Business - The Korea Times

FTC’s regulatory push clouds Mercedes-Benz Korea’s EV prospects

Mercedes-Benz Korea faces another major regulatory risk in its electric vehicle (EV) business, as the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is on the verge of slapping sanctions on the carmaker for advertising allegedly deceptive battery information. The investigation was the result of a controversy dating back to August last year, after one of the carmaker’s EQE electric sedans caught fire in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Incheon. The fire caused significant damage to the facility and to hundreds of vehicles parked nearby. Last week, the antitrust watchdog reached the conclusion that the local subsidiary of the German luxury carmaker should be sanctioned for its alleged violation of fair trade and advertising acts and notified the company accordingly. The company is suspected of having claimed in promotional materials that the vehicle’s battery was sourced from CATL, the world’s largest battery firm, but the car involved in the fire was actually equipped with a battery manufactured by Farasis Energy, a less popular Chinese brand. The FTC has since conducted multiple

Aug 19, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

FTC’s regulatory push clouds Mercedes-Benz Korea’s EV prospects

Coway solidifies market leadership with innovative product lineups

Coway, the nation’s leading water purifier provider, is rolling out a series of summer appliance promotions as part of its strategy to solidify its leadership in the environmental home appliance market, the company said Tuesday. The strategy is aimed at absorbing rising demand for cooling and dehumidifying appliances in Korea’s hot and humid summer season. Coway is launching two promotional campaigns: a 50 percent discount on dehumidifier rental fees and the launch of the Ice Big Festa event for sales of its full lineup of ice water purifiers at discounted prices. Running through the end of September, the promotional event offers substantial benefits to customers who purchase or rent Coway’s full range of household ice water purifiers. Eligible products include its Icon ice water purifier series. New customers can rent the products at half price for up to 18 months. Existing customers are also eligible for additional discounts of up to 35 percent on re-rentals for a year, the company said. Coway also hosts a giveaway for customers purchasing any ice water purifiers. Prizes include

Aug 19, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

Coway solidifies market leadership with innovative product lineups

Airbnb to fully enforce business registration rule in Korea

Home rental platform Airbnb said Tuesday it will fully implement a business registration rule for existing accommodations in South Korea from mid-October as part of its policy to remove unregistered properties. Hosts who have not submitted their business registration information and certificate as of Oct. 16 will not be allowed to accept reservations for stays after Jan. 1, 2026, the company said in a press release. The measure marks the final phase of Airbnb's policy announced in July 2024, which first applied the requirement to newly listed properties beginning in October 2024. It now extends to existing listings. "This measure is not a legal obligation for platforms under Korean law, but a voluntary decision to strengthen Airbnb's credibility in the Korean market," a company official said. Listings that provide the required documents after Oct. 16 will be able to resume normal operations immediately, the release said.

Aug 19, 2025By Yonhap

Airbnb to fully enforce business registration rule in Korea

LG Electronics to unveil 25 new home appliances at IFA

LG Electronics said Tuesday it plans to unveil 25 new home appliances during an upcoming German electronics exhibition targeting the European market. The new set of products meeting lifestyles of European customers will be showcased at the IFA 2025, which will kick off for a five-day run in Berlin on Sept. 5, the company said in a release. LG Electronics said its new refrigerators and washers especially focused on improving energy efficiency in response to the growing utility cost burden for European households. "The new refrigerators, which come with improved insulation, can also reduce power consumption by using an artificial intelligence (AI) system that optimizes the operation of the compressor," the company said. LG Electronics said it plans to continue releasing customized home appliances that meet European consumers' demands to expand its presence in the market. The company added the size of the European home appliances market is estimated to reach 150 trillion won ($108 billion) in 2025, with annual growth projected at 4.1 percent through 2030, citing research by market tracker St

Aug 19, 2025By Yonhap

LG Electronics to unveil 25 new home appliances at IFA

Swatch apologizes over ‘slant-eye’ ad after backlash in China

Swiss watch brand Swatch has issued an apology after featuring a model making the “slant-eye” gesture — widely recognized as a racist insult against Asians — in a recent advertising campaign. The controversy has sparked outrage in China, its largest market in Asia, where calls for a boycott are spreading. According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and other Chinese media on Monday, the company released promotional photos for its “Swatch Essential” series showing an Asian male model pulling the corners of his eyes outward with his fingers. The gesture, long used in the West as a derogatory stereotype mocking Asians for their eye shape has previously landed global fashion houses in similar scandals. French luxury label Dior, for instance, faced heavy criticism in April 2023 for directing an Asian female model to pose in the same way. The backlash in China was immediate and fierce. The photo was uploaded to Swatch’s official Chinese website but was quickly bombarded with criticism. On Weibo, the country’s major social media platform, some users demanded a full boycot

