[SUPER RICH] Business tycoons shun payroll disclosure

More and more high-level “registered” executives at business conglomerates are resigning from their official positions at corporate affiliates, apparently fearing a public backlash following the disclosure of their salaries. Registered executives have the legal power to participate in the overall management of the companies while unregistered executives have less power in the boardroom.According to Chaebul.com, a website devoted to tracing the wealth of the superrich, among the country’s top 30

IndustrySept. 1, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Son’s bold investments create new superrich

Masayoshi Son (also known as Son Jeong-ui), chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., is well known among the superrich. Forbes ranked him as the 75th richest person in the world with assets of $13.8 billion, making him the second-richest person in Japan.Son is seen as more than a telecommunications billionaire, however. He is also well known as an investor with incredible acumen.He has been known to financially invest in young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and also act as their business mentor.

IndustrySept. 1, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Trump’s rise draws attention in Korea

When Donald Trump, the real estate developer and host of reality TV show “The Apprentice,” announced that he was running for the 2016 presidential election, voters initially regarded it as nothing more than a publicity stunt.But despite controversial remarks during the campaign, he has soared in the polls in a crowded field of over a dozen candidates to win more than 20 percent support in less than two months. Trump’s rise and his comments have caught the attention of both American and Korean ci

IndustryAug. 25, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Lee Maeng-hee’s death brings Samsung family together

The “pan-Samsung founding family” gathered at the memorial altar of the late honorary chairman of CJ Group, Lee Maeng-hee, who died last week of lung cancer in China. It was a rare scene of public togetherness for the media-reclusive Lee clan, who have been reported to be rather distant from each other. Some business insiders suggest that the funeral of the eldest of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s offspring could be an icebreaker for the family, which runs some of the country’s largest busine

IndustryAug. 18, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Wage gap between CEOs, employees in America and Korea

The wage gap between company chief executives and employees is becoming a hot-button topic, with the huge disparity continuing to widen. The salary structures in the United States and Korea show different reward systems for CEOs.At the same time, there has been a heated debate in the U.S. in recent years whether the astronomical remuneration paid to CEOs is appropriate. A CNN article published in August reported that Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon received $19.4 million in rewards last year, while t

IndustryAug. 18, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Saga of ‘strife of princes’ runs deep at Korean conglomerates

The fraternal feud surrounding the managerial rights of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group has made the headlines of every media outlet here for the past week. But this is not the first time the second or third generation of business tycoons have held blood-spat competition over the helm of a business empire. According to Chaebul.com, 18 of the country’s top 40 family-controlled South Korean conglomerates, better known as chaebol, have or are experiencing fraternal disputes in the generationa

IndustryAug. 4, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Lotte founder no stranger to fraternal feud

Lotte founder and general chairman Shin Kyuk-ho became both the protagonist and antagonist of a soap opera-ish family feud since July 27 when he tried to oust his second son from his business empire but instead was kicked out himself and became powerless. The family secrets and anecdotes revealed by his eldest son Shin Dong-joo in media interviews last week  portray the 93-year-old as the “king” of the Lotte empire -- someone who can still slap his 60-year-old son, fire any top executive with th

IndustryAug. 4, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Top 3 chaebol families hold landmarks in Gangnam

Samsung, Hyundai Motor and Lotte, the top three chaebol of South Korea, possess landmarks in Gangnam, the most expensive area in the country. Here is a look at the size and scope of their properties.Hyundai Motor Group: Global Business Center Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-kooHyundai Motor Group purchased the former 79,431 square meter KEPCO property located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, for 10.5 trillion won last year, and will have full ownership of the property this September. The co

IndustryJuly 28, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Shin Dong-bin gains complete control of Lotte, both in Korea, Japan

At the age of 60, Lotte Korea chairman Shin Dong-bin finally achieved his desire of getting a full grip of Lotte in Japan. Lotte Holdings of Japan announced last Thursday that the board of directors unanimously agreed to name him the company’s president. Now Lotte Holdings has three presidents -- Shin Dong-bin, his father and Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho and Japanese CEO Tsukuda Takayuki. But there is little doubt that Shin has overall control of the firm. In March, Tsukuda was seen “bowing polite

IndustryJuly 21, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Superrich aid protection of endangered animals

The world’s wildlife is under threat. The Worldwide Fund for Nature’s Living Planet Index, which monitors populations of over 3,000 vertebrates, has decreased 52 percent over the last 40 years, and a report in the journal Nature in December found that 26 percent of mammals had become endangered.Many countries and animal organizations strive to conserve animals, and the immense financial backing of billionaires can have a huge impact on their efforts.These superrich are at the forefront of protec

