[Mid-sized Business Master Series]⑩ Kyowon Property Team Leader Kim Junsu... Pioneer in Water Purifier Filter Development

"Changing Water Taste Changes Life, Can Change Customers' Lives" Pride
Even to the Point of Nausea Just Watching Water Taste... Over 20 Patent Applications and Registrations

"The harder the work, the more you should step forward first."

Junsu Kim, Head of the Wells Development Team at Kyowon Property and the top expert in the field of water purifier and air purifier filter development in Korea, said, "It is important to have the attitude of stepping forward without hesitation to solve even small tasks. Especially when you take the lead in doing difficult work that others avoid, communication becomes easier, and people tend to understand and help you first."

Kim Junsu, Head of the Wells Development Team at Kyowon Property, is explaining the process of developing a water purifier filter. Photo by Kim Jonghwa

Kyowon Property is a company that designs and develops environmental home appliances such as water purifiers and air purifiers released under the 'Kyowon Wells' brand. Since its launch in 2003, it has established itself as a trend leader in the environmental home appliance sector with innovative technology and services.

Team Leader Kim completed his master's degree in Environmental Engineering at Kangwon National University in March 1999 and worked as a researcher at Hallym University’s Environmental Engineering Department for about a year. In May 2000, he joined the venture company Daekyung Carbon Technology Co., Ltd., founded by Professor Seungdo Kim of the Environmental Engineering Department, where he began developing water treatment filters. This year marks his 25th year dedicated to filter development.

Entering the water tank to replace activated carbon requires 5 to 6 hours of work

Daekyung Carbon Technology Co., Ltd., which ambitiously launched during the venture boom, closed after five years, but it was a period full of learning and insights. He clearly understood the properties and issues of activated carbon, the main and irreplaceable material of filters, and personally entered large-scale water tanks containing 4 to 5 tons of activated carbon to replace it, working 5 to 6 hours at a time, building both stamina and perseverance.

The work was so tough that he considered changing industries several times. Each time, encouraged by his wife, who studied with him in graduate school and worked on government research projects related to removing water and air pollutants, saying, "You are the best filter expert in Korea," he resolved to work even harder.

Later, while working at the small and medium-sized company Hanil Greentec Co., Ltd., a Kyowon official who noticed him conducting performance evaluations of Kyowon Wells water purifiers hinted that a research institute would soon be launched. In August 2009, he applied for and was hired as an experienced professional at the Kyowon Wells Research Institute, beginning his relationship with Kyowon Property.

For him, Kyowon Wells was a wonderful proving ground to unleash his latent potential. Team Leader Kim said, "Sometimes I hear stories from customers accustomed to the existing water taste, and while taste evaluations can vary by personal preference, I am confident that the healthier water is the one filtered through Kyowon Wells filters."

Since obtaining the Water Sommelier certification in 2013, Team Leader Kim Junsu (left in the photo) has been evaluating the "taste of water" at Kyowon Wells Research Institute together with colleagues. Photo by Kyowon Property

"When the water taste changes, the customer's life changes" ? pride

Water purifier filters are broadly divided into two types: reverse osmosis (RO), which filters out everything in the water, and ultrafiltration (UF), which partially filters while leaving some minerals and other components. Coway is known for RO filters, while Kyowon Wells is a leading representative of UF filters. Recently, more detailed filters using methods such as nano positive charge and electrostatic filtration have been developed.

Team Leader Kim is also responsible for regularly training Kyowon Wells managers. Whenever he hears feedback through managers that "the water tastes much better" or "health has improved" from water purifier users, he feels a great sense of accomplishment. He added, "Developing filters at Kyowon Wells, I have gained pride in knowing that changing the water taste can lead to healthier lives and can change customers' lives."

This attitude quickly translated into results. In July 2010, he developed the industry's first mineral filter using functional ceramic powder, applied it to the KW-P01W1 product, and made it a hit. Following the development of various water purifier filters including large and small sizes, nano, and carbon types, he also developed many deodorizing and functional air purifier filters.

