Samyang Foods achieved record sales of 648.5 billion won ($572 million) and an operating profit of 95.3 billion won in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean food company said Friday. Samyang Foods, which produces the globally popular Buldak Spicy Chicken Noodle, said both its sales and operating profit jumped last year from a year earlier, by 19.3 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively. Sales from overseas backed the sales growth, having increased 35.8 percent on-year to reco

CU is launching a beer subscription service to target the increasing number of people enjoying imbibing alone and at home, the convenience store chain operator said Thursday. BGF Retail, the firm behind the convenience store chain, has teamed up with beer subscription app service Dailyshot to roll out its service where a user can get three cans of popular beer products from a nearby CU store at 6,900 won ($6.10) per month. CU is the first to launch such a service for beer in the convenience

With advanced driver assistance systems and a great price, Volkswagen’s Passat GT stands as the flagship model leading the “democratization” of the imported car market, Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday. The German automaker said the newest model of the eighth-generation Passat GT is a reasonable choice for those looking for a sedan with good value, available at lower prices than its rivals, but not missing out on the latest technologies. In 2018, Volkswagen Korea set a goal

Kumho Tire’s best-selling tire Ecsta HS51 ranked No. 1 in the latest contest for summer tires, and gained an “Exemplary” rating by Auto Bild, the company said Wednesday. Auto Bild, a renowned German publication, recently compared dry and wet braking performances of 53 summer tires sold in Europe. There, Ecsta HS51, which is Kumho’s best-selling model in the European market, was awarded the first place, beating rivals such as Michelin, Continental and Bridgestone, Kum

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group and information technology behemoth Naver are combining forces to gain an upper hand in the fast-changing e-commerce field, the two firms announced Tuesday. Chiefs of the two sides signed a stock swap deal worth 250 billion won ($221 million) and a strategic partnership agreement at JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul earlier in the day, they said. The ceremony was attended by E-mart CEO Kang Heui-seok and Shinsegae CEO Cha Jeong-ho, both from Shinsegae Grou

Despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, McDonald’s Korea witnessed a 7 percent growth in sales last year, driven by strong drive-thru and delivery orders, the company said Tuesday. In a pre-recorded video, McDonald’s Korea Managing Director Antoni Martinez revealed that overall sales for McDonald’s and its franchises here topped 980 billion won ($866 million) in 2020, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Excluding franchise outlets, the revenue for stores directl

Jaguar Land Rover Korea will launch four new models to strengthen its product portfolio and lower the prices of the cars to meet consumer demands, the company’s managing director said in a press conference on Monday. Speaking to the media here for the first time since his appointment in October 2020, Robin Colgan laid out his 4P strategy to strengthen the company’s foothold in the market, and reiterated the automotive group’s global roadmap focused on electrification. 　 Thi

Ikea Korea has unveiled its first “Circular Hub” in South Korea at its Goyang branch in Gyeonggi Province, where second-hand items are sold, the Swedish furniture company said Monday. The Circular Hub is a global project introduced by the Ingka Group, in its commitment to prolong the life of its products and contribute to circularity, Ikea explained. “With the launch of ‘Circular Hub,’ we are excited to support the many people with new, more inspiring ways to ea

Posco International will sell green bonds worth 80 billion won ($70 million) to finance its efforts on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) fronts, the company said Sunday. The ESG bond issue is part of the firm’s plan to raise 150 billion won in the debt market. The rest, 70 billion won, is to be raised through regular bond offerings. 　 The volume of bond sales could be even greater, the trading arm of steelmaker Posco said, as institutional investors demanded as m

In the wake of a massive property speculation scandal involving former and incumbent officials at the Korea Land & Housing Corp., the government is expected to start the discussion on ways to reform the scandal-plagued state housing developer, this week. In a ministerial-level meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun pledged a complete overhaul of the LH in order to prevent its officials from engaging in misconducts such as real estate speculation. “We will come up with an

