Journalist
Candice Kim, Lim Jaeho
candicekim1121@ajupress.com, ajupresswogh@ajupress.com
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LG Electronics inks deal to supply commercial washing machines in US, Canada SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - LG Electronics has signed a supply agreement with CSC ServiceWorks, North America’s largest provider of laundry solutions, marking a strategic move to expand its business-to-business home appliance operations in the region. The deal was formalized at a recent signing ceremony attended by Kim Sang-yong, executive vice president of LG Electronics USA’s Home & Life Solutions division, and Rodrigo Castellanos, chief executive of CSC ServiceWorks. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Headquartered in New York, CSC ServiceWorks operates an estimated 1.5 million commercial washers and dryers across the United States and Canada. The company provides laundry equipment sales and services to a wide range of large-scale residential facilities, including apartment complexes, college dormitories, hotels, and coin-operated laundromats. The agreement positions LG to supply commercial-grade washing machines to CSC’s extensive client network. “Partnering with CSC enables us to strengthen our presence in the commercial laundry sector with a trusted leader,” Kim said in a statement. LG’s commercial washers incorporate features such as vibration and drum rotation detection, which adjust settings for larger loads and reduce washing time. Other notable innovations include belt-free inverter motors and removable front cases that allow internal repairs without moving the units. The company’s proprietary app, Laundry Crew, also offers remote diagnostics, usage tracking, and error alerts for facility operators. 2025-05-21 17:12:51 -
K-beauty festival draws crowds to Seoul's Nodeul Island SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest celebration of K-beauty opened Wednesday at Nodeul Island in Seoul, as CJ Olive Young launched its annual Olive Young Festa, showcasing 108 brands across 84 booths in a sprawling five-day outdoor festival. Now in its latest iteration, the 2025 Olive Young Festa represents a significant expansion of the event, which has traditionally been held indoors. "This is more than a beauty exhibition — it’s a space for connection and participation,” said Lee Sang-ju, Olive Young’s communications director, at Wednesday’s opening ceremony. “We wanted to move beyond passive product sampling to create an immersive, interactive environment.” The festival is divided into five thematic zones — skincare, makeup, personal care, healthy lifestyle, and a curated “luxury edit.” Organizers have given special attention to emerging indie brands, while still featuring long-established names recognized in the industry. During a media briefing, Lee Eun-jung, director of Olive Young’s Brand Creative Center, described the festival as a leap toward what the company calls “themed beauty-tainment.” “This is not just about viewing beauty — it’s about feeling, remembering, and evolving with it,” she said. A centerpiece of this year’s event is its “treasure island” concept, which positions Nodeul Island as a site of discovery for beauty and wellness innovation. In addition to product showcases, the festival offers curated trend exhibits, one-day classes, and outdoor busking performances by indie musicians, aiming to engage visitors’ senses on multiple levels. The festival also serves as an industry forum. Olive Young is hosting about 200 brand executives for its “Future Connect” program, focused on global market strategies and networking. Around 400 representatives from international distribution platforms — including those from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia — were invited to explore Korean beauty’s export potential. Early bird tickets, released in April to Olive Young’s 16 million members, sold out immediately, a signal of robust consumer appetite for the company’s evolving blend of beauty and entertainment. 2025-05-21 15:33:03 -
Amorepacific's Hera expands custom makeup service as international demand soars SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Hera, a contemporary beauty brand under South Korea’s Amorepacific, is expanding its personalized cosmetics offering as international demand for bespoke makeup continues to surge. The brand’s popular Custom Match program will now include its flagship Black Cushion foundation, offering hundreds of shade variations tailored to individual skin tones. Launched as a reservation-based service for custom lipsticks and foundation, Custom Match has seen an overwhelming response from international consumers. In 2025, foreign customers — primarily from Japan and the United States — have accounted for roughly 85 percent of bookings. The program’s popularity has been fueled in part by social media buzz and positive word-of-mouth, often resulting in fully booked appointments shortly after reservations open. The new Black Cushion Custom Match service introduces 130 shades of the brand’s Black