SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Global Chemical are likely to be included on the MSCI Korea Index next month, market watchers said Thursday. But Big Hit, the local entertainment agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, is seen as unlikely to make the cut. The Geneva-based MSCI is set to announce the results of its semiannual index review Nov. 11. Other South Korean companies, including Hanmi Science, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Genexine, could also join the index, while Posco Interna

South Korea’s leading duty-free operators are considering an exit from Incheon International Airport as the number of international passengers plunged 97.8 percent on-year in the second quarter. According to Korea Civil Aviation Association Sunday, South Korea’s nine airlines witnessed international flight passengers plummet to 328,345 from 15.2 million people, a 97.8 percent decline on-year, in the second quarter. Korean Air saw a drop of 96.2 percent to 190,458 from 5 million

Be it a business-to-business or business-to-consumer trade, the revenue of a company is deeply associated with the power of its brand. 　 Brand power refers to the influence the name holds over the spending behavior of consumers, which can also be used to predict future spending patterns. 　 The power of a brand can be measured in terms of statistics, and also in reference to consumer cognition. It can thus be detrimental for a business in its daily, monthly and yearly operations as well as in e

The bidding for duty-free store licenses at Incheon International Airport failed to attract tenders to fill all of the cosmetics and apparel sections, the airport operator said Friday, the first time . According to Incheon International Airport Corporation, the operation licenses for two of the eight airside sections in the airport’s Terminal 1, DF2 and DF6, failed to attract bids. DF2 is designated for perfumes and cosmetics, and DF6 for apparel. IIAC opened the bidding on Wednesday,

South Korea’s business figures and political leaders joined relatives on Monday to mourn the death of Lotte Group founder and Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, a first-generation founder of one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.Shin passed away at around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, at the age of 97.At the funeral altar at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, influential figures from various circles came to pay their respects. On Monday, Shin’s second son, Shin Dong-bin, the chairman of Lo

South Korea’s food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group has promoted or appointed 58 executives, including a new chief to lead major affiliate CJ Cheiljedang, the group said Monday. Vice President Kang Shin-ho, 58, was appointed as the new leader of the group’s food unit CJ Cheiljedang. Kang was credited with accelerating the spread of the company’s Korean cuisine brand Bibigo in the global market since 2018, the group said. Vice President Cha In-hyok, 53, was tapped to

University students in South Korea still view tech giant Samsung Electronics as the most desirable future employer, a local survey showed Thursday. According to the survey of 473 male students and 586 female students conducted by online job portal JobKorea, 10.6 percent chose Samsung Electronics as the company where they would most like to work. The next most popular answer was Korean Air (7.6 percent), followed by food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang (6.7 percent) and the Korea Electric P

The Industrial Bank of Korea has clinched a partnership with Myanmar’s SME policy headquarters as part of its blueprint to expand business in the Southeast Asian region, officials said Tuesday.The South Korean state-run bank and the Myanmar MSME Development Working Committee signed a memorandum of understanding at Lotte Hotel Busan on Monday.Under the latest agreement, the two organizations vowed to cooperate to nurture small and medium-sized enterprises in both countries and develop joint

Faced with an expanding market and growing consumer demand for cheaper options, South Korea’s bottled-water market leader Samdasoo has a stake below 40 percent in the country’s drinking water market for the first time, industry data showed Friday.Samdasoo, a drinking water brand manufactured by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corporation, has topped the market since its launch in 1998, having secured a 45.7 percent stake in the 740 billion won ($626 million) bott

As South Korea’s financial regulators prepare to issue new operational licenses for internet-only banks here next week, all eyes are on the approval prospects of Toss Bank and Kiwoom Bank -- the two consortia currently in the running for preliminary permits. 　Up to two licenses are up for grabs, though the Financial Services Commission, the country’s chief financial regulatory body, has hinted it may approve only one. 　 The FSC’s review panel and the Financial Supervisory Servi

Lotte Holdings said Tuesday that it has selected a consortium of MBK Partners and Woori Bank as the new preferred buyer of Lotte Card, amid legal irregularities surrounding former negotiations partner Hahn & Co.　 The holdings unit of the Korean-Japanese retail conglomerate said in a disclosure that it had initially chosen local private equity fund Hahn & Co. as its preferred bidder on May 3, but that the priority period for negotiations had expired as of May 13. As a result, Lotte deci

The pending sale of Lotte Group’s credit card unit, Lotte Card, appears uncertain, as an executive of its preferred bidder, Hahn & Co., faces an investigation over alleged tax irregularities -- a development that could preclude the private equity firm from completing the acquisition. Further complicating the situation, Lotte Card’s labor union has strongly opposed the idea of a takeover by a profit-driven PEF due to concerns of employment stability, pledging group acti

With Hanwha Group having dropped out, Hana Financial Group has emerged as a strong bidder for ownership of Lotte Card -- a development that portends major shifts in South Korea’s credit card business.Last week, Hana Financial and two private equity funds officially joined the bidding process to acquire Lotte Card. Hanwha, which had shown an interest in the deal, did not enter the bidding, leaving Hana as the sole big-name financial corporation in the race.If Hana Financial ends up acquirin

　CHUNCHEON, Gangwon Province -- South Korean internet giant Naver on Thursday criticized local conglomerates for relying too much on foreign cloud-computing services, urging the government to help preserve “data sovereignty” in the finance and public sectors. 　During a meeting with reporters at its data center in Chuncheon, Gwangwon Province, Naver Business Platform CEO Park Won-ki said Samsung Electronics and other big companies have become overly dependent on global cloud-computing providers l

Lights in South Korea will be turned off for an hour on Saturday as part of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s annual Earth Hour campaign to raise awareness about climate change, WWF said Thursday. 2019 Earth Hour poster (World Wide Fund for Nature)Held in major cities around the globe, Earth Hour is a worldwide event during which lights are turned off for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. to show support for global efforts to save the planet.　In Seoul, the National Assembly, Seoul City Hall, Namsan S