Business - The Korea Times

Korea to march into opening ceremony as 22nd country

MILAN — South Korea will be the 22nd nation to march into the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics here in northern Italy. The organizing committee of the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Thursday unveiled the order of the parade of nations for the opening ceremony scheduled for the next day at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium. By tradition, Greece will enter first as the home of the modern Olympic Games, while the host nation Italy will be last. France, the host of the next Winter Games in 2030, will be the penultimate nation to enter, and all the other countries in between will join the parade in the order of the host country's language. The official full name of South Korea in Italian is "Repubblica di Corea," though it will go by "Corea" for the ceremony. The country will come right after Colombia and before Croatia. South Korea will have 71 athletes competing in six sports and has set out to bring home at least three gold medals, one more than its total from the previous Winter Games in Beijing in 2022. Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and speed skater Park Ji-woo will serve as co-flag bearer

Feb 5, 2026By Yonhap

Korea to march into opening ceremony as 22nd country

Coupang’s Rogers considers testifying over Korea’s ‘discriminatory’ practices

Coupang interim CEO Harold Rogers is considering whether to appear before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee after Republican lawmakers ordered him to testify over what they describe as Seoul’s “targeting” of the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce firm and other American companies. He was also asked to provide all records of communications between Coupang and Korean authorities. In a letter sent to Coupang's interim CEO Harold Rogers on Thursday (local time), Reps. Jim Jordan and Scott Fitzgerald requested he appear for a deposition with the committee to answer questions related to the Korean government’s targeting of Coupang and other innovative American companies. The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23. "Over the past few months, the KFTC (Korea Fair Trade Commission) and other agencies within the Korean government have escalated their discriminatory attacks on American technology companies, including by threatening U.S. citizens with criminal charges," the letter read. "The targeting of Coupang and the potential prosecution of its American executives serve as a sharp escalation of

Feb 5, 2026By Park Jae-hyuk

Coupang’s Rogers considers testifying over Korea’s ‘discriminatory’ practices

CJ CheilJedang to cut sugar, flour prices to help curb inflation

CJ CheilJedang, a major Korean food company, said Thursday it will lower retail prices of sugar and flour products by up to 6 percent this week to help ease inflationary pressure. The company said prices of its Baeksul-brand white and brown sugar, as well as flour products, will be reduced by up to 6 percent starting Friday. "The price cuts reflect recent declines in international raw sugar and wheat prices, and are in line with the government's efforts to stabilize consumer prices," a company spokesperson said. The move is also aimed at easing household financial burdens ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, he said. CJ CheilJedang said it will notify convenience stores, discount chains and supermarkets of the price cuts Friday, adding that the timing of retail price adjustments for consumers will depend on individual retailers' decisions. Last month, the company lowered its business-to-business (B2B) prices for sugar and flour by an average of 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. On the same day, Samyang, the country's third-largest sugar producer after CJ CheilJedang a

Feb 5, 2026By Yonhap

CJ CheilJedang to cut sugar, flour prices to help curb inflation

FTC puts crypto exchanges under regulatory scrutiny

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is showing signs of tightening oversight on major cryptocurrency exchanges amid growing calls to hold them to the same regulatory standards faced by legacy financial firms. The latest in a series of investigations into the exchanges came on Wednesday, when the authority sent investigators to the headquarters of Bithumb, the second-largest crypto exchange here. The exchange operator is suspected of having engaged in false advertising regarding the scale of its liquidity. In March and April last year, Bithumb claimed in multiple press releases that its liquidity was the highest among local crypto exchanges. According to crypto data aggregator CoinGecko, however, Upbit maintained the top spot in the local market with a 68 percent share of cryptocurrency trading volume last year. Bithumb came in second with 28 percent. Given the huge gap with the exchange market leader, the FTC is now looking into whether Bithumb has violated a local advertisement act. According to the watchdog, any firms that post deceptive or exaggerated ads are subject to sanctions for undu

Feb 5, 2026By Lee Min-hyung

FTC puts crypto exchanges under regulatory scrutiny

Jipyeong launches soju gift set ahead of Lunar New Year

Jipyeong Brewery has launched a new soju gift set ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Seollal, which is less than two weeks away. The set comprises two 375-milliliter glass bottles of Jipyeong Soju and two shot glasses printed with the company’s logo. Jipyeong Soju, a transparent premium distilled soju, is made from a blend of rice, barley and sugarcane. The “multilayered grains” technique is the result of the company’s focused research on distillation and fermentation over the past two years. According to the company, the method differentiates Jipyeong Soju from other distilled soju brands that use a single type of grain. “Jipyeong Soju represents Jipyeong Brewery’s signature flavor and brand identity, catering to consumers’ interest in special gifts for Seollal,” a Jipyeong Brewery official said. Jipyeong Brewery is also a major Korean "makgeolli" (lightly sparkling rice wine) producer. It operates two manufacturing plants in Gangwon Province and South Chungcheong Province. The company’s small-scale founding brewery in Jipyeong Village, Yangpyeong County,

