Corporations spent 1.9 trillion won ($1.3 billion) at golf clubs across the country last year, according to a study on company credit card spending released Thursday by the Golf Consumer Agency of Korea. The study, which was conducted based on data provided by Rep. Yun Chang-hyun’s office, revealed that 27.5 percent of all golf course sales in 2021, or 1.9 trillion won out of 6.9 trillion won, came from company credit cards. The proportion of company card payments among golf course sales h

South Korean telecommunications giant KT is looking to expand the content provided on its streaming service Olleh TV through a partnership with US cable channel operator AMC Networks. KT said Wednesday it had signed a partnership with AMC Network’s content production arm AMC Studios on Tuesday to launch the producer’s original series on its platform and to participate in joint productions. With the new agreement, Olleh TV subscribers will gain access to AMC originals including popula

User experience writing, or UX writing, should be an integral part of corporate digital strategies, as it offers an easy solution to produce more effective digital spaces, experts said Tuesday at a roundtable discussion held at Herald Design Forum 2022 in Seoul. UX writing uses easy words and expressions "to architect a comfortable digital interface which ensures users to accomplish what they want,” said Shinhan Card executive Park Kwang-hoon. “UX writing is not a big innovation

Korea Ginseng Corp., the country’s leading ginseng manufacturer, said Monday it will work with nongovernmental relief agency World Vision to help malnourished children in Vietnam. By donating part of its revenue from sales, KGC will provide food and health supplements to malnourished children under 5 in two of Vietnam’s most impoverished districts -- Huong Hoa and Da Krong. Some 28 percent of children in these two districts were underweight while 10 percent suffered from poor growth

Information technology service provider LG CNS said Sunday it has become the first South Korean company to sign a digital transformation (DX) partnership with Google’s cloud service, Google Cloud. Through the strategic partnership, LG CNS said it hopes to acquire a competitive edge in the domestic artificial intelligence market catered toward corporate use, and to carry out cloud application modernization (AM) and total experience (TX) innovation projects. To increase market presence, the

South Korean information technology service provider LG CNS showcased its artificial intelligence-based English-learning app, Speaking Class, on Thursday at Edtech Korea Fair 2022, which is being held for three days starting Thursday at Coex in Gangnam, southern Seoul. The app, geared toward students in elementary through high school, hosts 71 textbooks including those from major textbook writers such as YBM, Dong-A Publishing and Mirae N. The IT firm said that unlike other English-learning apps

South Korean textile company Kolon Industries FnC said Wednesday it will launch an upcycled bag collection featuring pieces of stage outfits worn by BTS, through its fashion brand Re;cod, on Sept. 28. Upcycling refers to the creative reuse of old products to create new merchandise of greater quality or value. The limited edition collection includes three types of bags made from white industrial airbags. Each bag is attached with a piece from a concert outfit one of the seven BTS members wore. Th

SCI Information Service and CrePASS Solution signed a new partnership on Friday to boost business cooperation and create a new credit rating model for the financially marginalized. Under the partnership, the two South Korean credit rating agencies will seek synergy by combining SCI Information Services’ accumulated credit information and CrePASS Solution’s alternative information methodologies. Their new planned credit rating model, in particular, aims to help people who have difficu

Hyundai Steel has succeeded in producing low-carbon, high-strength steel plates, the company said Tuesday. It says it has become the first steelmaker globally to produce high-strength steel plates by using an electric arc furnace, which helps reduce carbon emissions drastically during the whole process. Electric arc furnaces are being increasingly adopted by steelmakers as they seek a strategic shift from the traditional blast furnace. Hyundai Steel said it recently produced a steel plate with m

The number of people visiting cinemas in June nearly reached pre-pandemic levels, about 94 percent of figures seen in January 2019, according to a study released Monday. The number of moviegoers in the first half of this year surged 178 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a Lotte Members and Shinhan Card big data study conducted by aggregating data from all Lotte Cinema locations nationwide. Young adults in their 20s made up the largest share of all moviegoers at 27.3 per