Coway has hired the BTS as the new model for global promotion of the company, the Korean home appliances rental company said Sunday. Signing the contract with BTS’ management agency Big Hit Entertainment, Coway said it seeks to raise brand awareness and increase its consumer base in the global market. Under the contract, BTS will be promoting the company image and its services, including lease of various appliances such as water and air purifiers and mattress rentals, Coway said. Adve

Hyundai Motor released teaser images of Kona N, its first performance-oriented sports utility model, on Wednesday. Kona N, the second variation of the automaker’s high-performance N brand to be launched in South Korea, is based on Hyundai’s Kona, which launched in September 2020. It is the second model in the N series in South Korea, after the Veloster N. Hyundai’s i30 hatchback also has an N variant, but it has not been released in the Korean market. In the teaser, Kona

진행자: 조혜림, Brolley Genster 1. [Weekender] Cycling, a pandemic-perfect sport [1] On the weekend, serious cyclists with racing bicycles and more casual riders on Seoul Bikes mingle on the cycling lanes alongside the Han River in Seoul which cuts through the city and stretches nearly 500 kilometers. *mingle: 섞이다, 어우러지다 *cut through: ~사이로 길을 내다 *stretch: (잡아당기거나 하여 길이폭 등을) 늘이다 [2] The popularity of the two-wheeled vehicle remains strong nearly a year into the pandemic in South Korea, with sales

Seoul’s newest and biggest department store, the Hyundai Seoul, is enjoying immense popularity, in what industry insiders hope to be a sign of a revival of consumer sentiment amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. According to industry analysts on Tuesday, the shopping mall in the office district of Yeouido, central Seoul, is estimated to have recorded sales of 37.2 billion won ($32.6 million) in its first week of business, since pre-opening on Feb. 24. Some 1.5 million people are esti

Posco International aims to increase the production of fuel cell separators for electric vehicles to 10,000 tons by 2027, the company said Monday. The firm, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Posco SPS (Steel Processing & Service), currently produces 1,400 tons of Poss470FC, the stainless separator essential in utilizing hydrogen as an energy source for fuel cell EVs. The current volume covers around 35,000 FCEVs. Poss470FC boasts a thinness of 0.1 millimeters, and it is produced in an

When Kim Ji-young -- a pseudonym -- purchased a designer bag for 1.96 million won ($1,737) via an online community in 2019, she was told that delivery would take about four weeks as the bag was coming from another country. The bag, however, never arrived and the seller was nowhere to be found. Kim’s case is among the 69,452 cases of online shopping consumer damage reported to the Korea Consumer Agency in the past five years. While the e-commerce retail industry is growing by leaps and b

Alongside Coupang’s imminent debut on the US stock market, the local e-commerce market is in for another major event -- the sale of eBay’s Korean unit which operates one of the biggest online marketplaces here, Gmarket. According to industry sources on Thursday, major local retail giants and IT firms may be considering participating in the race to acquire eBay Korea. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the two advisory firms for the auction, have sent information memorandums, or I

Korean Air reached a tentative agreement with the city of Seoul to sell a plot of land in central Seoul, according to industry sources Thursday. The airline is expected to secure about 450 billion won to 550 billion won ($399 million to $488 million) in cash from the deal. Industry officials said Seoul and the flag carrier are close to finalizing contract terms for the property sale located in Songhyeon-dong, in the central district of Jongno, as early as next week. As part of its efforts to

Hyundai Glovis is forging ties with a Chinese logistics company to expand and strengthen its logistics business from China to Europe, the firm said Wednesday. As part of the partnership deal, China’s Changjiu Logistics has bought from Hyundai Glovis a 30 percent stake in Adampol, a Poland-based company that Hyundai Glovis acquired in 2014. Hyundai said the two companies will join forces to launch a new railroad transport brand, dubbed ECT, or Euro China Train. As shipping costs are sp

A nephew is challenging the leadership of his uncle, incumbent Chairman Park Chan-koo, at Kumho Petrochemical, launching a campaign to win the support of shareholders Wednesday. Park Chul-whan, the company’s largest shareholder with 10 percent of the shares, opened a website for his shareholder proposal in which he claimed that mismanagement was blocking growth of the company and suggested the direction that the company should go to increase its value.  The younger Park is the son