The Korea Times

Hyundai Motor decides to sell only EVs in Norway this year

Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai MotorBy Kim Jae-heunHyundai Motor has decided to sell only electric vehicles (EVs) in Norway this year, the company said Sunday. As global automobile markets have been rapidly reorganizing and are centering on electric cars, Korea's largest automaker is seeking to test its EV-only sales strategy in the Norwegian market.According to Hyundai Motor's European branch, the automaker revealed its ambition to set a new milestone in the Scandinavian country in 2023. The carmaker ended sales of its plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) at the end of 2022 and started to sell only EVs in Norway, which will be its first attempt in the global market. “Our European branch has decided to only sell EVs in Norway and the headquarters in Seoul confirmed this,” a Hyundai Motor official said.The company had already announced plans to stop selling internal combustion engine cars in Europe from 2035 and will sell only EVs worldwide by 2040. Its decision to stop selling diesel cars in Norway has pushed forward its original plan in that cou

Jan 2, 2023By Kim Jae-heun

Hyundai Motor decides to sell only EVs in Norway this year

Companies

Retailers go all out to embrace Gen Z

Students of College of Design at Hanyang University ERICA pose during an award ceremony for a research project held by GS Retail at its headquarters in Seoul, on Dec. 22, 2022. Courtesy of GS RetailBy Kim Jae-heunLocal retailers are making various efforts to win the hearts of Generation Z consumers, or people born from 1997 onward, according to company officials Sunday. The companies seek to refocus their marketing strategies to target the group, which is leading the latest consumer trends.Many retailers, such as GS Retail and Lotte Mart, are seeking collaborations with university students.GS Retail recently conducted a research project with students at the College of Design at Hanyang University ERICA campus for two months from last November. Teams of young participants gave their ideas on the topic of ice pouch beverage packaging. The company carried out such project to collect unique and fresh ideas from trend-sensitive Gen Z designers, while establishing lines of communication with them. Students did not stop at only suggesting a simple pouch design, but went further by suggestin

Jan 1, 2023By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Samyang Foods to expand overseas business

Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jung-soo speaks about the company's medium and long-term vision during a conference held at its headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samyang FoodsBy Kim Jae-heunSamyang Foods will establish new departments dedicated to overseas sales and logistics to strengthen its global business in 2023, as part of its goal to become a top 100 food firm in the world. The company shared its medium and long-term vision at its business management conference held at its headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday.After the reshuffle, Samyang Foods will be reorganized from 85 teams in six divisions to 86 teams in eight divisions. Along with newly established overseas sales and logistics teams, the company will also create a support team. “In order to set strategies and accomplish tasks, it is most important to properly establish organizations that execute them. We would like to carry out a major reshuffle to expand our overseas business based on our 'Go-to-Market' plan,” Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jung-soo said. Kim's strategy suggests optimizing the global

Dec 30, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Samyang Foods to expand overseas business

Companies

Food firms introduce more products for seniors

Models hold Hyundai Green Food's care food products at Hyundai Department Store in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Nov. 11, 2020. Hyundai Department StoreBy Kim Jae-heunLocal food companies are introducing more products that are easy to chew and digest for elderly consumers amid the rapidly aging population and falling birthrates, according to industry officials Thursday. Lotte Confectionery, which closed its baby food business in October, plans to enter the senior-friendly food sector. “The baby food business is labor-intensive and inefficient. Due to the country's low birthrate, which deters us from expanding, we have decided to shut down the business,” a Lotte Confectionery official said. “Instead, we will beef up the home meal replacement business, which has high potential for growth, and also enter the food business for seniors.”The confectionery firm said it is still reviewing when and how it will target seniors. Shinsegae is also entering the senior-friendly food sector in 2023. Its food and beverage unit Shinsegae Food acquired a safe quality food certific

Dec 29, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Food firms introduce more products for seniors

Companies

Luxury brands expand range of children's products in Korea

A baby Dior boutique at Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul / Courtesy of Shinsegae Department StoreBy Kim Jae-heunThe children-focused products of international luxury brands such as Burberry, Moncler and Dior are enjoying growing popularity, as parents here are opening their wallets without hesitation for their children, according to industry officials Wednesday.South Korea has the world's lowest fertility rate, dropping down to lower than one child per woman in 2018. This makes the absolute number of students at elementary schools quite small. As the saying goes, “bear one child and raise them well,” Korean parents are certainly following the maxim and spending money generously on their children. The child-focused products made by luxury brands are as expensive as those for adults. Burberry's school bag and a trench coat for kids are sold for 1.05 million won ($828.5) and 1.45 million won ($1,144) at local department stores. The prices of Moncler's padded jackets are mostly way over 1 million won and many of them were out of stock here last year. Galleria Department St

Dec 29, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Luxury brands expand range of children's products in Korea

Companies

Eased regulations on major retail stores to intensify competition with e-commerce firms

