SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea’s largest convenience store chain CU, said it signed a franchise deal with a Mongolian company on Tuesday, as the firm moves to accelerate its global drive amid fierce domestic competition. Under the agreement, local retailer Central Express will take charge of [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreigners-only casinos are showing better sales this year after a big dip last year caused by China’s retaliation over a diplomatic row, industry data showed Monday. Sales in January and February reached 204.78 billion won (US$191.56 million), up 15.9 percent from the same period last year, according to the [...]
SEOUL, April 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s second-biggest airline by sales, said Wednesday that the company received its fifth A350-900 wide-body jet from Airbus, allowing it to better meet the needs of the traveling public going forward. The plane is part of an order of 30 twin-engine jets placed by the airline as it upgrades its fleet. “The jet arrived [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of hotels in South Korea are catering towards children, as families make for lucrative guests. According to Lotte Hotel, the 20 Hello Kitty-themed rooms at Lotte Hotel Jeju are a hit. “Over 80 percent of the Hello Kitty rooms are booked throughout the year, while all rooms [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Kakao Mobility, a South Korean firm that provides cab-hailing and driver-for-hire services, said Tuesday it has added an artificial intelligence (AI) function to its ride-hailing operation. The AI-based “smart call” was added to South Korea’s most popular cab-hailing app Kakao Taxi so that a user can request a driver [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s IT firms are tapping deeper into the car-sharing industry, market watchers said Sunday, as demand for such services is expected to grow sharply over the upcoming years. According to the data compiled by Navigant Research, the global market for car-sharing services is expected to grow 21.8 percent [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Cinema will launch a video streaming service in June for the first time as a Korean cinema chain, the company said on Sunday. “We’re preparing for ‘Over the Top (OTT)’ and other new platform services with the aim of launching them in June,” Lotte said in a press [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — SK Holdings Co., the holding firm of South Korean energy and telecom conglomerate SK Group, has invested in Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab, a company official said Thursday. SK Holdings made the investment in mid-March, Lee Young-suk, an official handling brand management at SK Holdings, said. “We are interested in [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — CJ O Shopping is expanding its variety show style programs in an effort to attract younger viewers. The major South Korean TV shopping channel announced on Thursday a number of new ‘media commerce’ programs scheduled to air at midnight during the week. The term ‘media commerce’ refers to the collaboration [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Several taxi drivers who were caught ripping off foreign customers have been banned from entering Incheon Airport. In a first, nine taxi drivers who charged foreign customers unfair cab fares will not be able to operate at the airport for 60 days. The move comes after a list of [...]