JEJU ISLAND -- AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of the AirAsia group, on Wednesday celebrated the launch of its direct route between Jeju Island and Kuala Lumpur, operating four times weekly.“We see great potential for two-way crossflows of traffic between Kuala Lumpur, Jeju and beyond through our connectivities,” said AirAsia X Chairwoman Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz at a press conference held at Lotte City Hotel on Jeju Island.AirAsia X already operates routes to Kuala Lumpur flying out of Incheon and Bus

Industry Dec. 13, 2017

Social commerce platform WeMakePrice announced that it has set the launch of an open market-style “seller market” for Friday, becoming the last of the so-called Big Three in social commerce to turn to open market operations for growth.The “seller market” will combine elements of open markets, which simply connect sellers with buyers, and social commerce, which offers products selected by merchandise buyers at low prices to achieve large sales volumes.“This is not a simple transition to open mark

Industry Dec. 12, 2017

Johnnie Walker has introduced special limited-edition Christmas packaging for the holiday season, Diageo Korea said Monday.The limited-edition packaging comes in four types, corresponding to the label and volume. The Johnnie Walker Red 700-milliliter bottle includes a light-emitting diode lamp and lamp shade so the bottle can be reused as a mood lamp, while the 200-milliliter package includes a carbonated beverage to be used for cocktails. Christmas edition of Johnnie Walker Red 700-milliliter b

Industry Dec. 11, 2017

LG Electronics’ cleaning robot received a presidential award at the 2017 Good Design Selection Awards, the company announced Monday.The robot is fitted with capabilities of household cleaning robots as well as self-driving technology and the ability to avoid obstacles. The robot’s database contains a map of airport spaces that need cleaning, which is used by the robot to determine the most effective routes for cleaning. LG Electronics’ airport cleaning robot (LG)It is currently being used at Inc

Industry Dec. 11, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with CEOs of small but aspiring brands that are taking Korean fashion and beauty overseas through online retailers. This is the second installment. -- Ed.The first flagship store for eyewear brand Projekt Produkt blends naturally into the upscale Apgujeong district in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The angular gray concrete building is plated with glass windows along its bottom floor, where Projekt Produkt’s sleek, colorful offerings sit on glass stands

Industry Dec. 10, 2017

South Korean content creators show potential for global growth particularly in gaming, K-pop and beauty-related content, through which they would be able to stabilize income from platforms, according to the head executive of Collab Asia Friday.“By bringing in more viewers from abroad, Korean creators can increase their stable income through YouTube,” Eugene Choi said in a group interview Friday. Choi visited Korea as part of the CKL Live Talk, a two-day forum for content start-ups hosted by the

Industry Dec. 8, 2017

LG Electronics will be releasing a new limited-edition LG Signature Edition smartphone at the end of the month, according to the company on Thursday.The LG Signature Edition phone is the first smartphone in the LG Signature Edition line, which has released home electronics in the past. Just 300 phones will be available for sale, only in Korea. The LG Signature Edition smartphone (LG)The smartphone boasts 6 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of internal memory, and comes with Bang & Olufsen wired

Industry Dec. 7, 2017

Airlines operating routes between Korea and the US are changing flight paths to avoid areas that may be exposed to missile launches from North Korea.The first airline recently to take such a safety precaution was Singapore Airlines, which confirmed a flight path for its route between Incheon Airport and Los Angeles was changed after North Korea‘s missile launch on July 27 earlier this year.  (Singapore Airlines)Korean carrier Asiana Airlines also changed flight paths on some of its routes betwee

Industry Dec. 7, 2017

Cigarette maker KT&G said Thursday it donated a food truck to the city-run soup kitchen Warm Chaeumteo, and that KT&G employees will be volunteering at soup kitchens over the next two years.According to the company, KT&G will donate 500 servings of food each week to soup kitchens, including Warm Chaeumteo and the House of Sungmo Lady in Daejeon, and volunteering at the facilities once a month over the next two years. KT&G CEO Baek Bok-in (right) serves food at Warm Chaeumteo in Seoul Thursday. (

Industry Dec. 7, 2017

British American Tobacco Korea’s production plant in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, reached $200 million in exports in 2017, according to the company Wednesday.The $200 million mark was reached just one year after reaching $100 million in 2016 thanks to the construction of two new plants at the factory this June. In total, the Sacheon Factory exported $208 million’s worth of products to 15 countries between July 2016 and June 2017.The factory currently has a capacity of 40 billion tobacco s

Industry Dec. 6, 2017

Essential oils used in aromatherapy currently sold in Korea have been found to contain allergens, according to the Korea Consumer Agency Wednesday.The consumer rights agency tested twenty essential oils including 13 used in air fresheners, two used in cosmetics and five used for hand-made cosmetics. All twenty showed traces of allergens d-limonene and linalool, which can cause allergic reactions when they come into contact with the skin or eyes.   Under current regulations, it is not required fo

Industry Dec. 6, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews with the CEOs of small but aspiring brands that are taking Korean fashion and beauty overseas through online shopping malls. This is the first installment. -- Ed.The office of teenage clothing shopping mall Dejou screams start-up. Tucked on the second floor of a drab building that also houses a PC gaming room and a traditional Korean soup store, the office is musty with dust coming off the thousands of garments piled on assembled shelves. Alo

Industry Dec. 3, 2017

Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo speaks to reporters at group headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Tuesday. At the press conference, Park said that he has “no interest” in buying Kumho Tire, and that he will focus on strengthening Kumho Asiana focusing on the group‘s competitiveness in express bus lines, construction and aviation. The group’s holding company Kumho & Co. completed its merge with Kumho Buslines Monday, restructuring the group to have Kumho Holdings control Kumho Industrial,

Industry Nov. 28, 2017

[News Focus] Major retail companies including Lotte and Shinsegae are turning to Southeast Asia to diversify their customer bases after a turbulent year amid tensions between Korea and China.“This year has been a lesson to a lot of retail companies that it is unhealthy to focus too much on China,” said an official with one retail company. “It’s a huge market that brings many benefits, but overdependence can be dangerous.” A Lotte duty-free store in Myeong-dong appears emptier than usual. It is u

Industry Nov. 28, 2017

LG Innotek, the electronic device components making unit of South Korean conglomerate LG Group, said Monday it had become the first in the world to develop an ultraviolet-C light-emitting diode with an output of 100 milliwatts -- two years ahead of industry forecasts.UV-C LED, also known as deep-UV LED, emits short rays between 200 and 280 nanometers to destroy bacterial DNA and create chemical reactions.It is appreciated for its sterilizing function, but producers had struggled to increase its

Industry Nov. 27, 2017