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Boycott movement targeting Coupang expanding online

Coupang founder Kim Bom poses next to boxes containing fresh food at the company's headquarters in Seoul in this 2020 file photo. Courtesy of CoupangCustomers warn of boycott against Olympic broadcasting exclusive on Coupang's OTTBy Kim Jae-heunA fire that broke out at Coupang's distribution center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, has caused problems across the company's businesses, with allegations being raised about poor working environments that have led to calls to boycott its platform service and denunciations of Chairman Kim Bom.Coupang had long been urged to improve the environment at its worksites after nine employee deaths were linked to overwork; and then on June 17, one of its three biggest logistics facilities here burnt down, leading to the death of a firefighter named Kim Dong-sik. “Workers there had long pointed out the possibility of an electric device there catching fire. There have been small and big incidents that occurred but the company never provided countermeasures,” a union representative said June 18.Even on the day the fire broke out, the water spri

Jun 22, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Boycott movement targeting Coupang expanding online
Companies

L'Oreal Korea, UNESCO honor Prof. Lee You-mie with Academic Promotion Award

From left, L'Oreal Korea President Christian Marcos, Prof. Lee You-mie, President of the Women's Bioscience Forum Mook In-hee and Secretary General of Korean National Commission for UNESCO Han Kyung-koo pose at The 20th Korea L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards held at Seoul Wave Art Center on June 15. Courtesy of L'Oreal KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunLee You-mie, a professor at Kyungpook National University's College of Pharmacy, received the Academic Promotion Award at the “20th Korea L'Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards” held at Seoul Wave Art Center on June 15.The anniversary ceremony was sponsored by L'Oreal Korea and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, while the Women's Bioscience Forum hosted the event.Lee was noted for her contribution to researching biologics and drug efficacy.As the head of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk branch of the Association of Korean Woman Scientists and Engineers, Lee has contributed to fostering the next generation of female researchers.Kim Bo-ram, a postdoctoral student at the Department of Biological Sciences at the Korea Advanced Insti

Jun 20, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
L'Oreal Korea, UNESCO honor Prof. Lee You-mie with Academic Promotion Award
Companies

'SK Innovation's batteries 100 percent safe from fire risks'

Lee Jon-ha, the head of SK Innovation's Battery Development Center, gives a presentation at The Battery Conference 2021 held at COEX in Seoul, on June 18. Courtesy of SK InnovationBy Kim Jae-heunSK Innovation Battery Development Center head Lee Jon-ha revealed what makes a battery catch fire and suggested ways to deal with such risks during the Battery Conference 2021 held by the Korea Battery Industry Association.The conference, which took place at COEX on June 9 and 10 to mark its 10th anniversary, invited battery experts from around the world to seek new strategies for the industry and explore various aspects of the future of the battery market. Lee spoke at the conference about the competitiveness of pouch cell batteries made by SK Innovation, in particular its technology and safety.Until now, not a single battery SK produced for approximately 2.5 million electric vehicles has caught on fire. The head of the center first explained the cause of the fire that can break out from a battery's individual cells or the battery packs that bind 300 to 400 cells together and suggested a sol

Jun 20, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
'SK Innovation's batteries 100 percent safe from fire risks'
Companies

Reporter's Notebook Baedal Minjok's alleged copycat moves may dethrone it

Delivery scooters are parked outside of Woowa Brother's local service branch in Seoul, on March 30. Korea times fileBy Kim Jae-heunBaedal Minjok, the country's No.1 food delivery service, operated by Woowa Brothers, has recently made moves to imitate Coupang Eats' service system and price policies.“Delivering one order at a time” is the motto that Coupang Eats' first adopted when it went to market. The phrase took a key role in placing Coupang's food delivery player in the third position behind Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo, within a year of commencing operations. Coupang Eats is still far from catching up with Baedal Minjok, with its market share being 44.5 percent points behind the No.1 player. Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats hold 59.7 percent and 15.2 percent of the market share, respectively. Coupang Eats' has grown quickly to grab nearly 10 percent of the market share in just half a year. Coupang Eats' market share in Songpa and Gangnam areas is said to have surpassed that of Baedal Minjok. The two districts are considered important markets for food delivery players, as th

Jun 15, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
[Reporter's Notebook] Baedal Minjok's alleged copycat moves may dethrone it
Companies

Delivery workers' strike hits eBay Korea, sparing Coupang

Seen above is an empty logistics center in Seoul on June 7, after the local delivery worker union went on strike that same day. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwonBy Kim Jae-heunA recent strike by unionized delivery worker to improve working conditions is putting pressure on eBay Korea and 11st, both of which outsource their deliveries. On the other hand, e-commerce firms like Coupang and SSG.com, which operate their own logistics centers or hire delivery drivers directly, have avoided being affected.The labor union conducted a walkout June 7 at some of the workplaces where it has the right to strike. At facilities where it doesn't have the right to strike, delivery workers delayed their start times by two hours, starting work at 11 a.m.Delivery workers are requesting logistics firms to take their parcel-sorting jobs, which they say is the cause of recent driver deaths due to overwork.Meanwhile, the union walkout delayed delivery services for eBay Korea and 11st from minimum two days to maximum five days. Unlike Coupang and SSG.com, eBay Korea and 11st only run open market platforms

