A slew of top-shelf whiskey labels are rushing to make their Korean debuts recently, fueling the growth momentum of the nation’s premium whiskey market in the coming years, according to Nick Ahn, the country manager of top spirit and wine producer Bacardi. "Just 10 years ago in Korea, soju and beer dominated social gatherings and work dinners, leaving little room for other options. But things have changed drastically," Ahn told The Korea Herald in an interview held in Seoul on Fr

Industry July 22, 2024

Earlier this month, Cho Hyun-moon, the second son of late Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Suck-rai, held a surprise press conference to announce his intention to donate his entire inheritance, worth about 100 billion won ($72 million), to a public foundation. Cho, a former Hyosung executive, has remained estranged from the founding family since he was engaged in a high-profile succession battle with his brothers – Cho Hyun-joon, the eldest, and Cho Hyun-sang, the youngest, in 2014. Currently, t

Industry July 21, 2024

South Korean franchise Mom's Touch announced on Wednesday a series of collaborative marketing initiatives at its recently opened store in Tokyo, partnering with various industries, from Samsung’s Galaxy brand to Samyang’s Buldak ramyeon. Since its opening in April, the Shibuya store in Tokyo has attracted 100,000 cumulative customers and generated 100 million yen ($0.7 million) in sales within 40 days. As part of the move to further boost sales, the store offers free burger-to

Industry July 17, 2024

South Korean airline-to-logistics conglomerate Hanjin Group's logistics arm Hanjin Logistics Corp. said Tuesday that it has expanded operations by expanding the size of the Los Angeles fulfillment center by 50 percent. Upon the expansion, Hanjin Logistics President and CEO Noh Sam-sug and President and Chief Marketing Officer Emily Cho conducted an on-site inspection during a five-day visit to the US earlier this month. The aim is to provide a one-stop logistics solution so Korean companies

Industry July 16, 2024

South Korea's leading cosmetics original design manufacturer Kolmar Korea appointed Hur Yong-chul, the former China business chief, as the CEO of Kolmar Laboratories and Kolmar USA, marking its full-scale entry into the North American market. With the appointment announced Tuesday, the company aims to maximize the use of its North American production facilities, including the first plant in the US and the second plant currently under construction. Hur previously served as the head of Kolmar

Industry July 16, 2024

진행자: 김혜연, Kevin Lee Selzer Future of fear shown in BIFAN Choice section 기사 요약: 한국 최대 장르영화제로 손꼽히는 부천국제판타스틱영화제, 올해 AI, 좀비물 등 다양한 실험적 영화로 행사 성료 [1] Under the banner “Stay Strange,” Korea’s largest genre film festival, the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, or BIFAN, kicked off on July 4 and ran through Sunday. This year the film fest has brought a display of 253 films from 49 countries to the small Gyeonggi Province city just west of Seoul. Never the festival t

Podcast July 15, 2024

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong inspected Indian operations in Mumbai over the weekend, following his attendance at the wedding of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, according to the Korean tech giant Sunday. “Let’s make history with a fierce competitive spirit and urgency,” Lee was quoted as saying during his meeting with local employees. His four-day visit to India comes as Samsung is pouring resources into the market to se

Industry July 14, 2024

Unionized workers of Asiana Airlines reiterated Thursday their opposition to a merger with the nation’s largest air carrier Korean Air, expressing their intention to block further procedures by all means. Asiana Airlines' labor unions urged the air carrier's main creditor Korea Development Bank and the European Commission, the EU's antitrust regulator which gave conditional approval on the merger, to review the deal from the ground up. The possible future actions that Asiana

Industry July 11, 2024

Samsung C&T and its biotech subsidiaries Samsung Biologics and Samsung Bioepis, announced Thursday they would invest 72 billion won ($52 million) in a US fund focused on startups using AI-based new power drug development platform technologies. The investment will be made through the Samsung Life Science fund, created by the Samsung affiliates and managed by Samsung Venture Investment. The money will be invested in venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering's eighth fund, which has so far

Industry July 11, 2024

진행자: 김혜연, Kevin Lee Selzer [Herald Interview] INSEAD professor explores power of K-brands’ ‘identity marketing’ 기사 요약: HBR에 K-브랜드의 전략적 마케팅 사례 담은 저널 실은 INSEAD David Dubois 교수 [1] The recent success of Korean brands can be attributed to their knack for selling "pieces of identities" and empowering consumers with curated experiences, according to a marketing professor at French business school INSEAD. *attribute …의 결과로[덕분으로] 보다 *knack (타고난) 재주, (경험으로 익힌) 요령 [2]

Podcast July 11, 2024

LG Chem has pledged to increase humanitarian support for villagers affected by the 2020 gas leak accident at its Indian subsidiary LG Polymers. According to the company on Wednesday, its top executives, including Vice Chairman and CEO Shin Hak-cheol and Chief Financial Officer Cha Dong-seok, visited Andhra Pradesh, a southern coastal state of India, on Tuesday to meet with the state’s Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and local people. At the site, Shin expressed his deepest sympathy to

Industry July 10, 2024

GS Group's energy equipment manufacturing arm GS Entec announced Tuesday it plans to invest 300 billion won ($217 million) to transform its offshore wind power structures. The investment includes 214 billion won for the introduction of automated facilities to produce offshore wind power substructures and 86 billion won for the construction of additional buildings over the next two years. Established in 1988, GS Entec originally focused on chemical and oil refining plants. Since 2020, aligni

Industry July 9, 2024

FG Korea, the South Korean operator of US burger chain brand Five Guys, will open its store in Japan in the second half of next year, with plans to launch over 20 locations across the nation within seven years. FG Korea announced on Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Five Guys International last month to facilitate Five Guys' entry into the Japanese market. Five Guys was introduced to Korea by Kim Dong-sun, head of Hanwha Galleria strategic management and the third so

Industry July 9, 2024

KT&G CEO Bang Kyung-man marked his 100th day in office on Monday by sharing his ambitions for higher performance by fostering a horizontal corporate culture that encourages open communication among employees. "In order to achieve sustainable growth, we need an organizational culture that inspires joy, meaning and motivation in our work," Bang reportedly said in an email sent to all executives and employees. "Let's enhance communication opportunities, eliminate inefficie

Industry July 8, 2024

Woomtree, a Korean company specializing in manufacturing gochujang (red chili paste) and other sauces, bets big on the global expansion of long-lasting and healthy "K-sauces," unlike instant foods with fleeting popularity. "People's interest in fermented food and well-being is growing around the world, and I think Korean fermented sauces are at the center of it," said Kim Woo-taek, founder and CEO of Woomtree, during an interview with The Korea Herald at the company'

Industry July 7, 2024