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IKEA sued for unfair labor practice

IKEA Korea Country Retail Manager Fredrik Johansson purchases product at an IKEA Lab store that opened Thursday in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul. / Yonhap By Kim Jae-heunIKEA Korea's union filed a complaint to the Ministry of Employment and Labor against the company for preventing them from picketing at the stores to improve their working environment. The union took a vote Monday on requesting the company to improve their working conditions to match the global standard in other IKEA stores around the world, and 96 percent of them said yes.This led the group to start protesting the next day at the stores. However, IKEA Korea immediately took down their placards and separated them from non-union members while transferring workers to different teams. The union expressed anger about the company's response and suppression of its lawful act of dispute by calling it a strike. From February this year, IKEA Korea's union has been negotiating with the firm to raise the salary f

Nov 6, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
IKEA sued for unfair labor practice
Companies

Prosecutors reopen case against McDonald's

Parents of children suffering hemolytic uremic syndrome allegedly after eating at McDonald's hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office in Seocho District, Seoul, in July 2017. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunProsecutors raided McDonald's Korea's headquarters in downtown Seoul, Tuesday, reopening its investigation into a 2017 case connected to four children who contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) sometimes referred to as “hamburger disease.”HUS is a disease in which bacterial infection deteriorates one's kidney function. In October 2016, a four-year-old girl was diagnosed with the condition after eating a Bulgogi Burger at the U.S. fast food restaurant, resulting in the girl requiring lifelong dialysis.Her parents, along with families of three other victims, sued McDonald's Korea and its patty supplier for violating the Food Sanitation Act in July 2017. After seven months of investigation, prosecutors cleared McDonald's Korea of the charges.Instead, it put three patty suppliers on trial for allegedly providing possibly contaminated in

Nov 4, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Prosecutors reopen case against McDonald's
Politics

Korean, Malaysian military chiefs agree to boost defense cooperation

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul speaks to his Malaysian counterpart Gen. Affendi Bin Buang, in his office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapKorea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul held a video call with his Malaysian counterpart, Gen. Affendi Bin Buang, on Tuesday and vowed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the defense field, Won's office said.During the 30-minute dialogue, the two military leaders discussed responses to the new coronavirus and ways to further deepen their bilateral relationship, according to the JCS.Congratulating Won on his inauguration, the Malaysian general voiced hope for stronger defense ties and brisk exchanges between their militaries. Won took office as the 42nd JCS chairman last month.Won also praised the 60-year-old diplomatic relationship between the two countries and proposed continued efforts for cooperation in military and defense industry fields, the JCS added. (Yonhap)

Nov 3, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Korean, Malaysian military chiefs agree to boost defense cooperation
Politics

Ministry calls for IAEA efforts to ensure Japan's transparent handling of Fukushima treated water

Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency's department of safeguard Massimo Aparo waves his hand as he walks into the conference hall in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's building in Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapKorea called Tuesday for the U.N. nuclear watchdog to play an "active" role in ensuring Japan's transparent and safe handling of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the foreign ministry said.Ham Sang-wook, deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, made the call during an annual policy consultation with Massimo Aparo, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s department of safeguards."On the occasion of this consultation, our side stressed the contaminated water issue is a crucial matter that can affect the safety and environment of Japan's neighboring countries and of the entire international community," the ministry said in a press release."It asked the IAEA to play an active role in terms of securing transparency and verifying the safety in all processes of the Japanese government crafting measures to disp

Nov 3, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Ministry calls for IAEA efforts to ensure Japan's transparent handling of Fukushima treated water
Politics

Russia's COVID-19 cases could peak in mid-November, says health watchdog

A volunteer of the All-Russian Student Corps of Rescuers disinfects facilities of the Victory Museum amid the COVID-19 pandemic. / YonhapMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's coronavirus cases could peak in the middle of November, the country's consumer health watchdog estimated on Tuesday, as authorities reported more than 18,000 new infections nationwide.The peak would be roughly mid-November, Alexander Gorelov, deputy director of a research institute at Rospotrebnadzor, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency."It is difficult to give a more accurate forecast as many factors affect the development of the epidemiological process," he said.Officials have repeatedly said that Russia does not intend to reimpose the strict lockdown restrictions that were in place in the spring, despite a surge in cases and deaths across the country.Moscow's health department said 367 patients in the capital were being treated with medical ventilators and that 1,355 had been hospitalized in the last 24 hours, a rise of 224 since Sunday, the last available data.Russia reported 18,648 new coronavirus cases

Nov 3, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Russia's COVID-19 cases could peak in mid-November, says health watchdog
Companies

