For The Face Shop, global expansion will be high on the list of priorities this year as it seeks to mark new territory outside of the saturated Korean market. “The Face Shop will be driven to look outside of Korea,” said Park Eun-kyung, an analyst at Samsung Securities. In 2013, The Face Shop, owned by LG Household & Healthcare, saw sales rise about 20 percent on-year to a record high of 523 billion won ($503.7 million). The stellar performance was mainly thanks to a rise in overseas sales. Acco

POSCO, the nation’s top steelmaker, confirmed Friday that it had submitted a letter of intent to take over Tong Yang Power, the electricity-generating arm of faltering Tong Yang Group. “POSCO Energy, an energy business arm of the group, decided to join the bid with an interest in the thermal power plant project of Tong Yang Power,” an official from the steel group said. Last year, Tong Yang Power won a business license from the government to build two coal-fueled thermal power plants, each with

The management of GS Group, said Wednesday that the energy, retail and construction conglomerate would invest 3 trillion won ($2.9 billion) in its core and new businesses this year.The 2014 investments are larger than the average annual amount of around 2 trillion won. The decision came in a second-quarter meeting of group executives, led by GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo, the group said in a press release. “The global economy faces more uncertainties at the moment. To turn a crisis into an opp

To most modern women, shoes do more than merely cover one’s foot for protection. “Shoes have become an important fashion item, in particular, for women who want to express themselves,” said Diana Kang, chief executive of GRI Korea, in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Riding on the trend, a growing number of Korean women are seen with growing shoe collections that are meant to match their daily outfits,” Kang said. GRI is a Hong Kong-based international apparel and fashion accessories retail

It had long been obvious that the hard-pressed financial companies suffering from a continued fall in profits would drastically downsize at some point, and it was Samsung Group that triggered the restructuring tide in the financial sector. A rumor has been circulating that the nation’s top conglomerate is trying to slim down its financial sectors for the sake of heir apparent Lee Jay-yong, who is expected to take over the group’s financial affiliates, as well as the lucrative electronics busines

Rising interest rates pose a risk to the global economy, said Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok, whose country is grappling with record household debt.The speed and degree at which major economies taper monetary stimulus and the “interest rate increases that will follow should always be monitored,” Hyun, 63, said in an interview in Washington D.C., where finance and central bank officials from Group of 20 nations are meeting. Foreign-exchange rates are set by economic fundamentals and capital flows,

Samsung Electronics had sold nearly 120,000 units of its newest smartphone, the Galaxy S5, in Korea as of last week, matching the performance of the previous model, the S4, market watchers said Sunday.The sales translate to roughly 10,000 units daily during the 12 business days from the March 27 launch date to Friday, they said.The S5 accounted for approximately 28 percent of the domestic smartphone market, they added.The smartphone, the latest version in the company’s flagship Galaxy series, wa

Many behind-the-scenes stories about Apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs have received attention since he died in 2011.His meeting with Softbank CEO Son Masayoshi, who brought a rough concept image of a phone-capable iPod for a business partnership before the first iPhone was developed, was one of the latest episodes divulged. Another episode related to Steve Jobs and the evolution of the iPhone recently emerged from a local firm.In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, CrucialTec CEO Charles Ahn

Samsung Electronics called the first of as many as seven witnesses to begin making its case in a $2 billion patent trial that Apple’s true target in the lawsuit is the Android operating system. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google’s vice president of Android engineering, testified yesterday in federal court in San Jose, California, about the development of the Android operating system used in Samsung phones. Apple contends, and Samsung denies, that several Android features in Galaxy devices infringe the i

The trade ministry said Sunday that it is seeking ways to remove nontariff barriers set by its main trade partners on concerns they may sap Seoul’s overseas shipments.China topped the list with 35 cases of nontariff barriers, followed by the U.S. and Japan, both with 31, according to the trade ministry and the Korea International Trade Association. The number of the European Union’s nontariff barriers reached 29, trailed by Indonesia with 22 cases and Vietnam with 19. Countries around the world

