[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Galleria will hold a grand opening event on July 15 for its downtown duty-free store that had a limited opening in December inside the 63 Building in Yeouido, western Seoul. Located on a 10,072 square-meter site, the outlet of the duty-free store business unit of Hanwha Group has attracted some 530 international brands even though it failed to host the so-called “Big 3” fashion houses -- Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton. Hanwha Galleria started operations since it earned op

[THE INVESTOR] AmorePacific has been thriving in Korea and China, ranking as the 14th biggest cosmetics company in the world (WWD Beauty, 2015) by revenue. In Europe, however, the K-beauty giant has been barely making its mark.Its European operations posted 10.1 billion (US$8.77 million) net loss last year, according to its regulatory filing released on July 11, for two years in a row. Its revenue dropped 22.9 percent on-year to 49.2 billion won. AmorePacific has pulled the plug on its skincare

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Homeshopping chief executive Kang Hyun-koo will be questioned on July 12 for his involvement in the Lotte Group(chairman Shin Dong-bin) affiliate’s alleged irregularities that include creating slush funds. This is the second time he was summoned since July 9 when Kang was questioned as a witness. This time he will be the first Lotte CEO to be questioned as a suspect. Kang faces allegations that he attained government approval for Lotte Homeshopping in 2015 through illegal me

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group was the most frequent violator of Korean fair trade laws among the country’s top 10 conglomerates, according to a local legislator on July 11.Citing data from the Fair Trade Commission, Yoo Eui-dong of Saenuri Party said Lotte violated related laws on 73 different occasions between 2013 and 2015.This was the highest among the 10 largest industrial groups in South Korea.Of the 93 Lotte affiliates, Lotte Shopping’s violations reached nine, followed by Woori Homeshopping

[THE INVESTOR] MBK Partners on July 8 denied that the nation's largest equity firm will receive hefty dividends from Homeplus, a cash-strapped supermarket chain that it acquired from Britain’s Tesco last year. 　Homeplus Holdings, the de facto holding company of Homeplus, has recently decided to pay an interim dividend of 30,612 won (US$26) per share on 700,000 preferred shares owned by its largest shareholder Korea Retail Investment. 　Following the decision, recent news reports said, MBK, which

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean retailers and cosmetics companies are closely watching China’s moves after Korea and the US decided to deploy an advance missile defense system in the country on July 8. Neighboring China lodged a swift protest against the decision announced in the morning which is expected to further heighten geopolitical risks. Local cosmetics makers and duty-free shops are on alert as they worry about losing Chinese market and consumers who account for a growing portion of their re

[THE INVESTOR] Iconix Entertainment, the company that produces famed South Korean animation “Pororo the Little Penguin” is undergoing a tax investigation, according to the company on July 8.National Tax Service officials collected financial statements from the firm’s Gyeonggi headquarters in May. Choi Jong-il, head of Iconix, told local media that the investigation was a regular audit conducted on Korean companies every five years.Iconix was established in 2001. Since then it has launched a numb

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean boy group Big Bang made more money last year than the American popular rock band Maroon 5, according to a US media report. Forbes magazine on July 6 (local time) reported that Big Bang’s pretax earnings stood at US$ 44 million in 2015, more than the US$ 33.5 million racked up by Maroon 5, the American group that was selected as one of the highest-paid musicians in 2015 by Billboard. Big Bang members (from left): Seungri, G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P and Daesung. / YG Ente

 [THE INVESTOR] Mid-priced hotels are on the rise in downtown Seoul, especially in Dongdaemun area and Myeong-dong, to meet the demand of rising foreign tourists opting for budget options, industry officials said. Accor-Ambassador Korea recently opened Ibis Ambassador Dongdaemun in the popular shopping district, offering 242 rooms. This is the second hotel in the area by the Korean unit of the French hotel, after Ibis Budget Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun. Lotte City Hotel Myeongdong located in the

[THE INVESTOR] Water purifier rental company Coway has decided to recall its ice water purifiers amid public outcry over the company’s cover-up of defective products containing nickel. “We deeply apologize to consumers regarding some of the ice water purifiers,” the company said in a statement on July 6. “We decided to compensate all buyers of the products to alleviate their concern.”The official apology posted by Coway on its website.The company said it will recall all three disputed models --