Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean manufacturer specializing in ships and LNG plants, has recently registered two trademarks for new entities, hinting at its expansion into maritime energy development, according to industry sources, Friday. The registration of these two trademarks -- Hanwha Drilling and Hanwha Haeun (the direct romanization of the Korean term for "shipping") -- indicates the company’s intention to broaden its scope from ship and maritime plant construction to maritime

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Friday that it has promoted Chung Yong-jin, the 55-year-old son of the conglomerate’s Chair Lee Myung-hee, to chair with a mission to address the challenges in the country’s retail sector. "The increasingly competitive retail market is facing a wide variety of crisis factors, making 'strong leadership' even more necessary than in the past,” said Shinsegae in a statement released Friday. The promotion came 18 years af

FG Korea, the South Korean operator of the US burger chain Five Guys, said Thursday that its three local stores have ranked in the top five among the burger chain's global branches in terms of weekly sales. At this year’s Five Guys Conference, a biennial event where the US burger chain shares business results with global operators, FG Korea won two awards -- the International Average Weekly Sales Award 2023 and the International Development Award 2023 -- in recognition of their sales

Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods on Wednesday held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new plant in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province, as the company aims to capitalize on the growing global popularity of its spicy ramyeon brand, the Buldak series, especially in the US market. The new plant, set to be completed by 2025, will have an annual production capacity of 560 million units. With the addition of the new plant, the company's combined production capacity will surge to 2.36 billion

Hanwha Foodtech has acquired the US-based robot pizza brand, Stellar Pizza, as part of its efforts to drive technological innovation in the food service industry. In January, Hanwha Foodtech signed a memorandum of understanding with Serve Automation, the parent company of Stellar Pizza, for a transfer of assets. Contractual documents for the acquisition were finalized Thursday. The acquisition was facilitated by Hanwha Foodtech Global, the US subsidiary of Hanwha Foodtech, the company said Monda

French luxury fashion house Chanel has closed its boutique within a Seoul department store, citing operational disruptions caused by Italian rival Gucci. "Chanel has decided to close its boutique in the Galleria Department Store Luxury Hall starting Wednesday due to the department store's plan to set up a pop-up store, which adversely affects our store's visibility and operational environment," said Chanel in a statement released Thursday. According to industry sources, the s

CJ Foodville, the operator of the bakery chain Tous Les Jours and a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, said Wednesday its bakery stores in Indonesia have surpassed 60 in number, with a recent addition in Bandung, located southeast of the capital Jakarta. Having entered the Indonesian market in 2011, CJ Foodville initially focused on opening branches around the capital city. However, the company has been recently diversifying its focus to include major cities, including Tangerang,

Prosecutors on Tuesday requested an arrest warrant for SPC Group CEO Hwang Jae-bok over allegations of pressuring employees to cancel their labor union membership. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said that it has sought an arrest warrant for Hwang, who has allegedly violated Korean labor law and engaged in bribery of an investigator. Hwang is accused of trying to force some of PB Partners' employees who joined the umbrella Korean Confederation of Trade Unions to quit the

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang's cooked rice product line, Hetbahn, achieved record-breaking annual sales of 850.3 billion won ($639 million) in 2023, significantly contributing to the growth in global sales, the firm announced Monday. Based on the firm's report, Hetbahn’s overseas sales last year surged by 21 percent and domestic sales grew by 1.4 percent compared to 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, total sales increased by 9 percent on-year. Last year, Hetbahn

Lotte Holdings has launched a health care media platform in Japan in line with its strategic initiative to strengthen its foothold in the health care sector. Initially introduced as part of Lotte Group’s digital marketing efforts in 2020, Lotte transformed the platform into an independent media corporation on Feb. 1, now officially known as Lotte Medi Palette Co., Ltd. The health care platform is fully funded by Lotte Holdings with 100 million Japanese yen ($664,000) and is represented by

