SEJONG, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Commission fees given by duty-free shops to travel agencies increased sharply to reach nearly 1 trillion won (US$872.4 million) last year on heated competition to attract more foreign travelers, customs data showed Thursday. Twenty-two local duty-free operators paid a combined 967.2 billion won to tourist agencies and guides in [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean court said Thursday that it has decided to end a rehabilitation plan for embattled Hanjin Shipping Co., heralding the liquidation of the country’s one-time top shipping line. The Seoul Central District Court said it will announce the liquidation for the cash-strapped shipping firm on Feb. 17. [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s science ministry said Thursday that it will spend 315.7 billion won (US$273.7 million) this year to develop new bio technology, as part of efforts to become a global biotech and medical industry hub. The 2017 budget, a 31.4 percent jump from a year earlier, is aimed at [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – More South Koreans, noticeably young people and women, are putting less emphasis on traditional values such as family and marriage, a survey showed Thursday. The survey was conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) on people aged over 18 in 2006 and 2016. It showed [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – General Motors Co. and Tesla Motors Inc. are poised to debut their long-range electric vehicles (EVs) in South Korea this year in a move that could help galvanize the budding local EV market dominated by short-range models, industry sources said Thursday. GM Korea Co., GM’s South Korean unit, is [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – SK Innovation Co., the country’s No. 1 oil refiner, said Thursday that its affiliate has decided to take over Dow Chemical Co’s ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) business in a bid to diversify its business portfolio. Its affiliate SK Global Chemical Co. will buy Dow Chemical’s EAA business for US$370 [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Two South Korean public institutes said Thursday that augmented reality and virtual reality are two of the most promising industries in the next eight years. A joint analysis by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade showed that augmented reality [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in more than four years in January on a sharp rise in food prices, government data showed Thursday. The country’s consumer price index gained 2 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month’s 1.3 percent rise, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government has introduced new labelling standards for GMOs in food products that will take effect on February 4, but the measure is not likely to quell criticism that Korea, like the E.U., should implement official guidelines to oblige companies to identify all food products that make [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea mobilized four of its new “Wildcat” maritime helicopters for military operations Wednesday, aircraft that will be primarily responsible for neutralizing threats from North Korean submarines. The four aircraft are among eight AgustaWestland AW-159 Wildcat choppers delivered to the navy last year, with the other four to be [...]