Alert credit card companies in Korea. Biometric technology using facial, iris, voice, fingerprint and finger vein recognition could halve the current money transfer costs through credit card and mobile transactions totaling at 2.7 trillion won ($2.2 billion) annually, Boston Consulting Group said Friday in a report. “The 2.7 trillion won is an approximation of the sum of 290 million hours and 110.7 million square meters, time and space annually needed to process payments in the convention

Shinsegae International will launch a limited-edition electric bike in collaboration with Super73, US-based electric motorbike manufacturer. By limited edition, they mean only two in the world. The company‘s signature gorilla character JRilla, designed after Shinsegae heir Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin, is the bike‘s mascot. The product even has its own narrative: JRilla, originally from Mars, opted for an electric bike in favor of both the environment and style while navigating h

Zackdang, operator of beauty video platform Zamface, said Wednesday it raised 4.5 billion won ($3.76 million) from Hi Investment Partners and Daesung Private Equity in January. With the fresh investment, the company’s cumulative investment has reached 11 billion won. Zamface saw its number of cumulative subscribers surpass 1.8 million in only 2 1/2 years since its launch in January 2019. Millennial- and Generation Z-females take up the lion’s share, or 94 percent, of its user base,

KT, South Korea’s largest telecommunications firm by sales, will pay a total of $6.3 million to the US Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an SEC announcement showed Friday. The SEC ordered the Seoul-based firm to pay $3.5 million in civil payments and $2.8 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest within a month, more than two years after the US authorities started their investigation. KT was accused of insuffici

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday it will use more environmentally friendly aviation fuel on its Incheon-Paris route as part of efforts to join global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The move to use the so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the route comes as Europe and the United States are leading efforts to build SAF production facilities and supply the fuel to cut greenhouse gas emissions from flights. "The company has decided to adopt SAF on t

　The South Korean market of instant meals jumped more than 145 percent in 2020 from four years earlier on the increased number of convenience stores and the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Shipments of ready-to-eat items, known as home meal replacement products in South Korea, came to 2.01 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in 2020, up a whopping 145.3 percent from 2016, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Co

Samsung Bioepis Co., a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, said Friday that global sales of its five biosimilar products, outside of the South Korean market, jumped 11 percent on-year in 2021. The combined sales of the five biosimilars -- Infliximab, Etanercept, Adalimumab, Trastuzumab and Bevacizumab -- came to around $1.25 billion last year, compared with $1.12 billion a year earlier, the company said. The company cited earnings reports of its global partners -- Oganon International and Bi

A North Korean defector sponsored by a South Korean company received a doctoral degree in international relations from a US university. Kim Seong-ryeol, a 37-year-old from Chongjin, North Korea, made three failed attempts to flee North Korea with his family by crossing the Tumen River to China since 1997, and was subsequently jailed. Kim finally fled the North in 2004, and settled in South Korea with his family. Having dropped out of middle school in North Korea, Kim completed the South Korean

Dutch pension fund APG said Thursday it has urged Samsung Electronics Co. and nine other South Korean companies that it has invested in to intensify efforts to reduce carbon emissions. APG, the largest pension fund in the Netherlands, said it has sent a letter to major companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix Inc. and LG Chem Ltd., urging them to conduct "ambitious climate and carbon reduction strategies and commitments." The pension fund called on them "to evaluate thei

Tech giant bolsters responsiveness to policy changes in the US, especially on supply chain issues

Coway posted 945.9 billion won ($789 million) of sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 with an operating income of 139.2 billion won, the company said Thursday. The firm also logged 3.66 trillion won in 2021 sales, logging a 13.2 percent growth year-on-year. Operating income was 640.2 billion won and net income 465.5 billion won, each up 5.6 percent and 15 percent.　 The company‘s global outposts saw a yearly revenue of 1.21 trillion won last year and 301.6 billion won in the fourth quarter

Science Minister, CEOs of 3 telcos fail to settle differences

Oriental Brewery (OB), Korea’s largest beer maker, won the grand prize at the 2021 Korea Brand Awards for its marketing strategy that added sentimental elements to soothe customers hit by the pandemic. The award, overseen by the Korean Marketing Association, recognizes companies that put “consumer value” at the forefront of brand management. The key to OB’s marketing strategy was “clicking with” consumers, stressed the beer manufacturer. While beer advertisem

Under the South Korean government’s plan to commercialize flying cars, or Urban Air Mobility, in central cities by 2025, the Transport Ministry on Thursday kicked off the K-UAM Grand Challenge program to coordinate all of South Korea’s UAM-related activities as part of its focus to enable emerging aviation markets. This Ministry-led program will bring together industry players including aircraft developers, airspace designers, and air traffic management operators with the goal of d

Samsung Electronics said Thursday a wine cooler will be part of its new home appliance package under its Bespoke brand to target wine lovers in South Korea, coupled with its Internet of Things features for wine pairing recommendation. Its new premium built-in side-by-side refrigerator, under its brand-new Bespoke Infinite lineup, has a dual-zone vertical wine cooler that can hold up to 101 bottles of wine. The temperature for each zone can be set at between 4-18 degrees Celsius, enabling user