E-commerce giant Coupang will introduce a health care program to a select group of its delivery drivers, the company said Tuesday, as the country’s online shopping boom has left delivery workers exposed to even more relentless work conditions. Dubbed as “Coupang Care,” the program will see partakers set aside from their regular assignments and instead receive education on healthy diets, exercise and disease management from experts for four weeks. The drivers, known as “

Earlier this month, supermarket chain Homeplus announced a milk powder-scented body wash -- an unexpected three-way collaboration with LG Household & Health Care and Seoul Dairy Cooperative. The result set the internet abuzz over its quirky packaging that takes the shape of cartons of Seoul Milk, the bestselling milk in the country. “We came up with the retro product that lives up to the sentiment of consumers based on our experience as a milk buyer,” the company said in a stat

Food and beverage company Hy, previously known as Korea Yakult, said on Thursday it will enter the plant-based protein market with its new brand Protein Code. Though the company previously released protein-focused products, it marks the first time it has launched a brand dedicated to protein-heavy products. “Protein Code products are 100 percent plant-based, keeping in line with consumer trends such as going vegan and value-based consumption,” the company said in a statement. The

More retailers are joining the trend to go label-free on their water bottles amid growing environmental awareness and green marketing efforts in the industry. South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus said on Wednesday that it has so far sold some 1.34 million label-free bottles of water, which were released as part of its premium private brand Homeplus Signature late last month. Described as an “ethical consumption” product, the supermarket estimated the label-less water bottles red

South Korean distiller HiteJinro said on Tuesday it has extended an advertising partnership with Major League Baseball team LA Dodgers for another three years. First signed in 2012, the ongoing deal will help promote the company’s products and boosts its global brand awareness among local baseball fans during the Major League Baseball season, the company said. With the deal in effect until 2024, the two will have teamed up for more than a decade following the new signing. The move will

All South Korean airlines except Korean Air suffered operating losses during the first quarter of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic, which dealt a particularly severe blow to budget airlines, shows no sign of stopping soon. Asiana Airlines posted an operating loss of 11.2 billion won ($10 million) and a net loss of 230.4 billion won on Monday, though the losses narrowed compared to the same time a year ago. The country’s second-largest airline saw its revenue drop by 30.6 percent co

South Korean fashion brand Junn.J has revealed the uniform for staff at entertainment giant Hybe’s new museum. The ensemble consisting of a white T-shirt and a black wide sleeve top and a pair of black cargo jogger pants will be worn by staff at Hybe Insight, which opened last week on the two basement floors of Hybe’s new headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul. The design took on board Hybe Insight’s image, a venue where music can be experienced in various ways and Junn. J&rs

Korea Airports Corp. said on Monday that it is on course to lead a project worth 100 billion won ($88.2 million) to expand Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos. Once the ongoing deal is finalized, the move will see the public enterprise behind Gimpo and Jeju International Airports become a first in the country to pursue such a project in the Southeast Asian country. “Amid the prolonged coronavirus crisis and hardships surrounding it, we are honored to announce our foray into succe

Japanese beauty firm DHC has come under fire once again after its chairman used discriminatory language targeting ethnic Koreans in a recent column on its official website. CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida claimed the company’s request to place an advertisement in newspapers and air a TV commercial has been rejected by multiple media outlets in Japan. The proposed ad featured names of ethnic Korean celebrities who “deserve to be despised for the benefit of Japan,” according to the post.

Gmarket is holding its Mega G Festival, an online shopping event targeted at foreign shoppers at home and abroad until next Tuesday, offering discounts for a wide range of items including K-pop albums, K-beauty and Korean food products. The event kicked off on the Gmarket Global Shop in conjunction with eBay Korea’s Big Smile Day, a shopping event organized by operators of multiple e-commerce platforms including Gmarket, Auction and G9. The event saw some 2.87 million items sold on its op

South Korea‘s food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group said Friday it will start offering paid leave of up to three days to employees who get vaccinated for COVID-19. Including the day of vaccination, two more paid days off will be provided for each of the two shots and an additional day to those who experience symptoms from vaccination. “After a staff meeting last week where opinions on vaccine leave were heard, we decided to take on board those that are in the best interests

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang posted a record-breaking 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of this year as the business continues to grow in size but its operating loss nearly doubled due to an increase in operating and administrative costs. According to the firm’s earnings report, revenue was up 74 percent compared to one year ago, its biggest Q1 sales figure to date. “We ended the quarter with 16 million active customers, a 21 percent year-

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on Thursday it has approved a merger deal between web portal giant Naver’s streaming platform V Live and Weverse, a fan community platform created by entertainment company HYBE. The decision, which was made last week, comes after the FTC concluded the move is unlikely to reduce competition in the market following a review. Following a greenlight from the regulators, the move will see Weverse Company, a subsidiary of HYBE, take over V Live and Naver wi

South Korean liquor maker HiteJinro said on Wednesday it will bring popular lager Terra to the US, Singapore and Hong Kong. The move marks the first time the green-bottled beer will be sold outside Korea since its release three years ago, with a batch of 1.2 million 330-milliliter bottles set to hit the shelves in Hong Kong first, before they are made available in the US and Singapore. Terra will be supplied to Korean communities in the countries first, where high demand is expected, before be

Once fueled by an emphasis on social distancing and hygiene woes, contactless businesses are continuing to thrive in Korea nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic as companies rush to prepare for the post-pandemic era. Lee Do-shim, a 29-year-old Pilates instructor in Sejong City, is among the many who have become used to meeting basic necessities such as grocery shopping and getting takeout food without human interaction. “After the pandemic began, social distancing became the norm

Self-employed business owners suffered a major setback last year, with half of all sectors posting revenue drops from the previous year totaling 19.4 trillion won ($17.42 billion), new data revealed Tuesday. According to data from the National Tax Service obtained by Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, 29 out of 52 categories of self-employed business owners saw their revenue drop last year, with restaurateurs suffering the biggest loss as they saw 5.73 trillion evapor

The designer behind a controversial image used by South Korean convenience store chain GS25 -- accused of being “misandrist” -- has apologized to customers, store owners and colleagues for the inconvenience her work caused but rejected claims that she was part of a group known for mocking men online. In a post uploaded on Blind, an anonymous forum designed for employees of a corporation to discuss internal affairs, the designer, who remains anonymous, said she was breaking her silen

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has unveiled satellite recordings of some of South Korea’s landmarks captured by the country’s next-generation medium-sized satellite, including the Government Complex in Sejong, Seoul Olympic Stadium and the easternmost islets of Dokdo. The satellite, Compact Advanced Satellite 500 or CAS500, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakhstan on March 22, becoming the country’s first national land observation satellite.

Naver plans to expand its research and development network in the North American region, particularly focusing on Silicon Valley, as part of its globalization efforts, according to officials. The research team is seeking talent from across the globe who will be allowed to work in either Korea or the US, the South Korean internet giant said at 2021 Naver Search Colloquium which took place online on Friday. Kim Jin-young, the newly appointed Head of Data Science and Director of US R&D at Nav

Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea’s top messaging app KakaoTalk, posted a record-breaking revenue of 1.25 trillion won ($1.1 billion) for the first quarter, up 45 percent from a year earlier, the company said Thursday. Its operating profit also rose by 79 percent to a record-breaking 157.5 billion won during the same period, largely on the back of its taxi-hailing and digital wallet services. The relatively new platform business, including Talk Biz, Portal Biz and New Business, ra