SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in has been cleared of tax evasion charges in a second trial involving controversial stock trading among group affiliates. The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, declaring Chair Hur not guilty. Former SPC Group President Cho Sang-ho and current SPC CEO Hwang Jae-bok, who were co-defendants in the case, were also acquitted. Hur faced allegations of selling Mildawon stocks, another SPC company producing flour, at lower prices to SPC Samlip in December 2012. The stocks

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Tuesday it has opened its first Paris Baguette franchise store in the UK, marking its debut in franchising within the European market. Paris Baguette had previously operated company-owned stores in Europe, including France and the UK. The first franchise store, which is Paris Baguette’s third outlet in the UK, is located in Canary Wharf, a financial business district in east London. The Canary Wharf store occupies a 50-seat space on the first floor

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Monday that it has shared its overseas business know-how and advanced baking techniques with a delegation of Mongolian government and business officials during their stay in Seoul. The delegation of some 10 people visited SPC’s premium bakery cafe, Passion5, in Itaewon, central Seoul, on Friday, during which they were given an in-depth overview of SPC’s overseas strategy and expansion plans. The company said it shared essential strategies it a

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group announced Friday that construction of a halal-certified bakery factory in Malaysia is set to be completed by year-end, as it aims to expand the reach of its flagship brand Paris Baguette across Southeast Asia and into the Middle East. Ahead of the plant’s opening in Johor Bahru, SPC Group President Hur Jin-soo met with Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi in Seoul on Monday to discuss potential collaborations, including local ingredient sourcing and jo

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Wednesday that President Hur Jin-soo attended a dinner banquet hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace in Paris earlier this week. He was the only Korean business leader to be invited to the exclusive event marking the 60th anniversary of SIAL Paris, one of the world’s largest food trade fairs. The dinner brought together around 40 global business leaders from major food and distribution companies, including the Netherlands&rsquo

The Korean bakery brand Paris Baguette has opened its 600th overseas store, the newest one in Toronto, Canada, just a year after celebrating its 500th store, the brand's company SPC Group announced Tuesday. This new location marks Paris Baguette’s seventh store in Canada. Paris Baguette has been expanding rapidly over the past year, recently securing agreements to enter new markets in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Brunei and Laos. By the end of this year, the brand plans to open

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group announced Monday that it has nominated Executive Managing Director Lim Byung-sun as its new CEO. Lim, a business management specialist, has previously served as an executive at Shinsegae Group and its affiliates, including Shinsegae Casa and its department stores. SPC is set to appoint Lim as CEO by the end of this week. Lim will manage the group's business sectors including human resources, legal, corporate relations, compliance and public relations. Lim

SPC Group's bakery brand Paris Baguette has signed contracts to enter the markets of Thailand, Brunei and Laos, aiming to strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia. On Monday, Paris Baguette finalized a master franchising agreement with Berjaya Food, which has supported its expansion into Malaysia and the Philippines, to newly operate the bakery chain in Thailand and Brunei. As for Laos, a separate master franchising agreement was established with Kolao Group, a prominent local firm in the

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Tuesday it hosted a conference in Prague last week to explore strategies for expanding its global business in Europe. SPC Group held the Paris Baguette Europe Conference in the Czech capital on Thursday and Friday. Chairman Hur Jin-soo and Jack F. Moran, head of SPC's European operations, put their heads together for ways to penetrate the Eastern European market. On the first day, Hur met with CzechInvest CEO Jan Michal to discuss investment strategi

A court on Thursday approved a bail request by Hur Young-in, the chair of bakery giant SPC Group, who is currently standing trial on charges of coercing bakers to quit their labor union. The 74-year-old bakery mogul was arrested in April and has since been standing trial in detention on charges of pressuring some 570 union members at an SPC subsidiary to quit their union between early 2021 and mid-2022 over their labor activities critical of the company. The Seoul Central District Court approved

An appeals court on Friday cleared Hur Young-in, founder and chair of South Korean bakery giant SPC Group, of tax evasion charges, bringing an end to the year-long legal dispute. The Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling that found the SPC chief not guilty of breach of trust. Hur faced allegations of instructing group affiliates Paris Croissant and Shany to sell stocks of Mildawon, another SPC company producing flour, to SPC Samlip at lower prices in December 2012 that, according to prose

Tensions are escalating over the liquidity crisis of online shopping platforms WeMakePrice and Tmon, both owned by Singapore-based e-commerce company Qoo10, sparking massive complaints and fears of wider damage. The platforms failed to pay money owed to sellers in May, prompting traders to leave the platform as well as customer complaints. In an urgent press conference Thursday, Ryu Hwan-hyun, CEO of WeMakePrice, said the value of delayed payments by the company was some 4 billion won ($2.9 mill

UOB reinforces leadership position in travel and entertainment through strengthening its partnership ecosystem to offer exclusive privileges to its ASEAN customers SINGAPORE, July 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore bank UOB and leading South Korean card company Woori Card, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a groundbreaking reciprocal card partnership, where cardholders from each company are able to enjoy card privileg

SPC Group, the Korean operator of Baskin Robbins, said Wednesday that it is set to launch a new ice cream flavor co-developed by Google’s artificial intelligence model Gemini. The new flavor, named Tropical Summer Play, is Baskin Robbins’ first attempt globally to use AI to create an ice cream flavor. The Korean operator said the attempt comes as part of its business initiative to integrate AI and big data analytics into the food industry. “Through this project, we have confirm

DUBAI, UAE, July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dar Global, the luxury international real estate developer, and The Trump Organization, renowned for its prestigious properties and iconic developments worldwide, have announced plans to develop a new project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This new agreement builds on the tremendous success of The Trump International Oman project within the AIDA development, one of the largest premium mixed-use real estate projects in the world, which has already received remar