http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/south_korea.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/press/pressreleaseTemplate.asp?ID=1399655 http://tobacco.org/news/297950.html Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM) announces that Frederic de Wilde, President of Philip Morris Japan, will provide investors with a review of Japan's cigarette market dynamics at the Citi Investment Research Asia Tobacco Field Trip in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, March 8, and that Roman Militsyn, Managing Director of Philip Morris Korea, will provide a similar review of South Korea's cigarette market dynamics on Wednesday, March 10, in Seoul, South Korea. The presentations may contain projections of future results and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Philip Morris International Japan Korea - South Asia Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/02/117_61240.html http://tobacco.org/news/297364.html A group of health experts and civic activists Monday called for the government to ban the manufacturing and distribution of cigarettes. They urged the government to conduct intensive rehabilitation programs for smokers and encourage tobacco farms to convert to other industries. The Tobacco Free World and the Korea Association of Health Promotion, among others, are pushing to prohibit the selling and making of tobacco products within 10 years. Korea Times bjs@koreatimes.co.kr (Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter) Korea - South Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915987 http://tobacco.org/news/296166.html Electronic cigarettes, widely used as an antismoking supplement, might cause lung cancer, allergies and mental instability if overused, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. The products, often called e-cigarettes, are shaped like normal cigarettes but run on batteries and capsules of nicotine, although less than the average amount found in ordinary cigarettes. When one inhales on the product, a nicotine solution is vaporized in the mouthpiece. Since being introduced to the Korean market a couple of years ago, they have been catching on in popularity, especially because it is reusable and, thus, cost-effective. However, the Food and Drug Administration warns that as the products use the same ingredients as cigarettes, but just in smaller doses, they are not safe to use for a prolonged period. Joong Ang Ilbo jainnie@joongang.co.kr (Cho Jae-eun) Korea - South Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_59723.html http://tobacco.org/news/295963.html KT&G, South Korea's foremost tobacco company, sealed a partnership with Imperial Tobacco Group under which the former will manufacture products for the latter this year. The Seoul-headquartered firm said Tuesday that it had reached a license agreement with Imperial Tobacco Group, which brags of geographic diversity as its products are available in more than 160 countries across the world. ``We have forged a brand license agreement with Imperial Tobacco to start producing one of its best-selling products, Davidoff, here in Korea over the first half of this year,'' KT&G spokesman Kim Tae-hoon said. . . . ``On top of debuting Davidoff here, we are set to join hands with Imperial in a variety of areas where we can collaborate with the British firm down the road, for example, cooperation in the advance into the global market,'' Kim said. ``The global market has been ruled by the `big three' companies up until now. But we will make a splash in the international scene under the business alliance with Imperial,'' he said. Korea Times voc200@koreatimes.co.kr (Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter) Korea - South Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100125-714901.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines http://tobacco.org/news/295929.html KT&G Corp. (033780.SE), South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Tuesday it has signed a brand-license pact with Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) to churn out the European company's Davidoff in its domestic plants from the first half of 2010. The strategic tie with Imperial Tobacco is mainly to win back young customers in their 20s from multinational tobacco companies such as Philip Morris (PM) and British American Tobacco (BAT.NR), KT&G said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition Korea - South Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/ityby_ktcif_korea-s-kt-amp-g-imperial-tobacco-sign-licensing-deal-for-davidoff-726506.html http://tobacco.org/news/295928.html (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- KT&G Corp. (KSE:033780), South Korea's biggest tobacco company, said Tuesday that it has clinched a licensing agreement with Imperial Tobacco Group to use the European cigarette maker's Davidoff brand. Under the deal, KT&G will manufacture and sell tobacco under the Davidoff brand in the first half of this year, the company said. Trading Markets info@tradingmarkets.com Korea - South Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/ktcif_s-korean-tobacco-firm-to-release-super-slim-cigarette-692961.html http://tobacco.org/news/295927.html KT&G Corp. (KSE:033780,) will launch the nation's slimmest cigarette this week, the South Korean tobacco producer said Monday. The company will release the "EDGE", an 84 millimeter cigarette with super carbon filter, on Wednesday. The product will come in two types, containing 1 milligram of tar and 5 milligrams of tar per cigarette, respectively. Trading Markets info@tradingmarkets.com Korea - South Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915575 http://tobacco.org/news/295925.html January 21, 2010 KT&G Corp., Korea’s biggest tobacco company, said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit declined 38 percent from a year earlier mainly due to a fall in domestic sales. Net profit reached 138 billion won ($122 million) in the October-December period, compared with 