He also received recognition. He won several internal suggestion awards and Kyowon awards, received the Gold Award at the World Water Day water taste evaluation in 2022, and was awarded the Healthy Housing Award multiple times by the Ministry of Environment.

He filed five patents including 'Composite Water Purifier Filter' and 'Sterilizing Water Purifier and Sterilizing Method Using the Same,' and registered 14 patents such as 'Cooling System for Water Purifier Using Thermoelectric Element Including Metal Foam,' 'Eco-friendly Water Purifier Filter Module for Heavy Metal Removal and Manufacturing Method Thereof,' 'Multifunctional Composite Filter for Water Purification Using Activated Carbon,' and 'Sterilizing Water Purifier.'

Kim Junsu, Head of the Wells Development Team at Kyowon Property, is explaining the main components of the water purifier produced at Kyowon Property's Incheon factory. Photo by Kim Jonghwa

Sometimes tasting the water was so bad it made him want to vomit

His efforts to create 'delicious water' continued relentlessly. In 2013, he obtained a Water Sommelier certification and tasted all bottled waters sold on the market to select the water taste Kyowon Wells should pursue. To reduce the size of the water purifier, he made the filters smaller and studied for months, often overnight, to incorporate all functions into the compact filter.

Strengthening filtration performance to remove pollutants sometimes caused the water taste to deteriorate if too many substances passed through the filter. To solve this, he meticulously analyzed and databased all components that could affect water taste, including raw materials of activated carbon, filtration components inside the filter, major parts' components, and materials composing the parts.

When the water taste changed from the initial development after installing the filter, he had to replace every part one by one to find the cause. There were times when he drank water all week, distinguishing tastes, and felt so nauseous just by looking at the water that he almost vomited before finding the cause. He recalled, "That process was the hardest part of my working life."

He said, "When I discovered that changing some cover parts that do not directly contact the water but cover the pipes through which water passes affected the water taste, I almost cried. It was only possible because of colleagues who endured the hardship with me, drinking water to the point of nausea to find the cause," giving credit to his coworkers.

Team Leader Kim Junsu (standing on the left in the photo, turning the driver) is disassembling key parts of the water purifier with members of the Kyowon Property Wells Development Team to find the cause of the change in the water purifier's "taste." They must continue tasting the water while replacing parts until they identify the cause of the altered taste. Provided by Kyowon Property.

"Customers choose the water taste; we will develop customized filters"

Team Leader Kim said he learned the most from Sanghoon Baek, Executive Director of Development and Production, who encouraged him to "establish standards for water taste" at a time when the premise was simply that water purifier filters should supply clean water without any criteria for taste.

Baek also advised him, who was accustomed to routine work, "Don't just evaluate water by taste; quantify that taste and turn it into data." Kim said, "Around that time, Kyowon Wells' standard for delicious water, where closer to 10 points means tastier water, began to be established. It was the first time I realized that creative and progressive work methods are like this. It was a great enlightenment at the time."

He advised junior workers to "be humble." He said that reflecting on oneself before blaming others helps communication with others and colleagues. His philosophy is, "Words blaming others come back as words scolding oneself."

Team Leader Kim is confident that "now is the era when customers choose the water taste." Technologies are being developed to adjust filter performance to suit customers' tastes, targeting single-person households with relatively low water purifier usage, allowing only essential health components to pass through the filter. He expressed his ambition, saying, "We will develop customized filters that can create the water taste customers want so that anyone can choose Kyowon Wells water purifiers."

◆Words of the Expert

The more repetitive the task, the more joyfully and thoroughly it should be carried out. Each water purifier can pursue a special 'water taste.' The water taste aimed for when first making the filter can change when installed in the finished product. In this process, a painstaking task of replacing hundreds of parts one by one to reconfirm the water taste and find the cause of the change is repeated over a long time. A strong will to endure water torture with the mission of handling the life source of humans is necessary.