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Companies

HYBE expected to grow content and platform businesses

HYBE Founder and Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, left, and Dunamu CEO Park Ji-won talk about their strategic partnership during an online briefing on Nov. 4, 2021. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunHYBE, the home entertainment agency for global K-pop stars Bangtan Boys (BTS), is expected to show the fastest growing profit among entertainment companies this year, thanks to its fully ready content and platform businesses.HYBE has been expanding production of its online content utilizing intellectual property (IP). It will open three series of original stories starring its K-pop bands, BTS, ENHYPEN and TXT, from Jan. 15 to Jan. 17. The content will be updated every week in 10 different languages. After the launch of the webtoon series in the first quarter of this year, the entertainment agency will introduce non-fungible token (NFT) products in the second quarter. Last November, HYBE formed a strategic partnership with Dunamu, the operator of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, to expand its NFT business. The talent agency plans to introduce various content, such as digital photo cards, bas

Jan 12, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
HYBE expected to grow content and platform businesses
Companies

Cosmetics firms struggle with waning popularity of Korean products in China

Chinese staffer introduces LG Household & Health Care products to customers at a Ba Bai Ban Department Store in China in this 2019 file photo. Courtesy of LG H&HBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's top two cosmetics firms, LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) and AmorePacific, are projected to have displayed lackluster earnings in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to poor sales in China and at duty free shops stemming from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.LG H&H's stock price plunged 13 percent on Jan. 10 compared to the previous session and closed at 956,000 won. AmorePacific's share price also fell 5.3 percent to end at 152,000 won. In fact, it was the first time since October of 2017 that LG H&H's stock price fell below W1 million.The share price drops reflected soured investor sentiment following downgraded earnings outlooks by local securities firms including NH Investment & Securities, Meritz Securities and Yuanta Securities Korea.Yuanta Securities expected LG H&H's fourth quarter sales at 2 trillion won and operating profit at 235.3 billion won, falling 11 p

Jan 12, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Cosmetics firms struggle with waning popularity of Korean products in China
Companies

Anti-communist remarks lead to Starbucks Korea boycott

Images calling for a boycott of Starbucks Korea / Screenshots from TwitterBy Kim Jae-heunThere are signs of a boycott movement against Starbucks Korea sparked by Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin's recent anti-communist remarks on social media. Shinsegae is the parent company of E-mart, which owns 67.5 percent of Starbucks Korea.On Monday, some netizens started spreading images on various online communities calling for a boycott. On Jan. 6, Vice Chairman Chung had uploaded on Instagram an image of an article from Korean daily Chosun Ilbo that had a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping and was criticizing the Korean government's silence toward a high-level Chinese official who had referred to Korea as a “minor country.” Chung tagged the image with the hashtag, “destroycommunism” (“myeolgong” in Korean), and it set off controversy. Later that day, the vice chairman replaced the image with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The vice chairman has uploaded anti-communist posts on social media five times in recent months.The incident spr

Jan 11, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Anti-communist remarks lead to Starbucks Korea boycott
Companies

Namyang Dairy claims Hahn & Company's injunction is invalid

Namyang Dairy Product Chairman Hong Won-sik appears at a government audit in the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Oct. 8. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Product Chairman Hong Won-sik raised a new objection against Hahn & Company, which filed a provisional injunction against Dayou Winia Group's acquisition of the dairy firm through a local court.Hong said Hahn & Company promised to exclude Baekmidang, an organic ice cream franchise run by the dairy firm, from the company's disposal deal and keep his children's positions in the business, but the private equity fund (PEF) changed the deal later. He also insisted that Namyang Dairy's previous stock purchase agreement with Hahn & Company is invalid, as a law firm ― Kim & Chang ― secretly took the legal representative role for both companies. Hong said he had not known about this. “Lawyers of both Namyang Dairy and Hahn & Company were from Kim & Chang's PEF team, who were closely related to their business. In such large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) deals, it is difficult to find a case where

Jan 11, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Namyang Dairy claims Hahn & Company's injunction is invalid
Companies

Retailers in despair over new vaccine pass rule

A customer scans a QR code on a tablet PC to enter a grocery store in Seoul on Jan. 9. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunLocal retailers are crying foul over a newly adopted pandemic measure that restricts people from visiting department stores, supermarkets and grocery stores if they cannot show vaccination certification or a negative PCR test result in the last two days. The rule was introduced on Monday and will go into full force on Jan. 16. Retail firms say it will be hard to hire more workers to oversee the system, as they already lack the personnel needed for upcoming Lunar New Year promotional events. They also predicted difficulties securing new equipment needed to check the validity of visitors' vaccination certificates. Many retail branches are spread across the nation and it is almost impossible for retailers to recruit enough new employees and deploy the vaccine-checking equipment in time. Large supermarkets, in particular, have been suffering from a decreasing number of shoppers and sluggish business performance, faced with increasing demand for home meal replacement produ

