Who Owns Dr.Althea? The Korean Company Behind the 345 Relief Cream

From the brand's official Amazon store: Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream, 50 mLAffiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, EpicKor earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Quick Answer

Where is Dr.Althea from? South Korea. The brand is run from Seoul by The Pure Lab Inc. (주식회사 더퓨어랩), whose head office is on the 46th floor of Parc1 (파크원) in Yeouido, Seoul. The Pure Lab is named as the responsible seller (책임판매업자) on the official Korean product notice of the 345 Relief Cream.

Who owns Dr.Althea? The Pure Lab is 100% owned by JL Holdings Co., Ltd. (주식회사 제이엘홀딩스), an unlisted Korean company in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. JL Holdings created The Pure Lab on 15 January 2025 by spinning off its cosmetics division. JL Holdings' own shares are 100% held by a related party (특수관계자) of its CEO, Lee Dong-hoon (이동훈), according to note 1 of JL Holdings' audited 2025 accounts on DART, Korea's corporate disclosure system. The report does not say whether this is one person, several family members or an entity, and does not name them.

Is Dr.Althea Korean or Japanese? Korean. The operating company and both holding companies are registered in Korea, and nothing in the filings points to a Japanese owner.

How big is it? The Pure Lab had ₩204.4 billion (about $153 million) of revenue and ₩86.1 billion (about $65 million) of net profit in 2025, its first year as a separate company. The company's own recruiting pages put its 2025 revenue higher, at about ₩300 billion. We explain the gap below.

This is a public-information company spotlight. EpicKor has no relationship with The Pure Lab or Dr.Althea, and nothing here is investment advice. Won figures come from audit reports on DART unless a press source is named. Dollar figures use ₩1,334 to the dollar, the US Federal Reserve's H.10 rate for 16 October 2026, and are rounded.

Quick Guide: Dr.Althea's Company At A Glance

The Ownership Chain, Step By Step

Dr.Althea's ownership is not hidden, but it is spread across three Korean companies. Each one files an audit report on DART, and you need all three to see the whole chain.

Step 1: the brand sits in The Pure Lab. The footer of Dr.Althea's official Korean store (doctoralthea.co.kr) names the operator as 주식회사 더퓨어랩, business registration number 181-88-03532, with Lee Dong-hoon as representative. The product notice for the 345 Relief Cream lists the responsible seller as "㈜더퓨어랩". Under Korean cosmetics law, the responsible seller is the company legally answerable for the product on the market. Korean press uses the same name: in July 2025, Economist Korea (이코노미스트, economist.co.kr) quoted "더퓨어랩 글로벌팀" (The Pure Lab's global team) on Dr.Althea's US plans.

Step 2: JL Holdings owns 100% of The Pure Lab. Note 18 of JL Holdings' 2025 audit report says:

"회사는 투자사업과 화장품사업의 경영효율화를 제고할 목적으로 2025년 1월 15일 화장품사업부를 물적분할하여, 주식회사 더퓨어랩을 분할신설하였습니다. 주식회사 더퓨어랩의 주식 지분 100%를 148,129천원에 취득하였습니다."

To run its investment business and cosmetics business more efficiently, the company spun off its cosmetics division on 15 January 2025 as a new company, The Pure Lab Inc., and acquired 100% of its shares for ₩148.1 million.

That ₩148.1 million was the book value of what moved across: ₩10 million of cash and ₩138 million of equipment. The brand's value did not appear on anyone's balance sheet. By the end of 2025, JL Holdings was carrying its stake at ₩86.3 billion, almost all of it The Pure Lab's first-year profit.

Step 3: a related party of the CEO holds 100% of JL Holdings. Note 1 of the same report says that at the end of 2025 "대표이사의 특수관계자가 지분 100%를 보유하고 있습니다": a related party of the CEO held 100% of the shares. Korean audit reports use "특수관계자" (related party) for family members and affiliated entities; the same report also lists the CEO himself among its related parties. It does not say whether the holder is one person, several family members or an entity, and we found no public filing that names them, so the holder's identity is not disclosed. DA International's 2025 report uses similar wording: "대표이사와 그 특수관계자가 지분 100%" (the CEO and his related parties own 100%).

