American social media service Twitter may experience a tough year in Korea as it is likely to face government scrutiny over its lack of action against pornography distribution.According to the Korea Communications Standards Commission, a special task force against online distribution of pornography will kick off as early as February, with a particular focus on foreign social media such as Twitter.Twitter founder and chairman Jack Dorsey. (Bloomberg)“We will closely look into these media. We are

Bae Jun-young, wife of the late Poongsan Group founder Ryu Chan-u, died Saturday after suffering from a chronic disease. She was 87.Bae is widely known for her passion in educating and supporting Korean women in sports.She has devoted herself to developing young talented players and supporting them with financial assistance, and worked to promote exchange programs with China and Japan. Bae Jun-young, wife of late Poongsan Group founder Ryu Chan-u. (Poongsan Group)For the past 15 years, she spons

Hyundai Department Store announced Thursday that it would join the bid for a license to open a city duty-free store in Seoul, adding fuel to the fierce competition in the 3.2 trillion won ($2.9 billion) market. In its first attempt to join the bid, company chairman Chung Ji-sun is facing competition from his uncle Chung Mong-gyu, chairman of Hyundai Development Co. Ji-sun is the grandchild of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung. Mong-gyu is the only child of the late former Hyundai Deve

(Bloomberg)A consumer group has taken action against Starbucks Korea for failing to include the price of short size drinks on its menu, claiming the move is aimed at selling more expensive drinks.The Citizen’s Mediation Center at Seoul YMCA on Monday filed a complaint with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety against Starbucks for violating the Food Sanitation Law, which requires all businesses to post the prices of their products.Currently, menu boards in Starbucks stores here show only the pri

A U.S. soldier was arrested on charges of stealing a woman’s purse, authorities said on Monday.The unnamed private first class is accused of taking a South Korean woman’s purse last Friday at a nightclub near Hongik University, western Seoul.Police arrested the soldier in the early hours of Sunday, after he was seen again at the same club. A nightclub staff member recognized the soldier from earlier camera footage showing him stealing the purse, and notified the police.Upon arrest, the U.S. serv

POSCO, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, is expected to start building a steel plant in Chongqing, China, as early as next month, reports said Monday.“Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has vowed to approve the construction of the project as soon as possible. We could receive an authorization next month, at the earliest,” POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon told reporters after a meeting with Yang in Seoul on Saturday. But a POSCO spokesperson stressed that nothing had been fixed yet, saying the chairman wa

Saskatoon berries, Canada’s indigenous superfruit, will soon become available to South Korean consumers for the first time.Prairie Berries’ Saskatoon berry spread, syrup and topping as well as its dried berries will have their official market debut during the Lunar New Year holidays at Shinsegae Department Store branches in Seoul, said AgriVogue, the local representative of Prairie Berries.“Saskatoon berries will present South Korean consumers with a new culinary taste and joyful experience of C

POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon (center), along with high-level government officials from Korea and India, attends the launching ceremony for the steelmaker’s cold rolling mill in Maharashtra, India, Thursday. (POSCO)POSCO, a leading South Korean steelmaker, ranked 36th on an index of the most sustainable companies in the world.The steel giant’s rank was the highest mark among four South Korean companies listed on the 2015 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Index.POSCO, recognized

BISSELL, a U.S. vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturer, said Thursday that it aimed to achieve 5 billion won to 10 billion won ($4.6 million-$9.2 million) in sales in its first year in Korea. The Michigan-based company is planning to enter the market by launching its latest model, the Symphony All-in-One, on TV homeshopping channels.“Korean consumers are peculiar when it comes to cleaning and choosing floor care products with high technology,” BISSELL Asia regional brand manager Evel

CJ Group, South Korea’s largest food and entertainment conglomerate, will stop short of announcing its 2015 investment and employment plans due to its leadership vacuum, industry sources said Tuesday. This move is expected to deal yet another blow to the conglomerate, which has been struggling for years to find new growth engines and promote mergers and acquisitions.About 20 percent of CJ’s investment deals fell through last year, leading its total investments to drop below the 1 trillion won ($

