The Korea Times

Germany drops Spain from virus high-risk list

Tourists from Germany arrive at Palma de Mallorca Airport following Berlin's lifted quarantine requirement for travelers returning from the Balearic Islands amid COVID-19 pandemic, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on March 21. REUTERS-YonhapGermany is dropping all of Spain from its list of “high-risk areas” for COVID-19, meaning that unvaccinated people arriving from popular Spanish tourist destinations will no longer need to go into quarantine.Germany's national disease control center said the parts of Spain still on the list, which currently include the vacation island of Mallorca, will be removed as of Sunday. The Lisbon area of Portugal also will be taken off, leaving the coastal Algarve region as the only part of Portugal on the list.Most people who haven't been vaccinated or recently recovered from COVID-19 have to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival to Germany from “high-risk areas,” the lower of two German risk categories. Negative test results can be used to cut the quarantine period to five days. A raft of countries remains on the “high-risk” li

Aug 27, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Germany drops Spain from virus high-risk list

Companies

Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical, LG H&H vie for Korea's No.1 water brand

Samdasoo is manufactured at a factory on Jeju Island on April 8. Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province DevelopmentBy Kim Jae-heunLotte Chilsung, LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) and Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical are vying for distribution rights to Samdasoo, the country's No.1 bottled water. The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development, a producer of Samdasoo, has recently announced it will open bidding for a cooperative company to retail its product in and outside Jeju Island. A fierce competition is expected as winning the bid guarantees 300 billion won ($256.51 million) in annual sales. Not only this, but the retailer can expand its sales channel while distributing Samdasoo through the public corporation's network. Samdasoo takes an unrivaled position in the bottled water market here with a 42.6 percent share, according to Nielson Korea. ICIS owns the second largest market share at 12.1 percent. In addition, sales of Samdasoo has been increasing with the growing size of the bottled water market here. In 2016, Samdasoo made 241.5 billion won for the Jeju S

Aug 27, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Uncertain future makes Mini Stop HQ reconsider Korean business

A customer shops an instant food at a convenience store in Seoul, Aug. 4. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunDespite repeated denials, investors and market watchers are weighing the possibility of Mini Stop's headquarters unloading Mini Stop Korea, given its weak market position and continued profit decline.Last week, Mini Stop Korea refuted recent market talks that Mini Stop's headquarters in Japan was in the process of discussing several but unconfirmed candidates, with an aim of selling 100 percent of the business: “We've asked Mini Stop's headquarters for clarification of recent market talks regarding the possible discontinuation of the Korean business. The headquarters told us that such talks are groundless.”But Mini Stop Korea's business isn't in good health on multiple fronts. In terms of the amount of stores, nationwide, Mini Stop Korea is the country's fifth-largest convenient store operator with 2,700 stores. The No. 4 convenient store operator, Emart24, was operating 5,300 stores as of July of this year. Also in terms of numbers, Mini Stop Korea reported 1.79 trillion won in

Aug 27, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Uncertain future makes Mini Stop HQ reconsider Korean business

Companies

CJ ENM seeing progress to acquire SM Entertainment

SM founder Lee Soo-man, left, and CJ Group Vice Chairwoman Miky Lee / Korea times fileMiky Lee reportedly met with SM FounderBy Kim Jae-heunCJ Group is seeing visible progress in its bid to acquire management rights in SM Entertainment, as the group's top executive was said to have been persuading SM's founder to hand over his stake. Reports said CJ Group Vice Chairwoman Lee Mie-Kyung, also known as Miky Lee, visited Korea recently from the United States to meet SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man. SM Entertainment, the country's top talent agency, is looking to unload 20 percent of its share including 18.72 percent owned by its founder, whose personal name Soo-man makes the initials SM in the entertainment company's name. Whoever purchases it ― now that only CJ Group and Kakao are competing against one another ― will become the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment.Chances are high as CJ is desperate not to lose SM Entertainment to Kakao in its bidding. Miky Lee is the most influential person in CJ Group's strategic direction in the media business. Acquiring SM Entertainment woul

Aug 27, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

CJ ENM seeing progress to acquire SM Entertainment

Companies

Coway launches new premium dehumidifier

Coway's Noble Dehumidifier stands in the middle of the room in a house. Courtesy of CowayBy Kim Jae-heunThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the design of home appliances, as people's interest in home decoration has increased due to stricter quarantine measures keeping them home more often.Taking advantage of this, appliance rental company Coway introduced the deluxe “Noble Dehumidifier AD-1221E” that adopts an elegant exterior design and up-to-date technology. The dehumidifier is inspired by architectural design, with its glowing touch display and its simple and minimal straight structure conveying a luxurious atmosphere in the room. The appliance's stone-gray color matches well in any space.The premium electronics goods implement a “smart water tank open system” that maximizes user convenience. It automatically calculates when to refill a tank with water and gives a notification on the display screen. Unlike previous models, users could simply press a button to separate the water tank from the body. The dehumidifier is also energy-efficient. By installing a sm

Aug 26, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Kurly advances to tourism sector to better promote IPO

