The Korea Times

Coupang sees sales growth, but industrial accidents surge

Coupang's fulfilment center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunEcommerce giant Coupang saw sales surge 71 percent year-on-year to 5 trillion won ($4.27 billion) in the second quarter. However, it also saw an increase in the number of industrial accidents, with the latest one being a massive fire at its warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, July 19.According to Ministry of Employment and Labor data compiled and released by Rep. Lee Tahney of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 1,235 industrial accidents were reported on Coupang premises so far this year.The figure is just slightly lower than the combined number of accidents over the past four years ― 141 in 2017, 193 in 2018, 334 in 2019 and 758 in 2020.At this rate of increase, the number of cases for all of 2021 is expected to surpass 2,000.By type, accidents involving delivery drivers are especially rising sharply ― the figure stood at just 193 in 2018 but jumped to 758 in 2020.This could be due to the huge increase in demand for online orders amid a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are a limited num

Aug 14, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Carcinogens found in Nongshim's instant noodles exported to Europe

Nongshim's Seafood Ramyun / Courtesy of Nongshim By Kim Jae-heun The carcinogen ethylene oxide has been found in Nongshim's Seafood Ramyun packets that are exported to Europe, leading the country's top instant noodle-maker to recall the product from the region as it investigates the source of the “contamination.” According to the European Commission's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), Thursday, ethylene oxide was found in Nongshim's instant noodles sold in Germany. Ethylene oxide, which is often used as a surface disinfectant and sterilizer for heat-sensitive equipment, is classified as a class-one carcinogen by the International Cancer Research Institute. The affected Seafood Ramyun instant noodles were produced only on Jan. 27 and March 3 of this year, and ethylene oxide concentrations in the products were measured at 7.4 parts per million (ppm) and 5.0 ppm on those respective dates. The EU standard is no more than 0.05 ppm, so Nongshim's contaminated

Aug 13, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Carcinogens found in Nongshim's instant noodles exported to Europe

Companies

Ottogi caught selling horseradish labeled as Japanese wasabi

Ottogi Chairman Ham Young-joon / Courtesy of Ottogi By Kim Jae-heunNine food firms here including Ottogi have been found to be selling horseradish mislabeled as Japanese wasabi. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has decided to take administrative measures against them.The ministry last week that the nine companies were in violation of the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods.“We will continue to inspect food companies that deceive customers by falsely labeling their products,” the food ministry official said. The five wasabi manufacturers either used only or mainly horseradish, ― which costs five to 10 times less than wasabi ― to produce their spicy food paste. The food ministry classifies horseradish and wasabi as different vegetable ingredients under its food standards. Horseradish root is included in cheap, fake wasabi products, while real wasabi paste is made of Japanese wasabi stem.Ottogi, specifically, sold five “wasabi” pastes made of 20 percent to 75

Aug 13, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Ottogi caught selling horseradish labeled as Japanese wasabi

Companies

Ministry to inspect McDonald's restaurant next week

McDonald's Korea employees serve BTS meal sets at a restaurant in Seoul on May 27. Korea Times file'McDonald's Korea did not use expired buns:' food and drug safety ministryBy Kim Jae-heunMcDonald's Korea's Managing Director Antoni Martinez / Courtesy of McDonald's KoreaThe Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said that it will conduct a safety inspection of the McDonald's Korea's restaurant that allegedly used expired buns recently. However, the ministry said that this inspection is only a regular sanitation check, carried out twice a year, and that it is not investigating the restaurant for any special purpose related to the scandal. “The fact is that McDonald's Korea did not use expired food materials. The expiration date that the American fast food restaurant chain uses has been shortened in Korea to provide fresher quality in its burgers,” the food ministry official said. According to the official apology issued by McDonald's Korea on Aug. 6, the fast food restaurant chain said that it uses a stricter expiration date system of its own, which is shorter than the general o

Aug 11, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Ministry to inspect McDonald's restaurant next week

Tech & Science

Spotify joins hands with LG Uplus

An LG Uplus subscriber holds a phone showing Spotify's service on its screen at LG Uplus headquarters in Seoul, Aug. 10. Courtesy of LG UplusBy Kim Jae-heunLG Uplus, one of the country's top 3 mobile carriers, signed an agreement with Spotify, under which the latter will provide exclusive free music streaming service to LG customers.Starting Tuesday, LG Uplus subscribers using its 4G LTE and 5G networks, and registered with 85,000 won ($73.94) monthly pricing plan, will get six months of Spotify's premium service for free. Those paying less than that amount will have free access to the music streaming service for three months.Tuesday's agreement will help Spotify expand its business in Korea and increase its paid-membership customers. LG Uplus will benefit by possibly luring new customers away from its competitors.“This strategic partnership with Spotify, the world's leading music streaming platform well-known and acknowledged for its advanced personalized service and music curation, will enhance our competitive edge,” LG Uplus Vice President Choung Hye-youn was quoted as