The nation’s top central banker said Saturday that the Bank of Korea is considering setting up a team to deal with currency and economic integration related to inter-Korean unification.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, speaking to reporters during his visit to Washington, D.C., said the central bank needs to play a role in studying unification issues from the economic perspective. Lee is visiting the U.S. capital to participate in a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20. “A v

T’way Air may be the nation’s smallest budget carrier with just seven short- and midrange aircraft, but it is quickly building a reputation as an innovative player in a market which is reaching a fever pitch of competition. The carrier, for instance, moved faster than other low-cost carriers to become the first to launch a route between Daegu and Jejudo Island in March.The same month, the carrier created a sensation by introducing the cheapest-ever early bird promotion fares for domestic and int

A growing number of Korean companies are beginning to invest in tree-planting projects overseas as prices for wood in the global market have continued to rise. “One of the key reasons for the price surge is a drop in the global log supply amid growing demand in China,’’ said Won Yoo-gil, an official of Hansol Homedeco’s global business. “Tree planting has become a high-yield business. International wood prices have increased 5.5 percent per year on average for the past decade, which is high enou

South Korean chemical maker Kolon Industries on Friday welcomed a U.S. court ruling for a retrial of a $920 million case with DuPont over an alleged trade secret theft.“It is a meaningful ruling that accepts our argument that evidence and testimonies in favor of Kolon were wrongfully ruled out in the first trial,” a company official said. “We hope for an objective and fair outcome in the retrial.”DuPont, the largest U.S. chemical firm by market value, had filed a lawsuit in February 2009 allegin

Imported car sales in South Korea jumped 30.4 percent in March compared with the same period a year ago, helped by more aggressive marketing efforts, a local trade association said Friday.A total of 15,733 new foreign-made cars were sold in the one-month period, compared with 12,063 units a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said. Annual foreign car sales hit a record high of 156,497 units in 2013. The latest tally showed a 13.6 percent increase in car sale

South Korean stocks retreated 0.28 percent Friday as investors took profits after recent rallies ahead of key U.S. employment data release, analysts said. The local currency rose against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.61 points to 1,988.09. Trading volume was thin at 221.5 million shares worth 4.04 trillion won ($3.8 billion), with advancers outpacing losers 464 to 325. “The Korean stocks have rallied in a short term, and it prompted investors to indulge in

It is a widely known fact that the retail sector is one of the least transparent segments in Korea.Kickbacks are ― or at least were ― rampant, mostly because there are simply too many vendors vying to get their products on the shelves. Lotte appears to have been no exception, as seen in the recent case involving Shin Heon, CEO of Lotte Shopping, who will soon be summoned for questioning over allegations he received cash kickbacks from a local subcontactor.  The Seoul Central District Prosecutors

Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s sole power supplier, signed a letter of intent with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, on April 1 to strengthen bilateral cooperation, KEPCO said Wednesday.On the same day, the state-run company also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ceylon Electricity Board under the Energy Ministry, which carries out government power projects, to develop projects in areas such as thermal power plants, renewables and

Baek Joon-ho, a former director of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, was named as the planning and management director of the Korea Elevator Safety Institute, the institute said Tuesday. KESI is a partially governmental institution founded in 1992 to systematically manage elevator safety. The agency is responsible for safety regulations for elevators. “Based on his past experiences in the public sector, he will play a key role in planning the organization’s main activit

GE Korea said Tuesday that Park Jang-won, the GE Korea executive in charge of the company’s growth strategy, had been concurrently named as country executive for GE Oil & Gas Korea. In Korea, GE Oil & Gas provides solutions and services for all segments of the oil and gas industry to clients in the offshore and marine, engineering-procurement-construction, steel, and petrochemical sectors.Visal Leng, regional general manager of GE Oil & Gas Asia Pacific & ANZ said, “Based on Park’s past experien