Business - The Korea Times

Hitejinro to raise beer prices on high costs

Hitejinro, Korea's leading beverage company, said Tuesday it will raise the prices of its flagship beer products later this month to reflect higher raw material costs. Hitejinro will increase the retail prices of its mainstay Hite, Terra and Kelly beers by an average of 2.7 percent starting May 28, the company said in a press release. "The price hike is inevitable as a weaker won has driven up raw material, logistics and manufacturing costs," the release said. The company last raised product prices in November 2023. However, 500-milliliter canned beers and low-malt FiLite products will not be subject to the planned price hike, in an effort to ease the financial burden on consumers.

May 13, 2025By Yonhap

Hitejinro to raise beer prices on high costs

Krafton kicks off PUBG Global Series 8 esports tournament in Shanghai

Korean gaming company Krafton said Monday it has opened the PUBG Global Series 8, an international esports tournament for its flagship battle royale game PUBG: Battlegrounds, in Shanghai. The event, running through Sunday, brings together 24 of the world's top professional PUBG teams to compete in two events. Five teams from Korea, including DN Freecs, Gen.G and T1, are competing in the tournament, which offers combined prize money of $300,000, with the winning team set to take home $100,000. The top four teams will qualify to compete in the PUBG Global Championship 2025, the highest-tier international event for the title set to be held later this year. All matches of the PUBG Global Series 8 will be streamed live on PUBG Esports' official YouTube channel, as well as through online platforms, such as Chzzk, Soop and Naver TV.

May 12, 2025By Yonhap

Krafton kicks off PUBG Global Series 8 esports tournament in Shanghai

Will Starbucks overcome Mega Coffee by opening stores until 10 pm?

SCK Company, a Shinsegae Group subsidiary operating Starbucks coffee shops in Korea, has announced plans to keep at least 80 percent of its roughly 2,000 stores open until 10 p.m. in a return to prepandemic hours. The nation's leading coffeehouse chain made the decision amid intensifying competition with fast-growing budget coffee shop brands. Prior to this latest measure, SCK had also introduced discount promotions for customers ordering decaffeinated beverages in the late afternoon and for those making purchases twice a day. "We have decided to extend operating hours and launch related promotional events to fulfill our responsibility of providing spaces where customers can stay comfortably anytime," an SCK official said. While the company described the change as a "normalization" of hours, many see it as a direct response to the aggressive expansion of smaller rivals. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, SCK posted sales of 3.1 trillion won ($2.2 billion) and an operating profit of 190.8 billion won last year, the highest among Korean coffee shop operators. A Twosome Place ra

May 12, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk

Will Starbucks overcome Mega Coffee by opening stores until 10 pm?

Construction CEOs ramp up site visits to cut worker deaths from falls

It has become increasingly common to see helmeted CEOs of major construction companies inspecting safety measures at job sites under their supervision. Their frequent site visits come in response to a government request to prevent fatal industrial accidents — especially from falls. GS E&C CEO Huh Yoon-hong inspected an apartment complex construction site in Incheon on Wednesday as part of the company's weekly executive visits to worksites nationwide. In January, Huh even held the company's annual kick-off meeting at a desalination plant construction site in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. Last month, Daewoo E&C CEO Kim Bo-hyun visited an apartment complex construction site in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to inspect safety facilities and confirm workers were following guidelines. The company said Kim visited three worksites in the first quarter of the year. Hyundai E&C CEO Lee Han-woo also visited a Hyundai Motor service center construction site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, last month. The company said Lee emphasized the importance of safety to on-site workers. Samsung C&T sent CEO Oh

May 11, 2025By Park Jae-hyuk

Construction CEOs ramp up site visits to cut worker deaths from falls

SK Telecom introduces USIM format solution amid data leak incident

SK Telecom has decided to introduce a universal subscriber identity module (USIM) format solution that is equivalent — in terms of security — to replacing users' USIM chips, in a move to alleviate public concerns following a major data leak, the company said Sunday. Starting Monday, the nation’s largest telecom operator will initiate the service for its customers to speed up crisis management following the massive data leak last month. The solution updates user identification information from USIM chips, thereby blocking hacking threats from leaked USIM information, according to the company. The service ensures a high level of security, equivalent to replacing USIM cards, it said. The decision came amid continued public criticism of SK Telecom after its customer USIM data was leaked in a malware attack. The company has yet to confirm any specific compensation plans for its customers. “The solution prevents any potential hacking threat from leaked customer USIM data,” an official from SK Telecom said. Unlike USIM chip replacement, with the new solution, customers will not have to

May 11, 2025By Lee Min-hyung

SK Telecom introduces USIM format solution amid data leak incident

Korean Air nearly halves int'l flights from regional airports amid industry restructuring

