The Korea Times

COVER STORY Homeplus reopening draws crowds amid hopes, concerns

SEOUL/SEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province — People started showing up in front of the main entrance of the Homeplus in southwestern Seoul's Gangseo District before its 10 a.m. opening Thursday. Some 30 minutes before, the crowd of mostly older adults began lining up in front of the local outlet. For the past 31 days, the store has remained closed as the company temporarily suspended operations due to a lack of operating funds during the rehabilitation process. The store is back in business after a Seoul court gave the cash-strapped retailer another chance, with the new deadline for court approval of its rehabilitation plan set for Sept. 4. One woman who lives in the vicinity said she had learned about the store’s reopening, noting that before the temporary closure of 67 outlets on July 13, shelves at the Homeplus Gangseo were nearly empty. “There were no eggs, no milk. But I still came here today because prices are often on sale and affordable,” she said. Fifteen minutes before opening, visitors were allowed inside the building. But when over 100 customers formed a queue in front of the

Aug 13, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

[COVER STORY] Homeplus reopening draws crowds amid hopes, concerns

Companies

Korea's coffee market diversifies as premium, budget demand grows

Diversifying demand for coffee drinks has broadened the consumer market in Korea and increased the country’s exports, according to the government, Tuesday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the country’s coffee consumption has expanded from instant coffee mixes to a wider variety of roasted coffee beans and specialty drinks made with them. Demand for budget coffee has also surged, indicating a “market polarization” between premium specialty coffees and more affordable options, the ministry said. Citing data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the agriculture ministry said roasted coffee businesses in 2024 posted the highest sales across the country’s coffee industry, with over 1.3 trillion won ($917 million). The figure showed an average annual growth of 15.8 percent since 2018. Ready-to-drink coffee and instant coffee followed the market scale in the same year with 1.1 trillion won and 404 billion won, respectively. Sales and exports of coffee mix products, however, began to see a decline in 2018. This shows the domestic coffee industry that prev

Aug 11, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea's coffee market diversifies as premium, budget demand grows

Companies

Hanwha M&S launch tests Kim Dong-seon's leadership

With the launch of Hanwha Machinery and Service Holdings (M&S) on Aug. 3, Kim Dong-seon, its president and head of future strategy, has begun overseeing the newly established holding company, which comprises seven key subsidiaries and 57 companies in total. While the three sons of Chairman Kim Seung-youn have each taken on roles in different sectors within the group, the youngest faces a leadership test with the rather unusual combination of businesses — technology and life solutions. Previously, Kim Dong-seon was vice president at Hanwha Galleria, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, Ourhome and Hanwha Vision, overseeing businesses spanning retail, food, hotels and robotics. He now also oversees the group’s tech businesses, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment, logistics automation systems and artificial intelligence (AI)-based visual analysis and solutions. Four subsidiaries under Hanwha M&S specialize in technology and equipment: Hanwha Vision, Hanwha Semitech, Hanwha Momentum and Hanwha Robotics. This has raised questions about how Kim will manage these tech firms alongside Galle

Aug 11, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Hanwha M&S launch tests Kim Dong-seon's leadership

Companies

Coupang expands 'Rocket Jikgu' lineup with 600 overseas brands

Coupang is expanding its “Rocket Jikgu” direct purchase service by adding hundreds of overseas brands from the United States, Japan and Hong Kong, giving Korean consumers greater access to international products. The e-commerce giant said Monday that more than 600 overseas brands have joined its Rocket Jikgu service so far this year. Coupang launched the direct purchase service in 2017, initially offering products from the U.S. before expanding the service to Hong Kong, Japan and other markets. The company has recently expanded its product lineup beyond health supplements, processed foods and agricultural products to include beauty and fashion items. One example is J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, a premium salt brand from West Virginia. The family-owned salt maker, which has been in business for seven generations, recently entered the Korean market through Coupang and began selling its products on the platform this year. 21st Century, an Arizona-based health supplement manufacturer, also partnered with Coupang to launch Heart & Harvest, a new brand targeting Korean consumers. The companie

Aug 10, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Coupang expands 'Rocket Jikgu' lineup with 600 overseas brands

Companies

Mom's Touch surpasses 20 stores in Mongolia

Mom’s Touch, Korea’s leading chicken burger franchise, has surpassed 20 stores in Mongolia less than three years after entering the market, establishing itself as one of the country’s fastest-growing fast food brands. The company opened its 20th location inside Nomin Macro shopping mall in July and is preparing to launch its 21st outlet later this month. Mom’s Touch has expanded at an average rate of 6.2 stores per year, outpacing global competitors such as KFC and Burger King, which have recorded average annual openings of 2.4 and 1.8 stores, respectively. Based on store count, Mom’s Touch has already risen to second place in Mongolia’s fast-food sector, despite entering the market eight to 10 years later than major global brands. Mom’s Touch operates in Mongolia through a master franchise agreement with Foodville Farm, a local company with extensive knowledge of the Mongolian market and experience in the foodservice industry. According to Mom’s Touch, Foodville Farm is the only Mongolian company operating its own poultry farm, enabling it to secure a stable supply chain

Aug 10, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Mom's Touch surpasses 20 stores in Mongolia

