Incheon International Airport Corp. announced Wednesday that the airport recorded an all-time high of 18.6 million passengers in the first quarter of this year, driven by strong growth in short-haul routes to Japan, China and Southeast Asia. Short-haul flights accounted for 84.3 percent of total operations — significantly outpacing long-haul routes to destinations like the United States and Europe. This trend reflects a growing preference for shorter trips amid global economic uncertainties such

Betterscoop Creamery, the ice cream business subsidiary of Hanwha Galleria, said Tuesday that it will officially launch its new ice cream brand, Benson, in May. Industry insiders see Hanwha Galleria Vice President Kim Dong-seon's entry into the premium ice cream market as a natural extension of his success in introducing the Five Guys burger franchise to Korea in 2023. Strengthening its food and beverage portfolio further, Hanwha Galleria acquired the US-based robotic pizza brand Stellar Pizza i

Chon Kyung-hun, founder and CEO of Passion Gukbap, holds a simple yet powerful vision close to his heart: to make gukbap, a Korean staple dish of rice and soup, a global phenomenon. With more than 300 Passion Gukbap restaurants across the country, he is now preparing to take the brand overseas. “My aim for this year is to serve at the APEC’s VIP dinner, which will be held in Gyeongju, a city steeped in history,” Chon told The Korea Herald at the Passion Gukbap headquarters in southern Seoul, und

Samyang Foods, the maker of the globally popular Buldak ramyeon, announced Monday that Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Jung-soo visited the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, where the company’s Buldak booth officially opened last Friday as part of the brand's global engagement efforts. The booth was established through the Korean firm’s first official partnership with Coachella and is expected to serve as a key platform for promoting the Buldak brand to global consumers. “This vi

US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration will soon impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, which had previously been exempt from major "reciprocal" tariff measures, raising alarm across Korea’s pharmaceuticals and biotech industries. According to multiple foreign news outlets, Trump made the statement during a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee in Washington. There, he suggested that pharmaceuticals companies would likely "relocate ope

Ikea Korea announced that it would open its first store in Seoul, Ikea Gangdong, on Thursday, while unveiling plans to ramp up investment to better meet the needs of Korean consumers. “Koreans have a strong interest in home furnishing products, and the country is one of the most active markets for online purchases of our products,” said Isabel Puig, CEO and chief sustainability officer of Ikea Korea, at a preopening press event Friday. “Next year, we plan to invest 30 billion won in automation s

Chinese e-commerce firms seek new growth in Korea, expanding logistics, local seller networks The US government's decision to scrap tariff exemptions on low-value imports from China is expected to accelerate Chinese e-commerce giants’ expansion into the Korean market, adding pressure to domestic platforms already struggling to stay competitive. On April 2, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the de minimis rule, which had exempted shipments under $800 from tariffs. Startin

KT&G’s ultra-slim cigarette brand, Esse, continues to enjoy strong and steady demand in the Middle East and Central Asia — emerging as one of South Korea’s fastest-growing processed food exports in the first quarter of this year. According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday, KT&G’s cigarette exports rose 14.5 percent year-on-year during the January–March period, ranking second in export growth behind ramyeon, which saw a 27.3 percent increase. KT&G has reported a significa

Nicole Tan says global brands now follow Korea’s lead — from BB creams to next-gen wellness beauty Nicole Tan, president and CEO of Shiseido Asia Pacific, highlighted the rapid ascent of K-beauty and Korea’s growing influence in the global beauty market. "Today, it’s no longer just ‘Korea for Korea,’ it’s ‘Korea for the world’ in the beauty industry,” Tan said in an interview with The Korea Herald during her visit to Seoul on Thursday for the launch of Cle de Peau Beaute beauty spa at The Shilla

South Korean cosmetics manufacturer Cosmax announced Wednesday that it has begun construction of a new production plant for its Thai subsidiary, aiming to further strengthen its foothold in the fast-growing Southeast Asian market. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant in Bang Phli, Thailand, on March 27. With an investment of 1.5 billion baht ($43.9 million), the new facility will be nearly four times the size of its current Thai plant. Set to begin full-scale operations i

Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Vice President Kim Dong-seon met with students from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business on Monday to share the group's key businesses and exchange insights on future industries and the global market, Hanwha Group announced Tuesday. The event was part of Stanford University's Global Study Trip. The annual program allows students to conduct field studies in major countries and gain firsthand experience of the society, culture and the economy there. This year’s

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced on Monday the appointment of Marie Antonia von Schonburg as its new president and CEO. Since 2000, von Schonburg has built an extensive career within the German Chamber of Commerce network, serving in key roles, such as corporate relations officer and deputy director in Spain. She later led the Barcelona branch in 2011 before being appointed as the representative of the German Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka in 2022. Throughout her ca

Celltrion announced Friday that its metastatic colorectal and breast cancer treatment Vegzelma, which contains the active substance bevacizumab, generated over $56 million in revenue in the United States last year. According to data analysis from pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, Vegzelma achieved a market share of over 6 percent in the US by the end of last year. Out of Vegzelma's total annual revenue of 221.2 billion won ($151 million) in 2024, 75.8 billion won, roughly one-third, cam

Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced Thursday that it has successfully installed Korea’s largest propylene fractionator at S-Oil’s Shaheen ethylene facility construction site in Ulsan. The newly installed fractionator, a key component in propylene production, stands 118 meters tall, has a diameter of 8.5 meters and weighs 2,370 metric tons — making it the heaviest piece of petrochemical equipment ever built in the country. Hyundai E&C transported the massive structure, equivalent in heig

KT&G is set to strengthen its global leadership by diversifying beyond its traditional cigarette business into the heat-not-burn tobacco sector and e-cigarettes, in response to the rapidly changing market landscape. "By fully leveraging our capabilities to develop overseas markets last year, the global cigarette division played a key role in driving the company’s overall profit growth," KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man said during the general shareholders' meeting held Wednesday at the company’s Daejeon