Jan 10, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Retailers in despair over new vaccine pass rule
  • Vaccine pass at large retailers criticized for lacking scientific grounds
Companies

Shinsegae chief sparks concern again over anti-communist remarks

Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin speaks during his New Year speech via video message on Jan. 3. Courtesy of ShinsegaeBy Kim Jae-heunConcerns are growing over Shinsegae's business with China as the group's vice chairman continues to make anti-communist remarks on social media.In November 2021 alone, Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Young-jin expressed his hatred toward the ideology five times. Most of his comments targeted North Korea, Chung said. But one of his recent posts sparked controversy because he linked a Chosun Ilbo article with a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping, to which Chung said he had not noticed Xi's face and changed the photo to one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Shareholders of Shinsegae and E-mart are worried Chung's political rhetoric may lead to China's economic retaliation on the company's retail business.“It is true that Vice Chairman Chung's posts on social media have appealed to young people a lot and he says he has freedom of expression, but he also needs to pay attention to concerns arising over owner risk,” an industry source sai

Jan 9, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Shinsegae chief sparks concern again over anti-communist remarks
Tech & Science

Kakao, Naver CEOs vow to pursue balanced growth

Kakao CEOs Cho Soo-yong, left, and Yeo Min-soo pose during the company's 20th anniversary interview held at its headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2020 file photo. Courtesy of KakaoBy Kim Jae-heunKakao CEO Yeo Min-soo said he will specify new measures to seek mutual growth with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).“Kakao, together with our major affiliates, will share the specifics we have made,” Yeo said at a meeting of digital platform operators held by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Wednesday. The remarks were interpreted as Kakao's efforts to allay concerns that the aggressive expansion pursued by its numerous affiliates has been hurting SMEs.Kakao has been under fire by politicians and regulators for its excessive business expansion, becoming the central target of the ruling party and the government. The business fields it has been encroaching on have mostly overlapped with those of traditional SMEs. During this year's upcoming National Assembly audit on state-owned agencies and government offices, Kakao Chairman Kim Beom-soo is set to be gr

Jan 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Kakao, Naver CEOs vow to pursue balanced growth
Companies

Starbucks likely to raise coffee price for first time in 8 years

Customer holds a cup of Iced Americano in front of a Starbucks' coffee shop in Seoul in this 2018 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunConsumers are concerned that Starbucks will increase caffeinated beverage prices for the first time in eight years as the price of coffee beans reaches its highest level since 2012. If the production of raw material decreases due to the worsening climate crisis and blockages in logistics transportation continue, the price rise appears inevitable.“We are carefully considering increasing the price of coffee at the moment” a Starbucks Korea official said. The American coffeehouse chain in Korea fixed its price for americano at 4,100 won in July 2014 and has not changed it since. When Starbucks began selling the coffee beverage for 4,100 won, some people criticized the price as being too high. Not many were willing to spend over 3,000 won for a cup of coffee then. But the franchise operator maintained the price even when latecomers to the market sold Americano at higher prices. “Starbucks' coffee has been more expensive here than i

Jan 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Starbucks likely to raise coffee price for first time in 8 years
Companies

CJ CheilJedang to target European market under new global headquarters

Spectators at the Professional Golfers Association's “3M Open” tour held at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, taste CJ CheilJedang's Bibigo food in this 2019 file photo. Courtesy of CJ CheilJedangBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's largest food firm, CJ CheilJedang, has restructured its business to target the European market, where Korean food is still struggling to attract consumers. It plans to localize the taste of popular Korean foods like kimchi, dumplings and fried chicken for European customers through its Bibigo brand.CheilJedang announced on Tuesday that it will split the department in charge of its overall food business in two: the global headquarters and the domestic food team. The former will take charge of marketing, R&D and manufacturing in overseas markets. The latter will fully focus on the Korean market.The new global business plan begins in England, where the company will establish a corporation in the first half of this year. The company will be used as an outpost for the European market. England is the biggest convenience food market in Europe, as wel

Jan 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
CJ CheilJedang to target European market under new global headquarters
Companies

Large grocery stores to pursue 'omnibus' sales channel

A worker at a Homeplus grocery store in Seoul picks up a product ordered online for its delivery service in Seoul in this 2021 file photo. Courtesy of HomeplusBy Kim Jae-heunLarge discount stores are beefing up their offline businesses by renewing shopping spaces to prepare for the establishment of an “omnibus” channel, which refers to an environment in which customers can shop more conveniently through online platforms.A number of retailers have already made adjustments by combining online and offline business to create synergy between the two sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This helps retailers utilize the huge spaces of grocery stores while lowering their disposal rate of unsold stock. Meanwhile, retailers' e-commerce units can send products directly from the sister company's supermarket or department stores to economize delivery costs. Overnight delivery service has become the key strategy in the e-commerce sector amid the ongoing pandemic that stimulated fierce competition in the market. As a result, retail giants like E-mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus have been s

Jan 5, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Large grocery stores to pursue 'omnibus' sales channel
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