Golden Blue "Received Unilateral Contract Termination Notice from Carlsberg"

Short-term contract extensions since last year... Distribution in a no-contract state after October
Establishment of Carlsberg's domestic corporation in October 2022
Plans to file a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission and pursue legal action

Golden Blue announced on the 28th that it received a contract termination notice from the Carlsberg Group on the 7th, stating that it will cease all distribution of Carlsberg, the official beer of the Danish royal family, after the 31st of this month.

Golden Blue, which has been responsible for the import and distribution of Carlsberg beer since May 2018, described the situation as "the tyranny of a global corporation." According to Golden Blue, this contract termination notice was a predictable step. Since January last year, the Carlsberg Group had been extending the import and distribution contract with Golden Blue on short-term bases of 2 to 3 months, and since October last year, Golden Blue has been distributing Carlsberg without any contract, as no short-term agreements were made.

A Golden Blue representative explained, "Despite the unstable contract relationship, Golden Blue has continuously invested manpower and costs, bearing losses with hope and trust in contract renewal, and has operated normally without any distribution gaps for Carlsberg until now."

The Carlsberg Group has been steadily preparing for contract termination by establishing a domestic Carlsberg corporation in Korea last October and forming its own distribution, marketing, and logistics organizations, while some domestic liquor companies including Golden Blue continued distributing Carlsberg Group products.

Golden Blue also claims there are issues with the content of the Carlsberg Group's contract termination notice. Golden Blue stated, "By setting the termination date as March 31 for canned products and August 31 for bottled and draft beer products, they fixed dates favorable only to themselves, showing an immoral and unethical behavior that completely disregards the situation of a business partner who has cooperated with good faith and sincerity." They added, "Golden Blue responded to the March 17 notice, pointing out its unfairness and requesting that the global company uphold at least the minimum business ethics, but on March 22, we only received a reply from the Carlsberg Group containing self-centered claims lacking sincerity."

Golden Blue regards this notice as an abuse of power by a global liquor company and considers it an act of tyranny exploiting the superior position of a multinational corporation. They plan to visit the Danish Embassy, file complaints with the Fair Trade Commission, and pursue legal action to expose the unfairness of the unilateral contract termination and claim damages accordingly. Furthermore, to prevent the recurrence of unfair trade relationships between global and domestic companies, Golden Blue intends to mobilize all its capabilities and work comprehensively with the government, companies, and associations to find ways to fundamentally block deceptive business activities by global corporations.