[Super Rich] Beauty success through social media

When L’Oreal acquired NYX Cosmetics for a whopping $500 million in 2014, the world’s largest cosmetics company likely had its eyes set on NYZ’s large social media following. NYX is known for its effective use of social media to connect with consumers, including Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Toni Ko’s InstagramAs of early June, NYX has over 7.3 million followers on Instagram while L’Oreal has 2.5 million followers. When L’Oreal acquired NYX, it did not even have 10,000 followers. 　The person b

CompaniesJuly 14, 2016

[Super Rich] The pet superstars of the superrich

The local pet market -- or “petconomy”-- is growing, and along with it, the pets of the superrich are rising to the spotlight. 　Korea’s pet superstars of the superrich include two famous poodles called Mari and Molly owned by Chung Young-jin, the vice chairman and CEO of the Shinsegae Group, Korea’s largest retailer  Shinsegae Group vice chairman and CEO Chung Young-jin with his pet dog Mari in this photo posted on his Twitter account.The two poodles rose to popularity when Mari was first featur

IndustryJuly 7, 2016

[Super Rich] Chaebol Cornell graduates with a hold on hotel business

With the prestigious Ivy League known to offer top-notch education, elites with a business family background are flocking to the U.S. universities to gain an edge for when they inherit the family business. One Ivy League institution located by the natural waterfalls in New York is especially known for its hotel management curriculum: Cornell. Graduates of Cornell University with a major in hotel management dominate the hotel industry. Cornell University (Cornell website)Of Cornell hotel manageme

IndustryJune 30, 2016

[Super Rich] Chaebol Cornell graduates with hold on hotel business

With the prestigious Ivy League known to offer top-notch education, elites with a business family background are flocking to the U.S. universities to gain an edge when they themselves inherit the family business. One Ivy institution located by the natural waterfalls in New York is especially known for its hotel management curriculum: Cornell. Graduates of Cornell University with a major in hotel management are known to dominate the hotel industry. Cornell University (Cornell Website)Of Cornell h

IndustryJune 30, 2016

[Super Rich] Rise of the daughters in fashion Korea

[THE INVESTOR] Step aside gentlemen, it’s time for the ladies to shine.South Korean conglomerates have long been dominated by men -- usually the sons and grandsons of the founders. Shinsegae International CEO Chung Yoo-kyung (left) and Samsung C&T’s fashion division head Lee Seo-hyunAlthough a few, such as Lee Myung-hee, chairwoman of Shinsegae, have made their mark, the role of women has primarily been to support their husbands or sons. This trend, however, is changing, slowly but surely. The d

IndustryJune 30, 2016

[Super Rich] Nature Republic stingy about sharing success with employees

[THE INVESTOR] Despite Korean cosmetics brand Nature Republic seeing overwhelming success, with revenue increasing sixfold in six years, the 7-year-old company has been stingy in sharing wealth with its employees.The unlisted company’s business profits increased by 20 billion won ($17.2 million) between 2010 and 2016, which resulted in the value of Nature Republic CEO Jung Woon-ho’s 73.8 percent hold of company shares surging to 73.2 billion won.  Nature Republic CEO Jung Woon-hoHowever, instead

IndustryJune 16, 2016

[Super Rich] Shinsegae to tap overseas liquor market

The recent takeover bid by Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group for “Jeju Soju” last week proves the passion of the group’s vice chairman Chung Yong-jin for the liquor business again.Chung, who is known to be a wine enthusiast, has expanded the company’s business in this area for the past few years by entering into the wine import and distribution business, and by opening the craft beer-centric bar Devil’s Door in Seocho-dong, an affluent part of southern Seoul.   Shinsegae Group vice chairman Ch

IndustryJune 16, 2016

[Super Rich] Nexon founder likely to face summons

Kim Jung-ju, founder of the country’s biggest online gaming giant Nexon, is likely to be summoned by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office soon in a probe to determine whether he paid kickbacks. Kim, who founded Nexon in 1994 with his university friend Song Jae-kyng -- current CEO of XLGames -- is a new breed of superrich in Korea. He is a self-made billionaire, having accumulated wealth of 4.9 trillion won ($4.2 billion) by incubating Nexon and investing in start-ups at home and abroad in a variety o

IndustryJune 7, 2016

[Super Rich] Like father like son-in-law

Legendary Korean baseball pitcher Park Chan-ho and his millionaire father-in-law have more than family connections in common. Both currently have sizeable real-estate earnings and are committed to philanthropy. Park, the first Korean pitcher in Major League Baseball, currently has a net worth of $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Making his MLB debut in 1994 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he earned a total of $88.9 million during his 18-year career thanks to his powerful pitching deli