FTC launches probe of Kychon F&B ahead of IPO

Kyochon F&B executives speak online about the company's IPO plan from its headquarters in Seoul on Oct 22. / Korea times fileBy Kim Jae-heunThe Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is investigating the country's largest fried chicken franchise Kyochon F&B, which plans to go public next Thursday. Kyochon has been accused of forcing its franchisees to bear the costs of remodeling restaurants across the country. The franchise dealers requested a mediation of the dispute from the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency, but it was rejected. This is not the first time the chicken franchise has been accused of unfair trade practices ― similar complaints arose in August and October. Kyochon received a warning in the first case and was cleared of suspicion in the second. If Kyochon is found guilty this time, the decision might affect its initial public offering (IPO) plan. There are already concerns because of the high expectations for Kyochon's business; no food and beverage (F&B) firm has achieved success after going public. MP Group, which operated Mr. Pizza, took an indirect way by m

Nov 3, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
FTC launches probe of Kychon F&B ahead of IPO
Companies

'We want to be where the future of skincare begins'

Head of Ventures and New Business at Beiersdorf Korea Jacek Brozda poses in his office in Seoul, Nov. 2. / Courtesy of Beiersdorf KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunJacek Brozda, head of Ventures and New Business at Beiersdorf Korea, founded the NIVEA Accelerator (NX) together with general manager Endrik Hasemann in June 2019. NX is Beiersdorf's first global beauty startup accelerator program which aims to empower selected Korean beauty enterprises by forming strategic partnership agreements with the Hamburg-based cosmetic company that operates NIVEA, Eucerin and La Prairie.Believing that Korea is the frontrunner in beauty and digital technologies, Brozda and Hasemann decided to make Korea the flagship location for the NX. “In fact, no other location in the world has the combination of a leading-edge startup ecosystem, technology ecosystem and beauty ecosystem. This brings Korea into the best position to develop new skincare trends,” Brozda said. “In other words, with NX we want to be where the future of skincare begins.”Brozda first came up with an idea of this project with

Nov 2, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
'We want to be where the future of skincare begins'
Companies

Is Coupang following in footsteps of Amazon?

Coupang's logistics center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province / Korea times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's largest e-commerce firm Coupang has been benchmarking every business strategy its U.S. role model Amazon has adopted. Its recent move to start its own over-the-top (OTT) service seems to be a move to offer video on demand (VOD) streaming services like that of Amazon's Prime Video.Amazon has already become one of the top OTT players with its Amazon Prime Video service launched in September 2006. The logistics titan took a video content service for its online shopping mall and converted it into an internet VOD service. Now, the platform has 150 million users worldwide.Coupang successfully registered its online music streaming and VOD content service businesses with the government last Tuesday.It also applied for trademarks for “Rocket Wow Play” and “Coupang Wow Play” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) last month. The two titles are thought to be possible names for Coupang's OTT and live commerce services. Coupang looked set to l

Nov 2, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Is Coupang following in footsteps of Amazon?
Politics

EBay Korea starts 'Mega G' sale festival

Logo of Mega G Festival hosted by eBay Korea / Courtesy of eBay KoreaEBay Korea began an online sale for products related to K-pop, Korean food and Korean cosmetics this Sunday. The sale will continue on the e-commerce firm's Gmarket Global Shop until Nov. 12 Gmarket Global Shop has been selling Korean goods targeting global customers based on its 20 years of retail knowhow. Gmarket, one of the two e-commerce websites eBay Korea operates along with Auction, collaborates with social media influencers to discover new items and promote them online. Korean cosmetics firms, in particular, enjoyed soaring sales thanks to popular YouTubers featuring their beauty products on their channels. Only in September, local cosmetics firms like rom&nd, Etude House and Jayjun showed their revenue skyrocketed by 290 percent, 160 percent and 110 percent, respectively, compared to the same month of last year. Mega G is the biggest sale campaign organized by Gmarket in a link to eBay Korea's annual sales event Big Smile Day. All the Korean products there are on sale for a special price with some items

Nov 2, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
EBay Korea starts 'Mega G' sale festival
Companies

Coway's new water purifier 'icon' goes viral

Coway's icon water purifier / Courtesy of CowayBy Kim Jae-heunLocal home appliance maker Coway's new water purifier “icon” is receiving much attention from the market for its product quality and innovation.Icon is setting new standards for water purifying machines that they should of course remove undesirable chemicals and biological contaminants and operate silently. Plus, its biggest strength lies in its small size, despite multiple functions it includes that other bigger machines don't have. Coway has been focusing on reducing the size of its water purifiers as other home appliances have started to take up more and more space in the kitchen. Customers begin to look for machines that come in a smaller size and Coway's product that stretches 34 centimeters in length and 18 centimeters in width is very much welcomed. In particular, its length size is perfectly small to put it in any position in the kitchen for people to use while placing a big bowl or pot in front of it.Customers sensitive to noise give credit for the reduced machine sound during tap water purification. I

Nov 1, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Coway's new water purifier 'icon' goes viral
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