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Delivery Hero-Woowa deal may be postponed

Fair Trade Commission Chairwoman Joh Sung-wook speaks during a presentation of the antitrust regulator's plans at the Government Complex in Sejong, March 5. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunWoowa Brothers CEO Kim Bom-junGerman online food delivery service Delivery Hero's $4 billion acquisition of Woowa Brothers, the operator of Korea's leading food delivery application Baedal Minjok (Baemin), may be postponed indefinitely after the country's top antitrust regulator said it will comprehensively review the proposed acquisition.“In this corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) evaluation, we will not only clarify the market situation, but also take a detailed look at whether Baemin's new fee system will pose a burden on customers,” Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Secretary General Kim Jae-sin told The Korea Times, Wednesday.On Monday, the antitrust agency's Vice Chairman Ji Chul-ho said the regulator would make a “thorough review” of the possibility of Woowa having an “information monopoly,” in which the delivery service application utilizes its 25 mill

Apr 8, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Delivery Hero-Woowa deal may be postponed
Companies

Woowa Brothers apologizes over 'new fee system' fiasco

Woowa Brothers Founder Kim Bong-jin, right, and Baedal Minjok CEO Kim Beom-joon speak to staff at the company's headquarters in Songpa-gu, southeastern Seoul, on Jan. 17. / Courtesy of Woowa BrothersBy Kim Jae-heunAfter facing heavy criticism over its highly controversial decision to introduce a new fee system, Woowa Brothers, the operator of the country's top food delivery firm Baedal Minjok (Baemin) issued a statement apologizing over its controversial decision.The public apology came six days after Baemin decided to change its advertising rates. Also, its hurriedly released statement came ahead of next week's general election.“I fully offer my sincere apology for adopting the new fee system. We were facing criticism over the introduction of the new system as the coronavirus spreads across the country with restaurant owners facing economic difficulties,” Woowa Brothers CEO Kim Beom-joon said in the statement released Monday afternoon.“My initial intention was to decrease the evil influence of large restaurants dominating the ad exposure. The fee system will be fin

Apr 7, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Woowa Brothers apologizes over 'new fee system' fiasco
  • Gyeonggi governor slams Baedal Minjok for 'raising ad fees'
Companies

More M&As to rattle food, beverage industries

An Outback Steakhouse in Seoul / Courtesy of Outback SteakhouseBy Nam Hyun-woo, Kim Jae-heunDomestic confectionery titan Binggrae's recent acquisition of Haitai Icecream could be a signal for a series of M&As across the food and beverage industry, as firms are making efforts to streamline their businesses to weather through the stagnant economy, industry officials said.They said more deals will take place after the COVID-19 pandemic, as a growing number of firms are suffering “unprecedented” difficulties from dampened consumer sentiment due to the virus.On Tuesday, Binggrae announced that it signed a sales and purchase agreement on acquiring the whole stake of Haitai Icecream, a subsidiary of Haitai Confectionery & Food, at 140 billion won ($115 million).Haitai Icecream, with a range of popular frozen snacks such as Bravo Cone, Nougatbar and Babambar and Binggrae, said this will enrich its portfolio and create synergy with its own products. When the deal closes, Binggrae's domestic market share will reach 45 percent, overtaking the current top player Lotte Confect

Apr 6, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
More M&As to rattle food, beverage industries
Companies

Customer experience is key at Blue Bottle and Shake Shack

People wait in a long line to buy coffee at Korea's very first Blue Bottle shop that opened in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, last May. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunWhen American franchises Shake Shack and Blue Bottle first opened their first stores in Korea in 2016 and 2019, respectively, enthusiastic visitors formed long queues, waiting three to four hours to try new burger meals and coffee drinks. Opinions were divided over such phenomenon as some called it “absurd” and others “interesting.”Though Shake Shack and Blue Bottle do have some unique menu items, the main selling point seems to be the customer experience.According to SPC Group, operator of American fast food chain Shake Shack in Korea, the franchise pioneered the new category of “fine casual” in the burger market here. “Fine casual is an experience of both fine and casual dining that we provide at Shake Shack restaurants in Korea. We provide fresh experiences to our customers by offering a number of unique menu items at each restaurant and offer burger meals made in collaboration with fa

Apr 5, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Customer experience is key at Blue Bottle and Shake Shack
Companies

Posco Energy to sue FuelCell Energy

Posco Enery's fuel cell factory in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of Posco EnergyBy Kim Jae-heunPosco Energy said Sunday it will sue FuelCell Energy (FCE) for providing a defective component and power-conditioning (stabilization) equipment that caused it nearly 1 trillion won ($809 million) in economic loss.The local private energy supplier noted that it had been working to address the issue with the American hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer. However, the company said negotiations can no longer settle the problem and so it will now take legal action. According to Posco Energy, FCE has been supplying them with modular fuel cell stacks for converting hydrogen into electricity, but key components turned out to be defective. The local energy firm has already suffered economic losses from the faulty power-conditioning equipment, which is used to stabilize power across fuel cell stacks and affects the efficiency of the generators. In January and March, Posco Energy filed compensation suits with the Seoul Central District Court for 2 billion won in losses resulting from the fau

