Jin-seon Park, CEO of SEMPIO FOODS, was elected as the 23rd chairperson of the Korea Food Industry Association on the 31st. The Food Industry Association is the largest food industry organization in the country, established in 1969. It has 192 corporations as member companies. On this day, 130 companies voted in favor of the chairperson appointment proposed at the extraordinary general meeting.
Chairperson Park noted in his inauguration speech, "Our food corporations are playing a new engine of growth for the national economy through expansion in the global market as K-Food. In the future, the association will earnestly play the role of a partner for member corporations to secure global competitiveness in the food industry."
Born in 1950, Chairperson Park earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in electronic engineering from Seoul National University and Stanford University in the United States, respectively, and received his doctorate in philosophy from Ohio State University. Before joining SEMPIO FOODS, he taught students as a lecturer in philosophy at Villanova University in the United States. He joined SEMPIO FOODS in 1988 and became CEO in 1997, also serving as CEO of its holding company, Sempio.
The election of the chairperson this time is significant for two reasons. Although CEO Jong-hyun Hwang of SPC Samlip withdrew from the race, leading to a one-candidate situation, it marks the first time a chairperson was elected through a member company vote. The chairperson's position is a non-paid, honorary role limited to a three-year term. In the past, there were mostly no applicants, leading to a common practice of single candidates being unopposed. However, this time, for the first time, a competitive landscape emerged, resulting in a vote for the chairperson. It has been reported that more than 100 companies expressed support.
Although it is an association composed of both large and small corporations, there are opinions that it has primarily operated with a focus on large corporations, which influenced his election. There are 192 member companies in the Food Industry Association. Among them, 25 companies have sales of more than 1 trillion won, while more than 150 companies have sales of less than 500 billion won.
The industry sees the role of the Food Industry Association growing as the status of K-Food rises. Chairperson Jin-seon Park pledged during his candidacy, "I will strengthen crisis response capabilities and become an export support platform for entering the global market." He mentioned plans to establish an "emergency response team" within the association, stating that it will provide immediate consulting and practical responses in crisis situations such as quality issues, food safety incidents, and industrial accidents. He also said, "I will operate a specialized advisory group for consulting on overseas expansion to contribute to expanding export opportunities."
He added, "We will provide practical support such as booth planning, interpretation, and logistics as a package for companies participating in overseas exhibitions such as Anuga and SIAL, which are world food fairs." He continued, "We will quickly receive reports on difficulties arising during exports, such as customs delays and regulatory conflicts, and establish an 'export difficulty reporting channel' to communicate directly with the government and relevant agencies."
A representative from a small member company said, "Practical support is really needed," adding, "I hope Chairperson Park will lead the association not only for large corporations but also for small corporations." Meanwhile, among the large food industry representatives, there were voices asking to actively represent industry opinions in relation to the government. An industry representative commented, "The government has raised the issue of high ramen prices since the early phase of its administration, but there is an aspect where it is an unavoidable choice for corporations to survive, rather than passing costs on to consumers," and added, "I hope the association will actively engage in public relations activities."
Meanwhile, the election of Chairperson Park marks the first father-son chairperson in history. Sempio is a company that has continued its family business for three generations. Park's father, the late Seung-bok Park, served as the chairman of the Korea Food Industrial Association, the predecessor of the current association, for over 10 years.