In his book “Rich Economy, Poor Happiness," Lee Nae-chan, a professor of economics at Hansung University, explores the dark sides of South Korea’s prosperous economic development and sheds light on how to ultimately achieve happiness in a country that is no longer on a fast economic growth track. “Korea has grown remarkably in size, so far from the debris of the Korean War, but happiness and quality of life are ranked at the bottom among OECD (Organization for Economic Coo

National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Chang-ki said that the tax agency will ensure transparent and impartial tax services for foreign firms operating here at a roundtable meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Friday. "We are thankful for the deep trust and constant investment US firms make in Korea," he said. "The NTS will continue to provide foreign firms with a world-class, transparent and fair tax system, with no discrimination." Kim was responding to

Digital art platform ArtToken said Thursday it has partnered with Samsung Electronics to provide non-fungible token art contents on Samsung’s smart televisions. Customers will now be able to purchase, store and view NFT artworks from home through Samsung’s smart televisions. ArtToken’s NFT platform will be connected to Samsung’s smart hub through a smart TV application, the company said. The app was showcased at Europe’s largest home appliances tech show IFA 2022, h

Volvo's popular compact SUV XC40 has finally made its South Korean debut -- four years since its official global launch. The model comes with a digital connectivity package the automaker co-developed exclusively for the Korean market with local mobility service firm T Map Mobility. The package, which took two years and 30 billion won ($21.5 million) to develop, includes an information and entertainment platform, a digital key mobile application, and a roadside assistant for troubleshooting

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang released a statement on Tuesday dismissing local reports that it was planning on selling its food delivery service Coupang Eats. “The rumor that we are selling Coupang Eats is groundless, and we have taken no measures to sell the service,” the company said in the statement. Coupang “will respond firmly against the industry and press concerning the spread of any rumors and falsehood, taking legal action (if necessary),” it added. The s

The market capitalization of JYP Entertainment, one of South Korea’s four major K-pop powerhouses led by producer Park Jin-young, has remained higher than that of Korea's largest entertainment firm CJ ENM for three consecutive weeks, data showed Tuesday. According to Korea Exchange on Tuesday, JYP shares closed Thursday at 63,000 won ($45.81) per share, while its market cap closed at 2.23 trillion won, just before the Chuseok holiday. On the same day, CJ ENM shares settled at 91,000 w

Jeju Air, South Korea’s leading budget carrier, said Monday it has raised a combined 320 billion won ($232 million) as part of a new fleet modernization plan. The airliner said it secured the funds by selling 273 million new common shares starting Aug. 26. This paid-in capital increase will be used to boost the company's facility budget, it added. AK Holdings, Jeju Air’s largest stakeholder, issued 130 billion won-worth of exchangeable bonds to partake in the paid-in capital increase

Bettina Fetzer, vice president of communications and marketing at Mercedes-Benz AG, participated in a campaign on Wednesday promoting school-zone traffic safety in front of an elementary school located in Songpa-gu, southeastern Seoul. The campaign, co-hosted by the Mercedes-Benz Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and the Kids & Future Foundation, was conducted as part of a business agreement signed in April with the Green Mother’s Society, a local advocacy group for children’

The James Dyson Foundation, global home appliance company Dyson's charity arm, announced Wednesday the local recipients of the James Dyson Awards 2022, an engineering competition held both locally and internationally to provide opportunities for young engineers to showcase their ideas on a global stage. Of the 125 entries, a team of students from Hongik University took first place for designing a rotating safety hook. When temporary scaffolding is raised at construction sites, there are poi

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air said Tuesday it will open a new international flight route from Incheon to Budapest, Hungary, starting Oct. 3. According to the airliner, flights will depart from Incheon every Monday at 11:25 a.m., and arrive at its destination at 5:05 p.m. local time. Return flights will take off from Budapest at 7:15 p.m. every Tuesday, landing in Korea the next day, 50 minutes past noon. However, the flight schedules will be pushed back by approximately 20 minutes