Korean food and retail giants are competing to open modern hansik restaurants as Korean cuisine gains popularity among health-conscious foodies. Armed with enough cash to make hefty investments, big names in the food and retail sectors, including Shinsegae, E-Land and CJ Group, have thrown their hats into the ring in recent years with restaurants combining style and mass-market appeal.These restaurants are all promoting the use of fresh ingredients.A front-runner in the hansik restaurant competi

Industry Oct. 31, 2014

The stock market has played an instrumental role in creating the wealth of most South Korean billionaires.Suh Kyung-bae, 51, chairman of South Korean cosmetics-maker AmorePacific Group, is one such business tycoon who joined the big leagues of wealth thanks to a dramatic upturn in his stock values. Last week, the stock price of AmorePacific, the nation’s top cosmetics manufacturer, surpassed the 2.5 million won ($2,375) mark for the first time in its history, making Suh the second-wealthiest man

Industry Oct. 27, 2014

SHANGHAI ― AmorePacific Group, a leading South Korean beauty goods maker, said that it will aim to increase sales ninefold in China by 2020.The group chairman Suh Kyung-bae said Wednesday that this was in line with its new vision to become the top cosmetics brand in Asia and the world.“We will strive to become the No. 1 in Asia by 2020, and ultimately the global No. 1 in the future, from being Korea’s No. 1 beauty products maker,” Suh said during an opening ceremony for its new plant in Shanghai

Industry Oct. 26, 2014

KB Financial Group has narrowed down the list of candidates in the bid for its chairman post.Following a related committee meeting on Thursday, four former financial executives were placed on a shortlist, KB officials confirmed on Friday.Of the four candidates, only one ― Citigroup chairman and Citibank CEO Ha Yung-ku ― was from outside of the group. The remaining three insiders were: former KB Financial Group chief financial officer Yoon Jong-kyu, former KB Kookmin Card vice president Ji Dong-h

Oct. 17, 2014

Philip Morris Korea on Wednesday donated a freezer truck to a social welfare center in Seoul to help deliver fresh food to underprivileged children, company officials said.The truck will be operated by the Leftovers’ Love Sharing Community, a welfare organization for children, according to the firm.“We have put a total of 40 trucks on the roads over the last 15 years, and they reflect our promise to help share the warmth in our society,” said Kim Byung-chul, Philip Morris’ corporate affairs dire

Industry Oct. 16, 2014

HSBC Korea on Monday kicked off a three-day mentoring program designed to help students explore different career opportunities and meet environmental experts, HSBC officials said Tuesday.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon spoke at the “Green Job Talk Concert” program’s opening session on designing a green city. Green Education Center, a local environment organization, cohosted the program. Along with the mayor, more than 20 professionals from the fields of design, broadcasting, environmental research and

Oct. 14, 2014

Citigroup Chairman Ha Yung-kuCitibank CEO and Citigroup chairman Ha Yung-ku has reportedly told the bank’s board of directors that he has decided to resign, but the bank appears to be hesitating over an official statement.On Monday, media reports said that Ha had informed the board of his decision to step down to formally join the race for chairman of KB Financial Group, but the bank failed to confirm this. Citibank’s PR team also said it had not yet been informed about the latest development, a

Oct. 13, 2014

Daum Kakao CEO Lee Sir-goo on Monday bowed before the public and apologized for causing commotion and concern over Kakao Talk’s weak security protections.He said the newly merged company would prioritize users’ privacy as part of efforts to boost information protection, and that it will no longer accept requests by investigators to monitor its users' messages.“We deeply apologize for the confusion and our belated security measures,” Lee said in an urgent press conference in Seoul on Monday.“We s

Industry Oct. 13, 2014

The first thing people noted about Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku’s recent announcement that he would join the race for chairman of KB Financial Group was that it marks the first time here for a serving financial institution head to officially run for a seat at a rival bank.Ha still has 17 months remaining in his term, and some Citibank employees were left pondering whether it was proper for their president to have made such a decision.Despite the initial confusion, analysts believe Ha ― who is s

Oct. 8, 2014

Samsung Electronics, the nation’s top electronics company, is expected to rattle the market on Tuesday by announcing a second consecutive earnings decline for the third quarter due to weak sales in its core smartphone business amid rising competition, stock analysts said Sunday. According to financial research firm FnGuide, Samsung Electronics’ operating profit in the July-September period is forecast to record 4.98 trillion won ($4.65 billion), which is less than half of 10.16 trillion in the s

Industry Oct. 5, 2014