A friendly face and incentives go a long way. That is what has captured the attention of larger cosmetic manufacturers in South Korea as an increasing number of beauty bloggers are invited to join the competitive line of sales.“I was always so disappointed that online-only products were excluded from discounts. Now, as a social seller I can offer my followers and friends online-only products at a special price!” one of the advertisement postings by a blogger reads, packed with carefully crafted

Korean Air’s President Cho Won-tae plans to resign from his executive positions at all other affiliates within the Hanjin Group, according to the group Thursday.In addition to Hanjin Group’s air carrier, Cho, the son of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, is also president of five affiliates including Hanjin Kal, Jin Air, Uniconverse, Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunication and Korea Airport Service. Korean Air President Cho Won-tae (Korean Air)The group said in a statement that the decisi

Korean agencies and companies are displaying their latest infrastructure technology at the annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank held in Jeju starting Friday.The Infrastructure Exhibition is being held in the third-floor lobby of the International Convention Center Jeju from Friday to Saturday. It includes presentations from 30 agencies and corporations from seven countries including Korea. The technology displayed focuses on cutting-edge advancements relevant to infrastruct

Shinsegae has sold its stake in Shinsegae Property to E-mart, giving complete control of the group‘s business of shopping malls to the discount chain, according to the group Wednesday.According to Shinsegae Group, Shinsegae sold its 1.7 million shares in Shinsegae Property, a 10 percent stake, to E-mart through a vote of the executive board Tuesday. The shares were sold for 97.8 billion won ($86.9 million), with the transaction to go through on June 29.Via the transaction, the supermarket chain

Korea Airports Corp. officially opened its Aviation Training Center at Gimpo International Airport on Tuesday, in preparation to begin its first Jet Transition Course program Monday.The newly opened 4,000-square-meter center includes training jets, six full-flight simulators, as well as classrooms and briefing rooms.The center will allow pilots at Korean airlines to receive their licensing training in Korea, rather than having to travel abroad to be certified. The Jet Transition Course is an adv

Home styling company Casamia is jumping into the premium order-made kitchen service, calling it C_LAB Kitchen, the firm said Tuesday. “In the past, kitchen furniture was chosen with a focus on price, but today design is becoming much more important,” said Ryu Hwa-suk, head of Casamia‘s interior design team, at a press conference at the La Casa Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul Tuesday. Kitchens designed by Casamia‘s C_LAB Kitchen (Casamia)The new line of kitchen products comes under Casamia’s interior

Food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang said Monday that it will be investing 900 billion won ($796.5 million) to build new production plants and acquire a top producer of soy protein concentrate.The plan includes a 540 billion won investment to build a food production complex in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, by 2020. The plant will begin construction in August and start operation next October, with an expected production capacity of 12 tons a year. The factory will focus production on home mea

Eight out of 10 food and beverage companies that raised consumer prices since last November did so despite falling manufacturing costs, according to an analysis released by a business tracker Monday.Business tracker CEO Score said Monday that manufacturers of consumer food products such as instant noodles and soft drinks raised their prices although their proportions of manufacturing costs to sales declined.  An employee stocks instant noodles at a supermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap)Nongshim and Samy

Aekyung Group’s air carrier Jeju Air has launched a new alliance for low-cost carriers with seven airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the airliner Monday.Under the alliance, customers will be able to buy connecting flight tickets from Jeju Air and Cebu Pacific Air via the Jeju Air website.  (Yonhap)The alliance includes Jeju Air, Cebu Pacific Air, Nok Airlines, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air. Once additional code-shared routes are added, Jej

SACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province -- Machines hum as they churn wheels of paper, rolling them into long tubes that are then packed with tobacco leaves and cut into noncombustible sticks of tobacco. This is the first production facility in Korea capable of making Neostiks, Dunhill maker British American Tobacco’s entry into the heated tobacco products market that is slated to go into full swing in the second half of this year.For now, the plant, built as part of a 200-billion-won ($177.8) expans

CALLING TAIWANESE TOURISTS -- Incheon Airport Corp. CEO Chung Il-young (left) poses with Taiwanese travel agency Lion Travel President Jerry Lin at the signing ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan Thursday. Incheon International Airport said Thursday that it had signed the agreement with Lion Travel to coordinate marketing efforts targeting Taiwanese tourists coming to Korea. Incheon Airport will offer exclusive deals and coupons for Lion Travel customers coming to the airport. In

 Major retailers are touting and presenting as their main goals joint growth with small business owners, in line with the new liberal Moon Jae-in administration.Shinsegae’s E-mart has been leading the pack, on Wednesday signing a deal with the city of Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, to open a No Brand joint growth store in Anseong Machum Market to attract customers to the traditional market.Hyundai City Mall located in the Garden 5 shopping complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)To protect sales of su

Electric cars and fuel cell electric vehicles in Korea will be assigned blue license plates starting Friday, according to the Transport Ministry on Thursday.“The government has chosen to provide different license plates for electric cars to increase interest in eco-friendly cars and give pride to the drivers of these cars as environment and energy-related issues become more important,” the Ministry said.  (Yonhap)The film used to cover the license plates will allow sensors to quickly identify el

HAN SOO POP-UP IN SHINSEGAE -- Shinsegae DF said Thursday that it is running a pop-up exhibition for Han Soo that features modern reinterpretations of traditional Korean crafts at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. The exhibition, a collaboration with design magazine publisher Design House, aims to introduce young designers working in traditional crafts. It will continue through June 23. (Shinsegae DF)

Asiana Airlines said Thursday that the company has partnered with Luotian Elementary School in Jianxi province, China, to provide support for children’s education. The partnership ceremony was attended by Moon Myeong-young, Asiana’s executive vice president for passenger business, Vice Consul General Seo Yong-won of the Korean Consulate in Wuhan and Peng Kai Xian, head commissioner of the Anyi County People’s Government.An Asiana Airlines flight attendant teaches a flight crew vocational class a