Roche Korea, the local branch of Switzerland-based global biopharmaceutical giant Roche, on Tuesday appointed former chief of Roche Pharma Peru Matt Sause as its new general manger.  “Korea is considered as a key market within Roche Group, and I am very pleased to assume this important role,” Sause said in a statement. “I will devote myself to improving the quality of the lives of Korean patients by strengthening access to innovative medicines by collaborating with various health care profession

The second annual Conde Nast International Luxury Conference will kick off in South Korea on Wednesday, bringing together hundreds of officials from the world’s major luxury and high-end fashion industries to examine the present and future of the Korean and global luxury market.　The two-day conference, organized by Conde Nast International, a U.S. multimedia company which publishes major fashion and lifestyle magazines like Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, will take place at the Hotel Shilla in Seoul.

Lotte Mart, one of the manufacturers of a humidifier disinfectant that allegedly caused lung damages that claimed 143 lives, on Monday officially apologized and vowed to provide due compensation to the victims and their families.The announcement marks the first ever public action taken by a maker of the toxic disinfectants in question since a probe on the case began in 2011. It also comes as the prosecution is set to summon executives of Lotte Mart, alongside three other firms, for questioning t

Taiwanese milk tea franchise Gong Cha Korea confirmed Monday that it is in the process of potentially acquiring its global headquarters Royal Tea Taiwan Co.“Gong Cha Korea is currently in talks over potentially acquiring Royal Tea Taiwan Co.,” Gong Cha Korea spokesperson Hyun Ye-seul told The Korea Herald.“However, the details of the acquisition have yet to be determined, as the negotiations are still underway and still open to changes,” she said.If the deal goes through, Gong Cha Korea would be

CJ Foodville, a food services company under South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, is selling off its premium wedding and banquet business unit to Japan-based private equity fund Unison Capital.　A CJ Foodville official on Friday said that the firm is “in the process of selling off Apelgamo, CJ’s premium wedding hall and banquet services brand in Seoul, to Unison Capital.” The firm will soon spin off the division for the sale. (Apelgamo)The official selling price of Apelgamo has yet to be disclosed,

Korea Seven, the local operator of major convenience store chain 7-Eleven, on Sunday said it has signed a deal with milk tea chain Gong Cha Korea to launch two new drinks under the Gong Cha brand at 7-Eleven stores nationwide.Under the agreement, the two firms will jointly develop a range of ready-to-drink Gong Cha products to be exclusively sold at 7-Eleven outlets in Korea. The first two products will be introduced by the end of this month, with more to come in the future, according to Korea S

Korea’s average tax burden for wage earners with and without children differ by roughly 2.3 percentage points, the fifth lowest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, recent data showed Sunday.　According to the OECD’s Taxing Wages 2016 report, Korea’s “tax wedge” -- the proportion of taxes in an individual’s wage income -- for households with one earner and two children stands at 19.6 percent, compared to 21.9 percent for working single-person households.　The

STARBUCKS SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION -- A barista from Starbucks Coffee Korea (left) offers career consulting and training to students from Songgok Tourism High School in Seoul on Friday as part of a career development program led by Starbucks in partnership with Junior Achievement, a U.S.-based nonprofit youth organization. Starbucks plans to hold similar programs in high schools within and outside of Seoul until November as part of joint social contribution efforts. (Starbucks Coffee Korea)

Lotte Mart introduces realistic Barbie dolls to AsiaLotte Mart has introduced a new lineup of realistic “Fashionista” Barbie dolls that includes three new body types -- tall, curvy and petite -- in South Korea on Thursday.After decades of criticism, Barbie, a brand known for its unrealistically skinny figurines, introduced new dolls with diverse physiques and hairstyles in January this year. Seoul is the first Asian market where these realistic Barbies are being introduced. Available in seven ty

COFFEE RECYCLING - Vice Environment Minister Jeong Yeon-man (second from left) and Starbucks Coffee Korea CEO Lee Seock-koo (third from left) water a plant Thursday after signing an agreement to turn used coffee grounds collected across Starbucks outlets nationwide into eco-friendly compost, animal feed and other repurposed substances for local usage. This year, the two plan to collect roughly 3,500 tons of used coffee grounds for recycling purposes. (Starbucks Coffee Korea)

