SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s franchise industry is showing widening fault lines between franchisors and franchisees, as corporate headquarters enjoy rising revenue while their outlets grapple with falling earnings. Data released Friday by corporate tracker Leaders Index revealed that across seven key sectors — coffee and beverages, fried chicken, pizza, convenience stores, bakeries, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of car accident cases in South Korea claiming sudden unintended acceleration has dropped sharply this year, signaling a shift in public perception toward recognizing driver error as the more likely cause. According to data obtained by Rep. Jung Choon-saeng of the Rebuilding Korea Party from the National Forensic [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — As soaring bakery prices push past 10,000 won for just a few items at franchise shops, Koreans are increasingly turning to low-cost private label (PB) bread sold at convenience stores and large retailers. The shift has fueled what industry insiders are calling a “budget bakery boom,” with PB bread [...]
South Korea’s Electric Vehicle Fleet Surpasses 800,000 as Green Transition Accelerates SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s shift toward eco-friendly mobility is gathering pace, with the country’s electric vehicle (EV) registrations surpassing 820,000 as of August, government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a total of 822,081 electric [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of coffee beans jumped sharply from a year earlier in 2024, with imports this year widely expected to reach an all-time high, customs data showed Thursday. Imports of coffee beans, including both raw and roasted products, came to US$1.24 billion last year, up 13 percent from $1.1 billion the previous year, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea ranked second after Vietnam in per capita consumption of “ramyeon,” or instant noodles, in 2024, a global industry association said Thursday. South Korea’s overall ramyeon consumption reached 4.1 billion units last year, ranking eighth worldwide, while its per person consumption stood at 79.2 in the country of [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — As investigators probe the cause of the recent fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service (NIRS) data center, attention is turning to the safety of the lithium-ion batteries used in its uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system—reviving debate over pouch-type battery risks and accelerating the industry’s shift toward prismatic [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Food prices in South Korea have risen more than 20 percent over the past five years, far outpacing overall inflation and placing a growing strain on household budgets. According to data released Wednesday by the National Data Office, the consumer price index for “food and non-alcoholic beverages” in September [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s leading food delivery platform Baedal Minjok (Baemin) is seeing surging demand for its “One Bowl” service, which targets the country’s rapidly expanding population of single-person households. According to the company, cumulative orders for the service — launched in April — exceeded 10 million by the first week [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — What began as a side business rooted in Korean culinary tradition has become a full-fledged export strategy for the nation’s top hotels. As premium kimchi gains traction among global consumers, luxury hotel brands are ramping up production and shipping abroad. According to the hospitality industry on Tuesday, Walkerhill Hotel [...]