IndustryJune 7, 2016

[Super Rich] Jejudo woos Saudi billionaire in bid to host Four Seasons

Jejudo Island, the nation’s popular vacation spot, was presented on Tuesday as a strong candidate for the location of the second Four Seasons hotel in Korea to visiting Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the owner of the Toronto-based luxury hotel chain. “In a face-to-face meeting held at Gimpo International Airport, Jeju Province Governor Won Hee-ryong pitched the island’s world-class resort development project targeting Four Seasons and he gained positive feedback from the Arab tycoo

BusinessMay 17, 2016

[Super Rich] Unlisted affiliate may be key to CJ power transfer

Succession at Korean family-controlled conglomerates -- notorious for their complicated cross-shareholdings among affiliates -- tends to result in a tragicomedy drama, especially when there are many offspring involved. However, the result could play out differently in food and entertainment giant CJ Group. Since it officially split from Samsung Group in 1997, the group has established a simple holding company structure governed by group chairman Lee Jay-hyun, the eldest grandson of late Samsung

BusinessApril 12, 2016

[Super Rich] Hyundai Corp. latest Chung family group

Leading Korean trading company Hyundai Corp. has become the latest member of the so-called Chung Ju-yung family conglomerate groups -- which include Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Group, Hyundai Department and Hyundai Heavy Industries -- with the Fair Trade Commission approving its separation from HHI last week. The late business tycoon Chung founded Hyundai in 1947.The move was expected as Hyundai Corp. chairman Chung Mong-hyuck secured controlling stake in the company and Hyundai C&F, a wholesal

CompaniesMarch 29, 2016

[Super Rich] Son strives to keep father’s legacy alive

Choi Shin-won, the second son of the late SK Group founder Choi Jong-kun, returned to the conglomerate’s corporate board a year after he stepped down as CEO of its petrochemical affiliate SKC in March 2015, while retaining the title of chairman. This time around, the 64-year-old scion -- a cousin of SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won -- has made his comeback to SK Networks. Last Friday, the annual shareholders meeting of SK’s integrated marketing company approved his appointment to the board and tit

BusinessMarch 23, 2016

[Super Rich] New breed of CEOs sharing wealth

The number of company founders and CEOs who share their wealth with employees is on the rise at home and abroad. Hanmi Pharmaceutical chairman Lim Sung-ki made headlines last year as he shared corporate success with loyal employees by paying them hefty bonuses.The average amount given per employee was 45 million won ($36,400), about the same as an average citizen’s annual salary. In addition to the amount of bonuses given, the 75-year-old chairman continued to surprise the Korean public by donat

IndustryMarch 1, 2016

[Super Rich] Hyun Jeong-eun’s struggles continue

Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eunYonhapHyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun has made headlines for the past couple of months with her struggles to keep the country’s 29th-largest business conglomerate running.On Feb. 23, she spent 30 billion won ($24.4 million) from her own pocket to acquire 4 million shares in Hyundai Merchant Marine’s new stock issue, which was planned as part of the group’s efforts to ease a liquidity crisis. To secure more liquidity, she is trying to sell Hyundai Se

IndustryMarch 1, 2016

[Super Rich] Expanded payroll disclosure plan irks business tycoons

Will people finally find out how much Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong makes in a year?All eyes are now on a revision bill that will make public the payrolls of highest-paid business magnates. It is waiting for final approval from the National Assembly.While many lawmakers and civic activists call for transparency in management, saying that it is key to fair trade and business, businessmen are claiming that it is an invasion of privacy. (From left) Samsung Electronics vice chairman

IndustryFeb. 23, 2016

[Super Rich] Listing could net chaebol families W4tr

Korea is expected to witness a booming stock market this year with many companies preparing to list on the main bourse KOSPI and the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ.Generally, companies decide to go public on the strength of confidence gained from successful business performance, improvement in corporate governance, and positive financing, although listing does not necessarily guarantee future success. Last year, close to 40 percent of the newly listed companies ended with their share price much low

IndustryFeb. 23, 2016

[SUPER RICH] NHN Entertainment bets on virtual reality

Korea’s largest Internet portal Naver’s cofounder and chairman of NHN Entertainment Lee Joon-ho has shifted focus to virtual reality due to the obscure future of the game market. After Lee parted from Naver in 2013 to create an independent online game company NHN Entertainment, he has diversified the operations into other technological areas. Lee Joon-ho, chairman of NHN EntertainmentFollowing the investments in fintech and Internet of Things, Lee is currently expanding his presence in the virtu

IndustryFeb. 2, 2016