SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 9, 2018 – With the completion of the new headquarters, Amorepacific Group will devote greater efforts to achieve the vision in becoming a Great Brand Company. Employees gradually moved into the new headquarters beginning from the end of 2017 through early 2018. The new headquarters is designed based on the concept of white porcelain that symbolizes Korean beauty.

Suh Sung-whan – late founder of Amorepacific Group, established the company in Gaesong in 1945. With a view to building a foundation for the business, moved to Yongsan, Seoul in 1956 where the current headquarters is located. Expanding the business, Suh built a new ten story building in 1976 to foster the company as a leader of the Korean cosmetics industry. In 2017, Amorepacific Group built a new headquarters building in the same place to pursue creation and communication, opening the third ‘Yongsan era’ aiming the global beauty industry.

Amorepacific Group established its corporate principles to emphasize corporate social responsibility and the harmony with the local community as it relocated to Yongsan, where it saw its long history of growth. To this end, under the keyword ‘connectivity,’ the new headquarters building was built to facilitate natural communication and interaction between nature and the city, the local community and the company, and between customers and employees. Amorepacific Group suggests a new way of urban renewal by constructing a high-class building that serves as an open yet integrated workplace, as well as a place of communication that provides cultural and social vitality in the local community.

Located in Yongsan, Seoul, the new headquarters building was designed by world-renowned British architect David Chipperfield. Chipperfield was inspired by the white porcelain moon jar that carries an understated beauty without any fancy technique applied, while giving a comfortable and rich feeling. He represented the new headquarters building as a big moon jar in an elegant, yet simple shape. In particular, he designed the building surrounded by skyscrapers in the center of a city to express Korean beauty by reflecting his modern reinterpretation of traditional Korean houses. An example is the gardens surrounded by buildings that resemble the courtyard of a traditional Korean house. Furthermore, Amorepacific Group wanted to contribute to the architectural culture in Korea by designing the surroundings of the new headquarters by collaborating with young Korean architects. The underground pathway of Sinyongsan subway station – which is connected with the new headquarters building, was designed by stpmj (architects Lee Seung-taek and Lim Mi-jeong) and the park administration building behind the new headquarters was designed by architect Yang Soo-in.

The new headquarters spans seven basement floors and 22 floors above ground level totaling in 188,902.07 square meters of floor area providing a workplace for seven thousand people. One of the most impressive features is the three roof gardens inside the building. At the gardens located on the 5th, 11th and the 17th floor, employees can feel the nature, observe the changing seasons and rest comfortably in the gardens.

Basement level 1 to the 3rd floor are used as public cultural spaces. When you enter the lobby, you can see the atrium spanning up to the 3rd floor. Finished with exposed concrete, the atrium was designed with openness in mind by creating a cultural space for the public with minimal commercial facilities. In typical cases, the lower floors of a building are used for commercial purposes in order to create profit.

As an effort to fulfill corporate social responsibility, the art gallery and exhibition catalogue library is open to employees, customers, and the public. Amorepacific also plans to hold a diverse range of exhibitions in Amorepacific Museum of Art. An auditorium that can accommodate 450 persons will be on the 2nd through the 3rd floor for a variety of cultural events. There will also be spaces for customer communication, including 30 reception rooms for visitors – which can accommodate 6 to 110 persons at the most, a space for customer study, and Amorepacific brand stores. For employees that have children, there is a corporate kindergarten on the 2nd floor (approx. 889.26 square meters) which can accommodate about 90 children at the same time.

The 5th floor houses welfare facilities for employees so every employee can work in a pleasant environment, including a cafeteria where 800 people can use at the same time, a gym for up to 130 people at the same time, a relaxing lounge, and a massage room.

Floors 6 to the 21st are used for workspace which is structured to maximize open communication, providing a horizontal and wide workspace. The offices are furnished with open-type desks without partitions, and employees can easily move between floors using the internal stairs. In addition to personal workspaces, there are also public workspaces for collaboration and personal workspaces. Furthermore, employees can feel the natural lighting from the three gardens and window panes wherever they work in the building. Furniture placement optimized for the natural lighting and indoor lightings automatically adjusted depending on the outdoor illuminance help create a healthy work environment.

Around 3,500 employees of Amorepacific Group companies including Amorepacific, Etude House, innisfree, eSpoir, Amos Professional, and Aestura recently moved into the new headquarters. In the third Yongsan era, starting as an Asian Beauty Creator, employees working in the new headquarters will take up the new challenge of achieving the group's vision in becoming a Great Brand Company.

During the corporate kick-off meeting for 2018 which took place on January 2 in the new headquarters, Suh Kyung-bae, Chairman and CEO of Amorepacific Group said, “We will continue our beautiful voyage in this new building that carries our noble vision for becoming a Great Brand Company.” Furthermore, he declared ‘Act Now’ as the management policy for the new year and said, “We need to develop innovative products that will surprise the world, create a customer experience that will make customers happy, and lead the digital era with our solid digital infrastructure and capability.” He added, “To this end, everyone needs to act immediately, even for the smallest of things.”

• iThe white porcelain moon jar is Korea’s National Treasure No. 1437 and was created in late Joseon Dynasty era. As its snow-white color and round shape resemble a full moon, it was named moon jar.