​Coupang launches free warranty service for some 400 categories of home appliances

SEOUL -- Coupang, the South Korean counterpart of Amazon, has taken a bold step to solidify its position as the top player in the country's red ocean ecommerce market. The company released a free warranty service for customers who buy home appliances through Coupang's one-day "Rocket Delivery" program. Launched in 2010, Coupang started off as a social media-based online shopping mall that offers cheaper products. The company adopted the Rocket Delivery system that u

October 18, 2023

CJ Cheiljedang releases plant-based dumpling in Britain and Australia

SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, a key subsidiary of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, has rolled out plant-based dumpling products in Britain, Australia, and Singapore. The plant-based products can be easily cooked using a microwave as they are provided with dumpling trays. The products are included in Cheiljedang's premium ready-to-cook product brand "Bibigo." The food company has nurtured Bibigo as a global brand. The brand has various food it

October 18, 2023

GI Innovation transfers allergy treatment technology to Japanese pharmaceutical company

SEOUL -- South Korea's biotechnology company GI Innovation has transferred technology for GI-301, an allergy treatment drug, to Maruho, a Japanese pharmaceutical firm specializing in skin diseases. The South Korean company received about 298 billion won ($219.7 million). GI-301 is a fusion protein that can efficiently deal with allergic reactions with its Immunoglobulin E (IgE), a type of antibody that migrates to cells. IgE overreacts to an allergen, triggering the production

October 16, 2023

Korean Air to showcase stealth unmanned aerial vehicle at aerospace and defense exhibition

SEOUL -- Korean Air, South Korea's flag carrier, will showcase its stealth unmanned aerial vehicle at "ADEX," an aerospace and defense exhibition in Seoul's satellite city of Seongnam. The company has carried out a military project to develop a low-observable unmanned aerial vehicle squadron since August 2022. In August 2022, the flag carrier was selected as the preferred bidder for the development of a squadron that involves one manned aircraft and three to four steal

October 16, 2023

SKC to sell polyurethane material division to focus on eco-friendly material businesses

SEOUL -- SKC, one of South Korea's top chemical product makers, will sell its polyurethane raw material business, in a bid to accelerate the company's businesses focused on secondary batteries, semiconductors, and eco-friendly materials. SKC said in a statement that through a board meeting held on October 12, the chemical company's board of executives decided to sell a 100 percent stake in SK pucore, the polymer material-making wing of SKC, for 410.3 billion won ($303.9 mil

October 13, 2023

Fried chicken brand BBQ opens first store in Costa Rica

SEOUL -- BBQ, a popular South Korean fried chicken franchise, has opened its first store in Costa Rica. Along with fried chicken, BBQ will provide Korean dishes including Tteokbokki, finger-sized rice cakes simmered in fiery-red spicy chili sauce, and stir-fried rice with kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented vegetable dish. The fried chicken brand, run by Genesis BBQ, is an iconic franchise in South Korea. Most BBQ chicken is less oily compared to chicken made by North American b

October 12, 2023

​POSCO International partners with oil refiner GS Caltex to build edible oil refinery plant in Indonesia

SEOUL -- POSCO International, a trading arm of South Korea's steel group POSCO, will work with GS Caltex, a major domestic oil refiner, to build a refinery plant for palm oil in Indonesia by the second quarter of 2025. The facility, with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons of refined oil, will be constructed in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo Island. Palm oil can be used to produce biofuel. GS Caltex has earlier partnered with POSCO and HMM, the world's eighth-l

October 12, 2023

Half-price small parcel service gains popularity among secondhand item traders: market data

SEOUL -- Half-price small parcel delivery services operated by convenience store franchises are gaining popularity among secondhand item traders, market data showed. South Korea has various logistics services mainly operated by major conglomerates such as CJ Group and Hanjin. Such services offer small parcel delivery services for about 5,000 won ($3.7) per box. Packages normally arrive at their destinations in two days. Larger parcels are more expensive but they also arrive at custom

October 12, 2023

LG Energy Solution records operating profit of $545.7 mln, up 40.1% year-on-year

SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution, the battery-making wing of South Korea's LG Group, estimated that its operating profit in the third quarter of 2023 was 731.2 billion won ($545.7 million), up 40.1 percent from a year ago. This is the highest record in the third quarter for the battery maker, which has strived to build supply chains in North America. LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on October 11 that its operating profit reached 731.2 billion won and sales increased to some 8.2 trillion

October 12, 2023

Prices of sugar and salt skyrocket by about 17% on-year in September 2023

SEOUL -- Prices of sugar and salt, the essential ingredients of food, have increased by about 17 percent on-year in September, showing the sharpest increase rate in 2023. The increase in the prices of sugar and salt could lead to increased prices of other products such as processed foods, drinks, and restaurant food menus. The price hike was caused by the increased import prices of raw sugar from countries such as Brazil, and Colombia and sudden. South Korea produces white and brown

October 11, 2023