SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Online shopping has become the dominant channel for purchasing home appliances in South Korea, outpacing all other major product categories in digital penetration, according to newly released government data. Figures from Statistics Korea’s national portal show that online transactions accounted for 53.7% of total retail sales in the home appliance [...]
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has decided to fine Meta Platforms Inc., the operator of Facebook and Instagram, on charges of violating the country’s law on consumer protection. Meta Platforms was slapped with a 6 million-won (US$4,176) fine and ordered to take necessary measures to align with [...]
SEOUL, May 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Online shopping sales in South Korea gained 2.6 percent from a year earlier in March driven by rising demand for food products and relevant services, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 22.42 trillion won (US$15.72 billion) in March, up 576.8 billion won from a [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Coupang announced on April 27 that it has established a new recycling system to repurpose expired “Rocket Fresh Bags,” using their plastic components to manufacture cargo pallets. Introduced in March 2020, Rocket Fresh Bags are reusable insulated bags designed to deliver fresh food while minimizing environmental impact. Made from high-strength [...]
SEOUL, April 24, (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail sector is undergoing a seismic shift as e-commerce giants and traditional retailers alike double down on fresh food—a category once dominated by brick-and-mortar stores—as a key to future growth and survival. Coupang, the country’s leading e-commerce platform, is aggressively expanding its fresh food business in 2025, [...]
SEOUL, April 21 (Korea Bizwire) — As the U.S.-China trade war escalates in 2025, South Korea’s retail and small manufacturing sectors are bracing for a potential flood of low-cost Chinese goods that could destabilize domestic markets. Industry concerns have mounted following a series of aggressive tariff measures by former U.S. President Donald Trump. On April 9, [...]
SEOUL, April 15, (Korea Bizwire) — In an effort to protect consumers from online shopping mishaps, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has introduced a new self-assessment service designed to help residents identify and prevent potential e-commerce risks before making purchases. The interactive service, launched through the city’s E-Commerce Center, draws on an extensive database of 7,000 [...]
SEOUL, March 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s quick commerce (or “Q-commerce”) market—defined by delivery times under an hour—is rapidly expanding as major players including Emart, Naver, and Daiso aggressively enter the fray, intensifying competition in the nation’s retail and e-commerce sectors. Emart, the country’s largest hypermarket chain, has quietly rejoined the Q-commerce arena after [...]
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning to Costco Korea for violating e-commerce laws by requiring customers to visit physical stores to cancel certain membership types while allowing online sign-ups. The regulatory action, announced on March 24, specifically targeted Costco’s policy regarding its Executive memberships, which [...]
SEJONG, South Korea, March 17 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 22,000 cases of suspected deceptive advertising on social media were identified in South Korea last year, as authorities intensified efforts to regulate undisclosed sponsored content. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) released its 2024 Social Media Deceptive Advertising Monitoring Report on Sunday, revealing that 22,011 posts [...]