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Industry
Meet the architect behind K-beauty's first US national week
Korean beauty recently earned a place on the US National Day Calendar with the inaugural National K-Beauty Week, held May 11 to 17, a fitting tribute to what is now one of the most powerful forces in the world's largest beauty market. Organized by global K-beauty distributor Landing International and beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, the week featured promotions across major US cities before culminating in a Nasdaq Closing Bell ceremony in Times Square led by Landing International founder and CEO Sar
July 9, 2026 - 13:52:58
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Technology
From surveillance to prevention: Intellivix's AI vision
Choi Eun-soo has spent more than two decades in an industry built on looking backward, but the Intellivix CEO is now betting that cameras can help prevent accidents before they happen. “AI should not be about showing off technology,” Choi said during a recent interview with The Korea Herald at Intellivix’s headquarters in Seoul. “It has to work in the field and prove itself through revenue.” For years, closed-circuit television has served as a record of what went wrong — footage to review after
June 30, 2026 - 11:57:56
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Companies
'It really feels like a homecoming': Yepoda returns to its K-beauty roots in Seoul
Most K-beauty brands are heading west nowadays. This one found its way back to its roots. Founded in Germany by Dutch Korean entrepreneur Sander Joonyoung van Bladel and his German wife Veronika Strotmann, Yepoda opened its first Asian flagship last Saturday in Seongsu, Seoul. “The opening of our first store in Seoul's Seongsu district represents not only a new leap forward for the brand, but also a symbolic return to the Korean culture and market that form Yepoda's roots," Sander said in an int
June 3, 2026 - 10:52:21
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Companies
Tada bets on zero commissions to upend global ride-hailing industry
For over a decade, ride-hailing has been led globally by industry heavyweights Uber, Lyft and Grab. With the pressure to finally turn profitable came steep commissions charged to drivers and passengers. Kay Woo, founder of blockchain-based ride-hailing startup Tada, says he believes that model is fundamentally broken, as drivers are being squeezed and users are paying more than they should. “Here, Uber and Lyft are charging about 35 percent commission, or sometimes like 45 percent commission, an
April 6, 2026 - 15:02:37
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Companies
From microfibers to defense: Welcron pivots to protection for global growth
For most of its 34-year history, Welcron was better known for something far removed from the battlefield: industrial cleaners and functional bedding. The Korean microfiber specialist, however, is now positioning itself to be on the front lines as a world-class defense supplier. At the center of that shift is CEO Shin Jung-jae, a hands-on executive who rose through the ranks not as a defense specialist, but as a merchandiser, salesperson and operations leader. Her approach to leadership — meticul
March 24, 2026 - 15:54:14
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Companies
Pablo Air aims higher with AI drone swarms
For Kim Young-joon, the 36-year-old founder and chair of Pablo Air, volunteering for South Korea’s Army special forces was an easy decision. “I don’t really like doing what others usually do,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Herald at the company’s office in Incheon last week. While Korean men typically complete their mandatory military service through conscription, Kim chose the more demanding route of volunteering as an officer in the special forces. “I like adventures, so I was lookin
March 9, 2026 - 16:01:33
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Industry
‘K-donut’ renaissance: Knotted takes aim at Donut capitals
Dessert trends shift fast in South Korea, and more or less, they’re sugar-coated. Dubai chewy cookies are the latest craze, but just a trend ago, it was bagels. Rewind a bit further, donuts had their moment, with Knotted at the forefront. Though the domestic buzz has subsided, the donut brand’s signature pastel box has reached the very countries that gave rise to the classic donut, introducing what its parent company, GFFG, calls the “K-donut.” According to GFFG CEO Lee Joon-beum, the K-donut is
Feb. 4, 2026 - 11:22:40
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Culture
From national icon to global contender, Pororo’s producer eyes next chapter
