Personal care product manufacturer LG Household & Health Care said Tuesday that it saw a record-breaking fourth quarter in 2016 with 1.5 trillion won ($1.28 billion) in sales and 178 billion won in operating profits.The nearly 10 percent rise in sales and 20 percent rise in operating profits continues a trend of consecutive growth for the company since 2005. (LG Household & Health Care)Approximately half of the company’s sales, or 798 billion won, came from the cosmetics category. LG H&H continu

The Korean arm of the global advertising agency Serviceplan Group said Tuesday that it has named Julie Kang as its new CEO. Kang has been with the company since 2009 and managed relationships with companies such as Ikea, Absolut, BMW and local brands. Before joining Serviceplan, Kang worked for Interone, the digital arm of BBDO Advertising and Grape Communications, creating advertising campaigns for LG Electronics and Electrolux. Julie Kang (Serviceplan Group)Kang is the first woman and first Ko

The Korean government must create a more focused control tower for identifying and handling consumer products that can pose health and safety risks and implement stronger penalties for corporations that sell such products to prevent future crises, a panel of experts said Tuesday.Academics, representatives from consumer groups and government representatives gathered for the 44th Future Consumers‘ Forum at the National Assembly Members’ Hall to discuss ways to reform the consumer safety management

BEAUTY GETS SMART -- Cosmetics maker Amorepacific signed an agreement with SK Telecom Monday at the SK Telecom headquarters in Seoul. Under the agreement, the two companies will collaborate in creating Internet of Things-based smart beauty services and share big data. Pictured are Amorepacific Head of R&D Han Sang-hoon (left) and SK Telecom Head of IoT Cha In-hyuk. (Amorepacific)

Korea Airports Corp. announced its midterm goals for 2025 on Monday, focusing on improving infrastructure, strengthening security and training more pilots.The corporation will invest about 1 trillion won ($856.5 million) on expanding infrastructure at major airports such as Gimpo International Airport to accommodate increasing passenger numbers by 2018. It is also working to renovate old airport facilities nationwide by 2019. File photo of Sung Il-hwan, the CEO of Korea Airports Corp. (Yonhap)Ai

INCHEON -- South Korean food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang said Friday that it aimed to become the world leader in dumplings, expanding its global presence through its Bibigo dumpling lines.At an Innovation Seminar held at the company’s Incheon Frozen Food Plant, the company said that it hoped to reach 1 trillion won ($850 million) in worldwide dumpling sales by 2020, with 70 percent of those sales coming from overseas. The ambitious goal seeks to triple sales from 2016, which reached 330 billion

Whether you have a sweet tooth or cravings for all things savory, snacking options in South Korea were limited until recently. Riding on the health-conscious trend, sugar-loaded sweets are evolving into healthy desserts and snacks with humorous marketing to appeal to a wider consumer age range.Salty crisps are also being transformed by reducing trans fat and being infused with unlikely ingredients or dishes, such as seaweed and kimchijjigae, or Korean kimchi stew. Gwaja, or snacks in Korean, ref

Snacks, once produced and marketed mostly for children, have become a major consumption item for Koreans of all ages, seeking to munch away their stress with more diverse and healthier options.  (Lotte Confectionery)Confectionery companies are driving trends with snacks infused with fruit and tea flavors and made with whole premium ingredients to appeal to health-conscious adults.As these new creations receive positive responses both at home and abroad, manufacturers and distributors are intensi

The Korean fair trade watchdog has begun an investigation into tobacco manufacturer KT&G on allegations that the company gained up to 330 billion won ($282 million) in unfair profits following a hike on cigarette taxes in late 2014. (Yonhap)The FTC’s investigation follows a report from the Board of Audit and Inspection that was released Jan. 12 regarding the management of additional profits that may have been gained by tobacco manufacturers after the tax hike that went into effect in 2015.Accord

Furniture retailer Ikea has set up a distributions services corporation in Korea, according to the company Wednesday.“Ikea set up the new corporation as part of its expansion plan to become a multi-channel leader. We expect to be able to manage inventory and distribution more efficiently, and improve customer services such as delivery. We have not yet decided on any details,” Ikea said in an official statement.The company established a corporation called Ikea Distribution Service Korea Ltd. effe

