Hanwha's Third Son Kim Dong-seon's Five Guys to Expand Stores to 6th Location This Year

Plan to Open Seoul History Branch 4 Next Month
Two More to Open in Second Half of This Year

Considered Kim Dongseon's First Achievement in Distribution Sector
Continued Expansion of New Businesses Including Five Guys

Hanwha Galleria subsidiary FG Korea is confirmed to plan expanding the U.S. hamburger brand Five Guys up to the 6th store this year. Five Guys is a business led by Kim Dong-seon, Vice President and Head of Strategy at Hanwha Galleria, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon.

According to industry sources on the 6th, FG Korea will open the 4th Five Guys store on the 2nd floor of Seoul Station next month and plans to open two more stores in the second half of this year. An industry insider familiar with FG Korea's internal affairs said, "To operate more than 15 stores within the next five years as targeted by Galleria, they need to open more stores this year," adding, "I understand they are planning to open about one or two stores in the second half of the year."

Citizens are lining up to purchase hamburgers in front of the American hamburger brand 'Five Guys' Gangnam branch.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The regions where FG Korea will additionally open stores are likely to be the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul. An industry official said, "Since Five Guys launched its first store last year, including the Seoul Station store scheduled for next month, there are only four stores in Seoul so far," and added, "They plan to focus a bit more on Seoul first before expanding to other provinces."

Five Guys started in Virginia, USA, in 1986. Along with Shake Shack and In-N-Out, it is considered one of the three major American burger brands. It operates about 1,800 stores in 23 countries including the UK, France, and Germany. Vice President Kim led the domestic introduction and established the subsidiary FG Korea for this purpose. Hanwha Galleria owns 100% of FG Korea's shares.

After Vice President Kim introduced it domestically, Five Guys opened its first store last June on Gangnam-daero between Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station in Seoul. Later that October, the second store opened at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul, and last month, the third store opened on the first floor of Sweet Park at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch. FG Korea reports that more than 700,000 people have visited Five Guys stores in Korea since their opening.

Five Guys is also considered Vice President Kim's first achievement in the distribution sector. As the youngest of the three Hanwha Group brothers to join management, he is actively promoting new businesses including Five Guys to grow his influence. Last month, Hanwha Hotel & Resort's dining subsidiary The Table was renamed Hanwha Food Tech, and plans were announced to actively collaborate with Hanwha Robotics, Hanwha's robot-specialized affiliate, to implement food tech.

Industry insiders expect Vice President Kim to continue expanding his management scope while securing more shares. Until the 29th of last month, he purchased 13,000 shares of Hanwha Galleria stock daily for four consecutive days. Currently, his stake in Hanwha Galleria stands at 1.78%. Besides Hanwha Galleria shares, he holds 2.14% of Hanwha shares and 25% of Hanwha Energy shares.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.