Hanwha Chemical said Friday that it was currently reviewing a merger between its subsidiaries Hanwha Q Cells and Hanwha Solar Holdings, to boost efficiency of its solar modules manufacturing business.The company said that Q Cells has accepted a letter of intention for a merger from Solar Holdings, while the merger will be confirmed following Q Cell’s board of directors’ decision. Currently, Hanwha Chemical owns 100 percent stocks of Solar Holdings. Solar Holdings holds 94 percent stock in Q Cell

With summer vacation in full swing, August is prime time for swimming. It is also high season for water survival classes for schoolchildren. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has teamed up with the Incheon Coast Guard to provide lessons to practice survival floating techniques at Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang Park swimming pools this summer.Basic techniques taught from these classes can help anyone, including children, stay afloat until someone comes to rescue them, instructors say. Participants

Parisian luxury accessories house Faure Le Page will open its first store in Korea at Galleria Department Store in September, the South Korean retail firm said Thursday.A Faure Le Page store in Taiwan. (Faure Le Page)Faure Le Page is a French brand with a history dating back to 1717. The Faure Le Page store in Seoul will be the brand’s eighth brick-and-mortar store. There are already others in Japan and Taiwan. The brand’s signature leather bags and other small leather goods will be sold at the

Jeju Air will open Holiday Inn Express Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in September, the first attempt by the South Korean low-cost carrier to run a hotel business.  A room at Holiday Inn Express Hongdae (Jeju Air)In 2016, Jeju Air invested in hotel construction by clinching a partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, which operates over 2,500 hotels globally.Holiday Inn Express Hongdae is located at the main junction of Hongik University Station. It

South Korean liquor maker Hite Jinro said Wednesday that its low-alcohol fruit-flavored soju Jinro Plum will be sold in the US from this month.The company is betting on its fruit liquor series following the success of Jinro Grapefruit and Jinro Green Grape launched in 2016. Jinro Plum (Hite Jinro)Jinro Plum, which has alcoholic content of 13 percent, is the third in the fruit soju series. It has been developed exclusively for export, the company said. Buoyed by global popularity of the fruit liq

South Korea’s leading chemicals company LG Chem said Monday it would refrain from using four “conflict materials” as part of the company’s strengthened corporate social responsibilities concerning its supply chain. The four conflict materials include gold, coltan, tin and tungsten. These minerals are known as conflict minerals because much of the supply is sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries where a decadeslong civil war is being waged.LG Chem said in a 20

SK Engineering and Construction on Sunday denied the speculation raised by a Laotian minister that the cause of a dam collapse in the Southeast Asian country was the builder’s poor construction.“Nothing has been confirmed as the cause of the dam collapse. We believe the rescue operation and assisting flood recovery must be prioritized at this stage,” a SK E&C official told The Korea Herald. “Finding the exact cause of the accident will be conducted separately.”The comments came after Laos’ Minis

For foreigners who want to travel right after landing in Korea, local airport railway operator Airport Express provides a luggage drop-off service at Incheon Airport’s Terminal 1, Seoul Station, Hongik University Station and Gimpo Airport Station. Luggage can be sent directly to hotels upon request, according to officials of Airport Express. Airport Express’ travel center at Seoul Station. (Airport Express)The service is available by signing up online at the Airport Express website, www.safex.kr

Steve Sear, Delta Air Lines’ president for international and executive vice president for global sales, has visited South Korea 10 times in the past 18 months. “Here’s like home away (from) home,” Sear told The Korea Herald as he sat down for an interview at Grand Hyatt Incheon. Steve Sear, Delta Air Lines’ president for international and executive vice president for global sales, poses during an interview with The Korea Herald in Incheon. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)“The reason why I was he

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ordered the dispatch of an emergency relief team to Laos, where a dam collapse has led to at least several hundreds going missing. In a briefing, the president also ordered the team to check the health conditions of South Korean employees working at the site, for families in Korea. The hydroelectric dam in Laos that collapsed Wednesday was built by SK Engineering and Construction, the building arm under SK Group. There are some 40 South Korean work