Apr 5, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Posco Energy to sue FuelCell Energy
Companies

Social distancing at Starbucks

Starbucks Korea has put more distance between tables and chairs at a store in Seoul, Sunday, to maintain social distancing in the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. / Courtesy of Starbucks Korea

Apr 5, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Social distancing at Starbucks
Companies

Baedal Minjok's new fee system unwelcomed by restaurant owners

A Baedal Minjok delivery man rides a scooter to deliver orders in Gangnam, Seoul, on Jan. 22. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwonBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's No. 1 food delivery service operator, Baedal Minjok (Baemin), acquired by Germany's Delivery Hero, recently introduced a new fee system for advertisement on the mobile application.Baemin said it has lowered its commission fee for advertisements by 1 percentage point to 5.8 percent per order made through its application platform. Previously, it charged a 6.8 percent of commission. However, restaurant owners argue that the new guideline will push them to pay more for ads and that their costs have nearly doubled.Previously, restaurant owners have mainly used the “Ultra Call” advertisement service, a flat sum system that charges 88,000 won per month. With this service, store owners can plant as many flags as they want on a virtual map created on the application platform and customers will be recommended with restaurants closest to their current location. Flags are used to locate restaurants' locations but Baemin allowe

Apr 2, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Baedal Minjok's new fee system unwelcomed by restaurant owners
Companies

Coupang to expand fintech business

By Kim Jae-heunCoupang Pay CEO Kyung In-tae / Courtesy of CoupangCoupang has decided to separate its Payment Gateway (PG) business from the e-commerce sector and establish a new company under the tentative name of “Coupang Pay” starting Wednesday.The online retailor giant said it will prioritize growing its online shopping business while Coupang Pay will be tasked to further strengthen its specialty in the growing fintech business segment.The newly established entity will be led by senior director Kyung In-tae, who has been in charge of fintech business in Coupang since 2014.“Coupang Pay will not only offer a simple easy payment system, but also develop into a comprehensive fintech platform. We are planning to launch a new unique service that only Coupang Pay can provide,” Kyung said in a press release. Coupang's decision to separate its PG business unit reflects its strategy to move into the “easy payment” market. Easy payment systems allow customers to purchase items online by only inserting a password or biometric authentication; finger print or

Apr 1, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Coupang to expand fintech business
Companies

Naver to acquire Demae-can to gain delivery service sector in Japan

Naver CEO Han Seong-sook poses at her office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, in this file photo. / Courtesy of NaverBy Kim Jae-heunKorea's No. 1 search engine Naver is continuing efforts to discover the next “Line,” the most used free instant messaging application in Japan that was developed to help people communicate after a big earthquake hit east Japan in 2011.Naver will invest 30 billion yen (337.7 billion won) in Japanese food delivery service Demae-can, which the platform operator believes can flourish with the skyrocketing number of people ordering groceries online due to fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.The sales of e-commerce firms have soared here in the last two months as much of the nation have been staying at home to prevent the further spread of the virus. Korea was second to China in the number of confirmed cases just a few weeks ago. The situation in Japan is not at as critical a level as it is in the U.S. or many European countries but it is starting to see an increase in the number of infected patients and people are starting to panic buy large quantities of

Apr 1, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
Naver to acquire Demae-can to gain delivery service sector in Japan
Tech & Science

SK Telecom may acquire Hyundai HCN

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho speaks during the company's general meeting of stockholders at its headquarter in Seoul, March 26. / Courtesy of SK TelecomBy Kim Jae-heun, Baek Byung-yeulThe country's largest wireless carrier SK Telecom may acquire cable TV operator Hyundai HCN, industry sources said, Tuesday. Hyundai HCN is now up for sale after its mother company decided to unload it. All three of the country's mobile carriers ― KT, LG Uplus and SK Telecom ― are tapped as “potential buyers” of the pay-per-view TV operator but SK Telecom is the strongest candidate, they said. SK Telecom has lost its No. 2 position in the pay broadcasting market to LG Uplus after the latter acquired cable TV operator CJ Hello. SK Telecom also bought the country's No. 2 cable TV operator t-broad in the same year, but still lost its position to LG Uplus.An industry analyst said the country's top mobile carrier will continue pursuing an additional merger as this is the simplest way to reclaim the No. 2 pay TV player position and further seek the No. 1 rank.“If SK Broadband merges with Hyun

Mar 31, 2020By Kim Jae-heun
SK Telecom may acquire Hyundai HCN
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