223 billion won a year earlier Joong Ang Ilbo Korea - South Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/01/113_59244.html http://tobacco.org/news/295556.html KT&G has faced two unprecedented legal challenges that could force the country's biggest tobacco company by sales volume to change its business practices. One is about health and the other is an environment-related dispute. Gyeonggi governor Kim Moon-soo last week made a rare appearance at a courtroom in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to testify that cigarette butts are a major culprit for fire outbreaks in the region. Kim emphasized it was confirmed that nearly one out of 10 fire cases in the province was caused by a lit cigarette butt. Gyeonggi filed a damages suit against KT&G in January last year, demanding 1 billion won in compensation for cigarette-related fire damages. . . . The company refutes her allegation, saying the primary fault of a fire is with the smoker, not because of the product the smoker was using. . . . Another legal fight against KT&G was brought in 1999 by a group of lung cancer patients and distraught families who believe smoking is a direct cause of lung cancer. The first ruling in 2007 recognized the cause-and-effect relationships between smoking and cancer, but did not hold the company liable for compensating the plaintiff, saying, "Smoking cannot be seen as the sole factor for the cancer." The case is now pending at the Seoul High Court. Korea Times pss@koreatimes.co.kr ( Park Si-soo Staff Reporter) Korea - South Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/01/11/0503000000AEN20100111004100315.HTML http://tobacco.org/news/295233.html KT&G Corp. will launch the nation's slimmest cigarette this week, the South Korean tobacco producer said Monday. The company will release the "EDGE" Yonhap News Agency Korea - South Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/01/135_58381.html http://tobacco.org/news/294907.html A U.S. research team verified that smoking could continuously increase one's risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 65, and even those over 80. . . . The prevalence of seniors smoking in Korea has long become a social issue, too. According to the Korean Association of Smoking and Health, more than 51.8 percent of males have smoked in the past while a considerable number of them are still smokers. About 9.1 percent of women over 70 years old are smokers too. The group has proclaimed 2010 as a "non-smoking year," aiming at encouraging 55 percent of smokers who "vow to quit puffing but fail" every New Year's Day. Korea Times bjs@koreatimes.co.kr (Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter) Korea - South Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/31/content_12735492.htm http://tobacco.org/news/294832.html Quitting smoking was the third most popular New Year's wish for South Koreans, with 10.3 percent of respondents vowing to break the habit, as South Koreans become more and more conscious about their health as proved by the so-called "well-being" fad that has swept the country since the dawn of the 2000's and has never gone away. Xinhua Newswire Korea - South Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2914530 http://tobacco.org/news/294647.html Jeung Island, South Jeolla - A rare experiment to create an island free of cigarette smoking, cars and night lights has begun in Korea’s southern region. Aiming to provide its people with a nostalgic rest while protecting its natural environment, Jeung Island of Sinan County, South Jeolla province, is challenging itself to become the “Slow City” where there is no pollution. . . . There were only about 150 smokers on the island. However, 35 of them had already quit with the help from the public health care staff who have been running clinics in 11 villages. Determined to drop its smoking rate from the 8.6 percent measured last July to zero by next spring, the county government also plans to request tourists to douse their cigarettes. To do so, the county already removed three stores selling cigarettes and is currently trying to persuade the other four to leave. Joong Ang Ilbo enational@joongang.co.kr (Lee Hae-seok) Korea - South Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/12/117_58019.html http://tobacco.org/news/294642.html From the judiciary, an anti-smoking law suit between KT&G, Korea's largest tobacco company, and a group of lung cancer patients has been gaining steam. It took seven years for a district court to come up with a verdict in January 2007, virtually exonerating KT&G from any civil and criminal responsibility. But any appellate court verdict will set a landmark ruling in Korea, where consumers are increasingly exercising their power and awareness about health-related issues. The appeal case is still going through trial preparation procedures. Korea Times meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr (Kwon Mee-yoo) Korea - South Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20091209102559/Article/index_html http://tobacco.org/news/293894.html South Korea will ban all indoor and outdoor smoking in public places starting in 2011, to substantially reduce the country's smoking rate, the government said Wednesday, reports Yonhap news agency. The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said the move aims to bring down the smoking rate among men in the country from 47 percent at present to 20 percent in the target year. Seoul has prohibited smoking in large buildings for several years but has not taken similar steps for outdoor smoking even in areas where large numbers of people gather. . . . The ministry added it will take measures to allow regional governments to implement anti-smoking policies to make it more difficult for people to smoke in public places, and push forward a concerted campaign at schools and military installations across the country to get people to stop buying cigarettes. New Straits Times Korea - South Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT