The Korea Times

Nature Republic losing spot

By Kwon Mee-yoo A Myeong-dong branch of cosmetic brand Nature Republic, situated on the most expensive plot of land in the country, has failed to renew its lease and may be in the process of moving out or being evicted. Just some 60 meters away from Myeong-dong Station on subway line No. 4, the Myeong-dong World branch of Nature Republic is one of the largest in the city with a floor accommodating only foreign customers. Since opening in 2009, the store has acted as the main store of Nature Republic, with posters of models such as Rain and JYJ on the front of the building. The spot has been the most expensive site in Korea for eight years in a row. In 2011, the site was worth 215 million won per 3.3 square meters, a 4.3 percent jump from the previous year. Nature Republic has six shops in Myeong-dong, but the World branch is the largest and the most popular. The company uses all five floors of the building for a monthly rent of 150 million won with a 3.2 billion won deposit. The sky-high rent is worth it as the branch sells about 1.1 billion won of product a month, whi

Mar 22, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

People & Events

Hana Chairman Kim donates 4 billion won

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hana Financial Chairman Kim Seung-yu is supporting educational efforts with a donation of 4 billion won. Kim said any bonus he receives for his work at the banking group will be used for a scholarship foundation or given to a school. Kim is leaving his job as chairman after completing Hana’s purchase of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB). He is to be succeeded by one of his proteges, Kim Jung-tae. Kim is currently a member of the board of Hana High School, an independent private high school founded by Hana Financial Group, and the money will likely benefit that school. The exact bonus amount will be decided by Hana's Management Development and Compensation Committee and announced at a board of directors meeting after the general stockholders meeting Friday. "We consider this compensation for a person who led Hana to become one of the nation's best financial institutions. There is no severance pay for CEOs and we decided to name it as a special bonus," a Hana Financial spokesman said.

Mar 21, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Swatch earns big, gives nothing to charity

By Kwon Mee-yoo Luxury brands enjoy immense popularity and make huge profits in Korea, but they become stingy when it comes to contributing to society. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, many luxury brands did not donate a cent in Korea as of the 2010 fiscal year. Swatch Group Korea made 120 billion won that year, but donated zero. The situation is similar for Stuttgart Sports Cars, which marked 99 billion won in sales, Honda Korea (199 billion won) and Jaguar Land Rover Korea (124 billion won). Most of the profits are sent back to head offices. Swatch Korea Group is composed of various watch brands from Swatch to Omega, Rado, Longines, Tissot and Calvin Klein. "Each brand has its own headquarters and the Swatch Korea Group is just an association of various brands. So there is no CSR program offered by the group and each brand operates social contributions which are not seen in the data," a Swatch spokeswoman said. Stuttgart Sports Cars, the importer of Porche here, said though they don't make donations or have a corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Mar 20, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Fast fashion expands to shoes, underwear

By Kwon Mee-yoo A local specialty retailer of private label apparel (SPA) brand began in clothing and is now extending its reach to include footwear and underwear. E-Land, which pioneered the domestic SPA market, opened a new brand Mixxo Secret last November. Mixxo Secret says it offers new products every month, which is more often than existing lingerie brands which offers seasonal new products every three months. "The fashion industry is moving to SPA and E-Land entered the underwear market to dominate in advance," an E-Land spokesman said. "We expect that customers who are attracted to the trendy designs and reasonable prices of SPA brands will prefer SPA branded underwear as well." Currently, Mixxo Secret has five branches and plans to expand to 20 branches with targeted sales of 20 billion won this year. The underwear market will become more competitive as Zara Retail Korea will introduce Oysho, an underwear brand by Spain's Inditex Group, which owns Zara. Meanwhile social commerce site Ticket Monster launched Perche, an SPA brand specializing in shoes, last

Mar 20, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Card firms charge outrageous interest rates

By Kwon Mee-yoo Credit card firms are imposing what critics say are outrageous interest rates of over 20 percent for customers who need fast cash. According to the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA), the high rates were applied to more than 50 percent of those wanting cash advances. About 81 percent of Samsung Card customers and 74 percent of Shinhan Card clients have to pay over 20 percent in interest. Around 10 percent of all credit card customers were in a group who had to pay interest over 28 percent. The statistics imply that a normal office worker with a secure job could be in the group paying interest of over 20 percent for an emergency cash advance. Last year, Shinhan Card, KB Kookmin Card, Hyundai Card, Samsung Card, Hana SK Card and Lotte Card netted a combined profit of 2.1 trillion won and most of it came from loans and cash advances. Approved credit card loans were about 12 trillion won in 2008, but jumped to 15.8 trillion won last year. Civic organizations claim that such high interest rates burden ordinary people. "The rates are too high for

Mar 19, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Knowledge minister visits nuclear plant

