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Gmarket, Auction's 'Big Smile Day' festival gain popularity

“Big Smile Day” promotional poster Courtesy of GmarketBy Kim Jae-heun“Big Smile Day,” the country's largest shopping festival hosted by e-commerce firms Gmarket and Auction, is enjoying huge popularity in its ninth year. The festival is being held from May 16 to 27 ― and it is the first year of Big Smile Day since the two online platforms combined with Shinsegae Group.All of Shinsegae's online retail units including SSG.com and W Concept participated in the sales event to maximize the benefits for their customers. There are items exclusively on sale for Big Smile Day and Shinsegae also prepared discount e-coupons to stimulate consumer sentiment. This year's Big Smile Day gathered some 30,000 sellers online. The shopping festival increased the number of its sponsorship partners from three to six by adding L'Oreal, Nongshim and Roborock.Global IT companies like Apple, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have joined the mega sale as well. Compared to last year's Big Smile Day, the number of participating brands increased by 10 percent this year. Here, Gmarket

Jun 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Gmarket, Auction's 'Big Smile Day' festival gain popularity
Companies

Restaurant owners reel due to soaring ingredient prices

People eat instant noodles at a picnic table outside a convenience store in Seoul, May 25. NewsisBy Kim Jae-heunA 34-year-old owner of a salad restaurant surnamed Kim expected his business to improve shortly after the government drastically eased COVID-19 quarantine measures on April 18. However, soaring prices of wheat, cooking oil and other ingredients triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have severely impacted his business.“All of the food ingredients from pork to vegetables necessary to make my restaurant's salads have had their prices increased. Also, I am not receiving as many online orders compared to before the government's lifting of social distancing restrictions,” Kim said.A 35-year-old coffee shop owner surnamed Lee also said his store profits did not rebound instantly after regulations were lifted, because he has to spend 25 percent to 30 percent more on ingredients.“The prices of coffee beans and milk soared so much that I am barely making a profit. And I can't just increase the prices of my caffeinated beverages because then people will just go t

Jun 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Restaurant owners reel due to soaring ingredient prices
Companies

Woowa Brothers founder visits US to see cooking, delivery robots

Woowa Brothers founder Kim Bong-jin, left, and Prof. Dennis Hong of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles check out a robot at Hong's laboratory in Los Angeles on June 1. Screencaptured from Dennis Hong's InstagramBy Kim Jae-heunWoowa Brothers founder Kim Bong-jin recently visited University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to check out the latest robot developed by Dennis Hong, a professor and founding director of the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa), according to Hong's Instagram. Hong posted pictures of Kim and himself at his research center on June 1, where the founder was looking at a robot standing on its own feet. Hong said in his interview with a local media outlet that the Woowa Brothers founder recently visited his laboratory at the UCLA campus.Kim is currently expanding Woowa Brothers' business partnerships with local and international companies that develop robots specializing in food delivery and cooking. In 2019, Woowa Brothers, which operates Korea's top food delivery app Baedal Minjok, said it will invent a cooki

Jun 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Woowa Brothers founder visits US to see cooking, delivery robots
Politics

Corporate sponsors in dilemma over Son Heung-min's skyrocketing model fee

Football star Son Heung-min appears in Binggrae's ice cream advertisement in 2019. Courtesy of BinggraeBy Kim Jae-heunA number of companies are facing a dilemma over whether to extend their advertisement contracts with football star Son Heung-min as his modeling fees have skyrocketed in line with his improved performance in the English Premier League (EPL), according to company officials Wednesday. Son's fees have soared over the past few days after he scored 23 goals in the 2021-2022 EPL season, becoming the first Asian player to win the Golden Boot. Many companies signed advertisement contracts with Son that expired with the end of this EPL season.Shampoo manufacturer TS Trillion hired Son as a main model in its commercial for three years until this April. However, the company can no longer afford his pricey fee and decided to not use him.“It's a shame that we could not have him as our advertisement model when he just became the top scorer in the EPL. Our shampoo product became well-known to many people as Son's shampoo, thanks to his high profile in the country,” a TS

May 26, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Corporate sponsors in dilemma over Son Heung-min's skyrocketing model fee
Companies

D&S Technology showcases latest anti-terrorism devices

D&S Technology President Lee Won-woo, left, and Korea Institute for Crisis management Analysis Chairman Kim Woon-yong, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation. Courtesy of D&S TechnologyBy Kim Jae-heunD&S Technology participated in the first anti-terrorism policy development seminar, organized jointly by the Korean National Police University (KNPU) and the Korea Institute for Crisis management Analysis (KICA) on Tuesday, where counterterrorism experts discussed ways to defend important national and multi-use facilities.The seminar was held at the KNPU's building in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and attended by more than 100 military experts including KICA Chairman Kim Woon-yong, National Counter Terrorism Center Director Kim Hyuck-soo, and KICA Counter Terrorism Center head Moon Young-ki. The seminar stressed the importance of examining the terrorism response system on the state level, in a time when the presidential office recently moved to Yongsan District.Experts all agreed that it is a good time for discussions on how to prepare

