Cho Pil-je, former vice chairman of Dongsuh Foods who led the development of the single-serve stick "coffee mix," has died. He was 101.
According to Dongsuh Foods on the 22nd, the former vice chairman died at about 10:08 a.m. on the 20th. Born in 1925 in Haman, South Gyeongsang, he graduated in 1950 from Seoul National University's aeronautical shipbuilding department and joined Daehan Shipbuilding. At the time, he was in charge of building Korea's first steel-hulled ship, the Hanyang. He later took part in building factories for Cheil Industries, Saehan Paper, and Cheil Jedang.
The deceased's connection with coffee began in 1974 when he moved to Dongsuh Foods as executive vice president. He was then in charge of technology development and established a mass-production system for the vegetable creamer "Prima" in Bupyeong, Incheon. In 1976, he developed a coffee mix that combined coffee, creamer, and sugar in one.
In a memoir published in 2017, he said, "The starting point for development was an employee's idea: Couldn't there be a way to mix coffee, Prima, and sugar all at once so you could drink coffee easily by just adding water?" He added, "What is regrettable is that we were not able to register the trademark for coffee mix at that time."
In 1978, he began developing "Maxim," which preserved coffee aroma by applying a freeze-drying process, and in 1980 he became president and launched hit products including "Maxim Coffee." He served as vice chairman from 1982 to 1986.
The wake has been set up in Room 15 of the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center. The funeral procession is at 8 a.m. on the 23rd.