The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 26th that they have selected Lee Eun-cheon, CEO of Obio, and Park Yong-soon, CEO of TKC, as the 'proud small and medium-sized entrepreneurs' for the first quarter of 2025.
The proud small and medium-sized entrepreneurs system is designed to discover and reward outstanding corporations that contribute to national industrial development through management rationalization, increased exports, and technology development, thereby disseminating exemplary small and medium-sized entrepreneur models.
CEO Lee Eun-cheon founded Obio, a specialized company in ODM/OEM of water purifiers and hot/cold water dispensers, in 1998, providing customized solutions to clients worldwide. As of now, more than 30% of the total employees are composed of research and development personnel, focusing on technology development.
Obio has established partnerships with about 100 companies in around 50 countries, obtaining various overseas certification standards and filing for and holding over 55 domestic and international patents. Last year, it won the '5 million dollar export tower' and the Stone Tower Industrial Medal.
CEO Park Yong-soon founded TKC, a manufacturer of semiconductor and printed circuit board surface treatment automation equipment, in 1996. By innovating high-precision plating equipment technology necessary for semiconductor manufacturing processes, it developed high-performance products differentiated from competitors, securing major overseas customers and increasing market share.
With high technology and continuous market development, TKC achieved sales of 100 billion won in 2022. Last year, it earned the '7 million dollar export tower.'