What the filings show and do not show: the filings name no listed parent, fund or foreign shareholder, but the 100% holder of JL Holdings is not named. On 27 October 2026 we found no DART filing showing a change of control at JL Holdings or The Pure Lab.

Where Dr.Althea Started: The 2014 Company

The brand is older than The Pure Lab. DART's records show a company called 주식회사 닥터엘시아 (Dr.Althea Co., Ltd.), incorporated on 19 March 2014 in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to make and sell cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Its FY2023 audit report (filed April 2024) is issued under that name and lists its shareholders at the end of 2023:

By its FY2024 report, the company had been renamed DA International Co., Ltd. (주식회사 디에이인터내셔날); that report calls it "구, 주식회사 닥터엘시아" (formerly Dr.Althea Co., Ltd.). DART's company record for DA International still lists doctoralthea.co.kr as its website. So does JL Holdings' record.

DA International was small. Its revenue was ₩9.2 billion in 2022, ₩8.6 billion in 2023 (with an operating loss of ₩1.2 billion), ₩10.7 billion in 2024 and ₩7.4 billion in 2025. By 2025 about ₩1.0 billion of that was rent; at the end of 2025 it held land and buildings with a book value of about ₩24.2 billion, ₩20.5 billion of it land. Its 2025 report lists The Pure Lab as a related party and shows ₩3.2 billion of sales to it. The 2025 report says the CEO and his related parties own 100% of DA International.

What the filings do not explain is how the business moved from the 2014 company into JL Holdings, which was set up on 21 December 2022 in Paju. JL Holdings' 2024 figures are unaudited comparatives: ₩27.7 billion of its own product sales and ₩14.5 billion of operating profit. Other group companies also sold the brand that year, including DA International, with ₩10.7 billion of revenue, so no single filing shows the brand's total 2024 sales.

The Numbers: One Year, ₩204 Billion

The Pure Lab has not filed its own audit report on DART yet; a company in its first year is usually not yet required to. Its 2025 results come from the summary table in note 6 of its parent's audit report:

Three things stand out.

• The margin is unusually high. Net profit was 42% of revenue (EpicKor calculation). For comparison, Anua's parent, The Founders, made a net profit of 12% of revenue in 2025, and d'Alba Global about 15%. The summary table does not show The Pure Lab's cost lines, so we cannot say where the margin comes from.
• The growth rate cannot be read from the filings. The Pure Lab sold ₩204.4 billion in 2025. In 2024 the brand's sales were split across JL Holdings (₩27.7 billion of its own product sales, unaudited) and other group companies such as DA International (₩10.7 billion), so there is no clean 2024 base to compare with.
• The profit has not been paid out. Net assets at year-end equal the starting capital plus the full-year profit. JL Holdings' 2025 dividend was ₩31 million.

At the holding level, JL Holdings reported ₩29.0 billion of revenue and ₩19.6 billion of operating profit in 2025, plus ₩86.1 billion of equity-method income from The Pure Lab, for a net profit of ₩101.5 billion. JL Holdings also booked ₩12.8 billion of sales to The Pure Lab in 2025. The report does not say what it sold.

Why the press says ₩300 billion

Other sources give bigger figures. Economist Korea (이코노미스트, economist.co.kr) (30 July 2025) reported ₩120 billion of sales in the first half of 2025; its ₩300 billion for the year was a forecast ("전망") and, in a quote from The Pure Lab's global team, a target ("목표 매출"). isPlus (1 July 2026) wrote that the brand "achieved annual sales of ₩300 billion last year" and ₩192 billion from January to April 2026; those are the article's own statements, and only its 2026 target of ₩700 billion (about $525 million) is attributed to the company. Hankyung (23 April 2026) reported ₩147 billion in the first quarter of 2026 and a target of ₩500 billion.