Lotte Mart in Seoul closed on Feb. 28, 2021. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunAs Daegu Metropolitan City announced its plan to allow major retail stores to stay open on weekends, the city governments of Daejeon and Gwangju also began reviewing the possibility of adopting the same policy. The government is also positively discussing ways to allow the stores to continue overnight delivery services on a daily basis including Sundays.Currently, stores such as E-mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, are forced to stay closed on two Sundays every month. They are also banned from delivering online orders between midnight and 10 a.m. Stores in Seoul and the capital area cannot operate delivery services on the second and fourth Sunday of every month due to a local law that is intended to protect traditional markets. If the regulation is lifted, the major retailers will be able to use their stores as distribution centers and start offering an overnight delivery service.Currently, e-commerce firms such as Coupang, Market Kurly and Oasis are dominating the online delivery market. E-mart's logistics cente

Dec 28, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Eased regulations on major retail stores to intensify competition with e-commerce firms

Tech & Science

Korea starts operation of first autonomous buses

The country's first self-driving bus in service passes a bus station in Sejong City, Tuesday. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's first self-driving buses will start operating on a 22.4-kilometer route between Sejong Intercity Bus Terminal and Osong Station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday.The Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development had wanted to create and promote an autonomous commercial bus system in the region, so it selected the project as a joint business initiative. The self-driving buses will be given a separate route number and operate alongside regular city buses. For now, only two autonomous buses will operate on the course, which is called the bus rapid transit route or BRT. A driver and safety worker will be aboard for safety reasons. Self-driving buses will run a total of six round trips between noon and 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday and will stop at eight stops on the existing BRT route. Anyone can use the autonomous bus for free by applying for the trial program in advance with a QR

Dec 27, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Korea starts operation of first autonomous buses

Companies

Hanwha, Doosan launch wine biz to compete with Shinsegae, Lotte

People look around a wine store in Emart, Seoul, on June 3. NewsisBy Kim Jae-heunHanwha and Doosan have recently launched their own wine businesses to compete with local retail giants. Doosan opened a large-scale wine bar called Tap Shop Bar at its Doota Mall in Dongdaemun, central Seoul, on Dec. 16. Customers can try various wines at the store and buy bottles of wine. Doosan said it wants to ride on the popularity of the wine-consuming trend among young consumers by opening the shop to revive its shopping mall, which has suffered a long slump due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Hanwha Group's chemical unit, Hanwha Solutions, spent $34 million (43.3 billion won) to acquire Seven Stones winery in Napa Valley, California, the largest wine producer in the United States, in early December. Napa Valley produces 0.4 percent of the world's wines and 4 percent of California wines. The company said it purchased the wine brand with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of its resort business, part of Hanwha Solution Insight. It is not the first time that a domestic firm has purchased a winery

Dec 27, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Hanwha, Doosan launch wine biz to compete with Shinsegae, Lotte

Companies

Insanga CEO selected for Proud Small Business Owner title

By Kim Jae-heunInsanga CEO Kim Yoon-seThe CEO of Insanga, a local company manufacturing bamboo salts and health functional foods, was selected as a Proud Small Business Owner in the fourth quarter of this year by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs, Sunday.The Proud Small Business Owner is an award given by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Federation of SMEs, which discovers and rewards outstanding entrepreneurs who have contributed to the development of the nation's economy, such as export growth and technology development.Kim Yoon-se, the CEO of Insanga, led the industrialization of bamboo salts in 1987 with the government's permission to produce the healthy substance for the first time in Korea.He has also written and published more than 10 books related to health and medicine over the last 30 years and was designated as a food master by the country. In addition, the CEO received a presidential citation in 2016 for his contribution to the development of the related industry. His company also become the first bamboo salt maker to be lis

Dec 26, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Insanga CEO selected for Proud Small Business Owner title

Companies

Woowa Brothers to root out malicious reviews

An employee of Woowa Brothers walks into the comopany's headquarters in Songpa District, Seoul, in this undated file photo. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunWoowa Brothers, operator of the country's largest food delivery platform Baedal Minjok (Baemin), has adopted a new review management policy based on the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) newly enacted international covenant on online consumer reviews (ISO20488), according to company officials Friday. The move is designed to protect restaurant operators, as more and more consumers leave malicious or irrelevant comments about food or restaurant service.Woowa Brothers CEO Lee Kuk-hwanIt is the first time for a local platform to establish a review policy based on a global standard convention. The delivery platform operator conducted related research with Konkuk University's Digital Communication Research Center and set the three main values of its new review policy as “trust,” “protection of rights and interests” and “openness.”The company also included authenticity, accuracy, personal inf

Dec 23, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Hyundai Motor decides to sell only EVs in Norway this year

Retailers go all out to embrace Gen Z

Samyang Foods to expand overseas business

Food firms introduce more products for seniors

Luxury brands expand range of children's products in Korea

Eased regulations on major retail stores to intensify competition with e-commerce firms

Korea starts operation of first autonomous buses

Hanwha, Doosan launch wine biz to compete with Shinsegae, Lotte

Insanga CEO selected for Proud Small Business Owner title

Woowa Brothers to root out malicious reviews

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