▲ This photo, provided by a subscriber, shows President Yoon Suk-yeol purchasing shoes at a department store near his house on May 14. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) – S. Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife visited Shinsegae Department Store near their house on May 14, drawing great attention as the website of the shoe brand they purchased was down.

The shoe brand that President Yoon purchased on Saturday was "Vainer."

Vainer is a shoe company founded by CEO Kim Won-gil in 1994, and it is well known as a comfort shoe brand.

It is headquartered in Goyang in Gyeonggi Province and produces and sells various products, including men’s shoes, women's shoes, golf shoes, and bags.

It started under the name "Antony" and changed the company's name to Vainer in 2015 after acquiring the trademark rights of Italian brand Vainer in 2011.
 

▲ This file photo shows Kim Won-gil, CEO of Vainer. (Yonhap)
The brand’s sales last year amounted to 16.9 billion won and it is currently operating 23 branches in department stores, 6 company-operated stores, and 29 agents. The number of employees is 40.

CEO Kim is known to have come to Seoul at the age of 18 with a single bag and started working at a small shoe store in Yeongdeungpo before growing his business.

Meanwhile, the shoes President Yoon purchased on May 14 are known to be 190,000 won worth of product without any shoelaces or decorations.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Sun Min.)

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