Latest news with #HyunjooJin
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Evidence shows Jeju Air pilots shut off less-damaged engine before crash, source says
FILE PHOTO: People work at the site where an aircraft went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport, in Muan, South Korea, December 30, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon/File Photo By Hyunjoo Jin and Lisa Barrington The South Korea-led investigation into Jeju Air's fatal plane crash in December has "clear evidence" that pilots shut off the less-damaged engine after a bird strike, a source with knowledge of the probe said on Monday. The source said the evidence, including the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a physical engine switch found in the wreckage showed pilots shut off the left engine instead of the right engine when taking emergency steps after a bird strike just before it was scheduled to land. "The investigation team has clear evidence and backup data, so its finding will not change," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because investigators have not released an official report including this evidence. A government source said examinations of the plane's recovered engines found that no defects had been present before the bird strike and crash. The December 29 crash of the Boeing 737-800 jet at Muan Airport killed all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board and was the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. Investigators told victims' family members at a briefing on Saturday that the right engine had been more severely damaged by a bird strike than the left, and there was circumstantial evidence that pilots had turned off the less-damaged left engine, according to a third source who was at the briefing. South Korean media outlets including MBN and Yonhap reported that information on Saturday and Sunday. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), which is leading the investigation, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Boeing referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Engine maker CFM International, a joint venture between GE and France's Safran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air said it was actively cooperating with the ARAIB's investigation and awaiting the official announcement of the results. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident. A preliminary report released in January said duck remains were found in both engines of the Jeju Air plane after the flight from Bangkok crashed at Muan Airport, but did not give details about the extent of remains or damage found in each engine. OBJECTIONS FROM VICTIMS' FAMILIES South Korea's investigation body on Saturday cancelled a planned release to media of an update on what is known so far about the engines. Families of the crash victims were briefed on the report ahead of its planned release, but objected to its publication, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other contributing factors, lawyers representing the families said. The Jeju Air flight overshot Muan Airport's runway as it made an emergency belly landing and crashed into an embankment containing navigation equipment, leading to a fire and partial explosion. Representatives of victims' families and the Jeju Air pilots' union said over the weekend that the investigation needs to also focus on the embankment, which aviation experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. The Jeju Air pilots' union said the ARAIB was "misleading the public" by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given traces of bird remains were found in both engines. The union accused the ARAIB of trying to make pilots "scapegoats" by failing to provide scientific and technological grounds that the plane could have landed safely with only the left engine turned on. Air accidents are complex incidents that occur due to a number of contributing factors, and investigators have not produced evidence so far to support the implication that the accident was a result of pilot error, the union said. Investigators are so far "silent about organisational responsibility", the union said. A body representing bereaved families said in a statement there were some phrases related to the cause of the accident in the planned press release that could be interpreted as if a final conclusion had been reached, and all facts surrounding the incident must be clarified. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Death toll rises to 14 in South Korea as heavy rain triggers landslide and flooding
By Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) -Two people have died and a further two were missing in the South Korean resort town of Gapyeong on Sunday, after a landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles during a period of heavy rainfall. This brings the nationwide death toll to 14 with 12 people missing since the rain began on Wednesday. The rainfall is likely to stop on Sunday and be followed by a heat wave, the government weather forecaster said on Sunday. The heavy rainfall, which had earlier lashed southern parts of South Korea, moved north overnight, it said.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Korean beauty startups bet booming US demand outlasts tariff pain
