SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean companies and duty-free shops remain jittery over China’s threats that the deployment of a high-tech U.S. missile defense battery on South Korean soil would wreak havoc on their business, industry sources said Thursday. With Seoul and Washington pushing ahead with the deployment in defiance of China’s strong [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of newlyweds in South Korea shrank nearly 15 percent in December 2016 amid a widespread late marriage trend, government data showed Thursday. Some 28,400 couples tied the knot in December last year, down 14.7 percent from 33,300 cases tallied in the same month in 2015, according to [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s seafood imports rose for the third straight year in 2016 on rising demand for healthier food and ingredients, government data showed Thursday. The total value of imported seafood reached US$4.79 billion in 2016, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Make-up products accounted for more than half of the annual sales at duty-free shops in South Korea last year, fueled by brisk demand from foreign tourists immersed in Korean entertainment culture, data showed Thursday. The combined cosmetics revenue from duty-free chains, including top players Lotte Duty Free and Shilla [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors has begun receiving orders for its luxury Model S electric vehicle that is expected to be officially launched in South Korea in May, market sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Tesla Korea, the local distributor of the car, recently informed local customers who [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Delivery subscriptions for products other than conventional newspapers or milk are becoming more popular in South Korea, and now address a variety of needs and wants including personal interests and pastime activities. According to BINS 3.0, SK Planet’s social analysis system, online mentions of “delivery subscription” – on blogs, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s de facto leader, again showed up in handcuffs (covered with cloth) at the special prosecution’s office in Gangnam, Wednesday afternoon, for the third interrogation session since his arrest on February 17. South Korea’s third richest man (Forbes, 2016), after his father Lee Kun-hee and AmorePacific chairman [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of underage children using their parents’ credit cards or cell phones (direct carrier billing) to pay for their gaming ventures is on the rise, and as a result, refund requests from parents receiving monthly billing surprises are also growing. According to the Korea Consumer Agency, there were [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Korea’s largest automotive event, the Seoul Motor Show, will run from March 31 to April 9, but is likely to be a disappointment for the legions of local car fanatics. According to the organizing committee, nine local and 18 overseas car brands will participate in this year’s show, which [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday sought a 15 million won (US$13,117) fine against the Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho for driving under the influence of alcohol. The Seoul Central District Court held a hearing for Kang and his friend who lied to police about being the driver of the [...]