[Start Economy] Chey Tae-won and So-young meet their second daughter for the first time since their divorce at the wedding.

■ Host: Anchor Lee Jung-seop, Anchor Cho Ye-jin
■ Starring: Professor Chae Sang-mi, Department of Business Administration at Ewha Womans University

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News START] when quoting.

[Anchor]
We deliver the latest economic news quickly and kindly. Start Economy, today with Chae Sang-mi, a professor of business administration at Ewha Womans University. Welcome, professor. You may have seen the video, but now you're divorced. Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK, and Noh So-young, director of the art center. Now, as a parent, I think I attended the wedding in the second month as a married couple.

[CHAE SANGMI]
It is known that Choi Min-jeong, the second daughter of two, married yesterday at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu on the 13th. It is known that it was held behind closed doors. As you know, this wedding was the first face-to-face meeting between Chairman Chey Tae-won and Director Roh So-young after their divorce, drawing great attention. As you know, we last met face-to-face during the pleading date for the divorce lawsuit in April. Then, in May, Chairman Choi sentenced Director Roh to 1.388 trillion won for the division of his property, in the court. So, Chairman Choi has filed an appeal since then, and the property division lawsuit is currently underway at the Supreme Court. Apart from the division of the property, both sides have not appealed to the divorce ruling now, which means they have effectively remained legally. Despite becoming a man, the role of parents of their children seems to continue as they are known to have welcomed guests together at their second daughter's wedding.

[Anchor]
I'm sure you feel the same way about your daughter's marriage. The groom of her second daughter Choi Min-jeong is also attracting attention, but this is an unusual situation for the public because she is Chinese-American?

[CHAE SANGMI]
Kevin Hwang, a Chinese-American, is known as Choi Min-jeong's husband. It is known that the two became close as they met as neighbors in Washington, D.C., and shared their military experiences with each other. Kevin Hwang served in the U.S. Forces Korea for nine months from October 2020. So it is said that they developed their relationship at this time. Choi Min-jeong majored in business administration at Beijing University in China. Then, after graduating from college, I became the first child of a chaebol family to volunteer as a Navy officer candidate, drawing a lot of attention. In the past, when it came to chaebol families, it was common to marry the owners of large corporations or the children of high-ranking government officials, as did the parents, Chairman Chey Tae-won and Director Roh So-young, to form a mixed relationship. But Choi Min-jeong married a foreigner after joining the military. Therefore, it is receiving a lot of attention because it is showing a very unusual step as a chaebol family member.

[Anchor]
The appearance outside of the customs comes very fresh. Since a lot of attention was paid to this wedding, a lot of key figures in the political and business world attended, right?

[CHAE SANGMI]
It is known that a large number of business leaders attended. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Doosan Chairman Park Jung-won, Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon, Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, and HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun attended. In the political world, Kim Jong-in, former chairman of the People's Power Emergency Committee, and Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also attended. Chairman Chey Tae-won's eldest daughter, Choi Won-jung, head of SK Biopharmaceuticals' business development division, followed by his eldest son Choi In-geun, SK E&S manager, as well as his manager and Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, Chairman Chey's younger brother. Roh Jae-heon, chairman of the East Asian Cultural Foundation, the younger brother of director Roh So-young and the son of the late former President Roh Tae-woo, also attended. About 500 people attended and the wedding was held for three hours.

[Anchor]
We looked into the wedding news of the chaebol family's son, who drew a lot of attention in many ways. Let's move on to the next topic. It is said that the chicken franchise Kyochon Chicken will be fined hundreds of millions of won, and this is the charge of forcing a distribution margin of 0 won from a partner company?

[CHAE SANGMI]
According to the Fair Trade Commission's investigation, the fine of Kyochon F&B, the operator of Kyochon Chicken, is. Kyochon F&B asked its partners to lower their distribution margin to 0 won, which is used to fry chicken. As you know, during the last COVID-19 pandemic, the price of exclusive oil soared by about 20-30%. So, the FTC explains that they did this unfair act. Initially, the distribution margin per 18-liter can of exclusive oil was agreed at 1,350 won at the time of the contract. However, the main contract was to guarantee a minimum distribution margin to these partners and renew the contract on an annual basis. According to the FTC's investigation, the price of exclusive oil soared, so the conditions were forcibly changed during the contract period. Therefore, the FTC has imposed a fine of KRW 283 million along with a correction order.

