small luxury

Fashion Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: Winners in S.Korea’s luxury market

South Korea’s luxury goods market is becoming increasingly polarized, with ultra-high-end brands such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chan...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korea launches $27 mn fund to invest in K-beauty startups

South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday announced the launch of a 40 billion won ($27 million) fund to invest in Korean beauty...

K-pop KAIST launches Korean rapper G-Dragon’s music into space

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) has launched the music and iris image of G-Dragon, a Korean rapper and singer-songw...

E-commerce Luxury fashion platform Balaan files for court receivership amid slump

South Korea’s top luxury goods e-commerce platform Balaan Co. said on Monday it has filed for corporate rehabilitation with a Seoul court as t...

Retail Koreans’ craving for luxury goods fades

Until recently, it was not unusual to see people waiting in a long line in front of foreign haute couture brands’ stores early in the morning ...

Energy HD Hyundai, TerraPower to commercialize next-gen SMR

South Korea’s largest shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., is deepening its partnership with TerraPower LLC, the US nuclear venture f...

Private equity South Korea emerges as private equity firms’ global hub

New York-based Apollo Global Management and London-based Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) have joined the ranks of global private equity firms that ...

E-commerce Korea’s beauty wholesaler to invest $10 mn in fashion platform Balaan

South Korea’s cosmetics wholesaler Silicon2 Co. is set to invest $10 million in financially troubled luxury fashion e-commerce platform operat...

Leadership & Management Small firms emerge as prime targets of management disputes in Korea

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for the majority of disputes over corporate management control in South Korea last year, with th...

Banking & Finance Lotte Card Card to launch loans for affiliates in Vietnam

South Korea's Lotte Card said on Monday it will launch loans for affiliates in Vietnam.Lotte Finance Vietnam, the Vietnamese corporation of Lotte Ca...

E-commerce S.Korea's dawn delivery pioneer Kurly sells luxury goods to uplift profit

Kurly Inc., South Korea's dawn delivery service market pioneer, has invited a third-party online retailer to sell luxury goods on its platform to bo...

Beauty & Cosmetics Shilla Duty Free opens Guerlain Ultimate Boutique at Incheon Airport

South Korea's Shilla Duty Free Shop announced on Tuesday it opened the Guerlain Ultimate Boutique, the first flagship store in a global airport, at ...

Construction & Planning SK Ecoplant selects four companies at ConTech Meet-Up

South Korea's SK Ecoplant Co. said on Friday it held the "2024 ConTech Meet-Up Day" award ceremony at the Grand Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul. ConTech M...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor aims high for online small EV sales in Japan

TOKYO – Hyundai Motor Co. will accelerate its penetration into Japan, a market it has been struggling to crack for decades, with small-size el...

Korean food S.Korea’s premium kimchi war escalated by luxury hotels

Kimchi, Koreans’ staple food throughout millennia, has become a new, lucrative revenue source for the country’s luxury hotel chain opera...

Central bank BOK flags more rate cuts but in gradual, small steps

South Korea’s central bank is open to more cuts in interest rates after its first rate reduction in more than four years on Friday but only in...

Automobiles Genesis unveils GV80 Black, GV80 Coupe Black

Hyundai Motor Co.'s premium brand Genesis on Friday unveiled its large-size sport utility vehicles (SUVs) the Genesis GV80 and GV80 Coupe Black mode...

Aerospace & Defense Hanwha Systems, WB Group to collaborate on SAR satellites

South Korea's Hanwha Systems Co. said on Monday that it signed a mid- to long-term business cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) for space ...

Automobiles Nexen Tire N'FERA Supreme surpasses 1 mn sales

South Korea’s Nexen Tire Corp. said on Sunday its premium high-performance all-season tire N’FERA Supreme has exceeded 1 million cumulat...

Beauty & Cosmetics Shinsegae Int'l opens Swiss Perfection pop-up in Tokyo

Shinsegae International, the cosmetics and fashion division of South Korea's Shinsegae Group, entered Japan's ultra-luxury beauty market by promot...

Logistics Hanjin to provide logistics services for S.Korean SMEs in Vietnam

South Korea's Hanjin Transportation, a logistics unit of Hanjin Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Small Enterprise and Mark...

Electronics S.Korea relinquishes control to China in smaller OLED market

LG Display Co. and Samsung Display Co. lost ground to their Chinese rivals in the global small and mid-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) pan...

Beauty & Cosmetics Handsome's luxury skincare brand Oera lures Chinese tourists

South Korean clothing manufacturer and retailer Handsome Corp., a Hyundai Department Store Co. unit, is enjoying growing popularity among Chinese vi...

Retail More luxury brands seek Korean market on sales surge

South Korea’s luxury goods market, estimated at around $7.1 billion, is experiencing a surge in demand led by affluent consumers in their 40s ...

Economy South Korea’s 2025 minimum wage rises 1.7%; SMEs seen suffering

South Korea has set next year’s hourly minimum wage at 10,030 won ($7.3) – a 1.7% increase from this year’s 9,860 won, the second-...

Retail Coupang opens Rocket Growth seller website

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s largest e-commerce platform, announced on Tuesday that it opened a dedicated website for sellers (sell.coupang.com...

Travel & Leisure Jeju casinos, hotels bask in return of Chinese tourists; luxury shops fall

Following the pandemic, hotels and casinos are enjoying a renewed tourist boom with Chinese tourists returning to South Korea, particularly its top ...

Automobiles Hyundai Motor to produce Genesis cars in Kazakhstan

Hyundai Motor Group will produce Genesis models from its knock-down (KD) plant in Kazakhstan to bolster the South Korean auto giant’s luxury m...

Pension funds Korea may mandate pension plans for all workplaces from 2025

South Korea is seeking to introduce corporate pension plans to all workplaces in stages starting next year, alongside mandatory contributions to the...

Food & Beverage Shinsegae Dept. Store to sell luxury wines in Gangnam

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group is set to sell luxury wines with price tags up to tens of thousands of dollars in Seoul, as demand for pre...