Hankook Cosmetics founder dies

Lim Kwang-chung, founder of Hankook Cosmetics Co. and Hanbul Cosmetics Co., died of natural causes Sunday at the age of 94.

Born in Gaeseong, now in North Korea, in 1919, he started weaving and ginseng businesses after graduating from high school in 1936. During the Korean War (1950-1953) he fled to South Korea, and established Hankook Cosmetics in 1961. 

He is regarded as one of two first-generation leaders of the Korean cosmetics industry along with Amore Pacific Corp. founder Suh Sung-hwan, who died in 2003 at 80.

In the 1990s, he broke the longstanding practice of using beauty contest winners as advertising models by signing Hyun Jung-hwa, a star athlete, for the first time in the local cosmetics industry.

After founding Hanbul Cosmetics in 1989, he drove an aggressive niche marketing campaign. He took up chairmanship of Hanbul Cosmetics from 2003.

The self-made businessman is well known for being thrifty and diligent.

He also contributed to the Korean sports community, establishing baseball, basketball and table tennis teams in 1974, 1975 and 1987, respectively.

He sponsored a unified team of South and North Korean table tennis players, including Hyun, during the 1991 World Championships. He served as president of the Korea Baseball Association and the Baseball Federation of Asia and as an auditor of the Korean Olympic Committee.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)