my timesThe Korea Times
jhkim

Kim Jae-heun

Korea Times Print Reporter

Go to Email

Read more

Companies

GS Retail eyes new acquisition to bolster online business

GS Retail's corporate image / Courtesy of GS RetailBy Kim Jae-heunGS Retail, which runs the country's largest convenience store chain GS25, could acquire another firm to strengthen its online business.GS Retail has already decided to merge with GS Home Shopping in order to benefit from the explosive growth of the e-commerce market. But it seems one acquisition is not enough to remain competitive against Coupang or Naver. “We will focus on maximizing the synergy created between online and offline businesses after merging GS Retail and GS Home Shopping,” GS Retail CEO Huh Yeon-soo said during a general meeting of shareholders, Thursday. “If there is a good opportunity that comes out in the market to assist our short-term goal, we are willing to acquire a new firm too.”Huh did not express interest in any specific companies by name. GS Retail's convenience store brand GS25 in Gangnam, Seoul / Courtesy of GS RetailGS Retail has a tough road ahead. Other competitors, like Lotte Shopping, have challenged Coupang and Naver, but did not succeed. Watching Lotte Shopping

May 11, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
GS Retail eyes new acquisition to bolster online business
Companies

GM Korea to take legal action on its CEO's exit ban

By Kim Jae-heunGM Korea CEO Kaher KazemGeneral Motors (GM) and GM Korea announced plans to file an administrative litigation against the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office for banning its CEO Kaher Kazem from leaving the country again on April 30. “It is an arbitrary administrative disposition that could be an abuse of legal procedures and it must be reconsidered and withdrawn in order to respect the court's decision,” GM Korea said in an official statement. The carmaker's local branch added it will issue a proceeding to the Seoul Administrative Court to nullify the prosecutor's exit ban on Kazem. Kazem has been under investigation on charges of illegal hiring since the end of 2019. The CEO and the company's four executives were indicted for sending 1,700 workers from 24 subcontractors here between September 2017 and December 2019. The local law bans carmakers from dispatching people from outside to work at their main production lines. The workers were said to have worked at GM's factory for automotive body assembly and painting.Kazem was already given an exit ban once

May 10, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
GM Korea to take legal action on its CEO's exit ban
Companies

ANALYSIS Namyang Dairy's unchanging governance reality

By Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Product has been embroiled in more than a few controversies that have incurred public anger leading people to boycott the company. A scandal occurred in May 2013 when it was discovered that a company salesman was threatening wholesale customers in order to force them to buy more products.The same year, it was found to be still forcing female employees to quit their jobs when they got married or changing their status from a full-time worker to a contract employee. This left just six female staff being employed at the firm's headquarters at that time.The company managed to commit several more dubious and even illegal acts over the next few years ― degrading its reputation ― up to the present when it finally made such an irreparable mistake that both its CEO and Chairman had to step down. In this latest fiasco, Namyang released an exaggerated report last month about its yogurt drink Bulgaris, claiming that it had anti-viral properties that were effective against COVID-19. This led the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to launch an investigation into the compa

May 8, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
[ANALYSIS] Namyang Dairy's unchanging governance reality
Companies

Kyochon, BBQ hit for advertisements featuring controversial gesture

By Kim Jae-heunKyochon F&B's controversial ad on social media account / Screen-captured from Kyochon F&B InstagramAdvertisements, perceived as sexist by some, are causing a minor stir in the retail market. Only a few days after GS Retail was hit for releasing a poster for camping products that some claim belittles men, two chicken franchise firms, Kyochon F&B and BBQ Genesis, have become embroiled in yet another controversy over what some suggest is sexist content.Kyochon, Korea's No.1 fried chicken franchise firm, uploaded ads on its social media account depicting what are supposed to be women's hands holding chicken drumsticks. The shape of the thumb and finger holding the piece of chicken, however, was seen by some as the sign used by female extremists belonging to the now defunct radical feminist online community “Megalia” to express their hatred towards men. This latest “controversy” went viral in some online communities here, especially those frequented by men, which criticized the image saying the depiction showed an “unnatural”

May 7, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Kyochon, BBQ hit for advertisements featuring controversial gesture
Companies

AmorePacific withdraws Innisfree business from North America

AmorePacific's headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul / Korea times fileBy Kim Jae-heunAmorePacific will close all its Innisfree skincare brand stores in North America as of Saturday, the local cosmetics giant said Friday. The company revealed its decision to exit the North American market during a conference call last December; and it shuttered 10 stores in the United States in February.In Canada, the cosmetics firm has already shut two stores ― in the CF Toronto Eaton Centre and CF Markville Mall ― and will close two more ― in the Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Scarborough Town Centre ― by Saturday.“We opened our first Innisfree store in Canada to introduce updated K-beauty products there, but due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, we have decided to close down our shops,” an AmorePacific official said, adding the company will still its products through Sephora, an online cosmetics platform.Innisfree opened its first store in New York in September 2017. The skincare brand's popularity is also fading in the Chinese market. After entering the market in 2012, Innisfree flourished,

May 7, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
AmorePacific withdraws Innisfree business from North America
Companies

