Lotte Chilsung

Chilsung was founded in May 1950, then known as the Dongbang Beverage Company, and began with the launch of Chilsung Cider, a lemon-lime soft drink.

In 1967, they became Hanmi Foods Industry Co., then changing to Chilsung Hanmi Foods Corporation in 1973, eventually becoming the Chilsung Beverage Company.

In 1975, the company acquired Busan Joint Beverage Corporation and signed a technology partnership agreement with PepsiCo in 1976.

In 1985, it was appointed the official beverage supplier for the 1986 Seoul Asian Games and 1988 Seoul Olympics, merged with Lotte Brewery in July 1986 and introduced CIP in December. In 1987, the Opo plant became the first in the industry to receive the KS mark.

By 2009, Chilsung products accounted for 36.7% of the Korean beverage market, compared to Coca Cola's 17.6%. and rebranded it as Lotte Liquor BG and built a logistics centre in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, and acquired PepsiCo Products Philippines Inc (PCPPI) in 2010 and merged with Lotte Liquor BG the following year.

As Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho's health was deteriorating, his sons vied for control of the conglomerate. The fraternal feud hit a peak in 2015 when eldest son Dong-joo was removed from his position as Vice President of Lotte Holdings and his younger brother Shin Dong-bin assumed control. News of the leadership struggle created doubts about Lotte's future, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage's market value dropped 6.85% in August.

In 2016, amidst a police probe into embezzlement, Lotte Group companies lost a combined market value of ₩1.21 trillion (US$1.06 billion) in just four days, with Lotte Chilsung's shares falling by 3.93% in a single day.

In February 2018, Chairman Shin Dong-bin was convicted on charges of bribery as part of the 2016 South Korean political scandal and sentenced to 2.5 years' incarceration. After serving for 234 days, an appeals court released him from prison, and he went back to his duties as Chairman shortly after. When news of his release broke, Lotte Group's market value was boosted by 4.2%.

Chilsung Cider

It is a carbonated beverage released on May 9, 1950, by Lotte Chilsung. By the end of 2013, Lotte had sold over 18.5 billion bottles of Chilsung Cider. In December 2019, they had to retire the iconic green bottle due to new government regulation about PET plastic. The bottles are now clear.

Cola

American military presence as a result of the Korean War in the 1950s led to carbonated beverages appearing in South Korea for the first time. Chilsung released their own version of Cola in 1961, prior to Coca-Cola's official entry into the Korean market. It was first named Speci Cola, but then changed to Chilsung Cola to match its sister product Chilsung Cider, but this has since been discontinued.

Nowadays, Lotte Chilsung does not produce their own cola but instead bottles & distributes Pepsi Cola across Korea.

Juices

Lotte Chilsung Beverage currently produces a range of natural fruit juices in orange, grape, apple, tangerine, pear, and mango flavors. In 1982, the company established a partnership with US-based, Del Monte, and now manufactures the Premium Orange and Del Monte Cold products. In 2009, the license for Tropicana was acquired and Tropicana Homemade style blends and other popular choices were produced.

Antitrust violations

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined Chilsung along with four other beverage producers for colluding to raise the prices of their products. The FTC reported that the companies co-ordinated price hikes four times between February 2008 and February 2009. Chilsung was fined ₩21.7 billion (US$18.97 million).

Just a few months later, Chilsung Beverage, in conjunction with three other companies, was found to have been forcing retailers to not lower the price of their products, receiving the largest fine of ₩500 million (US$437,082.04).

In 2021, Lotte Chilsung was fined almost ₩1 billion (US$874,164.08) by the Korean Fair Trade Commission for violating antitrust regulations.