Shinsegae Group, South Korea’s largest retailer, plans to invest a record amount of 3.35 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in multishopping malls and online businesses, group officials said Monday.The figure is about a 50 percent jump from last year’s investment budget of 2.2 trillion won, and a 46 percent hike from 2.3 trillion won in 2013, the highest value on record. The company said it was considering increasing the investment even more, depending on market conditions. “Through the massive investm

LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo has urged employees to execute plans and bring about concrete results amid heightened challenges in the fast-changing business environment. “In order to accelerate the group’s performance, what we’ve discussed should not just be thought of as ideas but as action plans,” Koo said during an executive workshop held Wednesday and Thursday. “I ask the top management to take the lead in the change.” LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo (first row) and other chief executives atte

Starbucks Korea’s 2015 lucky bag (Starbucks Korea)Starbucks Korea’s “lucky bags,” which offer a random selection of goodies for less than they usually retail for, sold out within a few hours of sales launching Thursday, company officials said. Large crowds of people were seen lining up in front of Seoul’s Starbucks stores in the early morning to claim the coffee chain’s lucky bag worth up to 100,000 won ($92) for 49,000 won.This year, the coffee chain sold 15,000 bags, containing tumblers, mugs,

Lancome’s “Miracle Cushion” (L’Oreal Paris)AmorePacific, South Korea’s top cosmetics firm, said Tuesday that it was considering legal action against French cosmetics house Lancome over a possible patent infringement of its signature air cushion compact. AmorePacific officials said it would decide whether to file a patent lawsuit against L’Oreal Korea, the Korean unit of L’Oreal Group, which is set to release the Miracle Cushion on Jan. 19.“We will analyze the product after the launch and then co

Nongshim’s new spicy thick-noodle ramen, Wooyooktangmyeon. (Nongshim)Nongshim, Korea’s leading ramen maker, unveiled Tuesday a spicy thick-noodle ramen targeting the young generation, company officials said. Nongshim said it aims for Wooyooktangmyeon’s annual sales to reach 50 billion ($46.3 million) won and enter the top 10 best-selling ramen list by the end of the year.The new noodle is 3 millimeters thick, about twice that of average noodles sold in South Korea. “Wooyooktangmyeon is the resul

South Korean coffee chain Caffe Bene is betting big on the Southeast Asian market as it aims to operate 140 stores in the region by 2017.Southeast Asia is the fourth region in which the company has opened outlets, starting with the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to company officials. With two more shops having opened in Malaysia last month, Caffe Bene now has 17 cafes in Southeast Asia. “We’re striving to become a representative South Korean coffee brand that l

When global companies like Uber and IKEA expanded their business into South Korea last year, local taxi firms and retailers were caught off guard by their cheap pricing and fresh business ideas. And it was natural for their billionaire founders, Travis Kalanik and Ingvar Kamprad, respectively, to make headlines here for their success stories and underlying strategies.This year, more ― and bigger ― billionaires are in store to make inroads into in Korea, posing a challenge to their local competit

Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin, the eldest daughter of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been appointed an outside director of China’s state-run investment firm CITIC Group.The Samsung heiress accepted the Chinese firm’s request to become a board member of CITIC Group on Dec. 19, in an apparent move that reflects the junior Lee and Samsung’s intention to build a bigger presence in China.“CITIC made a request to (Lee) to take the position, and she accepted it,” a Hotel Shilla official said.  Lee Bo

CJ Group’s No. 2 Lee Mie-kyung will take a back seat when the conglomerate carries out executive reshuffles next month, sources said Wednesday.The sources said Lee Mie-kyung, an elder sister of group chief Lee Jay-hyun, would reduce her involvement in management for medical treatment.The 56-year-old vice chairwoman has been in Los Angeles to receive treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder that runs in her family. The disease is characterized by progressive muscle weakn

Global cosmetics and fashion player Estee Lauder Group increased the prices of its duty-free products by as much as 14.5 percent, company officials said Tuesday.The price hike affected the group’s popular brands including Estee Lauder, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Origins, Lab Series and Aramis. “The price change may have been influenced by a number of factors, such as the exchange rate and marketing fees, which were one of the biggest factors this time,” an official from Estee Lauder’s duty-free team