Jun 15, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Delivery workers' strike hits eBay Korea, sparing Coupang
Companies

Coupang to jump into live commerce business in July

Coupang's headquarters in Jamsil, Seoul / Korea times fileBy Kim Jae-heunAfter going public on the New York Stock Exchange in February and securing funds to invest 5 trillion won ($4.48 billion) in business expansion, Coupang is now jumping into the live commerce sector. Live commerce is an online e-commerce method where retailers sell products through real-time video. Buyers can communicate with each other or ask show hosts questions about items when the broadcast is live. The country's largest e-commerce firm said it is renovating the whole 13th floor of Tower 730, where its headquarters is located in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. Coupang plans to operate a number of studios for live commerce broadcasting there and construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.The size of one floor in this building stretches 898.5 square meters, which is 11 times bigger than the 150-square-meter studio that Kakao uses for its live commerce operation.Reports said Coupang will open 11 studios on the 13th floor, but Coupang denied this, refusing to give the exact number of studios i

Jun 13, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Coupang to jump into live commerce business in July
Companies

Emart24 to launch beer honoring baseball club owner

Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin's Instagram post shows the retailer's new craft beer, Gudanju, Thursday. Screencaptured from Chung Yong-jin's InstagramBy Kim Jae-heunShinsegae's convenience store brand Emart24 said it will launch a beer called Gudanju in July featuring a portrait of Chung Yong-jin, the retail conglomerate's vice chairman and CEO.“Gudanju” is a Korean term for the owner of a sports club, referring to Chung who owns the SSG Landers baseball team.The vice chairman revealed his plan to use the professional baseball team his firm acquired in January as a marketing tool. Gudanju lager is the first product Chung has introduced, which he plans to sell at the Landers' home stadium in Incheon.“We are still in the process of making various new items utilizing our baseball team. Gudanju beer is just one idea and nothing concrete has been decided about future items,” an Emart24 official said.Emart24 collaborated with Playground Brewery, a local microbrewer, to launch the lager. Playground Brewery is claimed to be the first firm here to bring in equi

Jun 12, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Emart24 to launch beer honoring baseball club owner
Tech & Science

Kakao expanding entertainment business in Korea and beyond

By Kim Jae-heunKakao Entertainment's logo / Courtesy of Kakao EntertainmentLocal IT giant Kakao is merging and acquiring entertainment firms both here and abroad to expand its business into the global market. In March, Kakao took over two Thai companies, Studio Phoenix and Studio Orange, in order to run its content and commerce businesses in the Southeast Asian region, centered in Thailand.“Studio Phoenix and Studio Orange were incorporated into Kakao Entertainment Asia, which was established to expand its entertainment business, on Feb. 25,” a Kakao Entertainment official said. “Kakao has acquired these two companies with the aim of starting music, video and commerce businesses in Southeast Asian countries.”Kakao did not reveal the acquisition cost or how many shares it had purchased in the two companies.Its investment in Thailand is seen as part of its road map to become a global content player, a goal it announced when it launched Kakao Entertainment in March. The entertainment firm promised to invest actively in entertainment and intellectual property. In

Jun 11, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Kakao expanding entertainment business in Korea and beyond
Tech & Science

Kakao founder launches charity foundation, 'Brian Impact'

Kakao Chairman Kim Beom-su / Courtesy of KakaoBy Kim Jae-heunKakao founder Kim Beom-su has officially launched a private charity foundation called “Brian Impact,” which he had promised to do, after vowing in February to donate over half of his fortune to charitable causes. Kim received approval from the Ministry of Science and ICT to establish the organization last month and recently completed the process of constituting the five members of the board of directors. The constituents are the chairman himself, Bear Better CEO Kim Jung-ho, Ashoka Korea CEO Lee Hye-yeong, psychiatrist Chung Hye-shin and actor Lee Yoon-mi.All five members have personal ties to Kim. Bear Better CEO Kim is one of the founding members of IT giant Naver, who worked with Chairman Kim together in the past at IT companies Samsung SDS and NHN. Ashoka Korea is where Kim donated a total of 50,000 Kakao shares for education-related purposes. Psychiatrist Chung worked with Kim on running a public campaign to help improve people's mental health.Actor Lee became a friend of Kim through charity events they par

Jun 10, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Kakao founder launches charity foundation, 'Brian Impact'
Companies

BMW Korea launches project to foster talented workforce

A BMW Korea official gives a lecture to students during the car company's Young Talent Dream Project at Gyeonggi High School of Automotive Science in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, April 25. Courtesy of BMW KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunBMW Korea kicked off its “Young Talent Dream Project,” as part of its efforts to contribute to fostering skilled young workers and creating jobs here. In particular, the German carmaker will take advantage of its specialty to educate high school students who want to be automotive engineers or mechanics. The program will be run by the non-profit BMW Korea Future Fund. The Young Talent Dream Project shares with students the experiences of automotive workers and gives them guidance on how to find the right jobs on their own. Since April, BMW Korea has been sending executives and technicians from its official dealer firms to schools and universities to give speeches on their jobs and the car industry.The very first lecture took place at Gyeonggi High School of Automotive Science in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, and BMW Korea has visited three more since then

Jun 10, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
BMW Korea launches project to foster talented workforce
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