SPC President Heo Jin-su Attends Dinner Hosted by French President... The Only Korean Company

Paris Food Expo SIAL 60th Anniversary Celebration
Invitation of Over 40 Global Entrepreneurs
President Macron Thanks for Contributions to Economic and Food Culture Exchange

Huh Jin-soo, president of SPC Group, which operates Paris Baguette, was invited to and attended a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

On the 21st (local time), at a dinner held at the ?lys?e Palace in Paris, France, French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and SPC Group Chairman Heo Jin-soo are shaking hands.
[Photo by ?lys?e Palace (French Presidential Palace)]

According to SPC Group on the 23rd, the dinner held at the ?lys?e Palace in Paris on the 21st (local time) was organized to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the world-renowned international food trade fair 'SIAL (Salon International de l’Alimentation)' held in France. About 40 executives from global food and distribution companies were invited, including SPAR (distribution) from the Netherlands, Marubeni (grain trade) from Japan, and Savencia (dairy products), Limagrain (agriculture), and Eurial (dairy products) from France. SPC Group was the only domestic company to be included on the guest list.

SPC Group is actively engaged in trade activities involving French food raw materials such as wheat, butter, and cheese. Through Paris Baguette, it has expanded into 14 countries globally, including Korea, France, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia, operating over 4,000 stores. President Macron is known to have invited SPC Group considering its contribution to economic and culinary cultural exchanges between Korea and France.

At the dinner event, President Macron expressed gratitude to SPC Group for promoting France’s excellent food raw materials and culinary culture to Korea and the world, and for fulfilling its promise to actively invest in and engage in exchanges with France.

An SPC Group official said, "This dinner was a great opportunity to build a global network as many CEOs of leading food raw material companies from France and around the world attended," adding, "We expect to improve product quality by sourcing high-quality raw materials from excellent companies in the future and explore various cooperation plans for Paris Baguette’s global business."

Previously, SPC Group was invited to the 'Choose France!' event held by the French government in 2018 and 2022 to attract investments from global companies, where Chairman Huh Young-in attended.

Chairman Huh has actively invested in and engaged with France through initiatives such as expanding Paris Baguette stores in France, introducing French wheat for the first time in Korea, acquiring the French sandwich brand Lina’s, and introducing the INBP (French National Bakery School) ?cole Len?tre and French pastry and culinary school curricula domestically. In recognition, he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Merit in 2010 and the Agricultural Merit Chevalier in 2012 by the French government.