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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

InterviewCraft cider brewer defies odds in Korea's soju-dominated market

CHUNGJU, North Chungcheong Province — Korea is a tough market for ciders. Over 80 percent of the country’s liquor market is soju and beer, while the rest is mostly driven by makgeolli (Korean traditional rice alcohol), wine and whisky. In this competitive environment, ciders are a niche market. Lee Dae-ro, CEO of Dancing Cider, a craft cider brewery started in 2018 in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, keeps his chin up despite difficulties in surviving a market where he's one of only a handful of cider-makers. It's hard to stand out in the industry, which is dominated by large-size firms like HiteJinro, Oriental Brewery and Lotte Chilsung. “The liquor market here is really a playground for the big boys, not just for their own brands but also the major global brands they import. It’s easy for them to expand their business by acquiring small breweries, sometimes even by ignoring legally binding contracts,” said Lee in his interview with The Korea Times. “There's a simple reason why ciders are not popular in Korea. Large firms don’t invest in them.” The global gastronomic

Jul 8, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Craft cider brewer defies odds in Korea's soju-dominated market

Buchang Bakery's G-Dragon walnut cake to be served at UNESCO meeting in Busan

Buchang Bakery, specializing in gourmet walnut cakes, will sponsor the UNESCO World Heritage summit in Busan later this month with its dainty delicacy baked in collaboration with K-pop icon G-Dragon. Fresh Gourmet, the Seoul-based operator of the Buchang Bakery walnut cake brand, said Wednesday it will provide its products during the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled for July 19 to 29 in the southeastern port city of Busan. The company will also operate a pop-up store at K-Heritage House, which will run throughout the event at BEXCO. The event, to be held in Korea for the first time since the country joined the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1988, is expected to draw representatives from the convention's 196 states parties, along with experts in global heritage conservation and promotion. Buchang will offer its signature lineup of walnut cakes, including Daisy Bomb Walnut Cake, which was introduced earlier this year by the company’s collaboration with G-Dragon’s charity foundation JUSPEACE. The K-pop star in February gifted Daisy Bomb sets to fans wh

Jul 8, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Buchang Bakery's G-Dragon walnut cake to be served at UNESCO meeting in Busan

Taihan Cable & Solution wins Australian order for AI data center power grid

Taihan Cable & Solution said Wednesday it has won a turnkey contract to build power grid infrastructure for an artificial intelligence (AI) data center under construction in Australia, expanding its push into the global data center power market. The company said the roughly 45 billion won ($29.8 million) contract was awarded by Transgrid, Australia's largest transmission network operator. Under the deal, Taihan will design, engineer and construct a 330-kilovolt cable system to supply power to the AI data center, handling the project from design through construction. AI data centers operate around the clock and require large, uninterrupted amounts of electricity, making reliable power infrastructure essential to their operation. Building such systems demands high-voltage cable technology along with expertise in grid design, engineering and construction management. Taihan said it was selected over other global competitors based on its track record in extra-high-voltage cables and international projects. The company has worked on multiple projects in Australia and New Zealand, including a 500

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Taihan Cable & Solution wins Australian order for AI data center power grid

Naver Cloud, Mistral AI sign partnership to target manufacturing AI

Naver Cloud and French artificial intelligence (AI) company Mistral AI said Wednesday that they have signed a comprehensive partnership agreement to jointly pursue the manufacturing AI market, positioning an Asian and a European technology firm together at a time when the global AI industry is increasingly dominated by major U.S. companies. The two companies are both members of the Nemotron Coalition, a group of firms working with Nvidia's Nemotron family of AI models, and already share overlapping technology. Building on that base, they plan to focus their joint business on manufacturing, an area where they see the greatest potential synergy. Rather than competing with general-purpose AI centered on the U.S., the companies aim to offer manufacturers in Europe and Asia so-called sovereign AI solutions, which keep data processing within a company's or country's own borders, rather than in AI systems based overseas. Immediately after signing, the companies held a joint workshop with technical staff at Naver's second headquarters, called 1784, to begin mapping out a commercialization plan

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Naver Cloud, Mistral AI sign partnership to target manufacturing AI

CJ Olive Young rolls out AI kiosks to help foreign shoppers navigate stores

CJ Olive Young, Korea's largest health and beauty retail chain, said Wednesday it is introducing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services in its stores to make shopping easier for international customers, as demand for K-beauty products continues to grow. The company is first rolling out its "AI Shopping Assistant" at multi-story flagship stores with high foreign customer traffic and strong demand for product information. Through a kiosk, customers can hold a real-time conversation in eight different languages through an AI avatar, avoiding the need for staff assistance. The kiosk provides product descriptions, inventory checks, in-store navigation and personalized recommendations based on skin type and preferences. The company said the kiosks are also meant to improve store efficiency by letting staff focus on specialized consultations, since simple or frequently asked questions about things like payment methods or value-added tax refunds can be answered on the touch screen. The kiosks also provide store managers with a dashboard showing information like how long customers spend lo

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
CJ Olive Young rolls out AI kiosks to help foreign shoppers navigate stores

