[THE INVESTOR] Popular New York-based casual restaurant chain Shake Shack will be opening its first outlet in Korea on July 22.

The chain started out as a food cart inside Madison Square Park in Manhattan when founder Danny Meyer served burgers and hot dogs to support the park’s first art installation in 2000.

In 2004, the roadside stand became a permanent kiosk and its Shake Shack burger jumped to the top of burger lovers’ list coming shoulder to shoulder with those from In-N-Out and Five Guys, proving yet again that Meyer does have a Midas touch. 

The CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group that has more than 10 restaurants and franchise including some of Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern, with an estimated US$400 million wealth, has joined hands with SPC Group for the Korean operations.

SPC Group has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Shake Shack Enterprise International in December last year and will open 25 burger joints by 2025, its first foray into the fast casual restaurant business.

Best known for its Paris Baguette bakery franchise, the group has 23 brands that range from Baskin Robbins to Dunkin’ Donuts, with combined franchises of over 6,000 across the country.

The leading confectionery and bakery company has its roots in Sangmidang, a small confectionery outfit in Ongjin, Hwanghae Province, set up by Samlip founder Hur Chang-sung in 1945. When the business took off it moved to Seoul, acquired Samlip and took the name.

It was the founder’s second son Hur Young-in who expanded the family business into a massive company. When he took over the bakery plant and became the Samlip CEO, he aggressively pursued growth of the company, launching bakery chain Paris Baguette and introducing Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts in 1988 and 1993, respectively, gaining himself the nickname “King of Franchise.”

Hur went on to acquire Samlip from his elder brother Young-seon and in 2004, launched SPC Group that consists of three affiliates: Samlip, Paris Croissant and BR Korea.

He is not only known for his astute business skills, though. The head of SPC Group went to the US and enrolled himself at America Institute of Bakery in 1981, then aged 33, taking courses for 1 1/2 years. A television drama “The King of Baking: Kim Tak-goo” (2010) was based on him. He is known to taste all the new products before they are put out in the market.

Chairman Hur is one of the richest people in Korea, and is included in the Forbes’ 2016 billionaire list, estimated to be worth US$1.2 billion. But his companies still remain private.

The largest shareholder of Samlip General Food, the only listed company in the group, is the private company Paris Croissant (40.66 percent). Paris Croissant is the de facto holding company and 100 percent owned by the chairman and his family. He alone owns 63.5 percent of Paris Croissant, estimated to be worth at least 580 billion won. The company also owns major stakes in Shany (9.8 percent) and Sungil Chemical (70 percent) and wholly owns SPC Capital, Mildawon, SPL and SPC Networks.

He is married to Lee Mi-hyang, aunt of Kolon Group chairperson Lee Woong-yeul, and has two sons: Jin-soo, 39, and Hee-soo, 38.

Following the footsteps of his father, the elder son finished courses at AIB before joining the group as an executive and was made vice president in November 2015. The younger son is an executive at BR Korea and both are serving as directors on the board at Samlip General Foods.

According to Herald Business’s Superrich Team, Hur Jin-soo’s wealth is estimated to be 365.6 billion won and his brother’s at 296.6 billion won, making them the 82nd and 91st richest persons in Korea, respectively.

Vice president Hur owns 11.47 percent stake in Samlip and 20.2 percent stake in Paris Croissant. He is married to Park Hyo-won, daughter of Esaeng Group chairman Park Yong-wook, youngest child of Doosan Group founder Park Doo-byung.

Hur Hee-soo owns 11.44 percent stake in Samlip and 12.7 percent stake in Paris Croissant. He is married to An Li-na, a granddaughter of Aekyung Group chairwoman Chang Young-shin.

By Hwang You-mee and Min Sang-sik (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)