By Hyunsu Yim, Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) -Emboldened by roaring online success in the U.S., South Korea's cosmetic startups are expanding their bricks-and-mortar presence in the world's biggest consumer market, confident their mass appeal will offset the hit from tariffs. Brands like Tirtir, d'Alba, Torriden, and Beauty of Joseon are in talks with major retailers to stock their U.S. shelves, company executives have told Reuters. Korean beauty, or "K-beauty", products are able to compete globally on quality, price and snappy marketing and have benefited greatly from the success of the Asian export giant's other consumer hits, namely its music, film and television. "K-culture — things like PSY in the past, BTS, and then Korean dramas and films like 'Parasite' — those really paved the way," Tirtir CEO An Byung-Jun said. "In the U.S. market, there was already growing interest in South Korea. Then Korean cosmetics entered the scene. The quality was good, but the prices were lower than the existing luxury brands like L'Oreal or Estee Lauder." Tirtir's profile shot up last year following the viral online success of its cushion foundation shades designed for dark skin. The product will be sold at some U.S. stores of Ulta Beauty this summer, An told Reuters, adding it aims to double U.S. sales this year. Retailers in the U.S. from Sephora and Ulta Beauty to Costco and Target are in talks with Korean cosmetics brands to launch sales in their physical stores, according to Reuters' interviews with a dozen people including cosmetics company CEOs, executives and industry experts. They also expect Korean brands to weather tariffs better than rivals thanks to higher margin business models. Many of them outsource production to contract manufacturers like Cosmax and Kolmar, dubbed the Foxconns of fast beauty, to keep costs down. South Korea overtook Germany to become the world's third-largest beauty product exporter after France and the U.S. in 2024. Four fifths of its $13 billion cosmetics output are for exports, which have predominantly been driven by e-commerce sales. Yuliet Mendosa, a 25-year-old visiting Seoul from America, is a fan of K-pop boy band BTS, which led her to greater interest in K-beauty products. "They go straight to the point to fix what you need to fix and your skin," she said at an Olive Young store. CHANGING LANDSCAPE The U.S. push comes at a tricky time for the world's big exporters with President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs unsettling global trade. But while the levies create uncertainty for Korea's beauty exporters, strong demand is expected to mitigate some of this, executives say. South Korea's dominant beauty retailer Olive Young plans to set up its first U.S. store in Los Angeles as early as this year, Jin Se-hoon, Executive Vice President of the company's global platform business, told Reuters. "The U.S., especially California, has by far the most customers for our global online shopping platform," Jin said. He said Washington's tariffs were a burden but not enough to hurt K-beauty's popularity and value-for-money proposition. Their U.S. expansion, despite tariffs, also seeks to sustain momentum after exports to China, the biggest overseas market for K-beauty, fell due to geopolitical tensions and competition. Skincare brand d'Alba, owned by d'Alba Global and known for its vegan mist serum and sunscreens, is in talks with Costco, Ulta Beauty and Target for retail distribution, the company said. LVMH's cosmetics chain Sephora plans to launch two new Korean brands Torriden and Beauty of Joseon this summer, according to a Sephora spokesperson. Costco, Target and Ulta did not respond to requests for comments. Tirtir's An said the baseline 10% tariff that the U.S. has already imposed is "endurable" although the planned 25% tariff on South Korean products due in July may force the company to raise prices "a little bit." Seoul, a major U.S. ally, is seeking tariff exemptions in trade talks with Washington. The Founders--the maker of Anua skincare products, which hit Ulta Beauty shelves this year--also have more room to absorb higher tariffs than rivals, its strategy team leader Jung Jun-ho said. The company posted an operating profit margin of over 30% last year. NICHE BRANDS South Korea replaced France as the biggest cosmetics exporter to the U.S. in 2024, according to official data, driven by online sales through Amazon. The top five Korean cosmetics brands in U.S. e-commerce--which include Beauty of Joseon, Medicube and Biodance--saw online sales grow 71% on average over the past two years, outperforming the overall U.S. market's 21% growth, according to Euromonitor data. The top five French brands--which include L'Oreal Paris, Dior and Lancome--posted 15% growth over that period. Social media has played a big part in Korea's success. "Nowadays a single viral TikTok video or influencer endorsement can turn a product into a global bestseller before it even launches outside Korea," said South Korea-based beauty marketer Odile Monod. But longer-term success will require increased physical store sales, said Jason Kim, CEO of cosmetics distributor Silicon2. There are already signs of growth plateauing for some companies, such as startup COSRX, now part of Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific, as competition heats up and cheaper alternatives emerge, analysts said. For now, investors remain upbeat about Korean potential, with shares of d'Alba Global more than doubling since their debut last month. "The K-beauty trend is strong," Silicon2's Kim said. "But indie brands will face challenges too." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Korean beauty startups bet booming US demand outlasts tariff pain
