South Korea Industry Minister Heads to Washington Amid U.S. Tariff Hike Concerns 
Philippine Economy Slows in Late 2025, Raising Expectations of Further Rate Cuts 
Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate 
US Judge Rejects $2.36B Penalty Bid Against Google in Privacy Data Case 
Gold Prices Pull Back After Record Highs as January Rally Remains Strong 
Apple Faces Margin Pressure as Memory Chip Prices Surge Amid AI Boom 
Saks Global to End Saks on Amazon Partnership Amid Bankruptcy Restructuring 
Trump Threatens Aircraft Tariffs as U.S.-Canada Jet Certification Dispute Escalates 
Panama Supreme Court Voids CK Hutchison Port Concessions, Raising Geopolitical and Trade Concerns 
Copper Prices Hit Record Highs as Metals Rally Gains Momentum on Geopolitical Tensions 
Nvidia’s $100 Billion OpenAI Investment Faces Internal Doubts, Report Says 
Bob Iger Plans Early Exit as Disney Board Prepares CEO Succession Vote 
U.S. Government Faces Brief Shutdown as Congress Delays Funding Deal 
Russia Stocks End Flat as MOEX Closes Unchanged Amid Mixed Global Signals 
Asia Stocks Pause as Tech Earnings, Fed Signals, and Dollar Weakness Drive Markets 
Why Trump’s new pick for Fed chair hit gold and silver markets – for good reasons 
NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon Eye Massive OpenAI Investment Amid $100B Funding Push 
Burger King experienced traction with local franchisees in South Korea as they have refused to implement the new price discount promotional event in their store branches. The owners and operators of the BK restaurants in the country are protesting the US headquarters' discount event that was launched earlier this month.
The Burger King Korea franchisees said that the discount promo was launched without their consent, and they do not want to take part in it. It was reported that among the 120 affiliated BK store outlets in the country, just 39 branches have accommodated the latest Burger King event.
As per The Korea Times, the rest of the franchisees did not accept the HQ's discount promotion, as it is clear that they did not agree to it. They explained that with the large amount that they had to pay to the HQ plus the expenses that the discounts will incur, they could not bear to apply the price cuts.
The Burger King Korea owners said that the brand's parent company based in the United States is forcing them to reduce the price of the Whopper Junior burger. The HQ suggested a price of KRW2,200 when the original price is only KRW4,700 which is about $3.54. The promo has been set to run for almost three weeks, and the franchisees could see big losses on their part for this scheme.
Moreover, the franchisees are refusing because the Burger King HQ said that it would only support KRW228.4 from the discount, and the rest are to be paid for by the local owners of the restaurants. To protest the promo, they gathered together and strongly voiced their opposition to the proposal. The franchisees explained they could have agreed if the parent company would support at least half of the discount price, which is KRW1,100, but that was not the case.
"Our franchisees' protest against company discount promotions is not something new," an official at the Burger King headquarters said. "This is a regular event we have been staging for a long time and we had similar numbers of affiliated stores not joining our discount event in previous years too."