Feb 5, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Jipyeong launches soju gift set ahead of Lunar New Year

Samsung eyes wind-free air conditioning innovation with AI

After pioneering the new segment of wind-free air conditioning 10 years ago, Samsung Electronics is now seeking to take the segment to the next level by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) that learns from the use patterns of its customers. “The identity of Samsung Electronics’ air conditioners is wind-free technology,” Samsung Electronics Head of Air Solution R&D Team Shin Moon-sun said during a press conference at the company’s R&D center in southern Seoul. “We have been applying wind-free technology across our air conditioner product lineup and maintaining the same approach globally,” Shin said. “We believe wind-free technology is the best solution for keeping indoor temperatures evenly balanced and comfortable.” Wind-free, or still air, refers to an atmospheric condition of less than 0.15 meters per second of airflow, according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Samsung rolled out the world’s first wind-free air conditioning technology in 2016, and has since sold more than 13 million wind-free air conditioners i

Feb 5, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo

Samsung eyes wind-free air conditioning innovation with AI

US has highest number of K-brand restaurants, overtaking China

The United States has more Korean franchise restaurants than China, overturning a ranking that had remained unchanged for the past five years, government data showed Thursday. A joint report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. showed that as of December 2025, the U.S. had more than 1,100 Korean franchise outlets, while China had 830. In 2020, China was far ahead of the U.S., with 1,368 stores compared to 528. “The most notable point over the past five years is a shift in K-food’s main global market,” the government said in the report. Compared with 2020, the number of Korean outlets in the U.S. in 2025 surged by 109 percent, accounting for 24 percent of the global market. China, meanwhile, saw the number of such outlets fall 39.3 percent over the same period, reducing its share to 18 percent. The contraction in China was driven by intensifying competition that prompted some Korean companies to slow or halt expansion there, the ministry said. The market growth of Korean brands in the U.S., according to the government,

Feb 5, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Tiremakers offset US tariff through European sales

Korea’s major tiremakers are on course to overcome tariff challenges from the United States by expanding sales of value-added tires in Europe. The three major tire manufacturers here — Hankook, Nexen and Kumho — were exposed to the prolonged 25 percent U.S. tariff shock for almost half a year beginning in April last year. The tire firms, however, showed resilience in their 2025 earnings on their expanded sales in Europe. They succeeded in navigating the tariff headwind by widening sales for high-inch and electric vehicle (EV) tires, particularly for European clients, according to their earnings data. Hankook Tire surprised the market by chalking up record annual sales of 21.2 trillion won ($14.6 billion) in 2025, up 125.3 percent from the previous year. Its operating profit also increased 4.6 percent to 1.84 trillion won during the same period. The largest tire firm in Korea offset the U.S. tariff shock by increasing sales of tires larger than 18 inches and high-margin tires for EVs, the company said. By market, Europe’s strategic importance is gradually increasing for Hankook. Th

Feb 5, 2026By Lee Min-hyung

Tiremakers offset US tariff through European sales

Musinsa to open 1st standalone store for affordable cosmetic brand

Fashion platform Musinsa is expanding beyond apparel into the budget-friendly beauty market, opening the first standalone store for its cosmetic brand, Musinsa Standard Beauty, on Feb. 12 at Hyundai Department Store Mokdong in western Seoul. The 30-square-meter shop will mark the brand’s first dedicated physical space exclusively for its beauty line, showcasing around 20 of its key products. The company plans to use the store to gauge consumer response before deciding whether to expand to additional locations. The launch signals the company’s aggressive push into the budget beauty market, where competition has been intensifying as major retailers, including Olive Young, Lotte Mart and Emart, race to capture cost-conscious consumers. The market has been dominated by Asung Daiso with cosmetics priced between 1,000 won ($0.69) and 5,000 won, driving rapid growth in recent years. According to the company, sales in its cosmetics category surged 85 percent year-on-year in 2023 and 144 percent in 2024, followed by another 70 percent increase last year. Musinsa ramped up its push into low-pri

Feb 4, 2026By Lee Gyu-lee

Exports drive APR to record sales, earnings in 2025

Major Korean beauty and device developer APR achieved record sales and operating profit last year, driven largely by its global markets. The company reported an operating profit of 365 billion won ($251.2 million) in 2025, up 198 percent from a year earlier, and sales of 1.53 trillion won, a 111 percent increase. Exports accounted for 80 percent of sales, or 1.23 trillion won, up 207 percent year-on-year, posting record sales in the United States and Japan, along with strong growth in Europe. APR’s strong performance was driven by its cosmetic products and beauty devices under the Medicube brand. Cosmetic sales exceeded 1 trillion won last year, including 413 billion won in the fourth quarter alone, up 255 percent from a year earlier. Beauty device sales reached 407 billion won as the company expanded its "premium home beauty" lineup with models such as the High Focus Shot Plus and Booster V Roller. APR plans to further expand its global markets this year with Medicube beauty products, building on last year’s strong performance. “For the first time, the company’s annual sales exc

Feb 4, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

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