Hite Jinro expects its beer sales in Hong Kong to see a near sevenfold increase this year compared to 2012, according to the company Tuesday.  A TV ad for Hite Jinro beer runs in Hong Kong, featuring local celebrity Eric Kot (Hite Jinro)　Last year, Hite Jinro sold 320,000 boxes of beer, a 31 percent on-year increase. This year, that number is expected to rise to 410,000 boxes, almost seven times more than the 60,000 boxes sold in 2012, when Hite Jinro entered the Hong Kong market with stout beer

AMOREPACIFIC BACK IN YONGSAN -- Cosmetics group Amorepacific said Monday that it will begin moving its employees to its newly built headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, starting from Nov. 20. Designed by British architect David Chipperfield, the building has been inspired by traditional Korean moon jars. It is the third Amorepacific headquarters building to be built on the Yongsan site, following previous buildings erected in 1956 and 1976. (Amorepacific)

Asiana Airlines is beginning a pilot chatbot service through KakaoTalk and Facebook, according to the airline Monday.Passengers flying Asiana will be able to check information in 11 categories, such as reservations, keep track of departures and arrivals and find information about mileage points through the chatbot service, which is available in both Korean and English. Asiana Airlines’ chatbot service on KakaoTalk (Asiana Airlines)The service was developed using Microsoft’s cloud platform Azure

Bakery chain Paris Baguette is speeding up its efforts to hold explanatory sessions for bakers working at its franchises to convince them to agree to employment with a new third-party corporation.The third-party corporation, which will be jointly created by Paris Baguette, franchise owners and outsourcing companies, is designed to allow Paris Baguette to continue employing outsourced bakers at its stores in line with current labor laws.Paris Baguette franchises have employed nearly 5,400 bakers

Korea Aerospace Industries is facing pressure to continue cutting costs in its joint bid for the US Air Force’s T-X program together with Lockheed Martin, according to the company’s chief executive Friday.“In effect, the bidding has come down to Lockheed Martin and Boeing. We are a partner of Lockheed Martin,” newly appointed KAI chief Kim Jo-won told reporters. “We are continually discussing ways to cut costs so that we can offer a lower bid.”  KAI President Kim Jo-won (KAI)However, Kim said th

E-commerce firm Coupang said Thursday that its e-gift cards are growing in popularity, with convenience as their main selling point.Coupang’s e-gift cards released at the end of last month allow customers to give and receive Coupang cash that can be used without restrictions on the online platform.  (Coupang)According to a customer survey conducted by Coupang, 98 percent of customers who bought the gift cards said that they liked the convenience of being able to buy and send the gift cards anyti

Voice-activated shopping technology is poised to shift from speakers with artificial intelligence to mobile applications, with a major retailer preparing a voice-activated shopping service for its mobile app.Lotte’s online store Lotte.com confirmed Thursday that it will be launching a voice-activated search-and-buy service through its mobile app on Nov. 22. In addition to the existing voice search function, the new service will allow customers to complete purchasing transactions solely through v

Samsung Electronics has teamed up with Qualcomm to manufacture Qualcomm’s new Centriq 2400 processor family, according to Qualcomm on Thursday. “The Qualcomm Centriq 2400 processor family is a single chip platform-level solution built using Samsung’s 10 nanometer FinFET process with 18 billion transistors on only 398 square millimeters,” Qualcomm said in a release.The two companies have long had a strategic partnership in the foundry area, and Samsung has used its 14-nanometer and 10-nanometer p

The nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said he believes that Ikea and Daiso should be subject to similar regulations as hypermarkets to prevent detriment to small businesses.The comments were made as part of nominee Hong Jong-haak‘s response to written inquiries made by the National Assembly as part of his confirmation process. Hong Jong-haak, nominated for the post of SMEs Minister (Yonhap)“Even if some brands are categorized as specialized stores, they should be subject to operation

Asiana Airlines’ chief executive took the stage to counsel youths on how to find the career that fits their dreams, according to the airline Wednesday.On Tuesday, Asiana Airlines hosted its sixth Asiana Dream Festival at Aram Nuri Aram Music Hall in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where Chief Executive Officer Kim Soo-cheon gave a talk to students as part of the airline’s 2,000th Saekdong Narae Classroom session. Asiana Airlines CEO Kim Soo-cheon (front row, fourth from left) poses with students at t

