CEO of SME that made 'Yoon's shoes'... Bainer Kim Won-gil [Interview]

Sales Halved Due to COVID-19, President's Shoes Gain Weekend Fame

Kim Won-gil, CEO of Biner, is posing at the headquarters in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-jin] A former shoemaking craftsman turned CEO of a shoe company. Since 2007, he has hosted a filial piety banquet on Parents' Day inviting over 3,000 people annually at times, and operated a scholarship foundation. He grants dealerships to long-serving employees and, for over a decade, has purchased sports cars and yachts to lend to his staff. Kim Won-gil, CEO of Bainer (61), who was quite well-known in the shoemaking and small business sectors, has recently gained renewed fame as the maker of the "President's shoes."

Bainer is a domestic comfort shoe brand (comfortable functional shoes) that is also stocked in department stores but is a "hidden gem" known only to insiders. At one point, it achieved annual sales of around 50 billion KRW, but was hit hard by COVID-19, with last year's sales plunging to less than 20 billion KRW. Although sales have somewhat improved following the easing of social distancing measures, recovering the good old days remains challenging.

However, since last weekend, CEO Kim's phone has been ringing off the hook. The shoes purchased by President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife Kim Geon-hee during their first weekend outing after inauguration were comfort shoes made by Bainer. The shoes that First Lady Kim personally selected for President Yoon. On the 16th, Kim Won-gil told a reporter over the phone, "I am still a bit bewildered."

Kim said, "I didn't even know... (I heard that First Lady Kim Geon-hee bought our shoes). I was overwhelmed with nonstop calls from all directions," adding, "We suffered a lot during the two years of COVID, and sales were almost halved, but seeing so many people encourage us through the news gives me strength." He also mentioned that he recently held the Parents' Day filial piety banquet again at the Small and Medium Business Central Hall in Yeouido, which he had been unable to do for two years due to COVID.

"We could only invite about 500 people, so it wasn't widely publicized. If I don't hold the banquet, customers might think I am dead, so despite difficulties, I want to keep doing it (laughs). In the past, we invited many famous celebrities, but now we do what we can ourselves. I even wrote a song called 'Parents' Heart' and held a singer search, and that song was performed."

'Parents' Heart' is a song Kim wrote the lyrics for a few years ago. It was composed and sung by Pastor Jang Uk-jo, a country rock musician and composer also known as the father-in-law of singer Kim Gun-mo. During the brief interview, Kim encouraged, "Please listen to the song once on YouTube."

Kim said, "With customers not moving and everything at a standstill, shoemaking companies like ours really struggled," adding, "This year, we are actively pursuing overseas expansion plans including Vietnam, and I believe this year will be better." His confidence remains strong.

He said he continues to support local scholarship foundations and golf sponsorship activities. Although he has been very generous with donations in the past, spending over 1 billion KRW annually on social contribution budgets, sales have declined compared to before, so he feels he is not able to do as much as before.

His passion for social contribution likely stems from his background as the son of a poor farmer in Dangjin, Chungnam, who moved to Seoul with only a middle school education and succeeded as a shoemaking technician and shoe salesman. He founded Antony Shoes in 1994 and acquired the Italian brand Bainer in 2011, growing it into the current company. His son is professional golfer Kim Woo-hyun (31).