Kakao Mobility, Renault Korea sign partnership on next-gen vehicle technology

Kakao Mobility and Renault Korea said Wednesday that they signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop next-generation in-vehicle technology, combining Kakao Mobility's mapping and software expertise with Renault Korea's vehicle platforms. Under the deal, the companies will jointly develop and test high-precision map data and software to power advanced driver assistance systems, the collision-avoidance and driving-support features increasingly built into modern cars. The partnership also covers upgrading in-vehicle infotainment systems — the built-in displays and software that handle navigation, entertainment and connected services — by linking them with mobility features such as navigation, parking and EV charging, along with broader efforts to improve the driving experience in future vehicles. The companies previewed their collaboration at NextRise 2026, a major Asian technology and startup exhibition held June 17, where Renault Korea displayed a concept car based on its Grand Koleos SUV equipped with Kakao Mobility's technology and services. Kakao Mobility said the agre

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Kakao Mobility, Renault Korea sign partnership on next-gen vehicle technology

Hyundai Motor's robotics momentum overshadowed by sales decline

Hyundai Motor’s stock has surrendered much of this year's robotics-driven gains, as the carmaker's steeply falling vehicle sales shift investor focus back to the firm's core business. The carmaker earned a spotlight from investors earlier this year on expectations that its robotics business — centered on humanoid robot development and physical artificial intelligence (AI) technologies — would become a new growth engine. However, Hyundai Motor's shares have retreated sharply, erasing much of the premium that investors had attached to the company's long-term technology ambitions. Market analysts and industry officials argue that the firm will be able to regain confidence from investors only after displaying a clear vision that its core automotive business can recover from the weakening sales. Hyundai Motor recorded weak performance in the Korean market in the first half of the year. Domestic sales plunged 10.8 percent between January and June from a year earlier. In April, Hyundai Motor temporarily surrendered the title of Korea's best-selling automaker to its sister carmaker Kia for

Jul 8, 2026By Lee Min-hyung
Hyundai Motor's robotics momentum overshadowed by sales decline

SK hynix estimated to purchase $13.2 bil. in bonds in 2026 amid record earnings

Korean chipmaker SK hynix is estimated to have purchased about 20 trillion won ($13.2 billion) worth of bonds this year as record earnings from the booming chip industry swelled its cash holdings, industry sources said Wednesday. The chip giant's purchases span a broad range of high-grade credit products, including bonds issued by Korea Electric Power Corp., other public institutions, banks, financial firms, securities companies and specialized credit finance companies, the sources said. Industry observers said SK hynix has emerged as one of the largest investors in the domestic credit market as its record-breaking semiconductor earnings have sharply boosted its cash holdings, creating a need for short-term investment vehicles to manage excess liquidity. SK hynix posted record first-quarter earnings, reporting 52 trillion won in revenue and 37 trillion won in operating profit. Its cash and cash equivalents totaled 54.3 trillion won at the end of the January-March period, up 19.4 trillion won from three months earlier. Reflecting its strong earnings momentum, SK hynix shares have surged mo

Jul 8, 2026By Yonhap
SK hynix estimated to purchase $13.2 bil. in bonds in 2026 amid record earnings

Galaxy Robot Park sells out July weekend shows ahead of official opening

Galaxy Corp. said Wednesday that ticket sales for the preopening of its new Galaxy Robot Park have exceeded expectations, with all July weekend shows selling out immediately despite the venue's official grand opening being scheduled for September. The company said about 8,000 visitors secured reservations during the initial July booking period. Following the rapid sellout of weekend performances, it has received numerous requests to release additional tickets. Galaxy Robot Park is billed as the world's first physical artificial intelligence (AI) theme park, combining AI, robotics, live performances and intellectual property into an immersive entertainment experience. Unlike a conventional exhibition venue, the park is designed as a permanent performance space where humans and robots appear on stage together, offering interactive experiences intended to showcase advances in AI-powered robotics. At the center of the venue is the Robot Arena, where visitors can watch performances including synchronized K-pop robot dance shows and robot boxing matches. Other attractions include a "Hugging Ro

Jul 8, 2026By Nam Hyun-woo
Galaxy Robot Park sells out July weekend shows ahead of official opening

Retail chains lose ground under outdated regulations

The government's regulations on discount chain stores are facing growing criticism, with calls for the rules to be abolished or eased to help the offline retail sector survive intensifying competition from the fast-growing e-commerce industry. Introduced in 2012 to protect traditional markets and small businesses, the regulations generally require large discount stores to close on the second and fourth Sunday of each month and prohibit them from operating or making deliveries between midnight and 8 a.m. The initiative to ease or abolish the rules has gained momentum in the National Assembly and among market researchers, who argue the regulations are outdated and no longer reflect a retail market increasingly dominated by e-commerce. The biggest criticism is that the regulations were crafted at a time when e-commerce had yet to emerge as a major retail force. Instead, discount chain stores dominated the market. Emart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, the country's three largest discount store chains, generated a combined 37.2 trillion won ($24.4 billion) in sales in 2012 while operating a record

Jul 8, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Retail chains lose ground under outdated regulations
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