Baemin, or Baedal Minjok, the country’s No. 1 delivery app by market share, said Tuesday that it has started operating the country’s first outdoor delivery robot, which delivers food from a restaurant to an apartment building. According to Woowa Brothers, the delivery app operator, it is now using five Dilly Drives, its outdoor autonomous delivery robot, at Alleyway Gwanggyo, a residential and commercial complex located in Gwanggyo, Gyeonggi Province. Residents of the 1,100 hous

Delivery workers at major logistics firms took a day off Friday, for the first time in 28 years since the introduction of a delivery system in the country. The companies have designated Aug. 14 as “Delivery worker’s refresh day,” amid surging workload in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. CJ Logistics, Hanjin, Lotte and Logen -- four major logistics companies here -- decided last month to give their delivery staff a day off, after they accepted the demand of two labor unions of

Starbucks Korea said Thursday it has donated 200 million won ($168,900) to support preservation of independence cultural heritage and provide scholarships to the descendants of independence patriots. As Saturday marks the country’s National Liberation Day, the coffee chain said it held a ceremony Thursday to deliver 100 million won to Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Trust for Cultural Heritage. The funds will be used to purchase and preserve cultural heritage artifact

Foreign brands operating in South Korea are lending a helping hand to recovery efforts during the record-breaking monsoon season. McDonald’s Korea said Wednesday it will donate burgers and drinks for 5,000 volunteers and soldiers who are working to combat the flood damage in provinces hit hardest by the heavy downpours. The burger chain will distribute Big Mac burgers and drinks for those helping recovery efforts in seven regions including Cheorwon and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, Ch

South Korea’s No. 1 food wrapping company expands presence globally

Retail prices of leafy vegetables would rise further this week due to damaged farms, difficulty in delivery as heavy downpours continue

Dongwon F&B, the South Korean distributor of the US plant-based meat alternative Beyond Meat, said Thursday that it has launched the product at E-mart, the country’s largest supermarket chain by revenue. The company signed an exclusive contract in 2018 to import Beyond Meat from the US to Korea. After launching the flagship Beyond Burger in March 2019, it sold about 82,000 patties here last year, Dongwon F&B said. The company said it is offering Beyond Burger at the 21 E-mart

Amorepacific, a South Korean cosmetics giant, said Wednesday it launched two of its flagship brands, Amorepacific and Mamonde in US Amazon, as part of its efforts to expand presence in the US. ”It is an honor to present Amorepacific’s flagship brands to customers of the US Amazon,” an Amorepacific Group official said. “As online shopping is growing globally, we will continue for sturdy growth in the digital sector with Amorepacific and Mamonde.” Amorepacific s

The new coronavirus outbreak has given a big boost to domestic travel here amid disrupted air travel. But for some vacationers, visiting tourist attractions or using lodging facilities could still be the last thing they want to do. Against this backdrop, a new non-contact travel trend has gained traction in South Korea as more people are turning their eyes to outdoor camping and "chabak," a newly coined word that means sleeping and staying in a car during travel. A 31-year-old offic

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and his siblings may have to pay at least 450 billion won ($378 million) in tax in South Korea for their late father's inherited assets, but their tax payment may swell when assets in Japan are counted. Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho died of a chronic illness at age 99 in January, survived by Dong-bin and three other adult children. Details about changes in their stakeholdings inherited from the late chairman were revealed Friday, the deadline for them to

Retail sales edged up 3.7 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, with the growth towed by e-commerce companies, government data revealed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy, total sales in the retail industry recorded 66.79 trillion won ($55.9 billion) on-year, up 3.7 percent. The growth rate appears to have slowed compared to previous years, as sales increased by 7.5 percent in 2018 and 5.6 percent in 2019. For the report,

Duty-free sales rose for the second straight month in June, but their sales still remained half of pre-pandemic figures, industry data showed Monday. Combined sales at duty-free shops in South Korea reached 1.11 trillion won ($923 million) in June, up 9.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. It marked the second straight month of gains since the figure fell below 1 trillion won for the first time in four years in April. Local duty-free operators w

Amid an overall slump in the retail industry in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, retailer chain Homplus is speeding up its asset securitization plan to sell physical stores in order to secure liquidity. On Friday, Hompeplus said it has decided to securitize a store branch in Daejeon, one week after the retailer announced plans to sell another branch in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The company’s move comes after it recorded the net loss of 532.2 billion won ($442.8 million) during the pe

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Thursday that the number of its delivery workers has doubled in the last seven months to surpass 10,000. Coupang said its direct employment system is attractive to workers as it offers different benefits than other delivery service companies, allowing employees to work just five days a week and keeping the hours below 52 per week. The company also provides employment insurance and 15 days of annual leave, as stated in the law. The company also pays

Korean food and chemical company Samyang Corp. said Thursday its food brand Trusweet Allulose obtained kosher certification from Orthodox Union. Samyang said it has worked to be verified as kosher, which confirms that the ingredients meets the dietary standards of traditional Jewish law, as part of its effort to present the product to the global kosher market valued at $250 billion.  Trusweet Allulose was also certified halal by the Korea Muslim Federation in February, the company added.