The company itself uses the bigger number. The Pure Lab's recruiting pages on Remember and Wanted call about ₩300 billion its 2025 annual revenue ("2025년 연매출 약 3천억"), while the audited summary shows ₩204.4 billion. Nothing in the filings or the articles explains the gap; it could be sales booked by other group companies or a different basis of counting, but that is our speculation. For 2025, ₩204.4 billion is the audited number for The Pure Lab; ₩300 billion is the company's own unaudited claim. The 2026 figures have not been audited yet.

The Product That Built It

Almost all of Dr.Althea's fame rests on one product. The 345 Relief Cream (345 릴리프 크림) is a soothing moisturiser; the number refers to its label's grouping of three blemish-care, four nourishing and five soothing ingredients. In April 2026 Hankyung reported that cumulative sales of the cream had passed 26 million units.

On Amazon US on 27 October 2026, the 50 mL cream (sold through the "Dr.Althea Store") ranked #60 in all of Beauty & Personal Care and #5 in Face Moisturizers, with 24,087 ratings averaging 4.6 stars. In July 2025 Economist Korea (이코노미스트, economist.co.kr) said the brand's key products, the 345 cream, the Pure Grinding Cleansing Balm and the Vitamin C Boosting Serum, ranked first to third in their Amazon categories, and named the US, the UK, Australia and the UAE as fast-growing Amazon markets. It did not give ranks by product and country.

Prices on Dr.Althea's official Korean store on 27 October 2026:

Store prices change with promotions, so treat these as what the store showed on that date, not list prices. If you plan to buy it in Seoul instead, our Olive Young guide explains the chain's monthly sale cycle.

Who Makes The Cream?

The official Korean product notice does not name the factory. Under "제조사 / 책임판매업자" (manufacturer / responsible seller) it says "제품별도표기 / ㈜더퓨어랩": printed on the product / The Pure Lab. So the manufacturer's name is on the physical box, not on the website.

The brand's own Amazon listing fills in the field. The listing for the 50 mL 345 Relief Cream gives the manufacturer as "Kolmar", and the Cream & Mist Duo lists "Kolmar & Cosmax". Kolmar Korea and Cosmax are Korea's two largest cosmetics contract manufacturers (ODMs). Amazon's manufacturer field is entered by the seller, so treat it as the brand's statement, not as a verified record.

That would put Dr.Althea in the same model as most new K-beauty brands: the brand designs the product and owns the trademark, and a contract manufacturer makes it. Anua's products are made by Kolmar Korea, Cosmax and Cosmecca Korea; Torriden's Dive-In serum is made by Jungcos. One difference: JL Holdings, whose head office is in Paju, is registered on DART under cosmetics manufacturing. Its filings do not say whether it makes any Dr.Althea products.

Where It Sells

The audit summary does not split revenue by country. What the press and the company have said:

• Amazon is the engine. Economist Korea (이코노미스트, economist.co.kr) (July 2025) said the key products ranked first to third in their Amazon categories and named the US, the UK, Australia and the UAE as fast-growing markets. The brand sells through its own Amazon storefront.
• Ulta Beauty in the US. The same article said the brand was entering Ulta Beauty, the largest US beauty retailer, in the second half of 2025.
• A K-pop face. isPlus (July 2026) reported that Jang Won-young (장원영) of IVE is the brand's muse and global model.
• A Seoul flagship. The brand opened a flagship store in Hannam-dong, Seoul, in November 2025, according to isPlus.
• Wide export reach, by its own count. The Pure Lab's recruiting pages say Dr.Althea is exported to "about 175 countries" across North America, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, Australia, the CIS and Southeast Asia. That is company copy, not an audited figure.

Why People Think Dr.Althea Is Not Korean

In our check of Google's autocomplete on 27 October 2026, suggestions for this brand included "is dr althea korean or japanese" and "where is dr althea from". There are three reasons the question keeps coming up.