Korean Air Lines, Korea's leading air carrier, has significantly reduced the number of its international flights from regional airports, data showed Sunday. The airline operated 6,199 international flights from all regional airports nationwide, excluding Seoul's Gimpo Airport and Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in 2024, marking a 45 percent drop from 11,408 flights in 2019, according to the data compiled by the land ministry. Korean Air's international flights at Gimhae Airport in the southern port city of Busan sank by 42 percent from 9,675 in 2019 to 5,567 in 2024. The figure for the first quarter of 2025 also dropped by 36 percent compared with the same period in 2019, falling to 1,632 international flights from 2,580. Korean Air explained that the adjustment was inevitable due to delays in aircraft deliveries from manufacturers, prompting it to temporarily scale back operations on certain routes. But civic groups and local politicians have criticized the move, noting that its international flight operations at Incheon Airport declined by a mere 5.7 percent over the same

May 11, 2025By Yonhap

Korean Air nearly halves int'l flights from regional airports amid industry restructuring

LX Group cruises toward stable growth in 5th year of independence

LX Group marked its fifth year as a standalone conglomerate on May 1, following its separation from LG Group in 2021. Defying initial worries over its viability as an independent business group amid the prolonged global economic slowdown, the group has steadily expanded its business portfolio and stabilized its earnings, creating a rosy outlook for its long-term growth. According to the group, the combined assets of its affiliates stood at 12.67 trillion won ($9.04 billion), up 33.37 percent from 9.5 trillion won in 2021. The number of affiliates also increased to 17 as of April, up from 11 when it split from LG Group. After its separation, LX Group launched with LX Holdings as its holding company, overseeing four key subsidiaries: trading firm LX International, housing materials company LX Hausys, semiconductor fabless firm LX Semicon and chemical company LX MMA. Since then, the group has pursued an aggressive expansion strategy, taking over glassmaker Han Glas, now LX Glas, along with other firms in the fields of biomass and logistics to further diversify its portfolio. As a result of t

May 10, 2025By Nam Hyun-woo

LX Group cruises toward stable growth in 5th year of independence

LS Group to power Bhutan’s new smart city in Gelephu

LS Group signed a partnership agreement on Friday with a state-run company in Bhutan to build a power grid network for a massive new smart city project in the country, the Korean conglomerate said. LS Corp. President and CEO Myung Roe-hyun met Gelephu Investment and Development Corp. (GIDC) CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal at the Korean company’s office in Seoul for the signing. The two sides agreed to jointly establish a local subsidiary, LS GIDC, in Bhutan to oversee the project. Under the contract, LS will build power distribution facilities in Gelephu, including transformers, energy storage systems and cables for electricity and communication — core infrastructure components for the smart city project. LS GIDC is seeking to install smart city infrastructure in a region covering 2,500 square kilometers. The company plans to complete construction of an international airport by 2029 and operate power generation facilities based on hydro and other renewable energy sources. The electricity produced will support the energy needs of AI-based businesses and data centers that are expected to be est

May 9, 2025By Ko Dong-hwan

LS Group to power Bhutan’s new smart city in Gelephu

MBK, Young Poong protest Korea Zinc CEO’s reappointment amid legal probe

MBK Partners and Young Poong Group — Korea Zinc’s largest shareholder — opposed the reappointment of Park Ki-deok as CEO of the zinc smelting firm, they said Friday, citing an ongoing investigation into Park for suspected violations of the Capital Markets Act. The MBK alliance, which has long been engaged in a management control dispute with Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom, made these remarks in a statement issued by MBK’s investment vehicle, Korea Corporate Investment Holdings, and Young Poong’s affiliate, YPC. The world’s largest zinc smelter held a board meeting the previous day and reappointed Park as CEO. "Park, along with Choi and Chief Financial Officer Lee Seung-ho, is suspected of engaging in unfair trading practices in connection with the 2.5 trillion won ($1.8 billion) capital increase announced on Oct. 30 last year," the statement read. "He was explicitly named as a suspect in the prosecution’s April 23 search-and-seizure operation at Korea Zinc, under investigation for potential violations of the Capital Markets Act." The alliance argued that reappointing an

May 9, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

MBK, Young Poong protest Korea Zinc CEO’s reappointment amid legal probe

Korea to build world's largest liquefied hydrogen carrier by 2027

Korea plans to build the world's largest liquefied hydrogen carrier (LHC) for demonstration purposes by 2027 as part of efforts to develop future growth engines for the local shipbuilding industry, the industry ministry said Friday. To this end, the government will invest 55.5 billion won ($39.5 million) in 2025 alone, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. LHC is considered a type of high-value and high-tech vessel that is widely expected to play a significant role in the shipbuilding market. The ship, which can transport hydrogen in liquid form, has yet to be commercialized by any country, the ministry explained. The government announced a strategy last year to help the Korean shipbuilding industry lead the LHC market. Under the strategy, the government will support the local industry's efforts to secure core technologies for key materials and parts needed for developing LHCs. "LHCs involve high risks in early stages of development due to their technical complexity, and that is why the government's role is crucial in helping the Korean shipbuilding industry seize new ma

May 9, 2025By Yonhap

Companies