Samyang Foods said on the 25th that Vice Chair Kim Jung-soo received the 41st Korea Business Leader Award presented by the Korean Academy of Management. It is the first time since the award's establishment in 1987 that a woman executive has received the top leader honor.
The Korea Business Leader Award is the nation's most prestigious leadership honor, selected by the Korean Academy of Management, the leading academic association in the field of business administration, through a comprehensive assessment of sustainable growth, contributions to industry and society, entrepreneurial spirit, and management philosophy. It is given to businesspeople who, through pioneering leadership, have contributed to the development of their industries and the growth of the national economy.
Vice Chair Kim was recognized for shifting the structure of the traditionally domestic market–oriented food industry to an export-centered global business model and presenting a new growth direction for so-called K-food. In particular, the academy was said to have highly valued how Kim spread K-food in global markets and strengthened the competitiveness of Korea's food industry through a brand strategy based on consumer experience. The selection also comprehensively considered contributions such as modernly reinterpreting Samyang Foods' founding philosophy of "Sikjokpyeongcheon (食足平天)" to set business direction and institutionalizing socially responsible management by establishing an ESG (environmental, social and governance) committee under the board of directors.
Vice Chair Kim, judging that sustainable growth would be difficult if the structure remained focused on simple manufacturing or price competition, has pursued structural changes to redefine management overall—products, brand, and marketing—from domestic standards to global standards. As a result, overseas sales account for about 80% of Samyang Foods' total revenue as of 2025. Operating profit surpassed 500 billion won, the third highest among domestic food companies, achieving a transformation into an export-centered corporations.
At the award ceremony held the previous day, Vice Chair Kim said, "I take this award not so much as an evaluation of what we have achieved so far, but as a responsibility for what lies ahead. We will not rest on our current growth, and will use this as a chance to return to the starting line," and added, "Rather than conforming to what is universally chosen in global markets, we learned that preserving our own identity is the source of long-term competitiveness. We will become a corporations that creates sustainable value through genuine connection with the world."