Cushion foundation, a product known for its lightweight coverage and matte finish. Combined with the expanded Silky Stay foundation line, which now includes 205 color options — up from 125 — the total number of available customized shades across both product categories has reached 335. Professional makeup artists lead the Custom Match experience, using skin tone analysis technology developed in partnership with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). After a detailed consultation and skin assessment, specialists manufacture each product on-site with the help of precision robotic equipment. Additional makeup recommendations are offered based on the customer’s skin profile. The expanded service will be available beginning Tuesday at the Amore Seongsu flagship store in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong. Appointments can be booked online via the Amore Seongsu website. For walk-in customers, Hera is also offering a semi-custom alternative, allowing shoppers to match shades using in-store skin tone readers and color cards before purchasing. 2025-05-20 16:48:40 -
Musinsa sees sharp rise in foreign sales at stores after enhancing tourist services SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Korean fashion brand Musinsa Standard reported a sharp rise in sales from foreign customers at its Seoul stores, following the rollout of services tailored to international tourists. According to the company, Tuesday, the Hannam branch saw foreign customer sales increase more than threefold in April compared to February, when the new services were introduced. Across five major locations — Gangnam, Myeongdong, Seongsu, Hannam, and Hongdae — sales to international customers jumped by more than 160 percent during the same period. The surge comes as Musinsa Standard ramps up efforts to accommodate growing numbers of foreign shoppers. The company has implemented multilingual announcements, foreign language brochures, luggage storage, and on-site tax refund services. Several stores also feature unmanned currency exchange machines. Foreign customers now account for roughly half of all sales at the five flagship stores, with the Myeongdong location reporting nearly 60 percent of sales attributed to international visitors. In late March, the Hannam branch introduced dedicated luggage storage and installed a self-service currency exchange kiosk, additions the company credits for the location’s significant growth in foreign sales. A Musinsa Standard spokesperson noted that the immediate tax refund service — allowing shoppers to receive refunds at the point of purchase rather than at the airport — has drawn the most positive feedback. “The immediate refund service that allows customers to receive tax refunds directly at the store where they shop, without having to go through separate procedures at airports, has the best response,” the official said. 2025-05-20 16:02:47 -
LG Electronics targets emerging markets in global HVAC push SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - LG Electronics is intensifying its push into emerging markets, aiming to capture a growing share of the global heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) market. This week, the technology company hosted its “LG HVAC Leaders’ Summit 2025,” a four-day gathering of industry consultants from across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The summit, held in South Korea, brought together specialists from countries including India, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia — all considered key to LG’s expansion strategy in what it refers to as the Global South. The company also welcomed new participants from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, regions where demand for industrial and commercial cooling systems is rising rapidly amid economic growth and urbanization. Through a series of seminars and site visits, LG showcased its latest air conditioning technologies, including its commercial system air conditioners, chillers, and thermal management solutions for data centers. The company positioned the summit as an opportunity to deepen ties with key customers — HVAC consultants who play an influential role in designing building systems and selecting suppliers. “Our goal is to create business opportunities through differentiated technology and strong execution,” said Lee Jae-sung, vice president and head of LG’s Energy Solutions Business Division. “By communicating closely with HVAC consultants in major markets, we aim to solidify our leadership in the global B2B air conditioning sector.” LG highlighted recent projects as evidence of its capabilities. Among them was a major installation at a logistics facility in Singapore’s Tuas region, where the company’s high-efficiency “Multi V i” system earned the highest certification rating under Singapore’s Green Mark program. LG noted it was the only supplier to meet the client’s stringent performance requirements. 2025-05-20 14:03:11 -