CJ Korea Express, the shipping unit of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, is expanding its presence in the global cargo delivery market by securing major deals with clients around the world and partaking in global construction projects.　In January, CJ secured a deal with GS Engineering & Construction to deliver its equipment to be used in building the Socar Turkey Aegean Refinery, to the Port of Aliaga in western Turkey, the company said.CJ Korea Express loads up cargo to be shipped to Turkey f

Samsung Bioepis’ Enbrel biosimilar won a supply deal from Denmark’s drug procurement agency Amgros on Tuesday, becoming the priority etanercept drug used for treating rheumatoid arthritis in the country, an industry source told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity.　Benepali, Samsung’s biosimilar version of Amgen’s top-selling Enbrel, is expected to take away at least 50 percent of the original drug’s market share in Denmark, as local hospitals and doctors favor prescribing drugs selected b

South Korea’s largest food manufacturer Nongshim on Tuesday said its Japanese affiliate rose 22.6 percent on-year to reach $9 million in the first quarter, buoyed by its enhanced marketing efforts.It marks the biggest on-year sales hike ever recorded among Nongshim’s overseas branches as well as the largest sales volume logged by Nongshim since business began declining in 2012, the firm said.Nongshim’s “Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car” (Nongshim)“Since first exporting (its flagship spicy ramen) Shin Ram

Major coffee franchise operators in South Korea experienced sharp drops in profits last year in the face of intensifying competition from low-cost coffee vendors and the continued economic downturn.Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a U.S. franchise run by Seoul-based Mirae Asset Private Equity Fund, saw its net income decline by 67.4 percent on-year to 2.54 billion won ($2.22 million) in 2015, its regulatory filing showed.　Its sales dropped by 5.1 percent on-year to 138.9 billion won in 2015, while its op

CJ MEETS WITH HEILONGJIANG -- CJ Group chairman Sohn Kyung-shik (left) and Wang Xiankui, secretary of China’s Heilongjiang province, meet at the CJ E&M headquarters in northwestern Seoul on Monday to discuss ways to expand their collaborative partnership in the realms of business and culture. CJ currently operates an animal feed factory boasting annual output of 70,000 tons and three CGV movie theaters in Heilongjiang province. (CJ Group)

Korea’s leading food maker CJ CheilJedang said Monday that an herbal probiotic found in Korea’s traditional cabbage dish kimchi has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP133 is now recognized as a new dietary ingredient by the FDA. It joins a handful of Korean ingredients already approved by the U.S. regulator including cynanchum wilfordii, ecklonia cava, black ginseng and bio-germanium.Lactobacillus plantarum CJLP133 (CJ CheilJedang)“The approval of

The Korean government’s push to create a more flexible labor market, which includes plans to ease employment regulations and expand the use of temporary workers, has been hotly debated in the country over the past few years.　Despite controversy, President Park Geun-hye’s proposed labor reforms are aligned with the structural changes that labor markets around the world are now undertaking, according to the chief of U.S.-based global staffing agency ManpowerGroup.　“We think that Korea’s proposed l

The South Korean food industry pledged Friday to actively partake in new government measures aimed at reducing citizens’ sugar consumption and promoting public health.　Local food companies say they are already engaged in efforts to reduce sugar content in their products and will continue on this trajectory in line with rising health consciousness here and abroad.　“The food industry will actively abide by the government’s new policy toward sugar reduction,” the Korea Food Industry Association sai

From China to the U.S., South Korean cosmetics firms have been making inroads into the global market by diversifying their product lines and brand image to satisfy customers with different skin conditions, culture and style.　Despite their rapid growth overseas, they may be missing a big opportunity to take a lead in the Islamic countries -- seen as markets with great potential and demand for beauty products, industry insiders said.The reason for Korean companies’ passive attitude has a lot to do

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Korean biopharma company Celltrion’s Remicade (infliximab) biosimilar on Wednesday, marking the second entry of a biosimilar drug in the U.S. pharmaceutical market.　The U.S. regulator approved Inflectra, Celltrion’s biosimilar replication of Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster drug Remicade, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and other conditions.Celltrion CEO Kim Hyoung-ki speaks during a press conference hel