Aug 10, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

GS Retail to invest W20 bil. in Danggeun Market

Two workers at GS Retail hold GS Retail and GS Shop signs at a GS25 convenience store in Seoul in this 2020 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunLocal retail giant GS Retail is investing 20 billion won ($1.74 million) in the country's largest secondhand marketplace app, Danggeun Market. According to a local investment bank, Sunday, GS Retail will join in Danggeun Market's Series D investment round as a new participant. The retail giant is reviewing the investment through a local private equity fundThe secondhand goods marketplace platform is nearing the end of its Series D round to attract 180 billion won in funding. Its valuation ― which has multiplied 15-fold from its Series C investments in 2019 ― is currently estimated at 3 trillion won ($2.62 billion). Danggeun Market has 15 million monthly average users, but is a latecomer to the online secondhand business. It launched its service after Beongaejangteo, the operator of a mobile secondhand marketplace since 2011. However, Danggeun Market has grown into the most influential platform here with its local resident-based infrast

Aug 9, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

GS Retail to invest W20 bil. in Danggeun Market

Companies

Chanel Korea issues apology over data theft

Chanel Korea's official apology, posted on its website / Screenshot from Chanel Korea's website By Kim Jae-heunOnline thieves managed to steal customer data, including phone numbers, in a cyberattack on some data centers managed by Chanel Korea. It's unknown whether clients affected by the data leak will take legal action against the French luxury brand's Korean firm.In a rare move, Chanel Korea issued a public apology after disclosing the customer data leak that occurred between Aug. 5 and 6. “Parts of our database, containing the personal information of the customers who had registered for our cosmetics brand membership, have been compromised. The leaked personal information includes: names, birthdays, phone numbers and product purchase lists,” Chanel Korea wrote on its official website. Customers who had agreed to provide their addresses, sex and email addresses had this personal information stolen too. The site vulnerabilities have reportedly been fixed since th

Aug 9, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Chanel Korea issues apology over data theft

Companies

Cash-strapped Lotte to undergo large-scale restructuring

Lotte plans to transfer all online business staff to Lotte ON teamBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's largest retailer Lotte is going through the toughest time in its history, affected by the pandemic and its sluggish transition to an online sales market.A large-scale reshuffle is “very near” for Lotte Group's retail unit ―including reallocation of high-ranking executives at Lotte Shopping. But Lotte has denied the possibility. “There has to be due progress for personnel changes, but nothing is in motion regarding such a plan,” a Lotte Holdings official said, Monday.Despite the denial, Lotte Shopping is predicted to transfer a majority of staff in charge of online business at department stores and supermarkets to Lotte ON, due to the tepid results from its online shopping business. “This means unifying the retailer's personnel in online business under one control tower to seek quicker decision making,” an industry executive said. Lotte has taken several progressive steps in the past, such as appointing Kang Hee-tae as CEO of Lotte Shopping in 2019 and sco

Aug 9, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Cash-strapped Lotte to undergo large-scale restructuring

Companies

ANALYSIS Market Kurly CEO advised to increase stake to prevent hostile takeover

Financial investors can opt to sell their stakes for profitsBy Kim Jae-heunMarket Kurly CEO Kim Seul-ah, also known as Sophie Kim, is facing calls to boost her stake in the grocery-delivery app in order to retain managerial control should a hostile takeover be attempted.Kim currently holds a 6.67 percent stake in the company ― foreign investors from China, Hong Kong, Russia and the United States each hold bigger stakes than the CEO. They are financial investors whose top priority is achieving profits even by selling their stakes. This could happen before Kurly's initial public offering (IPO) here, possibly this or next year. Kurly owns Market Kurly.Kurly is widely expected to go public as its corporate value has been increasing yearly. Investors have sought potential buyers to sell the retailer and retrieve the money they put into the company. Last May, Kurly's corporate value was estimated at 900 billion won ($786.71 million) when it attracted 200 billion won ($174.8 million) in investments. Now, the value has increased by 2.6 times to 2.5 trillion won. Local investment banks predic

Aug 5, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

[ANALYSIS] Market Kurly CEO advised to increase stake to prevent hostile takeover

Companies

Maeil's Sangha Farm welcomes visitors with activities

Workers at Sangha Farm in Gochang County, run by Maeil Dairies, pose in this photo taken on Aug. 3. Courtesy of Maeil DairiesBy Kim Jae-heunMaeil Dairies, the country's largest dairy producer by revenue, is offering activities for visitors, including tours, demonstrations of agricultural and food production techniques and tastings.Since April 2016, it has been running Sangha Farm, an organic farm in Gochang, North Jeolla Province, which welcomes visitors. The farm was founded to foster mutual growth with local governments and farmers. It was invested in by the dairy firm along with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Gochang County. Sangha Farm shows a new business model of combining a high value-added service together with primary, secondary and tertiary industries. It adopts a new concept of “make-play-eat” at its rural facility, where visitors learn from experts how to make agricultural products through hands-on experiences, and then try the foods for themselves. Children can make cookies, sausages and bread at the farm, and see how cheeses are made

Aug 4, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Coupang sees sales growth, but industrial accidents surge

Carcinogens found in Nongshim's instant noodles exported to Europe

Ottogi caught selling horseradish labeled as Japanese wasabi

Ministry to inspect McDonald's restaurant next week

Spotify joins hands with LG Uplus

GS Retail to invest W20 bil. in Danggeun Market

Chanel Korea issues apology over data theft

Cash-strapped Lotte to undergo large-scale restructuring

ANALYSIS Market Kurly CEO advised to increase stake to prevent hostile takeover

Maeil's Sangha Farm welcomes visitors with activities

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