Nongshim's new chief seeks global presence
Newly promoted Nongshim Chairman Shin Dong-won poses at his office in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Nongshim
Nongshim to increase exports of instant noodles
By Kim Jae-heun
Korea's top noodle maker Nongshim officially appointed Vice Chairman Shin Dong-won to chairman. Shin plans to focus on boosting exports of instant noodles.
Shin's promotion came three months after the death of Shin's father Shin Choon-ho, Nongshim's founder.
In a message to employees, Shin said Nongshim will reassess its overseas business strategies focusing on the United States and China.
“We should not be satisfied with our current position as the world's No. 5 noodle maker, as we have to level-up our production capabilities and marketing ability to become a world-class food manufacturer,” Shin said in the message, according to Nongshim.
Nongshim is set to open its second production facility in the United States by the end of this year. The new manufacturing facility will help the noodle maker produce an additional 350 million packs of instant noodles, resulting in a total annual production capacity of 850 million packs there.
Nongshim is also on track to upgrade its local production lines to increase annual exports by 30 percent. It already did so at factories in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Anseong, Gyeoggi Province, and it will build an additional production line at its Anyang factory by next year.
“We were a startup company in 1965. Let's all return to that mindset and make the company achieve its next phase of growth,” Shin said.
Jjawang, Nongshim's premium black bean noodle / Courtesy of Nongshim
The new chairman vowed to beef up environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles by establishing an internal body to handle ESG activities.
“Creating a more egalitarian corporate culture and pursuing an innovative work culture based on digital technology are necessary to maximize value for our customers. We will strengthen our corporate management activities to meet the standards of our customers and employees,” Shin said.
He also cited the need to reflect Korea's demographic shift in coming up with new products, pointing to the increase in one-person households and the aging population.
After earning a bachelor's degree specializing in chemical and biological engineering at Korea University, Shin joined Nongshim in 1979, climbing through the ranks at the food company over the next 42 years. One of his achievements is the launch of Jjawang, a premium black bean noodle brand. According to Nongshim, the new chairman has been deeply involved in the development of the new product since the beginning. Jjawang is now Nongshim's second-best-selling product after Shin Ramyun, the company's signature product, and helped boost the company's share of the domestic instant noodle market to 63 percent last year from 59 percent in 2015.