Competition in the heat-not-burn tobacco market in Korea is poised to intensify with the entrance of domestic cigarette giant KT&G’s new device lil. On Tuesday, KT&G announced that it would be releasing its lil device in Seoul on Nov. 20, with a trial sales period starting the week prior. The device is priced at 95,000 won ($85.20), and its corresponding Fiit sticks are priced at 4,300 won per pack of 20.The announcement came at a sensitive time, as the industry is closely watching whether the K

The seventh annual Herald Design Forum kicked off Tuesday morning with the slogan “Design for Humanity.”“Last year, we sparked a conversation about the integration of technology and design. This year, we are talking about the importance of putting people at the center of design no matter what new technology is introduced,” said Herald Corp. CEO Kwon Chung-won in the opening address.This year’s forum was held at The Shilla Seoul and drew over 700 audience members. Leading designers from all over

Allegations of sexual assault between employees have marred furniture brand Hanssem in controversy, with consumers even calling for a boycott of the firm’s products.In late October, a woman who identified herself as a new employee at Hanssem posted on an online community, alleging that she had been sexually assaulted multiple times since joining the company late last year. Hanssem's headquarters in Southern Seoul (Yonhap)According to the post, the woman was sexually assaulted at a motel by an em

CLASS FOR DREAMS -- Asiana Airlines pilot Lee Keun-young and flight attendant Kim Min-ji (in uniform) pose with students at the Kumho Music Hall at Shanghai Korean School in China Friday. Asiana Airlines held its first Saekdong Narae Class abroad in Shanghai on Friday, providing information about the airline industry and information on career planning to 300 students at Shanghai Korean School. Asiana has held over 2,000 Saekdong Narae classes in Korea since 2013. (Asiana Airlines)

Dunhill maker British American Tobacco has expanded sales of its heat-not-burn Glo systems to regional districts outside Seoul, offering the electronic Glo devices and Dunhill Neostiks at GS25 convenience stores in Busan, Daegu and Daejeon. Glo by British American Tobacco (BAT)The Glo system is used by heating the tobacco Neostiks inside the Glo device to produce vapor rather than smoke, potentially reducing the levels of toxins released into the body.Glo was first released at the brand‘s flagsh

Korean retailers are quickly gearing up for Singles' Day, China’s largest shopping event of the year, in the hopes of scooping up sales as relations between the two countries show signs of improving.Since early this year, Korean retailers have seen sales from Chinese tourists drop significantly after intergovernmental tensions over Korea‘s decision to deploy an American anti-missile shield here soured Chinese consumer sentiment towards Korea. However, with a recent agreement between the two coun

Low-cost carriers in Korea are preparing to go public, hoping to raise funds that will allow them to expand their route offerings as the short-haul market reaches a saturation point here.Jin Air, the budget airline affiliated with Korea‘s flagship carrier Korean Air, said Tuesday it had filed a registration statement with the Financial Services Commission and was on track to debut on Korea’s main bourse in early December. (Jin Air)The airline said the initial public offering would raise up to 38

Tech giant Apple announced prices for the iPhone X in Korea on Wednesday, raising eyebrows with the higher-than-expected sticker price.The iPhone X, the most expensive phone yet in the iPhone series, will cost 1.42 million won ($1,270) for the 64-gigabyte model and 1.63 million won for the 256 GB model. The phone is priced about 300,000 won higher than the iPhone 8, which was released in Korea last month. iPhone X (Apple Korea website)The announced prices are significantly higher than iPhone X p

Retailers are cautiously optimistic about the possibility of rising sales as relations between Korea and China show signs of reconciliation.On Tuesday, the Korean and Chinese foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying the two countries “agreed to expeditiously bring exchanges and cooperation in all areas back onto a normal track,” following a meeting between Korean security official Nam Gwan-pyo and China‘s assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou.The official statement came after a spoke

SPC Samlip said Monday that it is aiming to increase revenue from its lineup of fresh ready-to-eat products to 100 billion won ($89 million) by 2020, bringing total revenues for the company to 4 trillion won.“The fresh convenience food market including salads and ready-to-eat fruit is growing at more than 30 percent each year, and has infinite growth potential,” said Lee Myung-koo, CEO of SPC Samlip, at a ceremony commemorating the company‘s 72nd anniversary Friday. “With SPC Fresh Food Factory