The South Korean coffee industry has accumulated approximately 270 billion won ($216 million) worth of unspent stored value on prepaid cards and online coupons, said People’s Power Party lawmaker Yun Chang-hyun on Monday, citing a report from the Fair Trade Commission. About 92 percent of the unredeemed balance -- 250 billion won out of the 270 billion won -- came from Starbucks Korea, according to the report. Unspent stored value refers to the balance that is charged on gift cards and

South Korean internet provider SK Broadband has said it will broadcast movies recognized at the 19th Seoul International Eco Film Festival on its internet protocol television platform B tv starting Thursday. The movies screened at the festival will be broadcast exclusively on B tv and Mobile B tv platforms four times a day between June 2 and June 8. SK Broadband has been sponsoring the event for the second year running. SK Broadband has also filmed its own documentary titled “Countdown

Food companies are seeking to cooperate together within the industry to appeal to the younger generation who have become an important consumer demographic. Lotte Chilsung Beverage, the beverage unit of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, said Friday it would launch a makgeolli-flavored soft drink product in collaboration with Korean traditional liquor company Kooksoondang Brewery, starting Wednesday. Makgeolli cider, or “maksa” for short, is a cocktail of Korean rice wine calle

Samsung Medical Center said Thursday that it has created a consultative group on Friday to accelerate its plan of adopting a robot-driven smart hospital system. The hospital was selected in 2021 by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, an organization under South Korea’s Industry Ministry, to receive up to 1.5 billion won ($1.18 million) in subsidies to carry out a project to operate robots in the hospital. SMC currently operates one robot specializing in the distribution o

South Korean cablemaker LS Cable & System has been accelerating its cooperation with local small and medium-sized enterprises to foster shared prosperity. LS Cable & System said Thursday that it has launched a local area network cable testing device in collaboration with Kangwon Electronics, a local company specializing in hardware and software wholesale. The newly developed device allows for the fast and accurate inspection of LAN cables for short circuits and wiring errors. It was

South Korean tiremaker Kumho Tire said Monday that it has incorporated new and differentiated marketing strategies to accelerate business normalization. The tiremaker has launched a new commercial in April under the slogan, “There is no road you cannot go,” to express its belief that there is no road in the world that Kumho Tire can‘t go, said company officials. The commercial was uploaded to the tiremaker’s YouTube channel. Kumho Tire currently operates the largest Yo

South Korean recycled leather company ATKO Planning said Wednesday that it has been selected by German carmaker BMW as a potential business partner at a startup pitching event held at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center on April 21. The annual event, BMW Startup Garage Open Innovation Pitching Day, is co-hosted by the automaker, the Korea Venture Investment Corp., and Korea’s trade promotion agency Kotra to select local enterprises that could work with BMW to accelerate the automaker&rsquo

South Korean furniture and home appliance brand Coway said Friday that it has launched a new customizable bed frame product to reflect consumer trends shifting towards personalization. The product, Coway My Frame, allows consumers to customize the bed’s color, height and design. They can choose from a wide range of color and style combinations for the bed frame‘s headboard and sideboard, according to the furniture maker. Customers can alter the design later to accommodate lifestyl

SK ecoplant, the engineering and construction unit of South Korean conglomerate SK group, has partnered with Malaysia’s state-operated waste management firm Cenviro to expand its environmental business in the global market. 　 SK ecoplant inked a share purchase agreement on Friday with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional to acquire 30 percent of Cenviro shares. The Malaysian waste management company is wholly owned by Khazanah Nasional. Cenviro built Malaysia’s first

Digital innovation in South Korean industries faces a major hurdle from the country‘s older generation weary of technological changes having unexpected side effects, said professor of mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University Choi Jae-boong on Wednesday. “We as a society need to be more tolerant of people who may create side effects while leading the digital civilization,“ Choi said at the Global Business Forum hosted by The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday.　 &ldqu

South Korean skincare brand Siita said it has developed a new technology to speed up plastic decomposition, becoming the only zero-waste enterprise globally to treat its own plastic waste. Siita’s technology, unveiled in September, accelerates the decomposition process of plastic from 500 years to just 3 months, according to the skincare company. Celebrities such as Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner and K-pop singer CL voiced their support for the skincare company’s sustainable and ec

Henkel Homecare Korea’s insecticide brand Home Keeper & Home Mat said it has launched an awareness campaign to provide information about the dangers of mosquitoes in collaboration with the Korean Red Cross for the second year running. The “Zero Mosquito Campaign” is aimed at helping vulnerable groups to get through the summer, when mosquitoes are most active, according to the insecticide maker. Last year, the company held the “Zero Mosquito Donation Challenge&rdqu

South Korea‘s Hana Financial Group announced Monday its support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and said that it has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, as part of its efforts to bolster ESG value in its management. The WEPs is a joint initiative by UN Women and UN Global Compact to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace and community. Hana said it will expand gender equality in its workplace by providing additional promotion and education opportunities f

Citigroup’s Korean unit Citibank Korea unveiled its strategy to focus on corporate banking at a town hall meeting held last week in Seoul, the bank said Thursday. According to the bank, the new strategy aims to enhance corporate banking capabilities, increase synergy among its core businesses, and protect customers during the wind-down process of its retail banking divisions. The bank said last October that it will shut down its consumer banking units and focus more on its corporate custo

South Korean food company CJ CheilJedang said Tuesday that it will launch 20 products this year that “vibe” with millennials and Generation Z. From high-fiber cookies that look like virtual asset coins to porridge packed in Marvel and Toy Story characters, a team of young CJ employees came up with products made for health-conscious and design-sensitive young adults, according to the company. For its new marketing strategy directly targeting customers in their 20s and 30s, the food

Local health product and cosmetics retailer DAV International said Tuesday that it has launched a collagen powder product that contains eight different vitamins and minerals. The product, All-in-one Daily Small-molecule Marine Collagen, not only supplies collagen to the skin, but contains vitamins essential to rejuvenate one‘s health. The company added more vitamin ingredients than are seen in other products, which usually have four, said a company official. The product is made up of t

The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Monday that six Korean product names will be added to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Nice classification in June.　 The Nice Classification, established in the French port city of Nice in 1957, is a classification system that lists trademarks of products and services used internationally. It is updated every five years and has been ratified by 91 countries. KIPO proposed to add 10 names of Korean products at the WIPO committee

If given a chance to work remotely while on holiday, South Koreans said about 13 days a year may be enough for the so-called “workcation,” according to a survey on Wednesday. The findings of the survey, conducted by online accommodation bookings platform Good Choice among 350 respondents, showed pollsters picked an average of 12.8 days as ideal for a workcation. Most of them said they have yet to experience the new work trend, but over 90 percent said they would give it a go if they

Non-fungible tokens have become the latest marketing tool by South Korean companies, as many of them are issuing the digital asset to garner attention from young customers. Hyundai Motor said Tuesday it will launch a new collection of 10,000 Shooting Star NFTs on May 9 through its NFT marketplace. The collection is a sequel to a short film released last month by the carmaker and Meta Kongz, a local blockchain technology platform company and the creator of an NFT brand of the same name. The la

South Korean food company SPC Group said Thursday that it will be adding Pokemon themed items to the menu at its donut and ice cream franchises. Baskin Robbins said it will launch two new flavors — Pika Pika Pikachu and Come out! Squirtle — in May. Pika Pika Pikachu is a banana flavored ice cream with chocolate flakes, popping candies and a custard ribbon, while Come out! Squirtle is a soda and lemon ice cream mix. Customers can enjoy the ice cream in Pokemon themed cones, said BR