By Hyunsu Yim, Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) -Emboldened by roaring online success in the U.S., South Korea's cosmetic startups are expanding their bricks-and-mortar presence in the world's biggest consumer market, confident their mass appeal will offset the hit from tariffs. Brands like Tirtir, d'Alba, Torriden, and Beauty of Joseon are in talks with major retailers to stock their U.S. shelves, company executives have told Reuters. Korean beauty, or "K-beauty", products are able to compete globally on quality, price and snappy marketing and have benefited greatly from the success of the Asian export giant's other consumer hits, namely its music, film and television. "K-culture — things like PSY in the past, BTS, and then Korean dramas and films like 'Parasite' — those really paved the way," Tirtir CEO An Byung-Jun said. "In the U.S. market, there was already growing interest in South Korea. Then Korean cosmetics entered the scene. The quality was good, but the prices were lower than the existing luxury brands like L'Oreal or Estee Lauder." Tirtir's profile shot up last year following the viral online success of its cushion foundation shades designed for dark skin. The product will be sold at some U.S. stores of Ulta Beauty this summer, An told Reuters, adding it aims to double U.S. sales this year. Retailers in the U.S. from Sephora and Ulta Beauty to Costco and Target are in talks with Korean cosmetics brands to launch sales in their physical stores, according to Reuters' interviews with a dozen people including cosmetics company CEOs, executives and industry experts. They also expect Korean brands to weather tariffs better than rivals thanks to higher margin business models. Many of them outsource production to contract manufacturers like Cosmax and Kolmar, dubbed the Foxconns of fast beauty, to keep costs down. South Korea overtook Germany to become the world's third-largest beauty product exporter after France and the U.S. in 2024. Four fifths of its $13 billion cosmetics output are for exports, which have predominantly been driven by e-commerce sales. Yuliet Mendosa, a 25-year-old visiting Seoul from America, is a fan of K-pop boy band BTS, which led her to greater interest in K-beauty products. "They go straight to the point to fix what you need to fix and your skin," she said at an Olive Young store. CHANGING LANDSCAPE The U.S. push comes at a tricky time for the world's big exporters with President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs unsettling global trade. But while the levies create uncertainty for Korea's beauty exporters, strong demand is expected to mitigate some of this, executives say. South Korea's dominant beauty retailer Olive Young plans to set up its first U.S. store in Los Angeles as early as this year, Jin Se-hoon, Executive Vice President of the company's global platform business, told Reuters. "The U.S., especially California, has by far the most customers for our global online shopping platform," Jin said. He said Washington's tariffs were a burden but not enough to hurt K-beauty's popularity and value-for-money proposition. Their U.S. expansion, despite tariffs, also seeks to sustain momentum after exports to China, the biggest overseas market for K-beauty, fell due to geopolitical tensions and competition. Skincare brand d'Alba, owned by d'Alba Global and known for its vegan mist serum and sunscreens, is in talks with Costco, Ulta Beauty and Target for retail distribution, the company said. LVMH's cosmetics chain Sephora plans to launch two new Korean brands Torriden and Beauty of Joseon this summer, according to a Sephora spokesperson. Costco, Target and Ulta did not respond to requests for comments. Tirtir's An said the baseline 10% tariff that the U.S. has already imposed is "endurable" although the planned 25% tariff on South Korean products due in July may force the company to raise prices "a little bit." Seoul, a major U.S. ally, is seeking tariff exemptions in trade talks with Washington. The Founders--the maker of Anua skincare products, which hit Ulta Beauty shelves this year--also have more room to absorb higher tariffs than rivals, its strategy team leader Jung Jun-ho said. The company posted an operating profit margin of over 30% last year. NICHE BRANDS South Korea replaced France as the biggest cosmetics exporter to the U.S. in 2024, according to official data, driven by online sales through Amazon. The top five Korean cosmetics brands in U.S. e-commerce--which include Beauty of Joseon, Medicube and Biodance--saw online sales grow 71% on average over the past two years, outperforming the overall U.S. market's 21% growth, according to Euromonitor data. The top five French brands--which include L'Oreal Paris, Dior and Lancome--posted 15% growth over that period. Social media has played a big part in Korea's success. "Nowadays a single viral TikTok video or influencer endorsement can turn a product into a global bestseller before it even launches outside Korea," said South Korea-based beauty marketer Odile Monod. But longer-term success will require increased physical store sales, said Jason Kim, CEO of cosmetics distributor Silicon2. There are already signs of growth plateauing for some companies, such as startup COSRX, now part of Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific, as competition heats up and cheaper alternatives emerge, analysts said. For now, investors remain upbeat about Korean potential, with shares of d'Alba Global more than doubling since their debut last month. "The K-beauty trend is strong," Silicon2's Kim said. "But indie brands will face challenges too." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Samsung Electronics to buy FläktGroup for 1.5 billion euro
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire all shares of FläktGroup, a German maker of air conditioning and heating systems, for 1.5 billion euro ($1.68 billion) from European investment firm Triton. ($1 = 0.8937 euros) (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)
