SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans’ rice consumption fell to a record low in 2025 as changing diets and eating habits continued to reduce demand, government data showed Thursday. Per capita rice consumption stood at 62.5 kilograms last year, down 3 percent, or 1.9 kg, from the previous year, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – American beef and pork products accounted for the largest share in South Korea’s imported meat market last year, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said Monday. In 2025, Korea imported a total of 468,122 tons of beef products, with U.S. beef taking up 220,427 tons, or 47.1 percent of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s franchise industry is bracing for wider legal and financial fallout after the Supreme Court of Korea finalized a ruling ordering Pizza Hut Korea to refund billions of won in improperly collected fees to franchise owners—a decision that could open the door to a wave of similar lawsuits across [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has ordered Pizza Hut Korea to refund 21.5 billion won (about $16 million) to franchise owners, ruling that the company illegally collected undisclosed margin-based fees without explicit contractual consent—a decision expected to reverberate across the country’s franchise industry. In a final ruling issued Thursday, the Supreme [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will import 2.24 million fresh eggs from the United States this month to help stabilize domestic egg prices amid the recent spread of highly contagious avian influenza (AI), the agriculture ministry said Wednesday. The eggs will be purchased by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., and [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court is set to deliver a closely watched ruling this month in a long-running dispute over franchise fees involving Pizza Hut Korea, a decision that could reshape the financial practices of the country’s franchise industry. According to the food service sector, the Supreme Court’s Civil Division 3 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s most familiar fish may soon become a luxury item. Mackerel, a staple of the Korean diet, is facing mounting supply pressures as climate change shrinks domestic catches and Norway — the country’s dominant foreign supplier — moves to sharply cut its harvest. The combined squeeze is already pushing [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Imports of long-life sterilized milk into South Korea have surged over the past decade, even as overall milk consumption declines and domestic dairy producers struggle with high costs and shrinking demand. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, imports of sterilized milk rose more than tenfold, from about 4,000 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Orion Corp., a South Korean food and health care company, said Monday it will invest 240 billion won (US$167 million) to expand its production facilities in Russia by 2027 to meet growing local demand for K-foods. Orion currently operates two plants in Russia — one in Tver and the [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s fried chicken industry has crossed a symbolic threshold, with the number of franchise outlets nationwide surpassing 30,000 for the first time, even as signs of market saturation intensify and growth prospects dim at home. According to the National Data Policy Agency’s 2024 Franchise Statistics released on December [...]