CEO Kim Geon-ho, Age 4, Presents Corporate Statement
Unveils New CI Targeting Global Market
Collaborates with World-Renowned Designer Neville Brody
Launches Corporate Advertising Campaign in Second Half
"We want to reaffirm what Samyang pursues in this new era and begin a new 100 years of history."
Kim Yoon, Chairman of Samyang Holdings, is delivering a greeting at the 100th anniversary ceremony of the founding of Samyang Group. [Photo by Samyang Group]
Kim Yoon, Chairman of Samyang Holdings, expressed this ambition on the occasion of Samyang Group's 100th anniversary. According to related industry sources on the 2nd, Chairman Kim, at the group’s 100th anniversary ceremony held the previous day at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, conveyed his gratitude to customers, partners, and current and former executives and employees, saying, "The achievements of the past 100 years are meaningful, but the heavy responsibility to create a new 100 years is even greater."
At the 100th anniversary ceremony, Samyang Group presented "Awakening the potential of life. Changing the future of humanity" as the group’s new mission, and declared its corporate vision as "a global partner changing the future of humanity through specialty materials and solutions."
The explanation of the new corporate mission and the announcement of the future vision were delivered by Kim Gun-ho, the eldest son of Chairman Kim and the 4th generation owner, who serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Samyang Holdings. Kim said, "If Samyang in the past 100 years has contributed to the nation's economic development by providing prosperity and convenience to the people, the future Samyang will be a company that newly discovers the infinite potential of life and changes the future of humanity," adding, "We intend to take a more progressive and bold pioneering spirit, not just following customer demands but stepping ahead to propose new possibilities as a partner."
He also stated, "Samyang, which started as a farm 100 years ago to feed hungry people, has grown and innovated to now challenge global advanced industries such as semiconductors and gene therapies," and added, "Across all business areas including chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals & bio, and packaging, Samyang will focus on Health & Wellness and Advanced Materials & Solutions to create innovations for a healthier and more convenient life."
Kim Gun-ho, President of Strategy at Samyang Holdings, is presenting the future vision at the 100th anniversary ceremony of Samyang Group's founding. [Photo by Samyang Group]
On the same day, Samyang Group also unveiled a new corporate identity (CI). The newly revealed CI was created in collaboration with Neville Brody, a world-renowned designer in branding and typography design. Samyang Group explained, "The CI logo, based on sophisticated typography, was designed to embody Samyang Group’s confidence, accumulated technology, and expertise over 100 years, reflecting the group’s future commitment toward the global market through the lettering of SAMYANG."
Samyang Group also launched a corporate advertising campaign commemorating its 100th anniversary. The second half of the year’s ads include two versions: "100th Anniversary Celebration" and "Growing and Growing Again." The "100th Anniversary Celebration" ad features a scene where the power lines seen outside a train window are used as guitar strings to play the birthday song. The "Growing and Growing Again" ad concretely showcases Samyang Group’s specialty materials business, from allulose production at the country’s largest sugar factory, to eco-friendly plastics from the first domestic polycarbonate production, and from the development of the first domestic surgical dissolvable thread to gene therapy delivery systems.
Since its founding on October 1, 1924, Samyang Group has steadily grown over the past 100 years by operating diverse businesses such as food, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals & bio under the corporate vision of providing what humanity needs to enrich and facilitate life. The group established corporate farms to promote rural modernization and reclaimed barren land in Manchuria, turning it into industrial farmland, laying the foundation for Korea’s modern industry. In 1955, it completed the country’s largest sugar factory in Ulsan, solving sugar supply shortages and contributing to national economic development. In 1969, it entered the polyester chemical fiber business, building a large-scale factory in Jeonju and growing into one of the world’s top 10 chemical fiber companies.
In the 1980s, Samyang expanded into new materials and petrochemicals, completing the country’s first polycarbonate production plant in 1989 and the world’s largest TPA (Terephthalic Acid) production plant. Starting in the 1990s, it began its pharmaceutical bio business, successfully developing the country’s first biodegradable surgical suture in 1993 and becoming the world’s first to mass-produce the anticancer agent paclitaxel through plant cell culture in 1995. Currently, Samyang has established itself as a global specialty company by developing allulose as an alternative sweetener, eco-friendly bioplastic material isosorbide derived from plant resources, and the gene therapy delivery system SENS.
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