Lotte will be building a new mall near the Hanoi West Lake, one of the Vietnamese city’s top attractions. The approximately 200,000-square-meter complex will include a shopping mall, a department store, a supermarket and a cinema, all to be directly operated by Lotte affiliates. Construction is set to begin in the first half of 2017, for completion in 2020. (Lotte Asset Development)

Shinsegae‘s online shopping mall SSG.com swept top honors at the Seoul Creative Festival of Film Advertising Awards on Tuesday. The brand took home the Grand Prix, Gold Prize and Bronze Prize for its SSG.com advertisements, and also took bronze in the Craft (direction) category. According to Shinsegae, mobile sales at SSG.com rose 50 percent on-year, which the company attributed to the campaign. (Shinsegae)

Korea‘s two largest duty-free operators are mulling bids to run outlets at Hong Kong International Airport, according to the two companies Tuesday.Although both Lotte Duty Free and The Shilla Duty Free held back from confirming that they will be submitting bids, both said that they are “positively considering” the tender.“We are actively pursuing overseas expansions, and have the highest overseas sales of all Korean duty-free operators,” said a spokesman for Hotel Shilla, which runs The Shilla D

Online open markets in Korea are positioning themselves as shopping hubs. Through extensive partnerships with conventional offline retailers such as department stores and grocery retailers, major open markets including eBay Korea‘s Gmarket and Auction platforms as well as SK Planet’s 11st are giving consumers access to low-priced, unique products offered by individual sellers as well as branded products that would normally be available only offline.“Partnering with major distributors and brands

Since the moment the camera lens landed on the smartphone, users have been busy snapping the world around them. The market for new ways to capture photographs and make adjustments to them has exploded further with the rise of Instagram and selfies. Despite the saturated market, two former business consultants from London saw a chance to “re-imagine” photographs through a new app called Polaroid Swing. Intrigued by the app’s new take on photography, Polaroid came on board as a shareholding partne

The cover of “Your Seoul” (Air Seoul)Local low-cost carrier Air Seoul said Thursday that it launched an in-flight magazine called “Your Seoul” to promote the tourism attractions of Korea‘s capital.The magazine is part of the airline’s cooperative efforts with Seoul to help increase the brand power of the city.“Your Seoul” includes information on Air Seoul‘s various destinations in addition to Seoul. The first 64-page volume includes recommendations of relatively unknown destinations in Seoul fro

Incheon Airport Corp. and Korea’s customs regulator are in a battle over the process of choosing duty-free operators for the airport’s second terminal, which is currently under construction.According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, it has informed Incheon Airport Corp. that it will be creating a licensing committee to evaluate bids for duty-free shops in the upcoming second terminal of the airport, similar to the committees involved in choosing operators for duty-free shops outside of a

Asiana Airlines will be the first airline to bring in eggs from overseas in the wake of massive shortages due to the bird flu outbreak, according to the airline on Tuesday.The airline will be shipping 100 tons of eggs on a chartered plane, scheduled to leave Chicago at 4 p.m. on Friday, arriving at Incheon International Airport at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, a spokesman of the airline told The Korea Herald. One hundred tons is about 1.64 million eggs.(Asiana Airlines)The spokesman said that since te

Nestle’s capsule coffee brand Nescafe Dolce Gusto is pushing past preconceptions that capsules only offer black espresso with its 2017 Creative Coffee Campaign, as it aims to increase penetration in the Korean market.Dolce Gusto Coffee Creator Ola Persson at Nescafe's Itaewon branch on Tuesday (Yonhap)At a press conference at Nescafe’s Itaewon branch Tuesday, Nestle’s Coffee Creator Ola Persson gave demonstrations about how the espresso created with Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto machines could be infuse

Korean airlines failed to rank in the top 10 list of airlines with the best on-time record in 2016, according to the airline statistics website FlightStats on Monday, with the airliners pointing to congested traffic at major airports as the reason.Both Korean full-service carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines were missing from the On-Time Performance Services Awards winners‘ list, which was led by the Netherlands airline KLM, with 88.52 percent of flights arriving within 15 minutes of the sche