Heo Cheol-ho, CEO of KGC Ginseng Corporation, Visits China: "Full-Scale Entry into the Chinese Market"

Cooperation Plans for Ginseng Industry Development
Discussion on Easing Red Ginseng Export Regulations

Heo Cheol-ho, CEO of KGC Ginseng Corporation (left), and Han Jun, Governor of Jilin Province, are holding a strategic cooperation meeting related to the red ginseng business.
[Photo by KGC Ginseng Corporation]

Heo Cheol-ho, CEO of KGC Ginseng Corporation, visited China to discuss cooperation plans for the development of the ginseng industry and regulatory easing to promote the export of red ginseng with government officials and business leaders.

KGC Ginseng Corporation announced on the 21st that CEO Heo visited Jilin, Shanghai, and Shenzhen in China for a total of 9 nights and 10 days to review mid- to long-term strategies for its business in China and discuss ways to expand strategic collaboration with government agencies and major companies. He also held talks with Han Jun, Party Secretary of Jilin Province, and Hu Jiafu, Secretary of the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture Committee. Both sides discussed various cooperation plans to achieve qualitative development of ginseng in diverse fields such as food, health functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

CEO Heo requested the designation of red ginseng as a health food under the Bianje (registration review) category and the adoption of national standards for red ginseng. He also proposed designating Yanbian Prefecture as a national free trade zone to allow foreign-invested companies to process traditional Chinese medicine materials. Additionally, he emphasized the need to ease regulations related to the designation of deer antler as a food ingredient and discussed the commercialization of KGC Ginseng Corporation’s deer antler product, ‘Cheonnok,’ in China, agreeing to closely cooperate with the Yanbian provincial government.

Furthermore, at Jilin University, the necessity of joint research on the efficacy of red ginseng against cancer and COVID-19 was emphasized. They urged conducting large-scale clinical studies targeting Chinese people to establish scientific evidence of red ginseng’s efficacy and to strengthen campaigns to raise awareness of red ginseng’s benefits through extensive research results and promotion. CEO Heo also held meetings with presidents of companies such as ‘Hwarunsamgu,’ ‘Bokseong Group,’ ‘Dongguan Guoyao,’ and ‘Donga Agio.’ Through these meetings, discussions on product collaboration and new distribution entry to expand the ginseng market in China were set to proceed in earnest.

A KGC Ginseng Corporation official said, "Starting with CEO Heo’s visit to China, we plan to expand the development of customized products for local Chinese customers and lead strategic partnerships with major companies to further strengthen our global market dominance."

Meanwhile, KGC Ginseng Corporation recorded sales of 201.7 billion KRW last year, an 8% increase compared to the previous year, driven by export expansion due to rising local demand in major overseas countries. Overseas sales in the fourth quarter increased by 21% to 75.1 billion KRW. The Chinese market showed an 18% increase in sales compared to the same period last year due to increased demand following the lifting of the Shanghai lockdown.