GS Retail, a unit of South Korean conglomerate GS Group, will fully take over of the drug-store franchise label Watsons in Korea.

It already had a half-stake, shared with Hong Kong-based AS Watson Group. The Watsons Korea partnership launched in December 2004.
GS Retail is spending 11.9 billion won (US$10.4 million) to make Watsons Korea a wholly owned subsidiary, reports Pulse.

GS Retail has been running the chain in Korea under the brand name GS Watsons since launching in Seoul in March 2005. It had opened 54 stores by 2011, with the number of outlets jumping to 128 by end of last year.