Korean Beauty Trends & Industry News: 25-07-04

Record-breaking Beauty Export in H1 2025

    In the first half of 2025, South Korea’s cosmetics exports reached an all-time high of $5.5 billion (approx. 7.5 trillion KRW), surpassing the previous record set in the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, this marks a 14.8% year-on-year increase and reaffirms the global competitiveness of K-beauty.

China remained the largest export market with $1.08 billion in shipments, although it recorded a 10.8% decrease compared to the previous year. This led to China’s share of total exports falling into the 10% range for the first time. In contrast, exports to the United States and Japan increased, supporting the overall growth.

Poland emerged as a standout performer, making it into the top 10 export destinations among European countries for the first time. Exports to Poland amounted to $150 million (approx. 200 billion KRW), indicating a sharp increase since last year. The total number of export destinations also rose from 172 to 176 countries, with notable gains in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America.

By product category, basic skincare products led the way with $4.11 billion (approx. 5.6 trillion KRW) in exports—a 14.9% increase from last year. Color cosmetics, personal cleansing products, and hair care items followed.

The Ministry emphasized its commitment to supporting Korean cosmetic companies’ international expansion, citing efforts in regulatory diplomacy with key countries like the U.S. and China. It also plans to provide timely market information to help businesses respond swiftly to changes and opportunities abroad.

Taekwang Industrial’s Bold Shift: 1.5 Trillion Won Investment into Cosmetics, Real Estate, and Energy

    Taekwang Industrial is making a major pivot from its struggling petrochemical and textile businesses by entering the beauty, real estate, and energy sectors. The company announced a roadmap to invest 1 trillion KRW in 2025 and another 500 billion KRW in 2026 into new business ventures. The centerpiece of this strategy is its attempt to acquire Aekyung Industrial—a major lifestyle and cosmetics brand.

Taekwang has recently been shortlisted as a preliminary bidder to acquire 63% of Aekyung Industrial, which is currently held by AK Holdings and Aekyung Asset Management. The expected acquisition price is around 600 billion KRW. Through this acquisition, Taekwang plans to officially enter the cosmetics industry.

Simultaneously, the company plans to develop its prime real estate holdings in Seoul. One flagship project is the transformation of the S-Factory site in Seongsu-dong—currently a 10,000㎡ cultural complex—into a commercial building such as a hotel. This aligns with Taekwang’s broader real estate development strategy.

The company is also eyeing opportunities in the renewable energy sector, evaluating the feasibility of acquiring multiple energy firms. Moreover, Taekwang intends to enter the blockchain-based financial services market in the near future.

Despite holding 1.9 trillion KRW in liquid assets, the firm states that only about 1 trillion KRW is realistically available for investment. This is due to ongoing capital needs in its core petrochemical and textile operations and a mandatory cash reserve of 560 billion KRW to cover 3.5 months of operational costs.

To fund its new ventures, Taekwang plans to issue 318.6 billion KRW worth of exchangeable bonds (EB), using its entire treasury stock (271,769 shares, representing 24.41% of its total equity) as collateral. The company argues this is necessary to secure investment capital while preserving cash flow for existing operations.

However, this move has triggered opposition. Trusston Asset Management, Taekwang’s second-largest shareholder, filed for an injunction against the EB issuance, claiming the decision lacked transparency and violated corporate law. The Financial Supervisory Service also ordered a revision to Taekwang’s securities report for failing to properly disclose issuance terms. Trusston alleges the EB undervalues the shares and poses a risk of managerial misconduct.

Taekwang defends the move as essential for company survival and employee job security, stating, “Securing investment capital through EB issuance is a necessary measure to sustain our business and protect jobs.” As the company forges ahead with its high-stakes diversification strategy, the outcome of this legal dispute could influence the entire direction of its new business push.

GS25 and Musinsa Expand Collaboration into Beauty: Launch of ‘LITELY WHIZZY’ at 3,000 KRW

    Korea’s convenience store giant GS25 is extending its collaboration with fashion platform Musinsa from apparel into the beauty segment. On July 2, GS25 announced the launch of an exclusive beauty brand named “LITELY WHIZZY,” developed jointly with Musinsa. This move follows the success of their earlier partnership on fashion products.

LITELY WHIZZY is a second-line brand of Musinsa’s original beauty line WHIZZY, aimed at a young demographic. It is designed exclusively for GS25’s distribution network. The brand’s key selling point is affordability and accessibility—offering lip products and eye shadows for a uniform price of 3,000 KRW. These products are positioned as high-quality, small-volume items to attract budget-conscious, trend-sensitive consumers, particularly those in their teens and twenties.

This beauty launch builds upon GS25’s March rollout of Musinsa Standard Express, a line of GS25-exclusive clothing items such as t-shirts and shorts supplied by Musinsa. Thanks to strong consumer response, GS25 expanded the number of stores carrying these items from 3,000 to 5,000. New seasonal products are continuously being introduced to maintain momentum.

Ko Woong, a merchandise director at GS Retail, emphasized the strategic benefits of this partnership: “Through our strategic alliance with Musinsa, we’ve achieved significant performance gains across all metrics—sales growth in non-food categories, increased customer traffic, and improved brand recognition. We will continue to differentiate our offerings across both food and non-food categories.”

From Musinsa’s side, the company is also making moves in fintech. It recently launched “Musinsa Money,” a prepaid and rechargeable payment service managed by its fintech arm, Musinsa Payments. The company claims it is the first fashion platform in Korea to introduce such a prepaid, simplified payment system.

GS25’s push into beauty signals a broader transformation of the convenience store model in Korea. No longer limited to snacks and drinks, GS25 is evolving into a lifestyle platform that merges fashion, beauty, and financial services—all accessible within walking distance. The collaboration with Musinsa exemplifies how traditional retail spaces are adapting to meet the preferences and habits of Gen Z and millennial consumers.

As retail and beauty continue to converge, and as consumer demand for on-the-go, affordable, and trendy products grows, this kind of cross-industry collaboration is likely to become even more widespread in Korea’s dynamic beauty market.