Home styling company Casamia is jumping into the premium order-made kitchen service, calling it C_LAB Kitchen, the firm said Tuesday. “In the past, kitchen furniture was chosen with a focus on price, but today design is becoming much more important,” said Ryu Hwa-suk, head of Casamia‘s interior design team, at a press conference at the La Casa Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul Tuesday. Kitchens designed by Casamia‘s C_LAB Kitchen (Casamia)The new line of kitchen products comes under Casamia’s interior

Food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang said Monday that it will be investing 900 billion won ($796.5 million) to build new production plants and acquire a top producer of soy protein concentrate.The plan includes a 540 billion won investment to build a food production complex in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, by 2020. The plant will begin construction in August and start operation next October, with an expected production capacity of 12 tons a year. The factory will focus production on home mea

Eight out of 10 food and beverage companies that raised consumer prices since last November did so despite falling manufacturing costs, according to an analysis released by a business tracker Monday.Business tracker CEO Score said Monday that manufacturers of consumer food products such as instant noodles and soft drinks raised their prices although their proportions of manufacturing costs to sales declined.  An employee stocks instant noodles at a supermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap)Nongshim and Samy

Aekyung Group’s air carrier Jeju Air has launched a new alliance for low-cost carriers with seven airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the airliner Monday.Under the alliance, customers will be able to buy connecting flight tickets from Jeju Air and Cebu Pacific Air via the Jeju Air website.  (Yonhap)The alliance includes Jeju Air, Cebu Pacific Air, Nok Airlines, NokScoot, Scoot, Tigerair Singapore, Tigerair Australia and Vanilla Air. Once additional code-shared routes are added, Jej

SACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province -- Machines hum as they churn wheels of paper, rolling them into long tubes that are then packed with tobacco leaves and cut into noncombustible sticks of tobacco. This is the first production facility in Korea capable of making Neostiks, Dunhill maker British American Tobacco’s entry into the heated tobacco products market that is slated to go into full swing in the second half of this year.For now, the plant, built as part of a 200-billion-won ($177.8) expans

CALLING TAIWANESE TOURISTS -- Incheon Airport Corp. CEO Chung Il-young (left) poses with Taiwanese travel agency Lion Travel President Jerry Lin at the signing ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan Thursday. Incheon International Airport said Thursday that it had signed the agreement with Lion Travel to coordinate marketing efforts targeting Taiwanese tourists coming to Korea. Incheon Airport will offer exclusive deals and coupons for Lion Travel customers coming to the airport. In

 Major retailers are touting and presenting as their main goals joint growth with small business owners, in line with the new liberal Moon Jae-in administration.Shinsegae’s E-mart has been leading the pack, on Wednesday signing a deal with the city of Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, to open a No Brand joint growth store in Anseong Machum Market to attract customers to the traditional market.Hyundai City Mall located in the Garden 5 shopping complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)To protect sales of su

Electric cars and fuel cell electric vehicles in Korea will be assigned blue license plates starting Friday, according to the Transport Ministry on Thursday.“The government has chosen to provide different license plates for electric cars to increase interest in eco-friendly cars and give pride to the drivers of these cars as environment and energy-related issues become more important,” the Ministry said.  (Yonhap)The film used to cover the license plates will allow sensors to quickly identify el

HAN SOO POP-UP IN SHINSEGAE -- Shinsegae DF said Thursday that it is running a pop-up exhibition for Han Soo that features modern reinterpretations of traditional Korean crafts at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. The exhibition, a collaboration with design magazine publisher Design House, aims to introduce young designers working in traditional crafts. It will continue through June 23. (Shinsegae DF)

Asiana Airlines said Thursday that the company has partnered with Luotian Elementary School in Jianxi province, China, to provide support for children’s education. The partnership ceremony was attended by Moon Myeong-young, Asiana’s executive vice president for passenger business, Vice Consul General Seo Yong-won of the Korean Consulate in Wuhan and Peng Kai Xian, head commissioner of the Anyi County People’s Government.An Asiana Airlines flight attendant teaches a flight crew vocational class a