Lee Si-woo, formerly co-CEO of Posco alongside Kim Hak-dong, who served as CEO of Posco and vice chairman of Posco Holdings, will now lead the steelmaker on his own. Posco Holdings’ reshuffle released on Wednesday indicates that Kim will step down from his position and moves to the group’s executive adviser. Lee is expected to play a crucial role in guiding Posco through its transition toward carbon neutrality, while enhancing profitability and reinforcing the company's presence

Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress is in talks with Dongwon F&B to introduce the Korean food company's products on its platform, increasing engagement with Korean brands to expand its presence here. According to industry sources on Wednesday, the Chinese company has been in contact with several food businesses here, including Dongwon F&B, the South Korean food company renowned for its canned tuna products. "At present, Dongwon F&B and AliExpress are in preliminary discu

Several advertisers are facing pressure to cancel their contracts with South Korean soccer star Lee Kang-in, following the 23-year-old’s alleged discord with national soccer team captain Son Heung-min. According to industry officials on Monday, some companies intending to feature the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder in their advertisements are reevaluating their decisions, while others are considering whether to suspend existing contracts. Chicken chain Alachi, which Lee has represented sinc

The Financial Supervisory Service announced Sunday an updated plan aimed at providing foreign investors with more English information on financial disclosures, as part of efforts to facilitate foreign investment in Korean companies. The initiative to provide English services commenced in January 2023 following a decision by three of the nation’s financial organizations -- the Financial Services Commission, the FSS and the Korea Exchange. As part of this initiative, the FSS began updating

South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang's overseas food business outperformed its domestic sales for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by the strong performance of its flagship products in the US, Australia and Europe. On Tuesday, CJ CheilJedang reported its consolidated earnings for 2023 with sales of 29.2 trillion won ($21.9 billion) and an operating profit of 1.29 trillion won. Its food business, in particular, posed 11.3 trillion won in sales and 654.6 billion won in oper

    KT&G, South Korea’s largest cigarette manufacturer, said Wednesday that its ultra-slim cigarette brand Esse achieved cumulative sales of over 900 billion cigarettes last year. Since its launch in 1996, Esse has sold a total of 901.6 billion cigarettes, with 405.1 billion sold overseas. Last year alone, Esse sold 21.9 billion cigarettes at home and 28.9 billion cigarettes internationally. Since 2001, when KT&G started exports to the Middle East and Russia, Esse has b

Seoul's Sinchon neighborhood has long been a vibrant playground for youngsters and foreign visitors alike. It's known as a college area thanks to its proximity to prestigious universities like Yonsei, Ewha and Sogang, and its youthful buzz attracted an influx of franchise brands opening stores there in the early 2000s. Starbucks, for instance, launched its first South Korean store in Sinchon. Lotte Group opened the country’s first Krispy Kreme branch in the student area because o

Daewoo Engineering & Construction's Chairman Jung Won-ju, who doubles as vice chairman of Jungheung Group, met with India’s top government officials to tap into new infrastructure project opportunities in the country, the South Korean builder said Thursday. On Friday, Jung met with Dammu Lavi, the secretary for economic relations at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, in New Delhi, to express Daewoo E&C's interest in participating in projects while highlighting the

Samsung Biologics, South Korea's largest contract development and manufacturing organization, said Wednesday that it has signed a contract with LegoChem Biosciences to develop antibody-drug conjugate -- or simply ADC -- therapeutics, designed as targeted treatment for cancer. LegoChem Biosciences, founded in 2006, specializes in research and development capabilities in therapeutics, especially with a focus on ADC technology and synthetic drugs. Last year, LegoChem transferred its ADC drug c

The Korea Herald and iStaging inked a memorandum of understanding to foster a cooperative relationship in the realm of new media, particularly leveraging virtual reality technology. iStaging is a Taiwanese company that specializes in virtual reality solutions. The company has developed virtual reality content for over 100,000 corporate clients, including LVMH, YSL, Toyota, ASUS and Mercedes-Benz. Virtual reality content created by iStaging includes virtual showrooms, virtual exhibitions, virtual