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Tag: Korea

  • Korean Air hiring flight attendants

    Korean Air hiring flight attendants

    Korean Air’s reputation may be in the gutter due to ongoing investigations into its owner family, but it’s hiring.

    Korea’s largest airline is looking to take on 600 new flight attendants this year, the company said on Tuesday.

    Korean Air began recruiting 200 new flight attendants on Tuesday. The company already hired 200 attendants in the early half of the year, and is currently in the middle of hiring 100 experienced flight attendants.

    Korean Air usually takes on about 500 new flight attendants every year, so this year’s hiring represents a bit of a bump. A company spokesperson said that it increased its hiring to keep up with its expanding flight routes.

    Last year, the company hired only 180 new flight attendants, so it decided to hire more this year.

    Most of the company’s statements in recent months have been in response to allegations against the Cho family, which owns Korean Air.

    A series of investigations into the family began in April, when Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s youngest daughter Cho Hyun-min was caught throwing a drink at an advertising executive during a meeting in March. Since then, the airline has been busy responding to complaints rather than promoting its business.

    Korean Air is expecting steep growth in its business this year. It moved to Incheon International Airport’s second terminal, which opened in January, and started a joint venture partnership with U.S. airline Delta in May.

    However, the scandalous stories of the Cho family have dominated coverage of the company. Various family members are under investigation for different charges and allegations including smuggling, tax evasion and unfair trading through affiliates.

    Most recently, Lee Myung-hee, the wife of the company’s chairman, was summoned by the Korea Immigration Service on Monday for about 13 hours of questioning into whether she illegally hired Filipino housekeepers.

    While only ethnic Koreans or immigrants married to Koreans can work as housekeepers in Korea, Lee is accused of making the airline’s branch in the Philippines recruit around 10 housekeepers and dispatch them to Korea, supposedly as Korean Air trainees. According to reports, Lee acknowledged that she hired Filipino housekeepers, but denied that she was involved in their hiring process.

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  • Samsung Electronics calls for retrial in Apple case

    Samsung Electronics calls for retrial in Apple case

    Samsung Electronics on Tuesday called for a retrial of the latest ruling by a U.S. court, which ordered the Korean tech giant to pay Apple $539 million over design infringement.

    The Korean tech giant claimed that the amount awarded to Apple by the latest ruling is excessive, demanding that the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, reconsider the ruling.

    The conflict between the two companies surrounding alleged design infringement started in 2011, with the court ruling ordering Samsung to compensate Apple coming in May.

    The U.S. company claimed Samsung violated its designs, such as a “black rectangular front face with rounded corners,” a “rectangular front face with rounded corners and a raised rim” and a “grid of 16 colorful icons on a black screen.”

    Shortly after the court ruling, Samsung said it would “consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers.”

  • Lotte Mart begins selling menstrual cups today

    Lotte Mart begins selling menstrual cups today

    Lotte Mart began selling menstrual cups at its online and brick-and-mortar stores today.

    The discount chain will sell two variations of “WithCup” in two different sizes, both priced at 39,000 won ($36.21). WithCup was the first menstrual cup made in Korea to receive safety approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last month. It is cheaper than the foreign products that consumers previously had to buy online.

    The launch makes Lotte Mart the first discount chain to sell menstrual cups. Menstrual cups rose as an alternative to sanitary pads last year when the safety of several sanitary products fell into question. But most of them had to be purchased through foreign shopping websites as menstrual cups were only approved to be officially imported into Korea in December.

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  • Amorepacific loses a cushion compact patent

    Amorepacific loses a cushion compact patent

    The Supreme Court dismissed Amorepacific’s patent on cushion compacts, putting an end to a three-year legal battle, according to the company on Tuesday.

    Amorepacific appealed a Patent Court of Korea ruling in February that invalidated the company’s patent for cushion compacts on the grounds that the product lacked “inventiveness.” This meant that its manufacturing didn’t have innovative technology not found elsewhere in the industry.

