Amore Pacific
Overview, company details, product information, news, events, rankings and Amore Counselor listings for Amore Pacific.
Amore Pacific Current Status and History
Amore Pacific (AMOREPACIFIC Corporation) is a South Korean beauty and personal-care company headquartered in the Yongsan district of Seoul.
Amore Pacific traces back to 1945, when founder Suh Sung-whan established a cosmetics business that became Pacific Corporation, and is today South Korea's largest cosmetics company.
Its portfolio includes Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Innisfree, Hera, IOPE, Etude, Primera, Mamonde, Hanyul, Aestura, Vital Beauty, and COSRX, sold in Asia, North America, Europe, and other markets.
Amore Pacific is led by Chairman and CEO Suh Kyung-bae, the founder's son, and CEO Kim Seung-hwan.
The company stock trades on the Korea Exchange. In the US, Amore Pacific operates through AMOREPACIFIC US, Inc.
Amore Pacific U.S. mainly operates through retail and online channels rather than direct sales.
Amore Pacific introduced door-to-door sales in Korea in September 1964, and the channel remains one of its oldest distribution routes. Its independent saleswomen, originally called "Amore Ladies" and now known as Amore Counselors, sell premium products such as Sulwhasoo, Hera, and Vital Beauty through one-on-one consultations.
Counselors contract with independently owned sales agencies, called sole representation stores, which hold sales agreements with Amore Pacific.
The company reported about 37,000 counselors in 2015, and a March 2026 report put the number at 18,930 counselors working through 397 branches. In 2024 the company launched Edith Shop, an online platform for beauty sellers called Editors, which had about 22,000 active Editors, many of whom also work as counselors. Counselors earn a margin on full-price personal sales, but Amore Pacific has not published a commission schedule or compensation plan for its counselors.
Income Disclosures:
Npros was unable to find a published income disclosure for Amore Pacific.
In 2014, the Korea Fair Trade Commission ordered Amore Pacific to stop the practice and fined it 500 million won, finding that from 2005 through June 2013 the company had moved 3,482 door-to-door salespeople between independent sales agencies, or into company-run branches, against the wishes of agency owners. In June 2017 the Seoul High Court canceled both the corrective order and the fine, ruling that the commission had relied on an incorrect factual premise and had not set a clear standard. In a separate criminal case brought by prosecutors over the same practice, the Seoul Central District Court in September 2016 convicted the company of violating Korea's fair-trade law and fined it 50 million won, and two former executives received suspended prison sentences.
In April 2020 the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Amore Pacific Group and its affiliate Cosvision 48 million won each, a total of 96 million won, for unfair support to an affiliate involving fee-free deposits that helped Cosvision obtain low-interest loans. The matter did not involve the direct-selling channel.
Amore Pacific does not appear on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's October 2021 Notice of Penalty Offenses list concerning money-making opportunities or on the April 2023 list concerning product-claim substantiation.
Company timeline
- 1945 Founder Suh Sung-whan establishes Pacific Chemical, the cosmetics business that later grows into Amorepacific, South Korea's largest beauty company.
- 1964 In September 1964, the company launches the Amore brand and introduces a door-to-door sales system. Its independent saleswomen, first called Amore Ladies and later Amore Counselors, sell through one-on-one consultations.
- 1997 Suh Kyung-bae, the founder's son, becomes CEO of Pacific Corporation and begins leading the group that becomes Amorepacific.
- 2002 The company changes its name to Amorepacific as it builds a single global brand identity.
- 2006 On June 1, Pacific adopts a holding-company structure and spins off AMOREPACIFIC Corporation as the operating cosmetics company, which lists on the Korea Exchange later that month.
- 2014 The Korea Fair Trade Commission orders Amorepacific to stop relocating door-to-door salespeople between independent agencies without the owners' consent and fines it 500 million won for moving 3,482 counselors from 2005 through mid-2013.
- 2017 In June 2017, the Seoul High Court cancels the 2014 corrective order and fine, ruling that the commission relied on an incorrect factual premise and did not set a clear standard.
- 2020 In January 2020, the Korea Fair Trade Commission reimposes a corrective order and a 500 million won fine on Amorepacific for relocating door-to-door counselors, this time limited to second- and third-round transfers involving 341 salespeople after the courts canceled the broader 2014 sanction.
- 2024 In February 2024, Amorepacific launches Edith Shop (A-dit SHOP), an online platform where beauty sellers called Editors curate and sell Amorepacific products.
- 2026 A March 2026 report puts the Amore Counselor force at about 18,930 working through 397 branches, with about 22,000 active Editors on Edith Shop. The U.S. business sells mainly through retail and online channels rather than door to door.
Executive Team
Kyungbae Suh, Chairman & CEO
Seunghwan Kim, CEO
Giovanni Valentini, CEO, Amorepacific North America
Amore Pacific News
Amorepacific Q3 Operating Profit Rises 25 Percent to 115.2 Billion Won as Net Income Falls 14 Percent
SEOUL, South Korea - October 29, 2026 Amorepacific Corp., South Korea's leading cosmetics company, said Thursday that its third-quarter operating profit rose...
Amorepacific Holdings Second Quarter Operating Profit Jumps 53.3 Percent on Overseas Growth
Amorepacific Holdings reported second-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of 1.2543 trillion won, up 14.6 percent from a year earlier, and operating profit of...
Amorepacific Holdings First Quarter Operating Profit Rises 6.9 Percent to 137.8 Billion Won
Amorepacific Holdings reported first-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of 1.2227 trillion won, up 5.0 percent from a year earlier, and operating profit of...
Amorepacific Holdings 2025 Operating Profit Rises 47.6 Percent to Six Year High
Amorepacific Holdings reported 2025 consolidated revenue of 4.6232 trillion won, up 8.5 percent, and operating profit of 368 billion won, up 47.6 percent and...
Amorepacific Group Launches First Voluntary Retirement Program in Five Years
Amorepacific Group said on December 5, 2025 that it is carrying out a voluntary retirement program to respond to a rapidly changing business environment at...
Related companies and people
These people and companies appear in the public record around Amore Pacific:
Sources
- Amorepacific — company history
- Amorepacific — Amore brand and door-to-door sales launch
- Amorepacific — Suh Kyung-bae appointed CEO
- Amorepacific — name changed to Amorepacific
- Amorepacific — holding-company structure adopted
- Korea JoongAng Daily — FTC fine for relocating door-to-door salespeople
- Yonhap News — Seoul High Court cancels 2014 FTC order
- Yonhap News — FTC reimposes fine on narrower counselor transfers
- Asia Business Daily — Edith Shop launch
- Maeil Business News — counselor and Editor counts
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