By Kwon Mee-yoo Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo visited nuclear power facilities in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, after a recent power outage at one of the reactors at the Gori Nuclear Power Plant. Hong visited the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant and the construction site of a radioactive waste repository in the southeastern city. The radioactive waste storage recently extended its building period to 18 months to ensure safety. Hong spoke of the power cut at the Gori reactor during his visit to Wolseong facility and asked for tighter discipline among staff at nuclear plants. “The accident in Gori heightened distrust against nuclear energy and its safety measures. The workers at nuclear plants should reflect on the accident and prevent another one,” the minister said. “The nuclear industry should improve communication to report directly to te directors in case of an emergency. All workers should know the manuals fully and put what they say into use in emergencies.” Originally, the minister was scheduled to visit the low and intermediate level radioa

Mar 19, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Instant coffee fight gets ugly

By Kwon Mee-yoo Two of the country’s biggest food companies are locked in an increasingly ugly feud over the use of casein, a type of milk protein, in its instant coffee products. Dongsuh Foods had been enjoying an undisputed supremacy in the country’s instant coffee market, annually worth around 1.1 trillion won (about $977 million), with its flagship brand Maxim enjoying a market share of more than 70 percent. However its leadership has been challenged by Namyang Dairy Products, which continues to see sales of its French Cafe coffee mix increasing since first appearing on Korean shelves in December 2010. Through an ambitious advertising campaign featuring top actress Kim Tae-hee, Namyang has been suggesting that its product is healthier than Maxim because it uses a “fat-free” creamer instead of casein-based ingredients. According to Namyang, French Cafe now enjoys a market share of around 20 percent. Casein, also listed as sodium caseinate, is commonly used in instant coffee products as it’s water-soluble. Dongsuh continues to use sodium caseinate in most of its

Mar 18, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Musical powers ‘hallyu‘ in new direction

By Kwon Mee-yoo Ichikawa Rie came from Japan to see the musical “Elisabeth.” She is a fan of JYJ’s Jun-su, who is starring in the show. “I was thrilled to see him performing the role of Tod, or Death, live,” Ichikawa said. Rows of wreaths stand at the lobby of Blue Square Music Hall, a new theater in Hannam-dong, Seoul, where the musical is being staged. They are from fans of the actors and the language on the ribbons varies from Korean and Japanese to Chinese and Taiwanese, showing the diversity of support. The recipients are not only K-pop star Jun-su and television actor Song Chang-eui, but musical actors Ryu Jung-han and Park Eun-tae. Ichikawa first visited Korea to see Jun-su in “Mozart” in 2010 and soon fell in love with Korean musicals. “There are many musicals in Japan too but I feel something special about Korean actors. They sing really well and convey their emotions in the songs,” she said. “I have seen other Korean musicals and hope to see more of them.” The Korean musical industry is busy attracting foreigners to local theaters, while making forays into over

Mar 15, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

Hyundai leads nuclear plant building

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C), a leading Korean builder, has unrivaled experience in building nuclear power plants in Korea. The firm has built 13 nuclear generators, covering 62.1 percent of the gross generation, out of 21 operating in Korea. As of January 2012, Hyundai E&C is participating in the construction of nine nuclear plants in and outside the country, including the new Gori Nuclear Power Plant, new Uljin Nuclear Power Plant and Braka Nuclear Power Plants in the United Arab Emirates. Based with a firm background in nuclear plant construction including pressurized water reactors, Hyundai E&C won the contract for four nuclear power reactors in the United Arab Emirates in 2009. The construction firm puts safety first in building the plants. Pressurized water reactors are safer than the boiling water reactors used in Japan. They separate the reactor and turbine and this prevents radioactive steam leaving the reactor container. It also has a larger container and emergency power supply to control possible accidents at the nuclear plan

Mar 15, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

KDB Daewoo reliable hedge fund broker

By Kwon Mee-yoo Hedge funds and prime brokerages are inseparable and the success of Korean-style hedge funds depends strongly on reliable prime brokers. KDB Daewoo Securities is ready to be the best prime brokerage service provider in Korea, based on its abundant experience as an investment bank. Prime brokerages provide a variety of services on top of hedge funds, from trading stocks and making payments to loan transactions. KDB Daewoo launched its prime brokerage service (PBS) team in 2009 to prepare for the exclusive service for the long term, compared to other securities companies. There are 18 members in KDB Daewoo's PBS team, the largest in the industry, and they cover client services, trading and execution, granting of credit, risk management and settling accounts, providing a one-stop service. The securities company increased about 1 trillion won in capital by issuing new stocks last year, making its total equity capital 3.8 trillion won to meet the requirements for prime brokerage services. To differentiate its quality, KDB Daewoo's PBS employees all have

Mar 13, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Nature Republic losing spot

Hana Chairman Kim donates 4 billion won

Swatch earns big, gives nothing to charity

Fast fashion expands to shoes, underwear

Card firms charge outrageous interest rates

Knowledge minister visits nuclear plant

Instant coffee fight gets ugly

Musical powers ‘hallyu‘ in new direction

Hyundai leads nuclear plant building

KDB Daewoo reliable hedge fund broker

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