Shinsegae DF, the duty-free arm of the county’s second-largest retailer Shinsegae, reached an agreement with a duty-free store in Hainan, China to supply Korean products for five years, the firm said Friday. This is the first time for the company to enter the Chinese market since Shinsegae DF was established in April this year. The exclusive contract was made prior to the opening of the Hainan Provincial Duty Free Co.’s new shopping mall at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, Hainan Island, set to l

The competition for lunch box meals is getting fiercer among South Korean convenience stores as the market is growing rapidly due to the rise of the single-person household population here. “Dosirak” -- the term for packed lunches in Korean -- at convenience stores used to be discounted as low-quality meals for quick lunches, but now retailers are offering diverse and healthy options at an affordable price, drawing keen attention from customers.“As consumer demand for quality lunch boxes grows a

German industrial giant Siemens AG will boost its drive to participate in the South Korean government’s initiative to build thousands of smart factories across the nation by 2020, the firm’s president Joe Kaeser said. Siemens AG president and CEO Joe Kaeser“Siemens are ready to support Korea on its way to 10,000 smart factories,” he said during a conference hosted by the National Academy of Engineering of Korea at a hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. Smart factory use information and communications tech

Korean retailers’ sales grew at a fast rate thanks to Chinese tourists who opened their wallet while visiting the country on China’s National Day holidays, data showed on Sunday.According to the data, sales to Chinese customers of Korea’s major department stores including Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai, increased over 30 percent on average during Oct. 1-7 from a year earlier. Luxury brands such as Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Chanel were top-selling stores for Chinese customers at Lotte Dep

Troubled Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering may have an additional 1 trillion won ($860 million) in losses from overseas affiliates, adding more pressure to the shipbuilder that already reported its worst-ever operating loss of 3 trillion won in the second quarter, a recent audit on the firm found. According to industry sources on Sunday, the massive losses were caused by underperforming affiliates abroad including Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries in Romania and German wind turbine manufac

Organic food is not necessarily healthier than its conventional counterpart in terms of positive ingredients, but its consumers have a healthier diet and are trained to eat better, according to the head of the world’s top organic food body.  Gerold Rahmann, president of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research“Organic is not about a product’s quality system but a process quality system,” said Gerold Rahmann, president of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research,

Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo signed a deal to buy back controlling stake in the de facto holding firm of the group from creditors for 722.8 billion won ($605.96 million), six years after he lost control. The group announced Thursday that it entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire Kumho Industrial -- the key firm of the group’s governance structure -- after a months-long tussle over the sale price with creditors. The creditors initially proposed 1.2 trillion won for the tak

At least 13 migrants died off the coast of Turkey Sunday after the inflatable dinghy carrying them to Greece collided with a ferry, Turkish media reported.Four children were among the victims of the accident involving a vessel carrying 46 migrants from the northwestern Turkish port of Canakkale to the Greek holiday island of Lesbos, the private Dogan news agency reported.The Greek coastguard said it had rescued 22 people from a boat that sank off Lesbos, in what was suspected to be the same inci

Nepal Sunday adopted a new constitution aimed at bolstering its transformation from a Hindu monarchy to a secular democracy, as violent protests raged against some of the terms of the charter.Firecrackers went off in celebration in Kathmandu as President Ram Baran Yadav announced the adoption of the constitution, the first to be drafted by elected representatives."I announce the presented constitution of Nepal, passed by the Constituent Assembly and authenticated by the chairman of the Constitue

President Park Geun-hye will grant two-day holidays to military servicemen in celebration of the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday.The vacations will allow noncommissioned officers and other conscripts of lower ranks to take two days off at a time of their choosing, the presidential office said in a statement. "The latest gesture of celebrations was decided in recognition of the efforts the servicemen showed in keeping their combat readiness, espe

The executive committee of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) and its lawmakers confirmed confidence Sunday in the leadership of party chairman Moon Jae-in in a major step aimed at ending months of internal factional strife."We feel very sorry for having caused concerns among the public and party members due to an internal issue. From now on, all our efforts will be on rectifying economic problems wrought by the  government and the ruling party and boosting our capaci

Creditors of Kumho Industrial proposed higher sales price for a controlling stake in the firm than the Kumho Asiana Group chairman offered, sources said Friday. During a meeting in the day, the state-invested Korea Development Bank and other 54 creditors agreed on selling the builder’s 50 percent stake plus one share for 722.8 billion won ($610 million), or 41,213 won per share.“Creditors took account of the result of company’s valuation, market price and relative value over companies in the sam

FedEx Korea has issued an apology for delivering a live anthrax sample that the U.S. military accidentally sent to a U.S. Forces Korea lab five months ago, the country’s transport workers union said Friday. The Korean unit of global air courier services firm offered an apology in an official document to the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers Union, which filed a complaint against FedEx Korea for failing to protect its workers and the public from hazardous materials.“We apologize to FedE

North and South Korea on Tuesday wrapped up marathon talks aimed at defusing a crisis that pushed the two rivals to the brink of armed conflict.There was no immediate word on the outcome of the negotiations, held between top aides to the countries' leaders in the border truce village of Panmunjom, where the 1950-53 Korean War ceasefire was signed.The presidential Blue House in Seoul said the South's lead negotiator, National Security Adviser Kim Kwan-Jin, would announce the result at 2:00 am (17

A South Korean vessel that was being constructed by major shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. caught on fire Monday on an island south of Seoul, killing two and leaving seven injured, fire authorities said. Geoje Fire Station said a 39-year-old worker, known by the surname Lee, was found dead at around 5 p.m. in a fuel tank of the 84,000-ton liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier located at Okpo Shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, about 406 kilometers south o

More than 50 South Korean draftees due to finish their military service this week have decided to remain in their combat-ready positions until the ongoing cross-border standoff ends, military officials said Monday.New soldiers salute while attending an induction ceremony at an Army training center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, Monday. (Yonhap)The Army’s intranet homepage has been swamped with messages of encouragement from Army members for the two soldiers who were injured in an Aug. 4

The European market, which has recently shown signs of an economic rebound, offers a golden opportunity for investors, according to Yuanta Securities.The China-based securities firm recommended its Hana UBS Europe Opportunity Fund, a comprehensive product investing in multinational companies listed in Europe.“The quantitative easing of the European Central Bank, combined with the economic momentum in the region, is an investment opportunity,” said Kim Yong-tae, product development manager of the

Private equity groups are expected to submit final bids to take over the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain Homeplus, valued at about 7 trillion won ($5.86 billion), amid growing speculation that two Korean retail firms are mulling to join the deal when the preferred bidder is announced, according to sources on Sunday. Five shortlisted private equity firms formed three consortiums for Monday’s final bidding for Homeplus, wholly owned by Tesco. The British retail giant put up its Korean un

Customers try out an augmented reality system at 7-Eleven’s “Creative Economy store” in Myeong-dong, Seoul.(Korea Seven)With convenience stores proliferating on every street corner in Korea, the industry’s major players are stepping up their technological convergence and innovation to expand services and boost sales in an increasingly saturated market. From mobile-based delivery services to augmented reality, convenience store chains are adopting new information technology to improve customer ex

South Korean political parties and civic groups expressed their dismay Friday over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's war anniversary statement, noting he failed to sincerely apologize for his country's wartime atrocities.The ruling Saenuri Party said Abe's statement, released on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, was "disappointing" in that it only made an indirect reference to Korean and other Asian women who were forced into sex slavery for Japanese troops, or "comf