Namyang Dairy embroiled in patent infringement scandal

Namyang Dairy Product's “Inner Care” drink / Courtesy of Namyang Dairy ProductBy Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Product, which recently admitted to issuing a false report to exaggerate the health effects of its yogurt drink, “Bulgaris,” is now embroiled in a patent infringement case.“Inner Care,” another yogurt drink made by the dairy company, comes with a health-supplementa pill placed between the cap and the bottle to drink with the beverage. And this combination is nearly identical to a rival's product. Korea Yakult's prebiotics drink, “MPRO3,” also comes with a health-supplement pill. Prebiotics are compounds that induce the growth or activity of beneficial microorganisms such as friendly bacteria and fungi. The company first introduced MPRO3 in 2019 and cumulative sales have reached 100 million bottles. Namyang Dairy launched Inner Care in February this year.The two products are almost identical to each other in that both yogurt drinks contain pills inside the bottle caps. Even their caps are the same size.Korea Yakult's subcontractor,

May 7, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Namyang Dairy embroiled in patent infringement scandal
  • Namyang may close two production facilities temporarily
Companies

Namyang may close two production facilities temporarily

Namyang's dairy products thrown in a pile outside the company's headquarters in Seoul in May 2013, after it was hit for forcing subcontractors to purchase products nearing expiration dates. Korea times file.By Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Products may have to close two production facilities in Sejong City for two months for breaching the Act on the Labeling and Advertising of Foods after claiming one of its drinks is effective in thwarting COVID-19 infections.The dairy firm said Tuesday that Sejong City Hall has issued an advance notice about its plan to shut down two Namyang factories there.“Although the suspension of the business has not been confirmed yet, we will make a public announcement when Sejong City Hall decides to do so,” a Namyang official said.The dairy company said it will try to persuade the local government from taking severe punitive measures.The local government will give Namyang up to two weeks to submit documents specifying its stance.If the administrative measure is enforced, Namyang will have to close down two factories that are responsible for produci

May 6, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Namyang may close two production facilities temporarily
  • Namyang Dairy embroiled in patent infringement scandal
Companies

Oriental Brewery sends 400 bil. won dividend to Belgian headquarters

OB CEO Ben Verhaert poses with a bottle of Cass beer in his hand during a press conference held at Sebitseom in Seoul, March 12. Courtesy of OBBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's largest beer maker Oriental Brewery (OB) paid 400 billion won in dividends to its Belgian mother company Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) for the second consecutive year despite its poor performance affected by COVID-19. OB is owned 100 percent by AB InBev and the entire dividend was paid to the headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. Until last year, OB had been paying dividends once every two years. But this changed when the brewery sent 439 billion won in 2019 and 400 billion won last year. The dividend payments have been exceeding its profits recently. OB's net profit in 2020 showed 274.3 billion won, which is 125.7 billion won lower than the 400 billion won it paid. A year earlier, the brewery remitted 58.4 billion won more in dividends than the net profit of 380.5 billion won it created. From April 2014, when AB InBev took back OB from local private equity fund KPR for $5.8 billion, the Belgian company received a tot

May 5, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Oriental Brewery sends 400 bil. won dividend to Belgian headquarters
Companies

ANALYSIS Luxury brands find future with 'metaverse,' blockchain

By Kim Jae-heunHigh-end fashion companies reluctant to sell their products online, encourage customers to visit their boutiques and “experience” the brand in person so they can observe the craftsmanship of their handbags and apparel. Luxury brands hate the idea of people just browsing over pictures of their items uploaded online and purchasing them with the simple click of a mouse. However, the accelerating global trend of digitization has changed the luxury goods industry, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19. And companies are learning that information technology can maximize their brand value. 'Metaverse' for luxury brandsThe metaverse ― a portmanteau the prefix “meta,” meaning beyond, and “universe” ― is a term used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe. There, individuals can communicate, make profits, spend money and indulge in leisure time through their avatars. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as luxury companies were unable

May 5, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
[ANALYSIS] Luxury brands find future with 'metaverse,' blockchain
Companies

Namyang chairman's resignation lifts stock price

Namyang Diary Product Chairman Hong Won-sik bows during an apology Tuesday for claims the company made last month, backed by false reports, that its yogurt drink Bulgaris had anti-viral properties making it effective against the coronavirus causing COVID-19. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunNamyang Dairy Product's shares soared 9.52 percent Tuesday following the much-awaited departure of Chairman Hong Won-sik from the top post.Hong said he took full responsibility for claims made last month, backed by false reports, that the company's yogurt drink Bulgaris had anti-viral properties making it effective against the coronavirus causing COVID-19.“First of all, I want to apologize to the public, our staff, retail distributors and farmers who are disappointed by the controversy surrounding the company related to Bulgaris, when all are facing hard times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hong told reporters during a press conference held at Namyang's headquarters in Seoul. “Our customers gave much love to the company, but we failed to satisfy their expectations by limiting ourselves to ol

May 4, 2021By Kim Jae-heun
Namyang chairman's resignation lifts stock price
previous page
8889909192
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.