    The Supreme Court decision, which came on May 31, concludes a three-year legal struggle between the beauty giant and six domestic beauty companies, including Cosmax, an original design manufacturer for well-known local and global brands.

    Cushion compacts contain liquids like color foundation or sunscreen in a case, which was first used for skin powder. A sponge inside the case holds the liquids so they don’t flow out. Cushion compacts were first released by Amorepacific’s Iope brand in 2008, and became one of the company’s biggest successes. Now, cushion compacts are released by global names like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and L’Oreal.

    In 2011, Amorepacific registered a local patent for cushion compacts, which it described as a “cosmetic that includes urethane foam soaked with product.”

    In 2015, the six smaller beauty companies filed a suit in the patent court to annul Amorepacific’s patent on the grounds that urethane foam has been used in beauty products in the past. Cosmax was also sued by Amorepacific the following year for patent infringement.

    Amorepacific possesses more than 400 patents worldwide related to cushion compacts, but the one related to the usage of urethane foam as the sponge that holds the liquid is especially important. Manufacturers like Kolmar Korea and Cosmecca Korea paid loyalty fees to use the technique.

    Many beauty companies have since developed their own methods and materials to use in cushion compacts, but in the products’ early days, most followed Amorepacific’s model. If the court had ruled in favor of Amorepacific, this would have given the company grounds to ask for compensation for patent infringement.

    The patent court’s first ruling was in favor of Amorepacific, but the second one annulled the patent, so the beauty giant appealed to the Supreme Court but failed to receive a nod.

    “The domestic patent was annulled, but the same patent is still effective abroad, so we will continue exercising our rights to protect our technology in overseas markets,” said an Amorepacific spokesman.

  • SK Telecom invests 10 billion won in content provider Make Us

    SK Telecom invests 10 billion won in content provider Make Us

    SK Telecom invested 10 billion won ($9.2 million) in mobile video content provider Make Us, the company said Monday.

    Local start-up Make Us creates video clips related to various categories including music, food, travel and beauty and distributes them through its own channels on Facebook and YouTube.

    Korea’ largest mobile carrier hopes to use the start-up’s expertise in making creative content while launching its new music streaming platform in the second half of this year.

    One of most well-known content created by Make Us is its music channel Dingo Music, which offers music videos cropped to appear on a vertically-oriented phone screen.

    The two are considering jointly producing music programs to be broadcasted on mobile channels.

    According to the mobile carrier, the start-up’s content is most popular among people under the age of 40. Based on last year’s data, it has a total of 33.6 million subscribers to its pages on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

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  • Gentle Monster looks beyond sunglasses

    Gentle Monster looks beyond sunglasses

    Among the foreign luxury brands filling the eyewear section at local duty-free shops and department stores, the Korean-based brand Gentle Monster stands out.

    Getting its initial fame among the Korean public as “Jun Ji-hyun sunglasses” after the actress wore a Gentle Monster product in hit TV series “My Love From the Star” in 2014, the brand is solidifying its place in a market heavily dominated by foreign luxury brands.

    The brand’s founding story is not so typical, as its two co-founders weren’t exactly in love with sunglasses. Originally in English education, they looked into what kind of market they could stand the chance to be profitable.

    “The eyewear market has a long history, but it has not been changing in Korea. It was pretty much the same, controlled by a few major giants who have factories and retail shops,” Jay Oh, one of the two founders, said at an event hosted by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul on 29 May.

    “We thought, if we make something special and unique, people might love us,” he said.

    Oh and Kim Han-kook founded I.I Combined, the owner and operator of Gentle Monster, in 2011. The name stands for the combination of ultimate imagination and interpretation of the world.

    “The brand has a specific customer role model — a gentle monster. We want our customers to look gentle but have great passion and enthusiasm inside,” Oh said. “Our beauty concept is weird beauty.”

    Gentle Monster produces three types of sunglasses, categorized as first-generation, second-generation and third-generation products. Each generation has a different purpose and concept.