1. The name sounds Western. "Dr.Althea" is English, and Althaea is the Latin name of the marsh-mallow plant genus. We found no company statement explaining the name.
2. The tube label we saw has no Hangul. The 345 tube in the brand's official product image is printed in English: "Dr.Althea Pro Lab", "Clean Formula. Derma Inspired."
3. Most buyers met it on Amazon. The cream became a best-seller abroad, so many buyers saw it on an Amazon listing before they heard of the company behind it.

A related question is whether there is a real "Dr. Althea". The filings name no doctor. The companies are run by their Korean CEO, and "Dr." is part of the brand name.

None of this changes the paperwork: three Korean-registered companies and a Korean responsible seller.

How To Tell The Genuine Product

Popular K-beauty products attract copies and grey-market sellers. For Dr.Althea:

• Check the seller. On Amazon, the byline should read "Visit the Dr.Althea Store". Search results for the cream also show multi-packs, older versions and other sellers' offers, so open the listing and check who it is sold by.
• Check the version. Some current Amazon listings say "Ver.2". If the formula matters to you, compare the ingredient list on the box with the brand's own listing.
• Check the size. The cream comes in 50 mL and a 0.5 fl oz (about 15 mL) travel size. A low price on a listing may be for the small tube.
• Don't buy it as a treatment. It is a moisturiser. If you have a skin condition, see a dermatologist; the brand's "derma inspired" label is marketing, not a medical claim.

What This Means For Shoppers And Buyers

Dr.Althea is a Korean brand owned by a privately held Korean group controlled by a related party of its CEO, not by a conglomerate or a listed company. It sits in a different place from the Goodai Global brands (Beauty of Joseon, SKIN1004, TIRTIR), which raised money from private-equity funds, and from listed d'Alba Global. Its closest comparison is The Founders, which is owned by its two co-CEOs, has no outside investors and also relies on one hero product.

For overseas retailers and distributors, two facts matter. The contracting entity for the brand is The Pure Lab Inc. in Seoul, not the older Dr.Althea Co., Ltd., which is now DA International. And the filings show no outside shareholders at JL Holdings or The Pure Lab, so decisions sit with its owner.

What Korean SMEs Can Take From This

• A brand can wait years for its moment. The original company was founded in 2014 and was still a ₩9 billion business in 2022. The breakout came only after the 345 cream took off abroad.
• One product can carry a company. The 345 Relief Cream is most of what buyers know.
• A clean spin-off helps. Moving the cosmetics business into a new company in January 2025 separated it from the property and investment assets, which makes the brand easier to audit, finance or, one day, sell.
• Disclosure is thin until you are big. The Pure Lab's numbers are public only because its parent files an audit report. Outside buyers doing due diligence should ask for The Pure Lab's own accounts.

FAQ

Q: Who owns Dr.Althea?

The Pure Lab Inc. (주식회사 더퓨어랩), a Seoul company, sells the brand. It is 100% owned by JL Holdings Co., Ltd., whose shares are 100% held by a related party of CEO Lee Dong-hoon, according to JL Holdings' 2025 audit report on DART.

Q: Where is Dr.Althea from?

South Korea. The Pure Lab's head office is at Parc1 in Yeouido, Seoul. The brand began with Dr.Althea Co., Ltd., founded in Seoul's Mapo-gu in 2014.

Q: Is Dr.Althea Korean or Japanese?

Korean. The operating company and both holding companies are registered in Korea, and nothing in the filings points to a Japanese owner.

Q: Who makes the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream?

The Korean product notice says the manufacturer is printed on the product. The brand's Amazon listing names Kolmar, one of Korea's largest contract manufacturers. The Pure Lab is the responsible seller.

Q: Is Dr.Althea a public company?

No. The Pure Lab, JL Holdings and DA International are all unlisted, and we found no public listing plan on 27 October 2026.

Q: How much revenue does Dr.Althea make?