[Anchor]
I've been fined almost 300 million won, but I wonder how much this money is compared to the amount of damage to my partners.

[CHAE SANGMI]
If you look at it, the distribution margin was applied to 0 won from May to December 2021. So, it was found that partners lost the 715 million won margin that could have been obtained if they had maintained the existing terms of the transaction. However, during the same period, Kyochon F&B's distribution margin showed a slight increase. So, Kyochon F&B explained that F&B did not benefit much from the policy to improve the profits of franchisees, not the headquarters. In addition, it is argued that the profit when collecting waste cooking oil is higher than the profit of supplying new cooking oil. Therefore, the company also clarifies that even if it adjusted the new cooking oil supply margin, it did not lose much, but this has not been reflected. Therefore, an FTC official explained that it can help ease the burden of purchasing exclusive oil by merchants, but unilaterally changed the terms of the transaction, which is unfavorable to suppliers.

[Anchor]
It's hard for everyone to live these days, and I think that the power abuse of such unfair practices should be eradicated. Let's move on to the next topic. Recently, I've told you a lot of news that cabbage has become the price of golden cabbage, but it's a gathering of vegetables as the price of various vegetables has jumped. The price of bibimbap went up a lot, too?

[CHAE SANGMI]
The average price for buying and eating a bowl of bibimbap at the restaurant came out. The survey showed that it exceeded 11,000 won. According to the comprehensive portal for consumer price information in Korea, the price of bibimbap was 11,038 won last month. So, according to statistics during the same period, bibimbap first exceeded 10,000 won in January last year. Since then, it has been shown to have steadily increased. That's why it's over 11,000 won. As you know, the heat wave came last summer. So the vegetable crop is very sluggish. So the prices of vegetables involved are being affected by a very sharp rise. Therefore, according to the consumer price trend of the National Statistical Office in September, prices rose significantly year-on-year by 53.6% for cabbage, 41.6% for radish, and 31.5% for lettuce. Besides bibimbap, samgyetang also went up steadily. So last month, it was 17,269 won, up 1.4% from a month ago. These are all average prices, so the prices that real consumers feel can be much higher, the price of eating out. In fact, it is said that there are cases where it costs more than 20,000 won to buy and eat a bowl of samgyetang at a popular restaurant in Seoul.

[Anchor]
Radish vegetables, lettuce, and kimchi are essential for bibimbap, but we can't take them out. I think my anxiety will deepen. Finally, let's look at the topic, and let's look at the New York Stock Exchange. This week, major companies' earnings announcements are coming up, so investors seem to be paying attention.

[CHAE SANGMI]
As you said, the earnings announcements of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange are expected to continue this week. So last week, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average actually hit new highs. So if companies show strong performance, the stock market is expected to continue to strengthen. Major financial stocks include Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Among tech companies, Netflix is set to announce its Big Tech earnings. According to financial analyst FactSet, as of last week, the company's profit growth rate in the third quarter of the fiscal year is expected to be about 4.2%. It can be interpreted as not having high expectations. Therefore, it is expected that stock prices will continue to rise even if companies' profit announcements are easy to perform.

[Anchor]
Big companies are waiting for earnings announcements. U.S. consumption indicators that can gauge the direction of the U.S. economy will also be released, right?

[CHAE SANGMI]
This week, consumption sales indicators, which represent Americans' spending power, will be released. The New York Stock Exchange continues to be strong right now. So if it comes out well, it will certainly give you this belief that the U.S. economy is doing well on a soft landing and is cruising. So much attention is being paid to the consumption index, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. So, not only this, but also industrial production, manufacturing production, import and export price index, and manufacturing index of the Regional Extension Reserve Bank will be released. Regarding the job market, the number of new weekly unemployed insurance claimants is scheduled to come out.

[Anchor]
If the index results come out, we'll talk about it again at this time. So far, we have looked at economic issues with Chae Sang-mi, a professor of business administration at Ewha Womans University. Thank you.