    “Third-generation products are hard to wear in real life, but they are attractive on Instagram and to celebrities,” Oh said. “We are developing 50 models every season and 20 of them are in the third generation. We are not really seeing this as profitable but this is fun, a part of our ultimate imagination.”

    “Second generation is a little bit less challenging, fashion leaders can wear this. Most of the sales come from the first-generation products. It is where we see mass customers. But still the third generation is leading the fashion industry,” he said.

    The brand is represented by its unique, artistic flagship stores, which more resemble art exhibitions than stores.

    Oh stressed that flagship stores are not just about selling products. “We are not really making the space to sell something, but to deliver our spirt,” he said about the six branches across the nation and 10 more around the world. While the concept for the stores changes each year, this year’s concept is about the universe and aliens.

    French luxury goods giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has seen the value in the brand’s flagship store strategy. In August, L Catterton Asia, backed by the French giant, invested around 60 billion won (US$53.17 million) in Gentle Monster, becoming the second-biggest shareholder of the firm.

    “Flagships are what Gentle Monster is, it’s a whole ‘starting with experience’ idea. The same product, but the experience and the strategy are different. This is where the future of luxury retail is at. It’s not only about products,” Cho Hyun-ock, president of LVMH Korea, said at the event.

    “The investment is not just to earn money, but to learn from Gentle Monster — the creativity and the innovation,” he added.

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  • Samsung tip has government investigating KIP

    Samsung tip has government investigating KIP

    The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has been investigating a Korean company over technology leakage overseas at the request of Samsung Electronics, sources said on Monday.

    The probe into KIP, a private company belonging to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, started in April after Samsung Electronics reported the issue to the government. But the issue is complicated by an ongoing lawsuit between KIP and Samsung in the United States.

    KIP sued Samsung over mobile transistor intellectual property, and critics have suggested that Samsung’s recent allegations are an attempt to cloud the issue.

    Back in late 2016, the company run by a group of researchers at Kaist filed a suit at a federal court in Texas against Samsung for using its patented technology for mobile 3D transistors, known as fin field effect transistors (FinFET), since 2015. The technology is used to increase the processing speed of smartphones and tablet PCs.

    Unlike Samsung, Intel has been paying around 10 billion won ($9.3 million) to use the technology since 2012. KIP demanded that Samsung pay for its use of the technology as well, and a jury is set to hand down the first verdict on the case on June 16.

    Samsung, however, has refused to pay for the technology, claiming it was initially developed as part of a state-supported research project. The electronics giant fought back, claiming that KIP leaked the core technologies overseas.

    The world’s No. 1 chipmaker asked the ministry to look into whether KIP’s intellectual property fits into one of seven categories that either have technological and economic value in markets at home and abroad or have great growth potential that are stipulated in the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology.

    The seven designated technologies need state approval before being exported overseas.

    While reviewing documents preparing for a trial, Samsung claims it found evidence of a national core technology being leaked abroad without approval from the Commerce Ministry.

    FinFET was originally a joint project between Wonkwang University, where Lee Jong-ho, now professor at the department of electrical and computer engineering at Seoul National University, was serving as professor, and Kaist in 2001. Lee patented the technology under his name in Korea and handed it over to KIP later. KIP then transferred the patent to its U.S. branch, which was established in 2016.

    “It is hard to conclude whether [the KIP-owned technology] is a core national technology and it is not clear either whether the issue needs to be assessed by a group of experts,” said a ministry official. “We are taking into consideration of various aspects, given the issue could affect the trial.”

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  • Innisfree makes Australian debut

    Innisfree makes Australian debut

    Innisfree Australia has opened its first outlet, inside Melbourne Central shopping complex.

    This is Amorepacific’s second foray to promote its Korean cosmetics brand in Australia after Laneige launched in March.

    The company also expanded its Etude House brand in the Middle East this month.

    Innisfree, known for its green-tea lines, now has 12 stores in overseas markets including China, Thailand, Vietnam and the US.

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  • Alibaba to sell more Korean stuff

    Alibaba to sell more Korean stuff

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced Monday that it will expand partnerships with Korean brands in line with a Chinese government initiative to increase imports over the next few years.