By any measure, “Pororo the Little Penguin” is one of South Korea’s most recognizable characters. Since debuting in 2003, the blue penguin has anchored a domestic animation industry that previously struggled to prove commercial viability. Yet two decades on, even Pororo has found it difficult to achieve the kind of global cultural breakthrough recently accomplished by the Netflix animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters.” For Woo Jee-hee, CEO of animation studio OCON, the gap is not about effort or long
Jan. 21, 2026 - 15:13:16
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Companies
From ceramics to spirits, Hwayo charts its next decade
Korea’s leading premium distilled soju maker Hwayo took more than 10 years to turn a profit for the first time in 2015. Another decade later, Cho Hee-kyung -- Hwayo’s young leader and the second-oldest daughter of Hwayo founder and chair Cho Tae-kwon -- is poised to play the waiting game with resilience to take the next leap forward. “Our strategies are continuously changing as of late, and one of the reasons is that there are uncertainties,” said Cho Hee-kyung in an interview with The Korea Her
Jan. 19, 2026 - 14:29:10
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Technology
Who governs AI in hospitals? IHF president-elect weighs in
After leading South Korea’s hospital sector through multiple public health crises, Lee Wang-jun is now focused on another structural challenge confronting global health care: how to govern the use of artificial intelligence in hospitals. Lee, president-elect of the International Hospital Federation, said hospitals around the world are rapidly adopting AI across diagnosis, treatment and operations. But discussions on accountability, ethics and global standards have yet to catch up. “New technolog
Dec. 15, 2025 - 10:03:09
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Industry
‘Smart isn’t enough’: LG veteran Kwon Young-soo on what makes a real CEO
When the recent “Kkanbu Chicken” meetup between Samsung and Hyundai chiefs and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang dominated Korean headlines, Kwon Young-soo — who spent 44 years at LG, including 17 in C-suite roles — saw it as a moment that encapsulated corporate dealmaking. “That’s where real deals start,” Kwon said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Chaebol owners have to get close. There are things only owners understand about each other.” Kwon, widely known as one of Korea’s most seasoned lead
Nov. 18, 2025 - 15:47:17
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Mobility
‘BorgWarner stays step ahead with product leadership’
BorgWarner, a multinational automotive parts supplier, has set eyes on expanding its presence in the electric vehicle and battery sectors in Korea as it is ready to offer products that are already leading in other parts of the global market. “We have already developed high-voltage coolant heaters (HVCHs), which are 100 percent made for EVs,” said Park Kui-seon, general manager of BorgWarner Korea’s turbo, emissions and thermal plants in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Chungju, North Chungcheo
Oct. 27, 2025 - 13:40:15
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Mobility
Autonomous A2Z gears up for APEC debut, taking on Waymo, Tesla
Who would have imagined that Autonomous A2Z, a startup with just 220 employees in South Korea, would rise to become the official operator of self-driving vehicles for the 2025 APEC summit? From its humble beginnings in 2018, led by CEO Han Ji-hyeong and three colleagues who left Hyundai Motor Group, the company has quickly emerged as a global pioneer in Level 4 autonomous driving, competing head-on with tech giants Waymo and Tesla. For the upcoming APEC summit, slated for Oct. 31–Nov. 1 in Gyeon
Sept. 15, 2025 - 14:41:55
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Mobility
Fescaro bucks industry norms to become Korea’s first full-stack auto cybersecurity provider
Fescaro, a Korean startup specializing in auto security, has defied the traditions of the original equipment manufacturer-heavy industry and is now looking to expand its all-around anti-hacking capabilities on the global stage. “A normal auto cybersecurity company is usually in a third-party position as it offers solutions defined and required by automakers and parts suppliers, which is regarded as a regular value chain,” said Hong Seok-min, CEO of Fescaro, in an interview at the startup’s offic
July 28, 2025 - 13:05:06
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Industry
‘Korea must lead, not follow, in chips’
When Hwang Chul-joo set out to build front-end chipmaking equipment in 1993, he was met with strong skepticism, as Korea had just begun taking its first baby steps into the semiconductor industry. The idea of a homegrown firm developing chipmaking tools used in early-stage production sounded absurd to most. “Back then, people said Korea couldn’t even make a screw suitable for semiconductor equipment,” recalled Hwang, founder and CEO of Jusung Engineering, the country’s first-generation chipmakin
July 21, 2025 - 14:31:25