With Shinsegae’s aggressive expansion in the retail industry following a series of successful hits with No Brand, Peacock and fun toy shop Pierrot Shopping, the company is now venturing into the hotel business, to beef up its presence and brand image in the industry.The country’s 10th-largest conglomerate by assets launched last week its first standalone boutique hotel brand L’Escape in Myeongdong, Seoul.  Inside Shinsegae Chosun Hotel’s boutique hotel L’Escape. (L’Escape)The opening of the new

The collapse of a hydroelectric dam in Laos that was under construction by SK Engineering & Construction forced over 7,000 people to flee their homes Tuesday. SK E&C said it sent helicopters and boats for the rescue operation, and is investigating whether construction failure or heavy rain was responsible for the flooding. People wait for rescue operation after their houses were waterlogged by the collapse of the hydroelectric dam in Laos. (Yonhap)According to SK E&C, damage to one of five dams

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that it is looking into Asiana Airlines after over 60 flights were delayed from their original schedule since earlier this month. It has been speculated that the company is suffering from a lack of maintenance staff and budget for repair. According to Asiana Airlines, the departures of some 60 flights were delayed for at least one hour since July 15. The company said the delays were due to normal airplane maintenance prior to takeoff, but s

[Advertorial] Eximbank funds $70m for Jeju Air’s plane purchaseThe Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) said Monday that it is providing funds of $70 million to low-cost carrier Jeju Air to help purchase two Boeing B737-800 planes. The planes are the first to be purchased by the budget airline. They are of the same model as the airline’s existing planes following the company’s single-type-plane policy to maintain low-cost services. The country’s biggest budget airline by sales currently operat

BAT Korea unveiled Monday its upgraded heat-not-burn tobacco heating device Glo Series 2 and flavor-intense HNB tobacco stick Neo, designed exclusively for the Glo device.Models pose with BAT Korea’s latest heat-not-burn tobacco device Glo Series 2 during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. (BAT Korea)BAT Korea showcased Glo Series 2 for the first time globally during a press conference in Seoul. “Korea has always been a very important market for BAT. The size of our operation here and invest

The local unit of France-based Pernod Ricard, known for its Ballentine’s and Imperial whisky brands, came under fire Monday for doing business during its three-day suspension of operations.Pernod Ricard Korea's Imperial whiskey (Yonhap)The company had been slapped with the business suspension after a 8-millimeter piece of broken glass was discovered in one of its signature Imperial whiskey bottles, which was imported and sold here in March, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.Based

Kim Sang-ji picks up on the latest fashion trends and finds out about new cosmetics by scrolling through posts on Instagram. The 28-year-old says more than half of the people she follows on Instagram are not her friends or acquaintances, but celebrities or social media superstars. “It is just enjoyable to look at their picture-perfect lifestyles on social media. Their photos are glamorous, and the trendy fashion items they introduce are fun to watch,” said Kim, who spends less time flipping thro

Sales of South Korean duty-free stores have fallen for three consecutive months since April, industry data showed, partly due to the Chinese government’s strengthened crackdown on Chinese shuttle traders or “daigongs.”According to the Korea Duty Free Association, combined sales at 48 local duty-free shops came to $1.41 billion (1.6 trillion won) in June, an about 5.17 percent drop from the previous month.  (Yonhap)Despite a sharp decrease in the number of foreign tourists following a diplomatic

An artificial intelligence expert at SK Telecom has been tapped to head SK Planet’s e-commerce platform 11 Street from September, SK Planet said Thursday.Lee Sang-ho, SK Telecom’s service platform division head, will become the new CEO of the company, which is set to be spun off on Sept. 1. Lee Sang-ho, SK Telecom’s service platform division head (Yonhap)Lee developed search and voice recognition technology at companies like LG Electronics, NHN and Kakao, before joining SK Planet as chief techno

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific’s cosmetics brand Innisfree has opened a new concept store in Hangzhou, China, in collaboration with Alibaba’s Tmall, the company said Thursday.According to Innisfree, its new concept store features a technology-based shopping experience, backed by Tmall’s new retail technology. Innisfree’s new concept store in Hangzhou, China (Innisfree)Tmall is China's largest B2C platform for brands and retailers, in terms of GMV.At the store, customers can test makeu