    “During international forums such as Davos or Boao, President Xi Jinping has announced multiple times that China will expand exports – [the government] plans to import $8 trillion in the next five years and the China International Expo will take place in Shanghai this year,” said Angel Zhao, the group’s vice president, at a seminar held by the company on Monday at COEX in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

    “Under such import policy, Alibaba’s platforms like Tmall, Tmall Global, Taobao and others will be a useful tool for our partners to introduce their products to Chinese consumers.”

    Established in 1999, Alibaba Group is an IT giant that runs multiple e-commerce sites like Tmall, Taobao, Alibaba Express and the payment service Alipay. In 2014, it launched a Korean office aimed at expanding partnerships in Korea, but Monday’s event was the largest event it has ever held here, with some of its top executives from the China headquarters attending.

    Korean brands in Tmall Global, a website that mainly sells products from foreign companies, saw an annual sales growth rate of 45 percent between 2015 and 2017. This placed Korea as the No. 4 exporter to the website last year, following Japan, the United States and Australia.

    Alvin Liu, a general manager of Tmall’s import and export business, said he still sees potential for Korea’s beauty products to grow through Chinese e-commerce, which is currently dominated by jiulinghou, meaning consumers born in the 1990s.

    “Over 90 percent of Tmall Global’s users are jiulinghou, and in China there are 174 million people in this generation, which as a country would rank the eight largest in the world by population,” he said.

    “Data analysis [from our platform] indicates that this generation is particularly interested in expressing themselves in front of others and they’re starting to look for beauty products on a global scale – this is a big opportunity for Korea because it has an advanced market in the sector.”

    As an incentive for potential partners, both executives suggested that a partnership with Alibaba will offer opportunities to tap into both online and brick-and-mortar stores in China, including its in-house offline retailers like the grocery store Hema. Alibaba has been investing in a “New Retail” strategy, which is to expand offline services to create synergy with its online business. Earlier this year, Tmall opened its first store exclusively comprised of imported goods in Hangzhou.

    Zhao added that Alibaba could be the gateway to Southeast Asian countries as well through Lazada, a leading e-commerce website in the region which the Chinese company acquired shares of in 2016.

    “A priority for us [in the search for Korean suppliers] is to export products that are unique and trendy,” said Danny Chung, Alibaba Group Korea’s general manager. “From that perspective, diversification of product sectors apart from beauty and fashion is also important.”

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  • Korea now fifth-biggest beauty exporter to EU

    Korea now fifth-biggest beauty exporter to EU

     

    Korea is now one of the top beauty product exporters to the European Union, surpassing Japan to take the No. 5 spot in terms of value.

    According to a report released by the International Trade Association on 5 June, Korea exported 135 million euros (US$158 million) of beauty products to the EU last year, pushing Japan down to the No. 6 spot.

    The United States took the top spot last year, with 1.2 billion euros of exports to the EU. China came in second with 630 million euros, followed by Switzerland with 574 million euros and Canada with 137 million.

    Although it placed fifth overall, Korea actually recorded the highest year-on-year increase among the top five, at 46.8 percent. The report added that the 135 million euros was a 10-fold increase compared to 2010.

    A major contributor to the rise in popularity of Korean beauty goods across Europe is the growing trend for eco-friendly or vegan lifestyle. The analysis, from Korea International Trade Association’s (KITA) Brussels office, pointed out that Korean brands managed to cater to these changing tastes as they heavily promote the use of natural ingredients like ginseng, green tea and aloe plants.

    This was backed by a survey conducted by Cosmetics Europe in April last year: 52 percent of respondents answered that a product’s effect on the environment was a major factor they considered when making beauty purchases.

    The analysis said that there is a growing perception in Europe that Korean beauty products are good quality. Korean brands also offer products that are otherwise hard to find from European brands, like sheet masks and cushion foundations.

    For companies that aim to launch businesses in Europe, KITA advised that it’s necessary to verify that product ingredients are not animal-tested, as such testing was banned by the European Union in 2013.

