A Jincheon-based online store has temporarily suspended taking new orders after a drastic surge in orders following the county’s decision to accept Afghan evacuees. In a statement released on the website Sunday, JC Mall said its order volume had jumped “more than twentyfold” since Friday, compared with other weekends. Its increased popularity comes after hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan were admitted to the Leadership Campus of the National Human Resources Development I

The government is set to bring back its cashback scheme for food delivery services next month to soften the blow from the fourth wave of COVID-19. Consumers will receive 10,000 won ($8.60) back for every four orders made on delivery apps worth 20,000 won each, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Sunday. The scheme is expected to take effect sometime before the Chuseok holiday next month to help boost spending in the hospitality industry. With some 20 billion won set aside for

Troubled automaker SsangYong Motor is speeding up the process of finding a new buyer after undergoing preliminary due diligence. The Korean arm of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra plans on receiving acquisition proposals until mid-September from potential buyers, according to industry sources Sunday, with a preferred bidder set to be chosen based on the acquisition price and business plan. A total of 11 investors from home and abroad have submitted letters of intent to take part in the

Forestry body chief talks multiple green projects and goals during his tenure Amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, more South Koreans are rediscovering the joy of immersing themselves in nature, heading out to rugged mountains away from crowded cities. With some 63 percent of its land covered in forest, as opposed to the global average of 30 percent, Korea is indeed a country for hikers, with mountaineering being one of the favorite hobbies of many. While more people are reconnecting

The global market for floating solar panels is set to more than quadruple by 2025, a recent report has revealed. The report published by Korea Energy Economics Institute on Sunday estimates that the total power generation capacity of floating solar farms around the globe had surpassed 3 gigawatts as of October 2020. By 2025, the volume will grow by another 10 GW, the institute said, citing data from market researcher Fitch Solutions. The findings come as the Korean government announced the G

South Korean companies, many of them in the manufacturing industry, face bigger environmental, social and corporate governance risks than their service-heavy European counterparts, the Federation of Korean Industries warned on Sunday. Compared to companies located in countries like France or the UK, those based in South Korea, China, and India are more vulnerable to risks stemming from global ESG trends, the FKI said in a report. ESG first gained traction among risk-conscious investors and are

Credit card company Samsung Card will divest all of its 19.9 percent stake in automaker Renault Samsung Motors, in a sale that would pull the plug on its parent Samsung Group’s old, botched auto dream. The company said the decision was made recently and has tapped Samsung Securities, Samsung Group’s financial investment arm, to lead the exit. “Though we are pursuing the stake sale, details such as the method of sale, the buyer and the process have yet to be decided,” t

Children from South Korea, the Canary Islands and China won Japanese automaker Toyota’s 14th Dream Car Art Contest. Lee Jae-yul, a 7-year-old from South Korea, won the award with a piece titled “Pollution Purifying Car.” The work depicts a time-traveling car that “travels to the past” and “absorbs the polluted air, turning it into fresh air for the future,” the company said. Se Eun Hong and Heng wei Xu from the Canary Islands and China, respectively,

Full-service carriers like Korean Air and Asiana Airlines continued to deliver profit thanks to their cargo business, drawing a stark contrast with low cost carriers amid a severe drop in international air travel due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Korean Air reported its fifth consecutive quarterly operating profit. Revenue in the second quarter of this year increased by 16 percent to 1.95 trillion won ($1.73 billion) and operating profit by 31 percent to 196.9 billion won co

South Korean resort developer Ananti delivered a record-breaking 111.8 billion won ($95.6 million) in revenue during the first half of this year, up 156 percent from a year ago. Its operating profit stood at 38 billion won, up by 65.8 billion won as it turned to profit. The firm’s revenue growth comes as its brand awareness grew, coupled with the burgeoning demand for private spaces for vacations. Some 54 percent of its revenue was generated from membership sales for their resorts, while

When travel and leisure platform operator Yanolja raised $1.7 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 last month, it drew comparisons with e-commerce giant Coupang, drumming up excitement over the recent startup boom in South Korea. “We have the super app Yanolja at home and a cloud-based automation solution for the international market. They are fast-growing markets with great potential and we believe the funding acknowledges our technology to keep things going and our great team,” Lee

South Korea’s top shipping company HMM’s operating profit rose to a record high during the second quarter on the back of growing shipping costs and strong demand. The company racked up 1.38 trillion won in operating profit, a regulatory filing released on Friday revealed, up over 900 percent compared to the same time one year ago. The figure also surpasses its performance during the first quarter, which stood at 1.19 trillion won in operating profit. Revenue rose 111 percent to 2.

Korean Air posted an operating profit for a for a fifth consecutive quarter Friday, citing its efforts to boost cargo operations and reduce costs. Revenue increased by 16 percent to 1.95 trillion ($1.73 million) and operating profit by 31 percent to 196.9 billion won ($174 million) compared to the same time last year. Despite a drop in passenger demand due to the COVID-pandemic, which has dealt a severe blow to the tourism and aviation sectors, the airline’s cargo business racked up a re

Hyundai Motor said Friday its manufacturing plant in Alabama in the US has produced 5 million vehicles in total since the facility began operations in May 2005. Some 2.56 million Sonatas were produced at the plant, as well as 1.48 million Elantras, 0.9 million Santa Fes, 36,989 Tucsons, and 1,784 Santa Cruzes. A Santa Cruz built in late July brought the automaker to the 5 million milestone. “The 5 millionth vehicle represents a tremendous achievement for Hyundai Motor North America. We

In early March, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang made its landmark debut on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $4.6 billion in an initial public offering that shattered expectations. The successful debut of the South Korean flag-waving Softbank-backed startup in the US stock market soon became a major talking point in an economy heavily dominated by a handful of conglomerates, capturing the excitement surrounding the growing number of local startups. The move also followed a year marked

Upward pressure is growing on retail milk prices, following an increase in the price of raw milk this month, but the government seeks to delay the price hike until the end of this year amid rising inflation. In July last year, the Korea Dairy Committee decided to raise the price of raw milk by 21 won to 947 won per liter starting this month, according to industry sources. The retail price of milk has yet to increase, but consumers will not learn until later this month, which is when major dai

The South Korean unit of French luxury brand Chanel has apologized after a recent cyberattack in which hackers leaked customers’ personal data. In a statement on the website on Sunday, the company said it had learned that the personal information of some customers from its membership database for the Fragrance and Beauty division-- including names, birth dates, phone numbers and shopping histories -- had been breached last week. Their payment information, IDs and passwords were not leake

Food delivery apps such as Baemin and Coupang Eats have brought us great comfort in this pandemic, as months of social distancing and restrictions on business hours left us with little choice. But as the market nearly doubled to 17.38 trillion won ($15.22 million) in South Korea last year, with 27 million monthly users and 120,000 riders according to Statistics Korea and the Fair Trade Commission, plastic waste has also increased considerably. In one Facebook group for people trying to avoid

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is looking into a case filed by legal counselling app LawTalk earlier this year against the Korean Bar Association after the organization decided to ban its members from joining such platforms. The clash between the disruptive mobile service and the bar association, which led to a series of tit-for-tat actions including a Constitutional Court case, could be judged from a fair trade point of view, if the FTC determines the association as a business assoc

Oriental Brewery said on Thursday that it has begun building solar power generation facilities at its beer production bases, a move that could offset over 5,600 tons of carbon footprint each year. Under the beer manufacturer’s decision to join the Renewable Energy 100 initiative, which is designed to encourage the use of solar power, it will become the first corporation to build its own infrastructure to generate renewable energy for self-consumption, the company said. The solar energy g