DHC's CEO called Koreans a slur — the next year his brand left the Korean market

DHC Corporation is a Japanese direct-marketing cosmetics company founded in 1972 by Yoshiaki Yoshida. By 2020 it was one of Japan's best-known skincare brands, selling supplements, cosmetics and skincare products through mail order and retail in several Asian markets including South Korea. The brand had a significant following in Korea for its olive oil and collagen lines.

In November 2020, Yoshida posted a message on the company website attacking rival Suntory Beverage & Food. He used the pejorative term 'Chon' — a slur for Korean people — to mock Suntory for employing Japanese celebrities with Korean heritage in its advertisements. He claimed DHC employed only 'pure Japanese' staff and suggested that Korean-Japanese people should go back to Korea. It was not his first such remark: in 2016 he had described Korean residents in Japan as 'pseudo-Japanese' and suggested they return to South Korea.

The post triggered a boycott. Korean retailers stopped stocking DHC products, and Japanese consumers shared the hashtag 'I no longer buy products from discriminatory DHC.' DHC told Japanese media they had 'no particular response' to the backlash. On 10 September 2021, DHC announced it would close its South Korean operations and cease online sales. The brand had been present in Korea for years and had a loyal customer base, but the controversy had made the market untenable.

Two years later, in 2023, DHC was acquired by Orix Corporation in a leveraged buyout valued at about ¥400 billion ($2.6 billion). Yoshida briefly remained as chairman but resigned by the end of 2023 after another controversy involving nationalist remarks. The Korea exit was not the sole cause of the acquisition, but the reputational damage from the xenophobia controversy contributed to the brand's loss of value. A brand built on health and natural beauty had been damaged by its founder's nationalism.

DHC exited Korea in 2021 after the slur cost the market; reputational damage contributed to ¥400B acquisition loss.

The founder and CEO posted a xenophobic attack on a rival directly on the company website using an ethnic slur, making the controversy inescapable for the brand

DHC refused to apologise or distance itself from the remarks, telling media it had 'no particular response' — which allowed the boycott to harden

The Korean market, where a Japanese skincare brand already faces historical tension, was uniquely vulnerable to a nationalist controversy — retailers dropped DHC within days of the post

Yoshida had made similar comments in 2016 with no consequence, reinforcing the belief that there was no cost to expressing xenophobic views through the company channel

When a founder is the company's public face, personal prejudice becomes a corporate crisis. Refusing to apologise only shows the founder's views matter more than the business.

DHC closed its South Korean operations in September 2021 and ceased online sales. The brand continued to operate in Japan and other markets. In 2023, DHC was acquired by Orix Corporation for approximately ¥400 billion. Yoshiaki Yoshida stepped down as chairman by the end of 2023 after further nationalist remarks. The Korea market has remained closed since 2021.