    “Several European companies said Korean brands have to work more to increase awareness and particularly make sure to emphasize that they are Korean, as a lot of European consumers know that animal-testing is mandatory for beauty products in China,” said the report.

  • Bottega Lounge opening in Seoul attended by owner

    Bottega Lounge opening in Seoul attended by owner

    Owner/MD of the Italian winery and distillery bearing her family name attended the official inaugural event of the Bottega Lounge in Seoul’s Gangnam-Gu.

    Opened in collaboration with a local partner, the lounge offers Italian Prosecco, Amarone della Valpolicella, Brunello di Montalcino, grappa and liqueurs.

    The lounge also allows Seoul people to become familiar with Italian food, as well as other Asian, American and French cuisines.

    Bottega is a family-owned company in Bibano, Treviso, (45km north of Venice) that has been producing premium Italian wines, grappa, spirits and food products since 1977. Bottega is a third-generation business, today led by Barbara, Sandro and Stefano Bottega. Its headquarters are in a renovated 19th-century farmhouse surrounded by 10ha of vineyards. The group also runs a winery in Valpolicella and one in Montalcino.

    Bottega products are distributed to more than 120 countries.

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  • Nature Republic site priciest property in Korea

    Nature Republic site priciest property in Korea

    The Nature Republic flagship store in Myeongdong, Seoul, has been named the most expensive commercial property in South Korea for the 15th consecutive year.

    According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the official government appraisal of the land currently housing the cosmetics retailer’s stroe increased by 6.16 per cent from last year to 91.3 million won (US$85,439) per square metre.

    Other properties within Myeongdong rounded out the list of the 10 most expensive properties per square metre in the nation.

    Properties currently occupied by jewellery shops Lloyd and Clue were the second and third most expensive, coming in at 90.25 million won and 90.12 million won, respectively.

    The site of Woori Bank’s Myeongdong Branch dropped to fourth place at 88.6 million won per square metre after holding the second highest position for many years.

    The average price of land per square metre rose 6.28 per cent with Mapo-gu showing the highest increase at 11.89 per cent.

    Seocho-gu followed with 8.76 per cent, while Yongsan-gu and Seongdong-gu were tied at 8.14 per cent each.

    Gangnam-gu, with a 7.85 per cent increase, rounded out the list of districts in Seoul that saw the greatest rise in land prices.

    According to MOLIT, the least expensive land can be found in Uljin-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, boasting an appraisal price of 142 won (US13 cents) per square metre.

    In addition, the greatest price leap came from Guneop-ri, Hwachon-myeon in Hongcheon-gun of Gangwon Province, having seen a 700-fold increase from 286 won per square metre last year to 200,000 won this year.

    The jump in price is attributed to a newly built rest service area along the Seoul-Yangyang highway.

  • Starbucks Launches New Auto-payment System

    Starbucks Launches New Auto-payment System

    Starbucks Korea has launched automatic payment drive-through locations, using DT Pass technology.

    To use the service, customers need to have a Starbucks online account with a rechargeable membership card, and register their car licence plate. A DT Pass device at the drive-through entrance will identify the customers via their registered car licence plate and deduct the payment automatically.

    The company says the time for a barista to receive the order information and for customers to make a payment is reduced by 13 to 15 seconds, which accounts for 10 per cent of the time spent at a drive-through.

    Starbucks Korea launched the service after a survey of account members. It is available at 11 branches in Seoul and will expand to 140 branches nationwide by August.

    Korea was also the first country to adopt Siren Order four years ago, which let customers order in advance so everything would be ready when they arrived.

  • Samsung tops Asia’s top 1000 brands ranking

    Samsung tops Asia’s top 1000 brands ranking

    Samsung again tops Asia’s Top 1000 Brands list, produced by Campaign Asia-Pacific and Nielsen.

    In its 15th year, the list again has Apple at second place.

    Rounding out the top 10 are Panasonic (up two spots), Sony (down one place), Nestle (down one), LG, Google (up six), Chanel, Nike (down two) and Philips (up 10).