The Pure Lab reported ₩204.4 billion (about $153 million) of revenue in 2025, according to the summary in its parent's audit report. Its own recruiting pages claim about ₩300 billion of 2025 revenue, a gap the filings do not explain, and the company has told isPlus it is aiming for ₩700 billion in 2026.

Q: What other brands does The Pure Lab own?

DearA (디어에이, color cosmetics) and Premoment (hair and skincare), according to its company profile on the Wanted recruiting site.

Sources

• JL Holdings Co., Ltd. (주식회사 제이엘홀딩스), FY2025 audit report (Hyun Accounting Corp., 회계법인 현), DART receipt no. 20260413000576, filed 13 April 2026: ownership (note 1), The Pure Lab stake and summary financials (note 6), spin-off (note 18), related parties (note 17), income statement and 2024 unaudited comparatives, dividend (note 14)
• DA International Co., Ltd. (주식회사 디에이인터내셔날), FY2025 audit report (Hyun Accounting Corp.), DART receipt no. 20260413000326, filed 13 April 2026: ownership note, revenue, rental income, related-party sales to The Pure Lab
• DA International (formerly Dr.Althea Co., Ltd.), FY2024 audit report (Hyun Accounting Corp.), DART receipt no. 20250414000068, filed 14 April 2025: former name, 2024 revenue and operating profit
• Dr.Althea Co., Ltd. (주식회사 닥터엘시아), FY2023 audit report (Sehwa Accounting Corp.), DART receipt no. 20240409004073, filed 9 April 2024: 2014 incorporation, shareholder table, 2022 and 2023 revenue
• DART: JL Holdings 2025 audit report
• DART: DA International 2025 audit report
• DART: Dr.Althea Co., Ltd. 2023 audit report
• DART company records (기업개황) for DA International (corp code 01642308) and JL Holdings (corp code 01930850), checked 27 October 2026
• Dr.Althea official Korean store: 345 Relief Cream page, product notice and price, plus product nos. 96, 372, 481, 543 and 584 and the store footer (checked 27 October 2026)
• Amazon US product listing for the Dr.Althea 345 Relief Cream, 50 mL (ASIN B07PK2P2XB, "Visit the Dr.Althea Store"): rank, ratings and manufacturer field, checked 27 October 2026; the Cream & Mist Duo listing (ASIN B0G4W2FT6S) for its manufacturer field
• Economist Korea (이코노미스트), "닥터엘시아(Dr.Althea), 글로벌 아마존 톱 랭킹 석권… 올해 매출 3000억 원 전망, ULTA 입점 등 북미 확대 박차", 30 July 2025
• Hankyung, "더퓨어랩 닥터엘시아(Dr. Althea), 1분기 매출 1,470억 기록…글로벌 확장 따른 대규모 채용 실시", 23 April 2026
• isPlus, "닥터엘시아, 글로벌 뮤즈 장원영과 프레스데이… 매출 7000억 달성 정조준", 1 July 2026
• The Pure Lab company profile on Wanted (brands operated, "about 175 countries" export claim, 2025 founding)
• The Pure Lab job listing on Remember Career ("주력 브랜드인 닥터엘시아", ₩300 billion 2025 sales claim)
• US Federal Reserve, H.10 foreign exchange rates: ₩1,334 to the dollar on 16 October 2026

Last updated: 27 October 2026. The Pure Lab's 2025 figures are from the summary of its financial statements in JL Holdings' audited 2025 accounts on DART; The Pure Lab has not filed its own audit report. JL Holdings' 2024 figures are unaudited comparatives. DA International's figures are from its own audit reports. Sales figures for 2026, the ₩300 billion 2025 brand figure, unit sales, rankings, retail entries and ambassadors are as reported by the Korean press or stated by the company. Margins and growth multiples are EpicKor calculations. Prices and the product notice are from Dr.Althea's official Korean store on 27 October 2026. Amazon listings were checked on 27 October 2026 and can change. Dollar figures use ₩1,334 to the dollar. EpicKor has no commercial relationship with The Pure Lab or Dr.Althea, and nothing here is investment advice.