Case Studies

Situation: When imported cheese was found to contain sodium benzoate, a banned additive, the shipment was held in customs. Challenge: Korean food regulations required the shipment to either to be returned or destroyed. Our Approach: We thoroughly investigated the related regulations and found a possible remedy whereby we would be able to bypass the ban by using natural-origin compound application. We worked with the food safety regulation and customs authorities regarding the

Situation: A multi-national company’s pesticide was banned in Korea after it was found to have been used by several people to commit suicide. Challenge: The ban was pushed and supported by a particular Korean consumer group which made it more difficult for the government to amend the regulation. Our Approach: We identified the pressure points governing the regulation and approached them (National Assembly and the consumer group) with scientific information and position papers

Situation: The import of dairy protein for use in Korean yogurt and ice cream production was limited due to restrictions. Challenge: How to encourage deregulation that would allow greater use of dairy protein as an ingredient thus increasing market demand. Our Approach: We worked with the client and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, providing white papers, technical information and foreign government (U.S. and Japanese) regulations as well as the CODEX standards regarding the use an

Situation: A leading regional healthcare services provider faced growing resistance in Korea after local pharmaceutical wholesalers challenged its exclusive distribution partnerships with multinational pharma companies. Challenge: Negative sentiment took hold in trade media, framing the company as a dominant foreign player disadvantaging smaller domestic firms. This narrative began to influence regulators and government stakeholders, threatening the company’s local business o

Situation: This issue of this fund goes back over 20 years and was only finally resolved in 2025. Initially seen as a hero for rescuing a failed local bank, the fund suffered unprecedented reputational damage after laid off employees formed an NGO opposing “speculative foreign capital.” The controversy fueled economic nationalism, extremely hostile media coverage, and led to prosecutorial investigations, trials, and tax probes. Challenge: Engaged late in the crisis, Insight

Situation: When the Korea-based country manager of a multinational firm assaulted a fellow executive at a company dinner, it naturally triggered a serious internal crisis. By the time Insight was engaged, the situation had escalated, with employees divided between those calling calls for the CEO’s removal and others coming to his defense. Challenge: The incident posed an immediate risk of external exposure, potential legal and regulatory consequences, and long-term reputation

Situation: When this British pioneer in online grocery technology was expanding its global presence, it saw Korea as a priority market, where advanced but labor-intensive e-commerce operations presented an opportunity for automation-led efficiency gains. Challenge: Korean e-commerce was already dominated by strong local players, and awareness of the company’s differentiated technology was low. Approach: Insight designed a focused, pre-entry corporate PR program centered on s

Situation: This Indian conglomerate entered the Korean market through its 2010 acquisition of a bankrupt local automaker, inheriting bankruptcy, unresolved labor disputes, and strong anti-foreign sentiment linked to prior ownership. Challenge: The company was unknown in Korea. It faced a dual reputational burden. One was crisis management linked to labor and other legacy issues at the automaker. The other was a severe awareness gap that obscured its broader portfolio, values,

Situation: An international energy body selected a Korean city as host for its most high-profile event following a competitive bid against major international cities. At the same time, the organization was repositioning itself to be more globally relevant. Challenge: With the provincial host city lacking international visibility, there was concern that failure would undermine both the city itself and the organization’s strategic transformation. Approach: Insight, working alon

Situation: This global player in home appliances and home entertainment was concerned that one of its divisions had lost market share and brand momentum amid intense competition. Challenge: The division’s communications frameworks and content had not kept pace with market expectations, weakening its ability to clearly articulate product value, innovation, and brand differentiation to global media and stakeholders. Approach: Insight was engaged as a strategic communications an

Situation: The financial services arm of a leading auto group was pursuing global expansion beyond its traditional role as a captive auto-financier, with growing overseas investments and partnership ambitions. Challenge: Despite strong fundamentals, the firm had low visibility in international media. Approach: Insight designed an international media engagement strategy focused on elevating the corporate profile. We identified priority global outlets, developed compelling stor

Situation: Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading O2O platform, had a strong regional presence but no operating business in Korea, where mobility awareness centered on KakaoTaxi following Uber’s exit. Challenge: Grab sought visibility among Korean investors, financial influencers, and technology opinion leaders despite having no immediate market entry plans or local operations. Approach: Insight designed an ongoing corporate positioning program focused on credibility and thought lead

Situation: Uber entered Korea amid an unclear regulatory framework for ride-hailing, knowing it would trigger a backlash from the taxi industry and cause controversy. Challenge: The communications challenges was to rapidly build consumer awareness and usage while at the same time helping the company manage escalating political and social resistance. Approach: Insight ran a dual-track communications strategy. On the consumer side, we generated first-hand media experiences by

Situation: A global Korean conglomerate sought to strengthen its international communications and engage overseas media and stakeholders through an English-language newsroom. Challenge: Content needed to meet global editorial standards, resonate across diverse business divisions, and perform as both a storytelling platform and a high-traffic digital channel. Approach: Insight led end-to-end newsroom strategy and operations, including story ideation, native-English writing, ed

Situation: This e-scooter rental company was entirely unknown to industry and government audiences when it sought to enter the Korean market. Challenge: With the market unregulated, it immediately proposed strong safety laws. Only vigorous communications work with local government regulators and media could prevent this from making enemies out of its 15 competitors. Our Approach: We highlighted the company’s unique strengths in public materials; arranged interviews with majo

Situation: Insight has partnered in Korea with this high-profile global fund for 14 years, navigating various reputational challenges. Challenge: Recently, we the firm worried its reputation might suffer over a significant investment in alternative energy, which had failed. It feared a turbulent exit. Approach: We provided crisis strategy advisory, developed the crucial messaging, and implemented real-time monitoring to mitigate negative publicity that could impact the fund’s