The Korean operator of Dunkin’ Donuts, BR Korea, issued an official apology Thursday saying it will “thoroughly abide by sanitary standards,” following a video showing donuts baked in unsanitary conditions. South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS aired on Wednesday a video taken by an anonymous worker this summer showing the inside of the firm’s donut factory in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. The footage shows dough stained with orange droplets that are presumed to ha

Under the pro-labor Moon Jae-in regime, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has acted like its master. It was a key organizer of candlelight vigils in 2016 and poses as one of the greatest contributors to the birth of the current regime. It takes the labor movement too far, making unreasonable demands and holding unauthorized rallies and illegal strikes. Truckers unionized under the confederation are refusing to transport bread and other supplies to Paris Baguette franchise bakeries. Som

SPC Group said on Thursday it has opened the first Eggslut store in Singapore in the busy Orchard Road shopping district. The move comes after the South Korean food company purchased the operating rights for the country for the LA-based breakfast chain restaurant focusing on egg dishes in 2020. Founded by Filipino-American chef Alvin Calian, the first store in Korea opened in June last year. Three stores are currently in operation in the country. Alongside its popular items such as egg sandw

SPC Group will open its 18th Shake Shack store in the bustling Hongdae district in Seoul in September, the company said Friday. While the store is currently under renovation, Shake Shack has decorated the fence around the store with a colorful mural by media artist Vakki depicting burgers and milkshakes in an “urban playground,” SPC said. Shake Shack has featured similar art on the fence of every one of its stores across the country. To celebrate the opening of the Hongdae bran

Hanwha Solutions said Friday that its wholly-owned subsidiary Hanwha Compound has signed an agreement with SPC Pack to co-develop a biodegradable plastic material and use it for packaging SPC’s products. SPC Group is a South Korean food and confectionery conglomerate owning some 40 brands including Paris Baguette, Shake Shack Korea, Baskin Robbins Korea, Dunkin’ Donuts Korea, among others. The new packaging material will be based on poly lactic acid, which is made from fermented

SPC Group is launching the Paris Baguette bakery franchise in Cambodia, opening the first branch in the country‘s capital city, the company said Wednesday. According to SPC Group, the Korean firm behind bakery brand Paris Baguette, it forged ties with Cambodia’s HSC Group to open the first Paris Baguette store in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is the sixth country in which Paris Baguette has launched, and it is the first time the bakery operator has formed a joint venture for its overseas

South Korean food company SPC Samlip has signed an exclusive contract with US-based Chobani to distribute and sell their yogurt products here, the company said Thursday. Starting July, SPC Samlip said it will exclusively supply Chobani products to retailers here, and also work on producing new products under the brand using homegrown ingredients. Chobani supports the Farmer’s Assuring Responsible Management animal welfare program, which ensures that farms supplying milk to the company

SPC Group said Thursday it opened Passion 5 Terrace, a bakery restaurant brand inside the Passion 5 building in Hannam district in Seoul. Passion 5 is the group’s flagship premium bakery brand. The newly opening Passion 5 Terrace will be dedicated to the company‘s origin, bread, and will run under the slogan, “Made from origin, Baked with Passion,” the company said. The Passion 5 Terrace has installed a stone milling system and has been designed so that customers can

SPC Group said Thursday it has opened a new Baskin Robbins outlet, designed in the traditional Korean style Hanok building. Located in Jongno, central Seoul, the Baskin Robbins Samcheong Madang is Baskin Robins’ 10th concept store, inspired by the idea of harmonizing the traditional and the modern, the group explained. The ice cream parlor has been constructed using traditional tiles, wooden pillars and with a surrounding fence to give it the look of a traditional hanok building, the

An instant 425.8 billion-won ($375.1 million) selloff by major shareholders of South Korean pop music agency Big Hit Entertainment appears to have caused a sharp decline of the Big Hit stock price in the days after its listing, market watchers said Thursday. Two special purpose companies including the fourth-largest shareholder Mainstone -- which owned a combined 9.16 percent of common shares -- immediately sold nearly half of their holdings in Big Hit, after the company went public o

SPC Group said Wednesday it will open a Shake Shack location in Galleria Timeworld in Daejeon in November. The Shake Shack store planned to launch in Daejeon is the third outlet for the burger chain to be opened outside the Greater Seoul area that includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, SPC said. A fence installed around the Shake Shack store at Galleria Timeworld department store is decorated with colorful graffiti art depicting people dining in the burger house by Junk House, SPC said. The

Tencent-backed online movie ticket booking platform Maoyan Entertainment has unloaded its stake in YG Entertainment worth a combined 22.1 billion won ($19.2 million) since August, disclosures showed Sunday. The selloff reduced the Chinese company’s control over South Korea‘s major entertainment powerhouse -- home to K-pop groups Big Bang, Blackpink and the newly-debuted Treasure -- to 5.78 percent, from the previous 8.09 percent. In September alone, Maoyan divested a combine

Shake Shack rolled out a new burger using traditional Korean red pepper paste Gochujang, Monday. The burger chain operated by SPC Group here said it came up with the limited edition item after its culinary director, Mark Rosati, drew inspiration from Korean dishes he had when he was traveling the country. The Gochujang Chicken Shack comes with a sous-vide chicken breast, spicy and sweet Gochujang glaze and sesame seeds, creating a flavor profile similar to the Korean-style seasoned spicy ch

Posco International said Wednesday its CEO Joo Si-bo and employees have joined the Thank You Challenge campaign to express gratitude to medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The public campaign was launched by the Central Disaster Safety and Countermeasure Headquarters with the aim of encouraging medical workers struggling to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Anyone can participate in the campaign by posting a picture of sign language with gratitude on social media and naming the next p

Korea’s antitrust watchdog has decided to impose a fine of 64.7 billion won ($54.1 million) on food giant SPC for violation of antitrust laws, officials said Wednesday. The Fair Trade Commission is also set to report Chairman Hur Young-in, former group CEO Cho Sang-ho and former Paris Croissant CEO Hwang Jae-bok to prosecutors. “The investigation found that the chief was involved in supporting Samlip in diverse ways on the group level,” an FTC official said. Samlip is the