In most neighborhoods in Seoul, it’s easy to spot signs and posters advertising “massage shops.” Varying in type and pricing, these massage parlors cater primarily to office workers who work desk jobs and are looking for ways to unwind their stiff or aching bodies.　Though most are independently owned, a number of franchise massage brands, such as Body & Foot and The Foot Shop, have grown in popularity for their widespread accessibility and affordability. At these shops, a standard full-body mass

SK Holdings C&C, the information technology solutions unit of South Korea’s SK Group, said Tuesday that it has partnered with ConsenSys, a leading US-based Ethereum blockchain technology company, to develop an “enterprise blockchain development hub” for use by Korean businesses.The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to work on building an enterprise blockchain business model utilizing “smart contracts” among designated entities, SK Holdings C&C said. (123RF)Under the ag

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion said Monday that the European Medicines Agency has accepted for review its Remsima SC -- a subcutaneous version of Remsima, a Celltrion-developed biosimilar referencing Johnson & Johnson’s autoimmune disease treatment Remicade.　Celltrion expects to receive an opinion from the EMA’s new drug approval committee on approving Remsima SC by the second half of 2019 at the earliest.After launching Remsima, a biosimilar copy of Remicade (infliximab), Cell

Facebook said Monday that “ad breaks,” ads that appear partway through videos uploaded on the social networking site, are now available as a monetization method for video creators in South Korea.The US social networking giant initially introduced the feature in August in five countries -- the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand -- and has since been expanding it to new territories. As of Monday, ad breaks are available in three Asian markets: Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam. Creators obt

Beginning later this week, South Korean travelers in Japan will be able to use the Kakao T taxi-hailing app to fetch taxis locally. The app is set to be interlinked with JapanTaxi, the biggest taxi-hailing company in Japan.Starting Thursday, the option will become available on the Kakao T app, enabling users to hail taxis in Japan without additional registration procedures, said Kakao Mobility, the mobility business unit of Korea’s mobile-messaging giant Kakao.The service is not free -- a “call

Samsung BioLogics CEO Kim Tae-han on Friday apologized to the shareholders for inconveniences caused by the recent accounting fraud ruling issued by South Korea’s Securities and Futures Commission, pledging to do his best to minimize damage to the firm’s valuation and business activities. “We apologize for any inconvenience that you have suffered in exercising property rights as a result of the suspension of trading of shares due to the SFC’s unwillingness to recognize the Company’s transparency

Singaporean gaming device developer Razer introduced the Razer Phone 2, a gaming smartphone, in South Korea on Friday, with aims to entice mobile gamers in one of the world’s biggest markets for video gaming and esports.　The Razer Phone 2 will officially begin sales next Tuesday, exclusively via local distributor All Life Technology and CJ Hello, a minor mobile carrier and cable TV operator in Korea.  The Razer Phone 2 (Razer)The new gaming smartphone is officially priced at 990,000 won ($884),

`LINEAGE REMASTERED` UNVEILED -- NCSoft CEO Kim Taek-jin introduces “Lineage Remastered,” an upgraded version of the company’s flagship online PC game “Lineage,” at a launch event in Seoul on Thursday. The new “Lineage,” fitted with improved graphics, an auto play mode, new character classes and battle modes, was launched in celebration of the game’s 20-year anniversary. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s three major telecommunication providers, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, will officially deploy the world’s first commercial fifth-generation services here Saturday by sending out the first 5G signals in Korea together.Despite a recent fire at the Ahyeon branch of KT in Seoul, which led to a major network blackout and the cancellation of 5G demo sessions and promotional showcase events this week, the three Korean telcos will commit to their original 5G deployment schedule, they said.F

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion announced Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved Truxima, a biosimilar referencing Rituxan, for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.Truxima is the first-ever Rituxan biosimilar to be approved in the US and is therefore expected to reap gains from being an exclusive product in the drug segment. It was developed by Celltrion and will be marketed in the US by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.Celltrion`s headquarters in Songd

SECURITIESKOREA INVESTMENT & SECURITIESKorea Investment & Securities is quickly becoming Asia’s leading investment bank, as it increases its presence in major global markets while securing a stable profit model.The Korean securities firm has been pursuing a two-track model combining investment banking with asset management and trading, with aims to develop a stable profit model. As a result of such efforts, Korea Investment & Securities posted net profit of 410.9 billion won ($

INNOVATIVE SERVICES/ BANKKB KOOKMIN BANKSouth Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank is continuing to digitally transform its diverse finance service offerings, with the aim of delivering more innovative and convenient banking services to its customers in both online and offline settings.　Bringing a digital touch to traditional mobile finance apps, KB introduced a chatbot banking platform last year called “Liiv Talk Talk,” which allows customers to activate certain banking services by convers

Samsung BioLogics said Wednesday that it has filed an administrative suit against South Korea’s financial regulator over its ruling earlier this month that the company had violated accounting regulations by intentionally inflating its profits ahead of its market listing in 2016.　The biopharmaceuticals manufacturer under Samsung Group said that it was also seeking a court injunction to nullify the penalties imposed by the Financial Services Commission, including recommendations to dismiss its chi

SK Holdings said Tuesday that it had acquired a 270 billion won ($239 million) stake in Lingbao Wason Copper Foil, a Chinese manufacturer of copper foil, an integral metal component used to build batteries that power electric vehicles.　With the acquisition, the parent company of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, SK Group, is now the second-largest shareholder of China’s top copper foil manufacturer.  (Yonhap)Copper foil is extremely thin and its production is a delicate process. Only six

Dutch health care giant Philips on Tuesday announced the launch of Lumify, a portable, app-based ultrasound solution compatible with Android mobile devices, in South Korea.According to the company, Lumify delivers data acquired via portable ultrasound transducers to connected Android devices through a mobile app, allowing health care providers to deliver ultrasound scans anywhere, anytime. In short, they would not need to access a cart-based ultrasound system.　 Lumify (Philips Korea)Philips had