Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created a barrier for Korea’s major beauty and food firms exporting to the Middle East and other regions accessible through the key maritime shipping channel. With the region emerging as a rising global market for these companies, firms are striving to maintain supplies as the crisis causes unavoidable shipping delays. The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran also risks increasing costs for Korean companies that rely on imports for a significant portion of their manufacturing ingredients. Korea’s largest beauty product platform, CJ Olive Young, posted a notice Sunday on its global e-commerce site saying that customers in certain countries may experience delivery delays due to the war. The affected countries include Bahrain, Qatar, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. All products ordered through the platform depart from ports in Korea and are shipped to each destination country, where local logistics firms handle last-mile delivery to customer doorsteps. “In accordance with our delivery carriers’ policies, shipments to these coun