 to 29. Dr. Ulf Sandberg (left), an author of Tyre/Road Noise Reference Boo