SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – As South Korea grapples with relentless summer heat, an unlikely battleground has emerged: the thermostat. In office buildings and on subways, debates over air-conditioning settings have intensified, exposing a deep divide in how people experience temperature — and how they express it. Commuters trade complaints online, with some lamenting [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul Metro is appealing for commuter cooperation as it struggles to manage a flood of complaints over subway heating and cooling, with the vast majority concerning uncomfortably hot trains. From May to July this year, the operator received more than 340,000 temperature-related grievances — an average of 3,520 per [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – As summer temperatures soar past 30 degrees Celsius in Seoul, a peculiar scene unfolds in many of the city’s cafes: customers huddled in long-sleeved cardigans and shirts, seeking refuge from the arctic chill of overzealous air conditioning. On July 11, as the outdoor temperature climbed, a visit to a popular [...]
SEOUL, July 2 (Korea Bizwire) — This year’s air conditioning market is seeing new trends emerge as air circulators are outstripping electric fans in sales, and movable or window air conditioners are gaining popularity. E-Mart Inc., South Korea’s largest discount store chain by sales, announced Wednesday that total air conditioner sales from June 1 to [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean electronics firm LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it plans to tap deeper into the global chiller market currently dominated by U.S. rivals. The South Korean tech giant said the chiller market could become a new growth engine for its air-conditioning business, claiming that its sales will grow [...]
SEOUL, April 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales of air conditioners and electric fans rose sharply this month from a year earlier, industry sources said Thursday, amid above-average temperatures that can be a sign of a hot summer to come. Lotte HiMart, a consumer electronics retailer, witnessed a whopping 180 percent increase in the sales of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s finance minister on Wednesday said the government plans to install air conditioners at all military barracks and police dormitories, adding it will allocate more funds toward improving conditions at such facilities. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the government has allocated 63 billion won (US$56.2 million) of next [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – As part of energy-saving measures, the government will levy a fine of up to 3 million won (US$2,711.4) on shops, restaurants and other businesses that are caught leaving their front doors open with the air conditioning on, officials said Tuesday. The crackdown against wasteful air conditioning started earlier in [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung Electronics recently revealed a series of promotional videos for its new Q9500 ‘no-wind’ air conditioner featuring figure skater Kim Yuna. The new product keeps room temperature pleasant without producing wind. There are three parts to the video series – ‘no-wind air conditioning’, ‘no-wind dehumidification’, and ‘no-wind air purifying’. Each of [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul has launched a campaign for its ‘Cool Roof’ project, in which the city will paint roofs with thermal-barrier white paint for free, to mitigate the heat island effect and save energy. In the summer, roofs absorb heat and eventually lead to temperature increases inside buildings, causing air conditioning [...]