Companies

SK chairman's divorce battle nears end

After more than nine years of litigation, the divorce and property division battle between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Art Center Nabi Director Roh Soh-yeong appears to be nearing its end. The deadline for either side to appeal the high court’s retrial ruling on the property division is midnight on Aug. 14. If neither side appeals by then, the decision ordering Chey to pay Roh 944 billion won ($670 million) will become final, bringing their long-running legal saga to a close. If either party appeals, the case will return to the Supreme Court, prolonging a dispute that began when Chey filed for divorce mediation in 2017. According to court filings and rulings, their actual separation began in 2005, when they started living in separate quarters at their home in Seoul. Chey has attributed the breakdown of their marriage in part to the deaths of his mother in 1997 and his father, former SK Group Chairman Chey Jong-hyon, the following year. He claims Roh failed to provide him with sufficient emotional support during that period. In 2003, Chey was arrested over an accounting fraud sca

Aug 10, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Companies

Horse racing authority hit for hosting races under extreme heat

The country’s horse racing authority has caught flak for continuing race operations despite ongoing extreme heat across the country, raising questions whether the authority’s recently announced climate measures for horses are actually being put into practice. According to Jeju Vegan, a civic activist group, Saturday, daytime races were held in Busan, Seoul and Jeju Island on Friday and Saturday even as the regions continue to grapple with extreme heat. The group criticized the Korea Racing Authority’s (KRA) announced measures that could include canceling races during extreme heat, but failed to provide specific temperature thresholds, making it difficult to ensure the safety of racehorses. Jeju Vegan said KRA hosted the races at LetsRun Park BusanGyeongnam in Busan at around 1 p.m. on Friday even when the city's temperature reached 39.5 degree Celsius. The city officially recorded 36 degree Celsius as highest on that day. Races were held at LetsRun Park Jeju on Jeju Island and LetsRun Park Seoul in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday at around the same time despite temperatur

Aug 9, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Horse racing authority hit for hosting races under extreme heat

Companies

Brigaldara owner says climate change is scary, but heritage must endure

Antonio Cesari, the owner of the century-old Italian winery Brigaldara, faces a set of challenges that his father Stefano Cesari did not have to contend with when he began distributing the family’s wines in 1979. One of the younger Cesari's concerns is climate change, which has made weather conditions in Valpolicella, a renowned wine-producing region in Italy, more extreme than ever. For a traditional winery like Brigaldara, which depends on nature, the heat waves and wildfires now rampaging across the Europe are hard to ignore. But Cesari keeps reminding himself of what he can and cannot control. Cesari noted that while France, Spain and Greece are currently experiencing massive wildfires, Italy hasn’t experienced natural disasters on the same scale this year. "Still, it has been warmer than Korea in Italy and it has been like that almost all summer. The quantity of water is now almost zero and it’s going to be quite difficult. In January, meanwhile, the cold was so extreme we got 10 days under zero degree Celsius. That wasn’t normal for Mediterranean,” Cesari said at a press

Aug 6, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Brigaldara owner says climate change is scary, but heritage must endure

Companies

Baseball offers lifelong lessons for Mediheal chairman

This is the first in a series of interview stories and feature stories about L&P Cosmetic, a company behind the globally popular facial sheet mask brand Mediheal, introducing philosophies, insights and future strategies of leaders of the K-beauty company. — ED L&P Cosmetic Chairman Kwon Oh-sub owes his father his passion for baseball. The son started tagging along with his father to matches played by high schools, universities and company-sponsored clubs in the year he entered elementary school. Back then, his prime interest behind those trips was not watching baseball but street foods his father let him try. The outings continued until his father died six years later. By then, even before the country saw the debut of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 1982, baseball began slipping into the heart and soul of Kwon. He had no idea he was going to become the founder of L&P Cosmetic and its flagship brand Mediheal, now one of the top-selling facial mask sheet brands in the world. Now 67, Kwon still loves the sport, decorating his office in Seoul’s southwestern Gangseo District wit

Aug 6, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Baseball offers lifelong lessons for Mediheal chairman

Companies

L&F leads LFP cathode production, targets non-Chinese ESS supply chain

L&F is accelerating its lead in the global battery cathode market by launching Korea’s first mass production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials, positioning itself as a key non-Chinese supplier for the fast-growing energy storage system (ESS) sector. The company will begin producing 30,000 tons annually at its L&F Plus plant by the end of September. The plant’s capacity is set to double by the end of June next year to meet surging demand for ESS in North America. “The ongoing spike in LFP demand is the biggest strategic shift we’re seeing from global customers,” L&F President and Chief Financial Officer Yu Sung-hun said. “Beyond cost, supply chain stability is now the new competitive edge accelerating LFP growth.” While high-nickel ternary (NCM) cathodes remain dominant in premium electric vehicles (EVs), LFP has become the standard for ESS and mass-market EVs due to its thermal stability, long lifespan and cost efficiency. The ESS boom, driven by artificial intelligence data centers, renewable energy integration and energy security, is structurally pushing the mark

Aug 4, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan

Ko Dong-hwan

Read more

COVER STORY Homeplus reopening draws crowds amid hopes, concerns

Korea's coffee market diversifies as premium, budget demand grows

Hanwha M&S launch tests Kim Dong-seon's leadership

Coupang expands 'Rocket Jikgu' lineup with 600 overseas brands

Mom's Touch surpasses 20 stores in Mongolia

SK chairman's divorce battle nears end

Horse racing authority hit for hosting races under extreme heat

Brigaldara owner says climate change is scary, but heritage must endure

Baseball offers lifelong lessons for Mediheal chairman

L&F leads LFP cathode production, targets non-Chinese ESS supply chain

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