The government plans to allow foreigners-only duty free shops from next year, the Korea Customs Service said Friday. The customs agency revealed the plan during a meeting of the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness presided over by President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae.Under the plan,

Among the heads of the nation’s top 30 conglomerates, Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo saw the highest increase in his market shares following the latest stock market volatility, a market researcher said Thursday. The market capitalization of stock holdings owned by Chung increased to 7.5

Lotte Mart plans third outlet in 2013; E-Mart to open first Hanoi store next year, 52 outlets by 2020Just two years have passed since Vietnam opened its retail sector to foreign businesses on a full scale. The Vietnamese market has grown so quickly that sales and service revenue in the retail sector

CJ CheilJedang, Korea’s largest food maker, said Monday that it will establish the world’s first methionine plant in Malaysia next year. In April, CJ sealed a deal with France-based chemical firm Arkema to make an investment of more than $400 million in Kerteh, Terengganu State of Malaysia. If

BC Card Co. and its 11 partner banks have agreed to join hands in protest against the “anti-market policy” of Visa, the Korean company said Tuesday. A consultative body, headed by a BC executive, expressed deep regret in a statement that Visa has fined BC unilaterally for refusing to use its global

This is the second installment in a series that spotlights Korean products enjoyed by people abroad. ― Ed. Katya, a 38-year-old mother who lives in Vladivostok, Russia, prefers to use soy sauce of Sempio Foods Co., a Korean condiment maker, rather than salt. “Korean soy sauce adds not just saltiness

Surge may have been caused by Korea-EU FTA taking effectThe number of travelers purchasing luxury goods in Europe sharply increased after the Korea-EU free trade agreement took effect in July, the customs agency said Sunday. A total of 1,056 people were stopped by customs officials last month as the

Illegal capital outflow has almost tripled here over the past five years, a lawmaker revealed Thursday citing the data from Korea Customs Service. A total of 22 cases of assets moving abroad illegally were confirmed last year, up from six in 2006, according to Rep. Kwon Kyoung-seok of the ruling Gra

IT guru Ahn Cheol-soo was picked as the boss that salaried workers most want to work under, a survey released Thursday found. Ahn, who founded the computer vaccine developer AhnLab in 1995, one of Korea’s first-generation IT startups, got 46.9 percent of the vote in a survey of 796 salaried workers

The government is stepping up pressure on local refiners to lower fuel prices as it recently demanded they disclose their supply prices to individual gas stations. Industry sources said Wednesday that the Ministry of Knowledge Economy has been analyzing the accounting records of some 180 gas station

Dairy farmers halted the raw milk supply again on Wednesday, with price talks stalled without agreement. Industry sources predicted that a milk crisis is imminent, saying that current milk reserves would reach their limits within one or two days. Representatives of the government, milk manufacturers

Amore Pacific Corp., the nation’s largest beauty company, said Monday that it has logged 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in sales in the first half of the year, a 16 percent increase from a year earlier. During the same period, operating profits amounted to 241.5 billion won, up 4 percent, while net

There are 7.13 million Korean baby boomers who were born between 1955 and 1963, or 14 percent of the total population. They will face difficult financial and social situations after retirement and the government should meet their different demands, Lee Ki-young, director of policy planning for baby

Imports of Korean staple rise by almost 40% on-yearAs prices of locally-produced napa cabbages soared, kimchi exports decreased by more than 10 percent this year, while imports increased by nearly 40 percent, government data found Monday. This year’s outbound shipment of kimchi amounted to 15,614 to

Lotte Mart struggled Monday to quell market speculation that the nation’s second-largest retail chain is considering moving its headquarters to China in the near future. According to news reports, Lotte Mart CEO Noh Byung-yong hinted at a potential move to China in a recent meeting with company offi

Further price increases for some processed food products appear unavoidable with the revival of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price from this month, industry sources said Sunday.The Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced in June that food products such as instant noodles, snacks and ice cream

Park Dong-gun, vice president of Samsung Electronics, has become the new chief executive of S-LCD Corporation, a joint venture between the Samsung Group’s flagship unit and Sony Corporation.   Park Dong-gunThe company said Saturday that Park will replace the LCD arm’s former CEO Chang Won-

A Korean inventor is considering a lawsuit against MillerCoors, claiming that the new Miller Lite bottle has copied his patented design, industry sources said Thursday.The Chicago-based brewing company launched last year the Vortex bottle, which has grooves on the inside of the neck. The company exp

Amore Pacific Corp. launched Thursday a credit card that offers up to 15 percent discounts on its beauty products in partnership with KB Kookmin Card. According to the No. 1 cosmetics maker, consumers can enjoy price benefits when they use the Amore Pacific-KB Kookmin Car to purchase Amore products

Lotte Mart will launch its new range of discount products on Thursday ― half-priced instant stews in curry and “jjajang,” or black bean sauce, flavors. Even though their quantity has been doubled to 300 grams, the products’ price stands at 1,400 won ($1.32), matching other 150-gram products, the nat