Poultry imports from Brazil suspended over bird flu concerns SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - South Korea has suspended imports of poultry from Brazil following an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the South American nation. The suspension, which took effect for shipments departing Brazil on or after May 16, includes hatching eggs, table eggs, day-old chicks, poultry meat and related products, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Monday. For shipments made after May 1 but before the ban's effective date, authorities will conduct avian influenza tests before granting entry. As of Sunday, 844 tons of Brazilian chicken across 37 shipments are awaiting inspection at South Korean ports. Government officials played down immediate concerns, saying the incubation period for HPAI is unlikely to affect those shipments. “The short-term impact on domestic chicken supply and prices is expected to be limited,” the ministry said in a statement. Ministry officials noted that suppliers generally keep a two-to-three-month inventory, which is expected to buffer against immediate price increases. Still, the ministry held an emergency meeting with importers and poultry processors on Sunday to explore alternative supply sources and assess global market conditions. The United States, Thailand, and China are being considered as possible substitutes for Brazilian chicken. Officials also said they are reviewing the potential use of tariff quotas to stabilize prices and maintain supply. “Discussions about implementing tariff quotas will only take place if supply disruptions and price increases persist beyond a certain threshold,” a ministry spokesperson said. The government does not expect the ban to affect major franchise chicken restaurants, which primarily rely on domestically sourced poultry. The suspension is more likely to impact institutional food services and some retail segments that depend on imported poultry for processed items such as wings, drumsticks and skewers. The market remains watchful. During the 2017 “rotten chicken” scandal involving Brazil, domestic chicken prices rose 8 to 10 percent within a month. “We will closely monitor market conditions in cooperation with industry stakeholders to avoid excessive reactions,” the ministry said, adding that increased domestic production could be encouraged if necessary. 2025-05-19 16:20:42 -
Samsung OLED TVs receive Nvidia G-SYNC Compatible certification SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics said its 2025 OLED television lineup has received Nvidia’s "G-SYNC Compatible" certification, a move the company says reinforces its position in the high-end gaming display market. The certification, which ensures smoother gameplay by synchronizing the TV’s refresh rate with a connected graphics card’s frame rate, is the latest in a series of gaming-focused upgrades. The announcement follows Samsung’s earlier achievement as the first TV maker to earn AMD’s "FreeSync Premium Pro" certification, further establishing its OLED displays as competitive gaming platforms. The G-SYNC technology is designed to minimize common visual disruptions such as screen tearing and stuttering, particularly when TVs are used with high-performance PCs or gaming consoles. The feature is aimed at enhancing the visual stability of fast-paced gaming environments. Samsung’s 2025 OLED TVs include a range of features targeting gaming enthusiasts. These include AI Auto Game Mode, which automatically adjusts visual and audio settings for different genres; Motion Xcelerator with refresh rates up to 165Hz; and a Game Bar interface for real-time adjustments. The televisions also support Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and house Samsung’s Gaming Hub, a platform offering cloud and console gaming content. While the new OLED lineup emphasizes gaming, Samsung is also promoting broader entertainment and lifestyle features. These include AI-driven image processing that tailors audio and picture quality based on the type of content being viewed, and Glare-Free technology, which reduces reflections for improved viewing in various lighting conditions. Smart home integration is another area of focus. With SmartThings support built in, the TVs can serve as a control center for connected appliances and devices throughout the home. 2025-05-19 15:25:04 -
Tech industry turns gaze to Taiwan as Computex 2025 opens SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - The global technology and semiconductor sectors are converging on Taiwan this week as Computex 2025, Asia’s largest information technology trade show, opens Tuesday with heightened anticipation surrounding a keynote address by Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang. The four-day event, organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taipei Computer Association, will be held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. Roughly 1,400 companies from 29 countries are expected to participate, filling more than 4,800 booths. Founded in 1981 as a showcase for Taiwanese computer manufacturers, Computex has evolved into a global stage where tech giants unveil cutting-edge developments — increasingly in artificial intelligence. The transformation reflects Taiwan’s emergence as a global semiconductor hub, home to critical players like TSMC, and a national strategy aimed at establishing leadership in AI technologies. Industry analysts say the surge in AI applications and the growing dominance of firms such as Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC have made Computex a must-attend event for the global tech elite. Visitors have already begun arriving for pre-event forums ahead of the official opening, with the spotlight firmly on Huang. His keynote is expected to outline Nvidia’s evolving AI roadmap, and may include announcements of next-generation chips or platform technologies. Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon and Supermicro CEO Charles Liang will also deliver keynote addresses during the week. Nvidia is set to hold a global press conference on Wednesday, where Huang may respond to questions on regulatory approvals for Samsung Electronics’ high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and the implications of U.S. trade policy shifts. South Korea’s SK hynix will return for a second year with its own booth, and Samsung Display will make its debut at the show. Organizers expect attendance to exceed 80,000, mirroring last year’s turnout. 2025-05-19 11:22:42 -
Lotte Mart enters Singapore market through FairPrice partnership SEOUL, May 16 (AJP) - Lotte Mart has entered the Singapore market through a strategic partnership with FairPrice, the city state’s largest retailer. The company opened its first store in the country this week, adopting a shop-in-shop format within the FairPrice Extra outlet at VivoCity, one of Singapore’s largest shopping malls. The launch marks Lotte Mart’s first expansion into a new Southeast Asian market in 17 years, following its entry into Vietnam and Indonesia in 2008. Company executives said the move reflects a broader effort to establish Singapore as a strategic hub for regional operations. An opening ceremony held Thursday was attended by Kang Sung-hyun, chief executive of Lotte Mart and Lotte Super, Shin Yu-yeol, who leads the Future Growth Division at Lotte Holdings, and Vipul Chawla, CEO of FairPrice Group. “This is a meaningful step for us,” Kang said. “With our overseas business expertise, we aim to firmly establish ourselves in Singapore while promoting K-food and positioning the market as an export base for our private-label products across Southeast Asia.” The venture also marks Lotte Mart’s first use of a shop-in-shop model in its international operations — a strategy that allows the brand to leverage FairPrice’s extensive logistics infrastructure and consumer base to generate stable revenue streams. As part of the rollout, Lotte Mart will distribute around 100 private-label products across more than 100 FairPrice outlets. The products will be available throughout the city state, benefiting from FairPrice’s expansive retail footprint. 2025-05-16 15:33:18 -
Korea's top companies see 17% increase in first quarter operating profits SEOUL, May 16 (AJP) - South Korea’s largest corporations reported a sharp rise in operating profits in the first quarter of 2025, buoyed by a resurgence in the IT electronics sector, according to data released Friday by corporate tracker CEO Score. Among the nation’s top 500 companies, operating profits rose 17.1 percent year-over-year, climbing to 60.96 trillion won (approximately $44.6 billion) from 52.07 trillion won during the same period in 2024. The findings are based on earnings from 342 firms that submitted quarterly results. Overall sales increased 3.8 percent to 814.60 trillion won. SK hynix led the surge, recording an operating profit of 7.44 trillion won — a dramatic jump from 2.89 trillion won a year earlier — amid a rebound in semiconductor demand. Samsung Electronics ranked second with 6.69 trillion won in operating profit, while Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Hyundai Motor, and Kia followed with 3.75 trillion won, 3.63 trillion won, and 3.01 trillion won, respectively. The performance marks a notable turnaround for SK hynix, which also posted the largest year-on-year increase in operating profit, adding 4.55 trillion won. KEPCO followed with a 2.45 trillion won gain, while Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Hanwha, and Hanwha Aerospace also reported significant improvements. However, not all sectors shared in the recovery. Samsung SDI posted the largest operating loss at 4.34 trillion won, as the battery manufacturer faced mounting production costs and weaker demand. Other major losses came from L&F (-1.40 trillion won), Lotte Chemical (-1.27 trillion won), SK Energy (-1.26 trillion won), and HD Hyundai Chemical (-1.19 trillion won). The petrochemical industry was particularly hard hit. Five of the 10 companies with the largest declines in operating profit belonged to the sector, reflecting global headwinds including weakening demand, shrinking refining margins, and ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions. 2025-05-16 14:41:05