Kurly CEO Sophie Kim speaks during a press conference held at the company's headquarters in Seoul in this 2019 file photo. YonhapKurly wants to expand business in non-food sectorBy Kim Jae-heunKurly, the operator of online grocery retailer Market Kurly, is preparing to enter the car rental and flight reservation businesses. It hopes that increasing its sales record will build up its corporate value before its initial public offering planned for next year. Kurly added the two new services to its business portfolio at the end of June and has already started selling hotel vouchers, but it said it will not start providing vehicle rentals or making plane ticket reservations right away.“We are considering providing a non-stop service in the tourism sector as our hotel vouchers are selling well. But we don't have plan to rent out vehicles or sell plane tickets hastily,” a Kurly official said. The market for car rentals has been growing amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. More people are choosing to commute to work with a rented car instead of taking a bus or subway out of fear

Aug 26, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kurly advances to tourism sector to better promote IPO

Companies

Controversies rise regarding Lotte's new branch

Illustration of an outdoor area at Lotte Department Store Dongtan in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Lotte ShoppingRetailer fails to launch Louis Vuitton, Chanel boutiquesBy Kim Jae-heunIt has only been three days since Lotte Department Store opened a new branch in Dongtan, part of the largest shopping mall in Gyeonggi Province, but it is already embroiled in a number of controversies. Lotte said a security guard at the store tested positive for COVID-19. He had worked there for three days from Aug. 18 to Aug. 20 in front of the department store's entrance. No additional cases are confirmed yet, but Lotte is planning to test all workers at the store for the virus.Restaurants and coffee shop owners in the town have already expressed concerns regarding the large crowds at the department store on the first day of its grand opening.Lotte Department Store's Dongtan branch has also been criticized for its similar interior design to that of Hyundai Department Store's The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido that opened in February. Some visitors at Lotte's new store said they instantly though

Aug 23, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Controversies rise regarding Lotte's new branch

Companies

Reporter's Notebook Namyang Dairy boss's diminishing reputation

Namyang Dairy Products founder Hong Won-sik stands behind the podium to announce the fact that he would be stepping down from the chairperson position at the company's headquarters in Seoul, May 4. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwonBy Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Products is experiencing an unprecedented degree of backlash against its founder, Hong Won-sik, who has reversed promises he made to the public in the last month. One of the pledges he made was not to pass the management of the company to his children. Independent of any direct action from the former chairperson, Hong's eldest son, Hong Jin-seok, returned to his senior executive position only a month after he was dismissed for misusing company money. Hong Won-sik's second son, Hong Bum-seok, was also promoted as an unregistered executive recently. This situation leaves the possibility that one of the two sons will take a key post on the board of directors and eventually lead the company. The company explained that due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, it was suffering vacancies in key management positions, and that Hong's tw

Aug 22, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

[Reporter's Notebook] Namyang Dairy boss's diminishing reputation

Tech & Science

Kakao's expansion raises anxieties over potential monopolization

Kakao founder Kim Beom-su looks at the company's iconic character Ryan, at its headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2019 file photo. Courtesy of KakaoBy Kim Jae-heunKakao started as a small startup, making only 34 million won ($28,923) in annual revenue in 2010. In only 10 years, this figure has skyrocketed to record the company's all-time high of 3.08 trillion won ($2.62 billion).Its mobile messaging application, Kakao Talk, is used by 50 million people, or 96 percent of Korea's population. In other words, the entire country uses the messaging app.Taking advantage of its vast user base, Kakao has aggressively expanded its information technology services into various other fields, such as making reservations at hair salons, signing up for language classes and sending payments online. It is almost harder to find a field that the IT giant isn't providing services in. However, people are starting to feel uncomfortable about Kakao, as it is slowly raising the prices of its services in the markets that it dominates. Recently, Kakao Mobility decided to increase the fee for

Aug 19, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kakao's expansion raises anxieties over potential monopolization

Companies

Namyang Dairy's founder confirms M&A deal still valid

Namyang Diary Product's former Chairman Hong Won-sik wipes tears as he steps down from his position at the company's headquarters in Seoul on May 4. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Products founder Hong Won-sik, who was recently hit for his abrupt cancellation of a scheduled meeting with Hahn & Company to finalize the company's sell-off on July 30, confirmed that the deal can still go ahead.“I did not intend to cancel the deal with Hahn & Company. The temporary meeting of shareholders was only postponed because we were not fully prepared, thus we closed off the transaction. The deal will eventually take place,” Hong said through a local report, Tuesday. Hong added that he had kept silent for the last two weeks because he could not reveal specific details in the contract as a refutation to Hahn & Company's argument that he had canceled the deal unilaterally.“I thought it was inappropriate as a contracting party to disclose the transaction process in detail. As the largest shareholder of this company, I am always striving to maximize its corporate value

Aug 17, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Germany drops Spain from virus high-risk list

Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical, LG H&H vie for Korea's No.1 water brand

Uncertain future makes Mini Stop HQ reconsider Korean business

CJ ENM seeing progress to acquire SM Entertainment

Coway launches new premium dehumidifier

Kurly advances to tourism sector to better promote IPO

Controversies rise regarding Lotte's new branch

Reporter's Notebook Namyang Dairy boss's diminishing reputation

Kakao's expansion raises anxieties over potential monopolization

Namyang Dairy's founder confirms M&A deal still valid

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