Aug 19, 2025By Hankookilbo

Swatch apologizes over ‘slant-eye’ ad after backlash in China

Alibaba debuts world’s 1st AI agent for global trade

Alibaba International has launched the world’s first trade-focused artificial intelligence (AI) agent, Accio Agent, that can help small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) develop products and find distributors in just a few minutes, the multinational e-commerce facilitator said Monday. The AI platform, specializing in business-to-business (B2B) trades across borders, allows users to research markets, plan products, design prototypes, check regulations and find distributors, all in just a few clicks. The efficiency has reduced the time required for these processes to mere minutes instead of weeks, the company added. Accio Agent has allowed 70 percent of the B2B trade processes to be automated, slashing the time necessary for a human to complete each process. The company said the AI platform has brought the separate processes under a singular workflow, allowing time-saving efficiency, particularly for SMEs with a limited workforce and capacity. Kuo Zhang, vice president of Alibaba International, said Accio Agent is a “practical solution for all kinds of practical problems that often

Aug 18, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

Alibaba debuts world’s 1st AI agent for global trade

Naver employees make nearly $72,000 on average in H1: data

Employees at Korea's internet giant Naver earned nearly 100 million won ($72,000) each in just the first six months of the year, far outpacing the average income of their local rival Kakao, data showed Monday. According to industry data and company filings, Naver employees earned an average of 92 million won during the January-June period. Male employees were paid an average of 101 million won, up from 83 million won over the same period last year, while female workers earned an average 78 million won, compared with 65 million won a year ago. At Kakao, the average wage stood at 58 million won, with men receiving 64 million won and women 49 million won. Naver employees stay with the company for an average 7.6 years, compared with six years for Kakao workers. "In the first half, the average wage tends to be higher due to bonuses and incentives," a Naver official said.

Aug 18, 2025By Yonhap

Naver employees make nearly $72,000 on average in H1: data

SK chairman calls for sovereign AI to compete in global race

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said Monday the group should nurture the capability to develop sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) that can compete in the quickly evolving global AI market. “What we need to understand about sovereign AI is that it is not confined within our borders but is part of a global race,” Chey told reporters during SK Group’s annual Icheon Forum. “That is why we thought we must develop a sovereign AI that can win in the global market.” Sovereign AI refers to an AI ecosystem that is developed and operated under a nation’s own control, using its own data, infrastructure, algorithms and regulations. The concept is gaining attention as countries are gaining awareness of the importance of protecting digital sovereignty amid the growing reliance on global AI platforms. Sovereign AI was one of the key agendas of the Icheon Forum, which kicked off its three-day run at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul hotel Monday. The annual forum is a gathering of key executives of SK affiliates to review the group’s management strategies and explore new opportunities. In the o

Aug 18, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

SK chairman calls for sovereign AI to compete in global race

Tokyo Station-like image in gov't video for Liberation Day draws ire

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is facing public criticism over a 56-second video clip it produced to review the 120-year history of Korean railways on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. In the short-form clip recently uploaded on the ministry's YouTube channel, viewers noticed a train station resembling Tokyo Station in Japan, which appears with subtitles that read, “With the spirit of the 80th anniversary of liberation, Korean railways are heading for tomorrow.” Internet users pointed out cars passing on the left and the track width, raising suspicion the footage shows Tokyo Station. Some claimed the video is sold online as a time lapse of Tokyo trains at night. In the wake of the controversy, the ministry took down the clip from YouTube. A ministry spokesperson denied that Tokyo Station’s image was used, explaining that the image was generated by artificial intelligence (AI). “It seems that the quality of AI is still imperfect,” he said. “The people who made the video were not railway experts, so

Aug 18, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk

Tokyo Station-like image in gov't video for Liberation Day draws ire

Lotteria opens 1st US restaurant in Southern California

Popular homegrown burger chain Lotteria has officially entered the U.S. market with its first restaurant in Fullerton, Calif., bringing a taste of Korean fast food to the heart of America’s burger scene. The drive-through location opened Thursday (local time) in a shopping district anchored by department stores, superstores and restaurants operated by international companies. According to Lotte GRS, the growing Korean population in northern Orange County influenced the decision to open the restaurant in Fullerton. Cha Woo-cheol, CEO of the food business arm of Lotte Group, attended the restaurant’s opening ceremony, joined by Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung, a Korean emigrant to the U.S., and Cho Seong-ho, deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Korea in Los Angeles. The restaurant follows the establishment of Lotte GRS’ American subsidiary, Lotte GRS USA, in 2023. The company said it has been preparing the 215 square-meter location since then. Branded as “The Original K-Burger,” the restaurant aims to introduce Korean flavors, featuring burgers with bulgogi, or stir-fried m