About 21 of the agency's 130 staff were let go following the move - the
latest in a series of decisions going against it. The agency's woes
began in 1998 with the bankruptcy of parent Haitai Corporation. The sale
or closure of Haitai subsidiaries has since steadily denuded the agency
of clients.
In 1999, Korad's joint venture with Ogilvy & Mather ended when the
agency's international clients - including Kimberly Clark, IBM and
Unilever - moved their business to O&M.
Based on television billings alone, Korad ranked as the 15th largest agency in Korea in the first half of last year. Remaining clients include Daewoo Motors and Daewoo Electronics. However, Daewoo Motors is currently in talks to sell the company to General Motors, which is aligned with D'Arcy in Korea.
