South Korean discount store chain Homeplus’ philanthropic organization, dubbed e-Blue Foundation, held the award ceremony for its 21st e-Blue Children’s Environmental Arts Contest at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 19. Under the slogan, “Let’s make the Earth healthy with eco-friendly growth,” about 10,000 children participated in the contest, creating paintings with eco-friendly themes this May. Based on creativity, expression, harmony of composition and colo

Korean Air, the nation’s largest carrier, has planted over 125,000 trees in Mongolia's desert areas over the past two decades as part of its environmental, social and corporate governance efforts. Since May 2004, under the “Global Planting Project,” over 100 Korean Air employees have flocked to Mongolia to plant trees in Baganuur, a district in Ulaanbaatar with the country's largest open-pit coal mine. Baganuur district was barren and covered with a thick layer of coa

Hana Financial Group said dozens of university students had completed its annual training program aimed at nurturing ambassadors on its environmental, social and corporate governance activities. The banking conglomerate held the closing ceremony for graduates of its “17th Smart PR ambassador” program, who successfully carried out their missions this summer, at the company’s office in Myeong-dong, Seoul, on Thursday. Since June, 50 university students have worked as Smart PR a

BMW Korea is investing heavily to expand its charging infrastructure for electric vehicles here. Since last year, the South Korean unit of the German carmaker has opened up a growing number of its own charging stations, branded as BMW Charging Stations, while offering special charging fees for new EV buyers. In December, the carmaker opened a large-scale charging station at its driving center in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, which can charge up to 80 EVs -- making it one of Korea's largest charging

Hyundai Development Co., a major real estate development and builder here, is pushing its digital transformation further to run its construction projects in safer and more precise ways. To do so, HDC has devised the HDC Estimate system based on Building Information Modeling (BIM), an intelligent tool that provides digital representation to architecture, engineering, and construction industry. With the system, it allows the developer to immediately calculate the amount of materials needed in the

Hyundai Oilbank, Korea's major refiner, has enabled users of its mobile application Car& to make payments via Toss Pay, one of the most popular mobile payment methods here, offering a more convenient option for transactions. Customers can pay for gas via Toss Pay before visiting gas stations through the refiner’s mobile service dubbed “Smart Fueling,” using Toss Pay. Hyundai Oilbank Bonus Card members -- customers who get extra points or price reductions according to t

Hyundai Motor Group is sponsoring the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Cup Korea Archery Competition 2023, investing considerable effort to support development of the sport, the auto giant said Thursday. With the aim of providing quality experiences for Korean archery players, the conglomerate decided to sponsor this year’s competition along with its affiliates Kia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Steel. Kicked off Wednesday, the nation’s most prestigious archery competition will take place at

Dong-A ST, the pharmaceutical unit of South Korean giant Dong-A Socio Holdings, has submitted a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for its Stelara biosimilar DMB-3115, the company announced Wednesday. DMB-3115 is a biosimilar to ustekinumab, also dubbed Stelara, a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including Crohn’s disease, plaque psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. First developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the a

Dong-A Otsuka, the nation’s leading beverage maker, said Wednesday that it will hold a nationwide blood donation event with employees throughout the month of September, hoping to contribute to a rebound of the blood supply in South Korea. On Tuesday, the first donations from employees came at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, with a bloodmobile from the Korean Red Cross. Following the headquarters donations, the event moves to three manufacturing plants -- at Anyang in Gyeonggi Pr

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire revealed a new commercial under the slogan “Your EV Partner, Kumho Tire” riding the increasing popularity of electric vehicles. The commercial addresses the company’s new tires specifically tailored for EVs. Compared to the internal combustion engine cars, EV-customized tires need to be strong enough to support heavier vehicles, better grip the road, and lower the noise levels. In the commercial, Kumho Tire introduces its cutting-edge technolo

Genesis BBQ, the operator of Korean fried chicken franchise BBQ Chicken, said Monday it has been ranked one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the United States, for three consecutive years. BBQ Chicken was named seventh among the top 25 restaurant brands that achieved the fastest growth ranked by Nation’s Restaurant News, a US publication that covers the food service industry. The criteria for the ranking includes the growth in the number of outlets, total sales and sales per s

Kim Chun-jin, CEO of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., won the 2023 South Korea Leadership Award presented by the Korean Association for Public Administration on Thursday. The chief of the state-run food trade agency was recognized for bolstering a low-carbon diet campaign called “Green Food Day” in collaboration with 522 organizations based around world. The campaign urges global populations to produce eco-friendly certified agricultural products, reduce waste in the

South Korea’s leading battery maker LG Energy Solution strives to create a happier corporate culture, under the philosophy that corporate growth is achievable when employees are truly satisfied with their workplace. The nation’s overall corporate culture is now moving away from its obsolete hierarchical culture along with the rise of the so-called “MZ Generation” -- millennials and Generation Z, who were born between the early 1980s to early 2010s -- putting importance on

Hyundai Mobis, an automotive parts maker under South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday it is participating in the upcoming IAA Mobility 2023 to show off its vision of electrification at one of the largest automotive trade shows, in Germany. IAA Mobility will take place in Munich, Germany, on Sept. 5-10. This marks Hyundai Mobis’ second year attending the event, following its debut in 2021. Hyundai Mobis said it will display an array of over 20 advancements in electrifi

Dong-A Otsuka, South Korea’s leading beverage maker, on Thursday revealed its second annual “Beat the Heat Campaign” video in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Following the first campaign held last year, the company is striving to raise awareness on safety and health measures that must be taken during heat waves. With the message “Do not face the heat,” this year’s video puts importance on staying hydrated and getting enough shade an

Merck Korea, the Korean unit of the German chemicals giant Merck, said Thursday that two Korean display specialists were named as the winners of its Merck Award this year during the International Meeting of Information Displays held at Bexco in Busan this week. Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the Merck Award recognizes scientists for their outstanding scientific contributions to display technology. This year, Jeong Jae-kyeong, a professor at Hanyang University, won the top honor, the Mer

South Korean food and beverage manufacturer Dongsuh Foods is leading the domestic snack food market with globally recognized Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers through creative marketing strategies. Launched in 1912, the American sandwich cookie Oreo was introduced to South Korea in 2003. Dongsuh at first imported the cookies from China, but since 2010 it has produced them at its production plant at home. The company has enhanced marketing campaigns to maintain Oreo’s title as the “world

Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second-biggest carrier, signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday to ramp up their partnership in promoting arts and culture. Held in SAC’s Opera Theater, the signing ceremony was attended by Asiana Airlines Vice President Won Yoo-suk and Seoul Arts Center President Chang Hyoung-joon. Under the agreement, Asiana Airlines will offer flight benefits for artists and artworks, provide in-flight screenings of SAC’s contents

SK Ecoplant, the construction and energy arm of SK Group, said Monday that its US partner Bloom Energy has signed a supply deal for solid-oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs, with energy conglomerate EnBW, its first customer in Germany, with an aim to expand its presence in the European market. Under the agreement, Bloom Energy will provide 300 kilowatts of SOFCs to the geothermal plant of Geothermie-Gesellschaft Bruchsal, the affiliate of EnBW in Bruchsal, southern Germany. Since 2018, SK Ecoplant has b

South Korean home appliance maker Coway announced Friday that its ice-making water purifiers posted a 20 percent increase in sales in July compared to last year, amid unprecedented scorching weather. The sales of ice water purifiers during this summer peak season, from May to July, soared almost 50 percent from the previous year, according to the company. “To meet the increasing demand, our production line in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, has been operated at full throttle since May,