    While the past 12 months have seen Samsung riding high on social awareness and release a string of hot new products, it is the brand’s size and “traditional” marketing methods that keep it at the top, say experts.

    It has emerged as the top brand in Asia for the seventh year in a row, despite the disastrous exploding Note 7 phone saga.

    Google jumped five places in the list this year, breaking into the hallowed Top 10 for the first time since 2011 and finishing in position seven. The company emerges as Asia’s favourite search engine in all markets except China and South Korea, and it is also rated top for “digital experience” in all markets except China (where consumers cited Apple) and India (Amazon).

    Still climbing

    Chinese brands are still climbing the chart. Huawei, which jumped 661 spots last year, and Xiaomi (up 577 spots) have been more moderate this time. Huawei has gained another 44 spots to rank 158th overall, while Xiaomi leapt 88 places to land at 128, making it China’s top home-grown brand throughout Asia-Pacific for this year.

    Best dressed among fast-fashion brands were Zara, which reached 52nd place in the Top 1000, and H&M, which climbed to 65th. Both brands improved significantly on their positions last year. Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo also leapt up the charts, landing in 38th position.

    Not all e-commerce brands are capitalising on the steady rise in online shopping. While top players Amazon, Lazada and Taobao saw strong gains, others like Ebay, Rakuten, Zalora and Flipkart still have work to do.

    Amazon jumped 20 spots to become Asia’s 23rd top brand overall. Lazada, powered by Alibaba, surged even more (35 places) to cement its position at 62nd overall. Alibaba’s Taobao, top in China but slower to grow outside of it, moved 31 spots higher but is still a distant third across the region, ranking 210th.

    However, other key players have been losing ground. EBay, ranked 144th two years ago, has steadily dropped to 237th this year. Japan’s Rakuten slipped slightly this year to 331st after a larger drop last year. Fashion-focused Zalora tumbled significantly this year to place 409th, while strong players in specific markets like Flipkart (second in India) and Qoo10 (first in Singapore) both dropped more than 60 places overall to land at 564th and 592nd respectively.

  • Korean retailers to focus on men

    Korean retailers to focus on men

    Shinsegae Department Store will open a Gucci Man and Dior homme in June and July.

    Lotte Department Store is also promoting ‘Louis Vuitton Man’ and ‘Gucci Man’ in line with the reorganization of stores this fall.

    Korean retailers are actively targeting men’s luxury goods market as men’s luxury market is growing faster than other fashion segments in the market.

    Luxury goods in Shinsegae Department Store this year increased by16.5 percent, which is much higher than that of women’s wear (2.4 percent) and men’s wear (7.5 percent). Men’s luxury goods rose by 39.2 percent.

    The same goes for Lotte Department Store. In the first quarter of this year, sales of luxury goods grew 10.7 percent, much higher than general men’s wear (0.9 percent) and women’s wear (1.5 percent). Hyundai Department Store’s sales of luxury men’s grew 24.2 percent this year.

    In addition to exclusive luxury stores, there is also a fierce competition to attract men’s multi shops. It is a strategy to increase the number of different multi shops to aim at the younger generation who are looking for a unique product.

    In 2013, Lotte Department Store opened its first ‘Eli’den men’, targeting to male consumers in their late 20s and 30s. The ‘David Collection’, which is multi shop specializing in men’s apparel and articles in 2014, and ‘Men issue’, a men’s shoe editing shop in 2015 are attracting a mania.

    Shinsegae Department Store has men’s exclusive multi shops “BOONTHESHOP” in Gangnam store, Busan Centum City store, and Daegu. Sales of over 100 brands such as vêtement, ‘Lardini’, ‘Off White’ and ‘Marni’ were higher than expected, which is 31.7 percent up from the same period last year.

    According to an industry officer, “Grooming men who open their wallets for their own looks and fashion, mainly in their 30s and 40s, are increasing,” he said. “We plan to expand contemporary men’s products “He added.