Hyosung Heavy Industries said Friday it won a contract to supply high-voltage switchgears in Sweden, clenching a second deal in Europe to expand its presence there. According to the company, it recently landed a contract with Svenska Kraftnet, Sweden’s national power grid, to supply 420-kilovolt switchgears. The company said it will supply the high-voltage switchgears to electric stations in Stockholm by 2021. “Hyosung Heavy Industries plan to expand its power apparatus business

South Korean steel giant Posco said Friday its operating profit dropped 30.2 percent in 2019 from the previous year, amid the overall industry downturn and protectionism by major trading partners. The steelmaker said its revenue stood at 64.3 trillion won ($53.9 billion), down 0.9 percent on-year. The operating profit posted at 3.86 trillion won, while net profit was 1.98 trillion won last year. The operating margin recorded 6 percent. Its sales volume increased by 400,000 tons on-year to re

Malaysia International Halal Showcase, the world’s largest halal trade fair, will be held in Kuala Lumpur from April 1 to 3, the event’s organizers said Thursday. According to Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, this year’s MIHAS, themed “Expand Your Halal Horizon,” will feature over 1,200 booths of companies from countries around the world, including halal-certified and trade-ready manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and distributors. T

Bando Engineering & Construction said Thursday that it had started the construction of a mixed-use apartment building in Los Angeles, the company’s first overseas project in nine years. According to the company the Bora 3170 will be an eight-floor building with one floor below ground, about 10 minutes from downtown LA in the Korea Town neighborhood. It is the second overseas project for Bando E&C, which built the Ubora Towers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2011. Led by C

Lotte Chilsung Beverage said Wednesday it has rolled out bottled mineral water without plastic labels. The new product, 1.5-liter Icis 8.0 Eco, has its brand name engraved on the plastic bottle, taking away the hassle of having to remove the label before recycling it. The exclusion of the label will save about 4.3 tons of packing materials, the company said. The product will be released on Lotte Chilsung’s official shopping site and other online channels, in two bundles, each consist

In a rare move in the competitive tobacco industry, South Korea’s KT&G established a strategic alliance with Philip Morris International on Wednesday, to expand the market worldwide for its heat-not-burn cigarette brand lil. The unusual partnership secures a global distribution network for KT&G, which has been domestic-centric until recently, while it would help PMI enhance its campaign of “smoke-free” cigarette products with the added portfolio. During the commemora

Samyang Foods, the manufacturer of the globally popular Buldak Spicy Chicken noodles, saw its revenue from overseas surpass domestic sales last year, industry sources said Tuesday. Last year, Samyang Foods recorded total sales of 535 billion won ($455 million), and exports surpassed domestic sales by 5 billion won. It is the second time a South Korean food manufacturer has sold more of its products overseas than in the domestic market, the first being Choco Pie from Orion Corp. The food m

Relatives and associates gathered to bid a final farewell to Shin Kyuk-ho, the late founder and honorary chairman of Lotte Group, commemorating his legacy in a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.Shin was a self-made entrepreneur, who built his way up to establish Lotte Group, one of the five biggest conglomerates in South Korea – the others being Samsung, Hyundai, LG and SK. He passed away Sunday at the age of 97. More than 1,400 people participated in the ceremony held at Seoul’s Lotte

Korean food service enterprise Didim said Wednesday its Korean barbecue brand Mapo Galmaegi signed a franchise contract with a Pakistani company to start business there. Didim said it signed the contract with M Anwar Bro, a Pakistani importer that exclusively supplies Korean and Japanese automobile parts to the market there on Tuesday.  M Anwar Bro also owns construction- and computer-related subsidiaries. Recently, the Pakistani company sought to expand its businesses into food, and contac

California-based coffee chain Blue Bottle Coffee will open its fifth store in South Korea near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, according to industry on Wednesday. After making a hit in opening its first store in Seongsu, Seoul in May 2019, the coffee chain has since increased its outlets in three other spots in Seoul -- Samcheong, Apgujeong and Yeoksam.  Blue Bottle Coffee reportedly will open its fifth shop in on the first floor of Cheonggye Hankook Building, located in Jongno, next t