May 25, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
D&S Technology showcases latest anti-terrorism devices
Companies

Daewoo E&C offers health programs for workers

Daewoo E&C's employee healthcare program poster / Courtesy of Daewoo E&CBy Kim Jae-heunAfter the Korean government decided to lift most of the social distancing rules against COVID-19 recently, people's expectations for returning to normal life have been growing. But because so many people became used to night curfews and working from home over the last two years, they are suffering from aftereffects of the pandemic, or the so-called “Corona Blues.”Corona Blues refers to depression and lethargy induced by self-isolation and social distancing. Many office workers are experiencing emotional difficulties attributed to sudden changes in their work environment and interpersonal relationships resulting in fatigue, reduced work efficiency and depression. In response, a number of local companies are implementing various mental health management programs for their employees. Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) has been running its “Shim Care” mental health program since 2015. The company formed a partnership with Kangbuk Samsung Hospital to i

May 25, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Daewoo E&C offers health programs for workers
Companies

Lotte to pull out of China, focus on Southeast Asia

Lotte Mart in Fengtai District, Beijing / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunLotte, Korea's largest retailer, has decided to pull out of China altogether, due to the country's continued retaliation against Korean firms after Seoul's decision to station a U.S. anti-missile battery in 2016, as well as sluggish private consumption amid the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown. Instead, Lotte plans to focus on Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian markets.Lotte will close down its Chinese headquarters in the first half of this year and most of its employees there have already returned to Korea, the company said Sunday. The only process left is the cancellation of its business license.“We have practically completed the withdrawal of our business from China. We only have paperwork left. We are maintaining our stance on expanding our business in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, but COVID-19 is still a problem there so we are closely watching the situation,” said an official at Lotte Holdings, which is the conglomerate's parent company. Lotte establish

May 23, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Lotte to pull out of China, focus on Southeast Asia
Companies

Lotte, Shinsegae to compete in NFT market

Pink-colored bear character Belly Gom's gigantic sculpture is installed in front of Lotte World Tower in Seoul, on April 23. Courtesy of Lotte HomeshoppingBy Kim Jae-heunKorea's two largest retailers Lotte and Shinsegae are competing in the non-fungible token (NFT) market by introducing their own bear characters, according to company officials Tuesday. This is seen as a step toward ultimately building a metaverse platform where they will attract customers to shop in the three-dimensional (3D) virtual world.Lotte Homeshopping opened an NFT marketplace called NFT SHOP on Monday and started selling the NFT of its pink-colored bear character “Belly Gom.” There have been several cases where local crypto exchanges have introduced NFT markets, but it is the first that a retailer has opened one. Lotte Homeshopping will make a 60-second video of 3D Belly Gom NFTs and sell a limited number of 300 for 60,000 won ($47.36) each. Lotte is also planning to introduce various NFTs of its virtual model Lucy in the near future. “Following the introduction of our virtual model Lucy las

May 22, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Lotte, Shinsegae to compete in NFT market
Companies

POSCO Energy to cooperate with CIP in wind power, green hydrogen businesses

CIP Managing Partner Jakob Baruel Poulsen, left, and POSCO Energy CEO Jeong Ki-seop, right, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in offshore wind power and green hydrogen businesses at POSCO Center in Seoul, on May 17. Courtesy of POSCO EnergyBy Kim Jae-heunPOSCO Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Danish renewable energy asset management company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to cooperate in the offshore wind power and green hydrogen businesses, the company said Tuesday. The two companies plan to establish a supply chain to provide steel to the developing offshore wind power business, while creating a joint working group and manage it as a green hydrogen business.“Through our cooperation with CIP in the field of offshore wind power generation project, which has high potential for growth in the future, POSCO Energy will gain the opportunity to develop business not only in Korea but also abroad,” POSCO Energy CEO Jeong Ki-seop said. “Furthermore, we expect our partnership to create a bridgehead in the green hy

May 19, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
POSCO Energy to cooperate with CIP in wind power, green hydrogen businesses
Companies

Subway Korea appoints former Outback Steakhouse CEO as new head

Subway Korea's new country director Cho In-soo poses for picture at one of its restaurants in Seoul, on May 17. Courtesy of Subway KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunSubway Korea has appointed former Outback Steakhouse Korea CEO Cho In-soo as its new country director, replacing former head Colin Clark who managed the sandwich restaurant franchise here for the past 15 years, the company said Wednesday. Clark left the firm in March. It was an unexpected personnel change as Clark managed the business stably since the fast food restaurant franchise opened its first store in Seoul in 2007.Subway Korea is said to have felt a threat to its competitiveness after a number of global sandwich chains entered the Korean market recently. Quiznos and Egg Drop have been taking some of the market share little by little and other global brands like Lenwich and Earl of Sandwich are preparing to launch their business here soon. Subway still dominates the Korean sandwich market firmly, but the competition is likely to grow more with the newcomers. Cho is expected to maintain Subway Korea's strong reputation as the No.1

May 19, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Subway Korea appoints former Outback Steakhouse CEO as new head
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