Baby goods maker Borny Korea has recalled its line of products made with the Outlast material after receiving reports the material’s powder coating can cause rashes. On Wednesday, the company posted an official apology from its President Hong Seong-woo via its website.“We began selling the products without suspicion because the material had been certified as safe, passed through customs without problems and had passed all safety inspections in Korea for children’s products,” the statement read.O

Top executives at SK Group are taking part in forums on the east and west coasts of the United States in the hope of scouting fresh talent, according to the company Tuesday.SK is hosting two forums called the “2017 SK Global Forum” in both areas, introducing its global accomplishments and future vision while recruiting new talent.  SK Supex Council’s energy and chemical committee President Kim Jun speaks at the 2017 SK Global Forum at The Westin Jersey City Newport Hotel in New Jersey, Saturday.

Major conglomerates are moving in tandem to bring in family-friendly policies under the new administration led by President Moon Jae-in, aligning themselves with the work-life balance focus of the new government.Over the past month, companies such as CJ Group, SK Group and E-Land Group announced reforms to company regulations regarding issues such as maternity leave and after-hours work.These reforms coincide with the talking points emphasized by President Moon Jae-in ahead of the election in ea

Asiana Airlines is offering business travelers on B747s the choice of flying in first-class seats for an additional fee, according to the airline Monday. (Asiana Airlines)The airline does not offer first-class cabins on flights other than New York, Los Angeles and Frankfurt routes, which utilize the A380. However, the B747s are fitted with 10 first-class seats that can be used by business travelers who choose to upgrade to royal business.The upgrade costs 50,000 won ($45) one-way for flights to

A new amendment to the Customs Act has been proposed to increase transparency in the government’s licensing evaluations of duty-free operators.A group of 10 lawmakers led by Rep. Kim Min-ki of the ruling Democratic Party submitted a revision bill last week for the Customs Act to bring clarity to the screening process of duty-free applications.“The current law requires operators to be evaluated by a special committee to receive a duty-free license, but leaves the committee members’ composition an

Dunhill maker British American Tobacco said Monday that it had completed construction on the second and third manufacturing plants at its factory in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. BAT's factory in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province (BAT)“The manufacturing facility has also been expanded to support the growth of BAT’s tobacco heating product, Glo and with the intention of South Korea becoming a key export hub for BAT in Asia,” the company said.With the new 200 billion won ($179 million) expa

SHIPBUILDING PARTNERS -- Ka Sam-hyun (front row, right), head of the shipbuilding division at Hyundai Heavy Industries, signs an agreement with Andrey Shishkin, vice president at Rosneft at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. Hyundai Samho signed a technical support agreement with Russian shipyard Zvezda Shipbuilding to provide services such as technological expertise to Zvezda-Hyundai, a new 51:49 joint venture between the two companies. (Hyundai Samho)

A consumer rights group has asked the Korea Communications Commission to investigate whether fake notifications on Facebook designed to lure users into downloading Facebook Messenger violates the law.Recently, users on online forums have been complaining about the use of fake message notifications by Facebook to encourage non-users to download Messenger. Facebook notifies users that they have received a message, but does not show the message unless they download Messenger.  Facebook (Yonhap)Once

A consumer claimed Thursday that a frozen fly was found in an ice cream bar from Binggrae.“I was eating the ice cream when I discovered the fly frozen into the ice cream,” the consumer surnamed Park told The Korea Herald. He added that he had purchased the Melona ice cream bar at around 5 p.m. from a convenience store Wednesday. Melona bar with a frozen fly (provided by Park)When Park contacted the customer service center, a quality manager came to pick up the ice cream bar at about 2 p.m. Thurs

CJ CheilJedang said Thursday that it has completed the acquisition of Russian frozen food company Ravioli, setting the foundation for a two-track strategy in the Russian market.The Korean company acquired a 100 percent stake in Ravioli for 30 billion won ($27 million). Ravioli, first established in 1994, is known for making Russian dumplings called pelmeni. Its revenues last year reached 45 billion won. Following the acquisition, Ravioli has been renamed CJ Raviollo Rus, according to CJ CheilJed