Unionized workers of Asiana Airlines reiterated Thursday their opposition to a merger with the nation’s largest air carrier Korean Air, expressing their intention to block further procedures by all means. Asiana Airlines' labor unions urged the air carrier's main creditor Korea Development Bank and the European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator which gave conditional approval on the merger, to review the deal from the ground up. The possible future actions that Asiana

Industry July 11, 2024

Samsung C&T and its biotech subsidiaries Samsung Biologics and Samsung Bioepis, announced Thursday they would invest 72 billion won ($52 million) in a US fund focused on startups using AI-based new power drug development platform technologies. The investment will be made through the Samsung Life Science fund, created by the Samsung affiliates and managed by Samsung Venture Investment. The money will be invested in venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering's eighth fund, which has so far

Industry July 11, 2024

진행자: 김혜연, Kevin Lee Selzer [Herald Interview] INSEAD professor explores power of K-brands’ ‘identity marketing’ 기사 요약: HBR에 K-브랜드의 전략적 마케팅 사례 담은 저널 실은 INSEAD David Dubois 교수 [1] The recent success of Korean brands can be attributed to their knack for selling "pieces of identities" and empowering consumers with curated experiences, according to a marketing professor at French business school INSEAD. *attribute …의 결과로[덕분으로] 보다 *knack (타고난) 재주, (경험으로 익힌) 요령 [2]

Podcast July 11, 2024

LG Chem has pledged to increase humanitarian support for villagers affected by the 2020 gas leak accident at its Indian subsidiary LG Polymers. According to the company on Wednesday, its top executives, including Vice Chairman and CEO Shin Hak-cheol and Chief Financial Officer Cha Dong-seok, visited Andhra Pradesh, a southern coastal state of India, on Tuesday to meet with the state’s Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and local people. At the site, Shin expressed his deepest sympathy to

Industry July 10, 2024

GS Group's energy equipment manufacturing arm GS Entec announced Tuesday it plans to invest 300 billion won ($217 million) to transform its offshore wind power structures. The investment includes 214 billion won for the introduction of automated facilities to produce offshore wind power substructures and 86 billion won for the construction of additional buildings over the next two years. Established in 1988, GS Entec originally focused on chemical and oil refining plants. Since 2020, aligni

Industry July 9, 2024

FG Korea, the South Korean operator of US burger chain brand Five Guys, will open its store in Japan in the second half of next year, with plans to launch over 20 locations across the nation within seven years. FG Korea announced on Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Five Guys International last month to facilitate Five Guys' entry into the Japanese market. Five Guys was introduced to Korea by Kim Dong-sun, head of Hanwha Galleria strategic management and the third so

Industry July 9, 2024

KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man marked his 100th day in office on Monday by sharing his ambitions for higher performance by fostering a horizontal corporate culture that encourages open communication among employees. "In order to achieve sustainable growth, we need an organizational culture that inspires joy, meaning and motivation in our work," Bang reportedly said in an email sent to all executives and employees. "Let's enhance communication opportunities, eliminate inefficie

Industry July 8, 2024

Woomtree, a Korean company specializing in manufacturing gochujang (red chili paste) and other sauces, bets big on the global expansion of long-lasting and healthy "K-sauces," unlike instant foods with fleeting popularity. "People's interest in fermented food and well-being is growing around the world, and I think Korean fermented sauces are at the center of it," said Kim Woo-taek, founder and CEO of Woomtree, during an interview with The Korea Herald at the company'

Industry July 7, 2024

Yoon Hong-geun, chairman of Genesis BBQ, the nation's largest fried chicken franchise, shared the global success stories of the Korean fried chicken market in front of international scholars at the Academy of International Business, a prominent global association of scholars and business professionals. Under the theme "World Changer BBQ: A Case of Global Business Innovation," Yoon presented the global status and strategy of BBQ during AIB conference, held at the Lotte Hotel in cen

Industry July 5, 2024

The recent success of Korean brands can be attributed to their knack for selling "pieces of identities" and empowering consumers with curated experiences, according to a marketing professor at French business school INSEAD. "Consumers today expect to purchase more than just products from a brand; they seek cultural and social elements. The swift execution of these elements has given rise to many successful K-brands," said David Dubois, an associate professor specializing in d

Industry July 3, 2024

South Korea’s number of coffee shops exceeded 100,000 for the first time in 2022, reflecting the major trend of daily coffee consumption that has been continually growing in the country since 1999. According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, there were 100,729 coffee shops at the end of 2022, an increase of 4,292 from the previous year. Coffee shops generated 15.5 trillion won ($11.2 billion) in combined sales while hiring some 270,000 workers nationwide. Industry officials say the continuous

Industry June 30, 2024

South Korean biotech firm SK Bioscience is to acquire the German CDMO-specializing company IDT Biologika at 339 billion won ($244 million) to further sharpen and diversify its pipeline for global markets. IDT Biologika is among the top 10 global vaccine contract manufacturers, with a corporate value of some 656 billion won, according to SK Bioscience. "We are confident that our comprehensive process development capacity, which we take immense pride in, will have high synergies with IDT's st

Industry June 27, 2024

Logistics solution provider Hyundai Movex has secured some 300 billion won ($215 million) in cumulative overseas orders this year, indicating robust future growth prospects through global business. On June 18, Hyundai Movex signed a price-adjustment contract with Australia's Sydney Metro to install platform screen doors and mechanical gap fillers, increasing the total order value to 77.5 billion won from the 35.7 billion won contract signed in December 2022. The company will install 360 scr

Industry June 26, 2024

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea hosted the AmCham Automotive Summit 2024 on Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul to provide insights into the impact of sustainability initiatives on the automotive industry. Partnered with US applied safety science company UL Solutions and automobile manufacturer General Motors, the event brought together key government officials and industry leaders to explore the vast spectrum of changes within the industry. Under the theme, "Future Mobility Technolo

Industry June 25, 2024

This article is the second installment in a series of interviews and analyses on how South Korean corporations can sharpen their diplomatic capabilities to brighten their prospects for overseas growth in this mega-election year around the world. -- Ed. South Korea has ample room to strengthen its business diplomacy with the United States, particularly in trade and pivotal sectors such as clean energy and digital technology, according to James Fatheree, an executive director of The GR Company and

Industry June 24, 2024