A wholesale market in Incheon is crowded with shoppers buying food ahead of Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday that kicks off on Friday.

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Sunday it will build an eco-friendly smart city complex and smart logistics center in Vietnam, as part of its expansion plan to cement a strong foothold in Southeast Asia. Under the $900 million Thu Tiem Eco Smart City project, the company plans to construct a 60-story building, with another five floors underground, comprising a shopping mall, cinema, office space, hotel, residences and apartments in Ho Chi Minh City. For the residential area, a big

Piggybacking on SPC Samlip’s Pokemon Bread craze, South Korean food companies are using animated characters on their product packaging to appeal to customers with a desire to collect nostalgic items. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven said Wednesday it has sold more than 250,000 rolls of its recently launched Digimon Bread in a week. The pastry comes with a sticker of one of 182 characters from the Japanese anime television series “Digimon Adventure” -- a key rival of the Poke

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Tuesday it will take legal action against People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a local NGO, for spreading false information on the company’s audit report. The NGO said in a statement that Coupang is illegally aiding its subsidiary called CPLB by receiving only 2.55 percent commission while demanding around 31.2 percent commission to other sellers. The 31.2 percent includes advertising fee and standard brokerage fee, it claimed.

South Korean tobacco company KT&G said Monday it plans to build a new eco-friendly tobacco packaging factory in the central administrative hub of Sejong City. Under the 180 billion won ($133.5 million) project, the factory will be constructed at Sejong Mirae Industrial Estate, a government-developed area for local manufacturing companies, by 2025. KT&G said the factory will produce tobacco packaging such as cigarette papers and boxes, based on a cutting-edge logistics automation syste

Fation, the cosmetics brand of Dong-A Pharmaceutical, said Friday it has launched its weak acid cleansing products – Nosca9 Cleansing Gel and Nosca9 Cleansing Water – to cater to customer demand for skincare products that counteract skin damage caused by wearing face masks in the summer’s heat and humidity. South Korea’s summers are notorious for being hot and humid. Humidity causes dust particles and other harmful substances to attach to the skin more readily, blocking

Consumers, restaurateurs complain about rising costs; Platform operators hemorrhage money; riders cry foul over working conditions

The long-awaited market debut of Kurly, operator of South Korean e-commerce platform Market Kurly, is expected to be decided soon as the nation’s bourse operator is scheduled to hold a final review session next week, according to industry sources on Tuesday. If the company gets a green light from the Korea Exchange during the session, it is ready to go public. Following a book building process, its share price will be decided. The issue is investor sentiment amid a lukewarm initial publ

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin reiterated his plan for investment in biotech and hydrogen energy after his pardon was announced by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday. “We sincerely thank the government’s and people’s decision to grant a pardon. Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Lotte workers will contribute to overcoming the global crisis by boosting domestic industries and economy,” Lotte Group said. “The company will accelerate biotech, hydrogen energy

Goobne Chicken, one of the leading South Korean chicken franchises, said Friday that it has opened its first US branch in LA. The store, located at Korean supermarket Hannam Chain Del Amo in Torrance, LA, will bring various Korean-style chicken flavors to cater to the growing interest in K-food in the US, it added. According to Goobne Chicken CEO Chung Tae-yong, the company also plans a second branch in the US later this year. In 2014, Goobne Chicken opened its first international branch in

Starbucks Korea said Thursday it will voluntarily recall some 1.8 million giveaway “summer carry bags” after drawing public ire for handing out items containing cancer-causing chemicals. After consulting with the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the company decided to recall over 1 million bags that were given away and 16,200 bags sold online starting from Aug. 11 to Oct. 11. Customers who received the bags as giveaway items after purchasing 17 Starbucks drink

South Korean confectionery company SPC Samlip said Wednesday that it has posted an all-time high sales record of over 800 billion won ($611.4 million) in the second quarter, driven by the popularity of its Pokemon Bread, of which the company sold 70 million packs for the last six months. The company’s second quarter sales surged on-year by 14 percent to 814.9 billion won in sales, while its net profit skyrocketed by 61.5 percent to 23.5 billion won in the cited period. Key growth drivers

Science ministry, civic group divided over safety of wearable fans

Golf apparel trend moving towards pricey items with T-shirts priced between 200,000-900,000 won

Shinsegae Food said Thursday that it plans to enter the global alternative meat market with its newly launched plant-based canned ham. “Hormel Foods’ Spam has dominated the global canned ham market since 1926. But in almost 100 years, we have become the first to make a vegan canned ham that has almost the same taste and texture,” said Song Hyun-suk, Shinsegae Food CEO, during a press conference. Song added that compared to other competitors who promote Korean foods unfamilia