South Korea’s top beer manufacturer Oriental Brewery said it would make product quality its top priority and invest 120 billion won ($115.8 million) to improve its quality control process.

It also offered an apology for the unconventional smell detected in its best-selling beer Cass, which was recently found to have an oxidized odor caused during the distribution and storage process.

“All business strategies will be meaningless unless they are backed by product quality,” said CEO Chang In-soo in a press briefing on Tuesday.

“During my 30 years in the beverage industry, I have been recognized for my sales strategies but from now on, I wish to be known for successful quality control.”

For this aim, the company will invest 120 billion won in upgrading the manufacturing and distribution facilities in Gwangju; Icheon, Gyeonggi Province; and Cheongwon, North Chungcheong Province, according to the CEO.

The detailed measures included disclosing the product’s raw materials on the website, marking the name of the production manager, and inscribing distribution bar codes so as to ensure first-in, first-out distribution of goods.

“We will also apply the Voyager Plant Optimization, the global quality certification system of AB InBev, to all of our products,” Chang added.

OB was reincorporated into the world’s largest brewery Anheuser-Busch InBev in April.

Earlier in June, OB was plagued by unidentified rumors that its best-selling beer Cass smelled like disinfectant. The rampant rumors hurt sales and led the company to file for an investigation on whether ill-willed market competitors were involved.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recently announced that the smell was due to oxidization, a phenomenon that occurred during high-temperature storage in mid-summer.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)