Shinsegae Property, the real estate development arm of Shinsegae Group, is bringing ultra-luxury hospitality brand Aman's first Korean property to Seoul's Cheongdam-dong, under Chairman Chung Yong-jin's vision of setting a new standard for the country's high-end lifestyle market. The company announced Wednesday that it will develop Aman Seoul, handling planning, strategy and execution, while Aman will handle design and operations, managing the hotel and residences under a long-term agreement. Am

Lotte Group won approval from the Korea Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday to sell its stake in Lotte Rental, held by Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel, with the deal expected to close in October. Lotte agreed last month to sell a 61.2 percent controlling stake, held by Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel, for 1.31 trillion won ($953 million), or 59,000 won per share. The group said it would use the proceeds to strengthen the hotel units' finances and fund renovations and premium brand growth. The s

South Korean companies Doosan Enerbility and Korea South-East Power Co. intensified their search Tuesday for nine employees missing since flash floods hit Nepal on Wednesday, deploying drones and helicopters over the site of a hydropower plant under construction. State-run KOEN added four drones equipped with thermal and infrared cameras Tuesday, bringing its total to six, according to the company's on-site response team. The drones are conducting detailed searches of the power plant's base camp

Three decades after a single burrito shop in Denver opened on the idea that food has the power to change the world, Chipotle Mexican Grill will carry that ethos into its very first Asian store in Gangnam on Wednesday. Chipotle said that Korea has the consumers and the partner it needs to anchor its expansion across Asia under its vision of "Food with Integrity," and Gangnam is a fitting foothold as a leading commercial district. "This represents a very significant milestone in the growth strateg

CJ Olive Young saw 1 trillion won ($727 million) in annual foreign sales through August, putting it three months ahead of last year's pace, as tourists spread purchases past Seoul and across the country. According to the retailer Monday, the milestone, which took until November to reach last year, came on 11.01 million foreign transactions over the same period, or roughly one purchase every 0.9 second during store hours. Foreign shoppers, who came from 192 countries and territories according to

Korean Air's merger with Asiana Airlines, set to close in December, has dominated headlines about the country's aviation industry. But it is only one piece of a wider recalibration now remaking the market. Smaller carriers are reshuffling in its wake, not just shedding their low-cost identities but breaking into medium- and long-haul markets altogether, each charting its own path to survive. Besides the merger at the top, a parallel shift is unfolding on the budget end. Earlier in August, the bo

Samsung Biologics is planning to raise over 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) through a share offering to fund its acquisition of a peptide manufacturer and a new production campus, as competition among global drugmakers intensifies. In a regulatory filing Friday, Samsung Biologics said its board approved the offering, issuing 2.27 million new shares at 1,322,000 won apiece, a 15 percent discount that will expand its share count by 4.9 percent. Of the proceeds, 2.71 trillion won will fund the acquis

Shinsegae Group's e-commerce unit SSG.com is dividing into two companies, splitting fashion, beauty and lifestyle into a separate platform while holding onto its grocery-focused marketplace. The company said Thursday that its board approved spinning off its lifestyle business into a new company, tentatively named Shinsegae Mall, which will operate as a premium e-commerce platform for fashion, beauty and lifestyle goods. The existing entity keeps the SSG.com name as a marketplace built around gro

Ikea Korea is rolling out its latest round of permanent price cuts as inflation squeezes household budgets, sticking to the low-price philosophy at its core, the furniture giant said Thursday. The retailer is employing roughly 1.8 billion won ($1.3 million) to cut prices on 161 products by an average of 15 percent, targeting bestsellers in storage, mattresses, lighting and beds, even as inflation strains household budgets. "Providing well-designed, functional and quality home furnishing products

SK Biopharmaceuticals is staking nearly $800 million on rights to an epilepsy treatment from US biotech firm Biohaven, as it works to build a second blockbuster to stand alongside its existing epilepsy drug, the company said Wednesday. The South Korean drugmaker struck an exclusive global licensing deal worth up to $795 million with Biohaven Bioscience Ireland for the epilepsy drug candidate opakalim (BHV-7000), along with other Kv7 potassium channel openers and Biohaven's Kv7 Discovery Platform

Burger King Korea is opening its first global flagship store in Seongsu, Seoul, casting 70 years of flame-grilled heritage in a new register, across menu and atmosphere alike. Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, Burger King Korea CEO Lee Dong-hyeong described the store, fittingly named Flameground, as a place built to let customers experience the brand's burgers in new flavors, set within a space shaped by its flame-themed identity. "Beyond offering the same experience at every store worl

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast took aim at South Korea's economic and security posture toward Washington, citing regulatory action against US-listed Coupang as proof Seoul is shortchanging American businesses. During an interview with Fox News on Sunday night, the Florida Republican argued that Seoul is letting regulations squeeze American corporate interests, while its promised direct investment in the US stalls. "They're hurting American companies like Coupang," Mast told

LG Household & Health Care is selling its Avon business in North America, operated independently as the Avon Company, as it shifts gears toward retail and digital channels for its Korean beauty and wellness brands, the company said Monday. In a regulatory filing, LG H&H USA signed a stock purchase agreement to sell its stake in the Avon Company to Regent affiliate Stratford Worldwide, the global investment firm that operates Avon International. The exact sale price will be finalized when the dea

Foreign tourists are becoming an increasingly important source of growth for Korea’s convenience stores, with spending surging fastest in Seoul’s trendsetting Seongsu district. Foreign-card sales at CU stores in Seongsu jumped 115.1 percent on-year in the first half, according to data provided to The Korea Herald by BGF Retail, operator of Korea’s largest convenience store chain by outlet count. That far outpaced growth of 35.3 percent in Myeong-dong and 32.5 percent in Hongdae, Seoul’s other ma

Korea Herald correspondent BEAUMONT, California — CJ Group's three-day K-pop and Korean culture festival, KCON LA 2026, drew 142,000 fans, and for many of them, the food may have mattered just as much as the music, with over 10,000 people lining up to try US-made Korean dishes at the booth run by the group's flagship Korean food brand, Bibigo. Few attendees likely knew, however, that the mandu, or Korean dumplings, on their plate traced back to a plant not far away. The factory in Beaumont, abou