McDonald’s Korea CEO Cho Ju-yeon resigned from her post last week due to “personal reasons.” Cho sent an email to all employees on Tuesday to announce her resignation, without elaborating on the reason, industry officials said. However, a McDonald’s Korea official said Cho was leaving due to personal reasons unrelated to the company. While McDonald’s Korea does not have a designated tenure for the CEO position, Cho’s resignation was a planned move, the officia

GS Engineering and Construction said Tuesday it has taken over two European manufacturers of prefabricated houses, and is set to finish the acquisition process of an American company, aiming to expand its business in the global market. According to GS E&C, the company signed the takeover contract with Danwood, a Polish company specializing in wood prefab houses, in Bialystok, Poland, Tuesday. At the signing ceremony, GS E&C President of New Business Huh Yoon-hong, Enterprise Investor Pre

South Korean household and personal care product maker Aekyung Group said Tuesday it has purchased a site at Songdo, Incheon, for its envisioned research and development center.The company has signed a contract with Incheon Free Economic Zone to buy the 28,722-square-meter site inside the high-tech industry cluster Sector B in Songdo International City, for 34.5 billion won ($29.5 million).The group’s major subsidiaries, Aekyung Petrochemical and Aekyung, have invested in the site at a 60:

Online “dark nudge” services -- free trial subscriptions -- are rattling South Koreans who end up paying fees they do not anticipate, according to the consumer agency Monday.A number of online services, such as music and media streaming sites lure consumers by offering trial subscription and automatically charge the users for the service after the period is over. This small “nudge” of free trial periods are used by businesses targeting consumers who are not very careful a

South Korea’s business figures and political leaders joined relatives on Monday to mourn the death of Lotte Group founder and Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, a first-generation founder of one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.Shin passed away at around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, at the age of 97.At the funeral altar at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, influential figures from various circles came to pay their respects. On Monday, Shin’s second son, Shin Dong-bin, the chairman of Lo

Korean Air, the country’s biggest and national flag carrier, is trying to assuage customers ill at ease about a revised plan for the airline’s loyalty program, saying the latest changes reflect global standards, including reasonable benefits for customers in comparison to foreign carriers, according to the company on Friday. The airliner recently uploaded a notice to its homepage to clarify facts about the revision plan for the loyalty program amid strong backlash from customers, inc

McDonald’s Korea said Friday that it will raise prices of eight items on its menu from Monday, including the brand’s signature Big Mac, by 1.36 percent overall. The items are four burgers, one side and one drink. The prices for the Cheese Burger and Big Mac will increase by 200 won (18 cents). Other items will see 100 won to 300 won increases.  The burger chain said it will also cut the prices of three burgers: the Hamburger by 200 won, and Double Bulgogi Burger and Double Chees

Starbucks Korea will start a new campaign with K-pop boy band BTS and roll out new menu items and products, as part of a project supporting youth, the company said Thursday. According to the coffee chain, it will start a new campaign, dubbed “Be the Brightest Stars” from Jan. 21 to Feb. 6, to present limited edition menu items and goods themed around the color purple in collaboration with BTS. The campaign is designed to deliver to young people the message, “You shine like a st

SK Engineering & Construction said Thursday that it had formed a joint venture with Bloom Energy, a US-based energy firm, to produce solid oxide fuel cells from this year, a first in South Korea. According to SK E&C, it inked a joint venture agreement with Bloom Energy in September last year, cementing their plans to distribute the fuel cells and build factories in Korea.  A manufacturing facility is under construction in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and the companies will start

Woowa Youngmen, the operator of Baemin Riders -- a platform connecting restaurants and delivery drivers -- is facing opposition against its announcement to limit the weekly working hours of its delivery workers.Woowa Youngmens is a subsidiary of Woowa Brothers, the operator of Korea’s No. 1 food delivery application by market share. On Friday, it released a new work guideline, “2060 policy to prevent overworking,” to limit the workhours of drivers for Baemin Riders to 60 hours