Merck Korea, the Korean unit of the Germany-based pharmaceutical group, said Thursday it has launched a campaign to promote childbirth in efforts to ratchet up the low birth rate in the country.The “Wishmom” campaign was designed to raise public awareness of infertility and help couples struggling to conceive in partnership with the Korean Society for Reproductive Medicine. Actress Song Sun-mee wi

Franck Lapeyre, chief executive of Pernod Ricard Korea, urged foreign businesses in Korea to join the drive by local companies’ to take on more social responsibility, underlining their role as “corporate citizens.” The distributor of Imperial and Ballantine’s whiskies, as well as Absolut Vodka, has been enthusiastic about its anti-drunk driving campaign since 2007, while sponsoring music schools,

Top businessmen seek extreme sports, photography and paintings to relieve tensionWhen talking about the country’s top businessmen, stress may seem to come with the job. While a great motivator, stress can cripple not only physical and emotional health but also concentration and creative thinking. To tackle such risks, CEOs adopt various strategies. It can be extra work in some cases, or extreme sp

The country’s three credit rating agencies in concert lifted their ratings of corporate bonds for Asiana Airlines Inc. one notch to “BBB+” from “BBB” Tuesday, citing increased profitability and growing demand for air travel.NICE Investors Service, Korea Ratings and Korea Investors Service referred the raise to the company’s all-time high operating profit last year, success in slashing fuel expense

Pernod Ricard Korea, the local unit of the global beverages group, launched a campaign against drunk driving Monday in Seoul as part of the France-based company’s worldwide initiatives.The maker of Absolut Vodka and Ballantine’s whisky has been laying out its “smart driving” campaign here since 2007, aiming at reducing alcohol-related car accidents and promoting a sound drinking culture. This year

OB, Lotte Liquor make big gains on larger market rivals Hite, JinroNo. 2 brands of beer, soju and whisky are hot on the trail of front-runners in the Korean drinks market, industry data showed Tuesday. In the beer market, Oriental Brewery, the country’s No. 2 beer maker since 1994, made big strides in the first quarter of the year beefing up its stake to 46.6 percent by shipment volume, according

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo emphasized the value of challenge, innovation and practice at a forum with executives of the conglomerate’s affiliates Wednesday. The Value Creation Forum was created last year to “uplift and settle the significance of innovation and change” in the corporate culture by sharing successful cases of innovation management among affiliates, GS said. About 400 officials f

Korea granted permanent residency to seven European entrepreneurs on Tuesday, acknowledging their contribution to the country’s economic growth. The recipients have lived here for two to 13 years largely working for European investment firms and were recommended by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea. The list includes Friedrich Stockinger, president of Trumpf Korea; Holger R. Doerre,

The Macallan premium single malt whisky from Speyside, Scotland, is returning to Korea with a new special edition, aiming to generate chemistry between whisky and the legendary photographer Albert Watson.For the biennial “Master of Photography” project, the Scottish distillery selects an artist to portray the craft of whisky-making through photography.  Photographer Albert WatsonFollowing the firs