IndustryJuly 21, 2015

[SUPER RICH] South Cape Spa & Suite attracts superrich around the world

The South Cape Spa & Suite, located in Namhae, South Gyeongsang province, is a constant temptation for golf enthusiasts who dream of golfing every time they look at a patch of grass.South Cape has become one of Korea’s representative golf resorts just two years from its establishment in 2013, becoming a must-see for foreign visitors and being listed as one of “Korea’s best golf courses” in various golf magazines.A total of about 400 billion won ($350 million) was invested to build the golf resor

IndustryJuly 14, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Korea’s super start-ups

As the world is seeing a venture boom, there have been a few Korean start-ups rising to the top. These start-ups have brought traditionally off-line markets to mobile and changed the course of their respective industries, receiving both global attention and funding.Kakao TaxiKim Beom-su, president of Daum KakaoKim Beom-su, president of Daum Kakao, was ranked No. 11 on the Forbes list of Korea’s 50 richest people this year.After his success with mobile messenger app KakaoTalk, Kim is set on shaki

IndustryJuly 7, 2015

[SUPER RICH] SPC chief’s sons come to the fore

The two sons of SPC chairman Hur Young-in are assuming bigger roles in management as the Korean food giant is aggressively expanding its business at home and abroad.In what pundits view as preparations for a transfer of management, the elder son Jin-su and second son Hee-su were registered in May as non-executive board members of its flagship and only stock market-listed affiliated, Samlip Food Corp. The 4 trillion-won ($3.6 billion) food behemoth has 12 brands, including Paris Baguette and Pari

IndustryJune 30, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Creative, open office spaces of tech giants

Famous tech companies both domestically and abroad are clamoring to create open and creative office environments for their employees, believing that having an enjoyable working environment is a crucial factor in becoming a world-class company.Naver“Green Library” inside Naver headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi provinceGiant Web portal Naver moved its headquarters to Bundang, Gyeonggi Province in 2010.The Naver headquarters, nicknamed the Green Factory, is 27 stories high with eight additional und

IndustryJune 30, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Korean cosmetics guru eyes young consumers to gain momentum

Charmzone chairman Kim Kwang-seok has returned to what he is good at: Making face cream.His skincare company -- once the dominant player in the Korean cosmetics market -- is seeking to get back on track with its newly launched antiaging cream. Charmzone chairman Kim Kwang-seok (Charmzone)“Cosmetics has become a daily necessity. I will start from the beginning to regain lost time and consumers,” the pharmacist-turned-entrepreneur said in an interview with The Korea Herald. The 31-year-old company

IndustryJune 23, 2015

[SUPER RICH] News aggregators who rose to prominence

News aggregation sites are on the rise.These websites don’t produce much original content, instead bringing in famous columnists or aggregate preexisting news and add videos or photos to the story.News aggregating websites have grown in the past few years, and have been sold for enormous sums or attracted large-scale investments.Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post (Bloomberg)Arianna Huffington – The Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is one of the first media companies to introduc

IndustryJune 23, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Ex-Jinro chairman’s death reflects honor and disgrace of Korean conglomerates

Prosecutors on Monday confirmed the death of former Jinro Group chairman Jang Jin-ho, and officially ceased the arraignment process on him over four suspected irregularities. The announcement of the death of the father of the nation’s best-selling Cass beer and Chamisul soju came more than a month after his funeral was held in Beijing and his bereaved family set up a small mourning place in Asan Medical Center in Seoul.Investigators said that because the surviving family did not register his dea

IndustryJune 16, 2015

[SUPER RICH] BridgeCrest Medical helps fight disease with big data

Amid the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, a Korean technology company won much public support by creating and distributing a “MERS map” before the government did.Nathan Klarer, founder and CEO of start-up BridgeCrest Medical, did something similar last year by presenting an Ebola map when the United States was facing an Ebola scare.Ebola, which had been spreading in West Africa, led to a scare in the United States when a patient in Texas died from it and two nurses who were treating hi

IndustryJune 16, 2015

[SUPER RICH] Brand names each tell their own story

Every company has a brand, and those identities are not made in haste as they are expected to be mentioned by the public for decades to come.Most of the brands have a story behind their names, be it a reflection of their business, a desire to succeed, or an inspiration from myth and literature.Denmark’s Lego is derived from “leg godt,” meaning “play well” in Danish. True to its name, Lego is currently one of the most successful toy companies in the world. According to Brand Finance, the Lego bra

IndustryJune 9, 2015