[Manbo Jeongdam] 'Sempio Family 3rd Generation' CEO Park Jin-seon's 'Employee Happiness Theory' of an 80-Year-Old Long-Lasting Company

Interview with Park Jinseon, Third-Generation CEO of Sempio Foods, Celebrating Its 80th Anniversary Next Year
"A Company Where Employees Are Happy Is the Top Corporate Value"
"The President of the Food Industry Association Is Not a Position for Personal Gain"

"The happiness of employees."

The secret to a long-lasting company was somewhat philosophical. Park Jin-seon, CEO (75) of Sempio Foods, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year, cited the happiness of employees as the key to longevity instead of the common corporate goal of "maximizing profits." This was proven by the broad smiles of the executives and staff present during the interview. CEO Park said, "It is important for everyone to live happily together," showing a smile.

Sempio Foods has never laid off employees through restructuring or downsizing, following the management philosophy of founder Park Gyu-hoe, who believed "employees are family, and people are important." Park, who inherited the family business, also prioritized "a company where employees are happy" as the top corporate value. To practice this, he personally receives reports on all safety accidents occurring within the company. CEO Park said, "Customers and employees are the foundation of the company's existence and growth," adding, "Reports even come up when an employee slips on snow."

On the 12th, at the Sempio Foods headquarters memorial hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, CEO Park showed the demeanor of a leader of a leading long-established domestic company?simple and unpretentious like a earthenware pot, yet resolutely tackling current issues.

Park Jin-sun, CEO of Sempio Foods, is being interviewed on the 12th at Sempio Heritage Space in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

CEO Park is the grandson of Park Gyu-hoe, who founded Sempio Foods in August 1946, and is the third generation to manage the family business following his father, former CEO Park Seung-bok. His worn shirt sleeves made it hard to believe he was a third-generation owner, reflecting his modesty.

Famous for "Sempio Soy Sauce," Sempio Foods is a food company that has grown by expanding its product lineup to include cooking essence Yeondu, Sempio Doenjang, Fontana, Baeknyeondongan, Ziller, Sunjak, Saemine Kitchen, and Chao Chai. Its soy sauce market share exceeds 50% of the total market. Last year, its consolidated sales were 404.9 billion KRW, with an operating profit of 6.4 billion KRW.

Born in 1950, CEO Park earned a degree in electronic engineering from Seoul National University, a master's degree in electronic engineering from Stanford University Graduate School, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Ohio State University Graduate School. After teaching philosophy at Villanova University in the U.S., he joined Sempio Foods in 1994. He served as the New York branch manager and planning director before becoming CEO in 1997.

Recently, CEO Park manages his physical health through Pilates and indoor walking exercises. He especially values body balance and correct posture, even carefully observing the posture of passing employees. This aspect of CEO Park resembles Sempio Foods’ path as a traditional fermented food specialist company that has followed a "single path."

Below is a Q&A with CEO Park.

-You seem to have thriftiness ingrained in you. Your shirt sleeves are worn out.

▲The previous generation of chairmen lived modest personal lives. My father (former Chairman Park Seung-bok) used the back of calendars and scrap paper as memo pads. I think I inherited the frugal lifestyle attitude. I inherited my father's 10-year-old car and drove it until two years ago. It had about 400,000 km on it. While driving on the highway, the car suddenly stopped. When I tried to fix it, they said it couldn’t be driven anymore. Now I drive a new car. (laughs) Still, I try to experience all the latest devices.

-Your background as a philosophy professor turned business executive is unique.

▲My father also worked at Korea Development Bank (now Korea Development Bank), served as director of the Ministry of Finance’s planning and management office, and was the first administrative coordination director for the Prime Minister before running Sempio. My grandfather (Chairman Park Gyu-hoe) seemed to know that a company can survive through diverse experiences. I joined Sempio at age 40 but initially refused to run the company. After earning a Ph.D. in philosophy in the U.S. and teaching as a professor for 10 years, I kept my distance from the company. When I came back to Korea after a long time and saw the company’s situation, I felt a crisis and changed my mind. While the U.S. was undergoing rapid changes, the company was still running the soy sauce factory as it was. I joined the company in 1994 and became CEO in 1997.

-Is there a belief you have upheld since the early days as CEO?

▲In a situation with abundant supply, competing with other companies means selling cheaply, but that won’t allow survival. Honestly, at first, I didn’t know what to do. (laughs) I thought we needed to create products that people need and that differentiate us from other companies. We actively invested in research and development. Sempio invests about 5% of sales in R&D. Some around me said, "You just need to make good soy sauce; why bother with research?" But fermented food companies must focus on R&D. Making fermented foods requires microbial research. Once you build up microbial technology, you can use that technology to start new businesses. Cooking essence Yeondu is a product that embodies Sempio’s fermentation technology. Yeondu is rich in natural flavor components obtained by fermenting soybeans and adding vegetable broth, allowing cooking to be delicious without other seasonings or ingredients.

Park Jin-sun, CEO of Sempio Foods, is walking while viewing the exhibits after finishing a meal at Sempio Heritage Space in Jung-gu, Seoul, which contains Sempio's 70-year history on the 12th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

-What kind of talent does Sempio look for?

▲Humble, selfless, and passionate people. When defining our talent criteria, the standard was "Who would I be happy to work with?" Sempio’s management philosophy is "We never make or sell anything that our own family wouldn’t eat." Transparent and fair ethical management requires mutual trust.

-The K-food wave is hot recently.

▲Sempio’s overseas expansion does not simply mean increasing sales. It was when I attended the world’s top culinary event "Madrid Fusion" held in Spain in early 2010. About 500 chefs revealed their cooking methods and competed. I was puzzled by chefs boasting their secret recipes. In Korea, even daughters-in-law are not told recipes, but chefs publicly share all processes. Unable to understand, I sat at the event for three full days, eight hours each day. On the last morning, I suddenly thought, "They consider cooking not as a skill but as an art." Recently, Research Director Choi Jung-yoon was appointed chairperson of the "World’s 50 Best Restaurants" for Korea and Taiwan. The "World’s 50 Best Restaurants," along with the Michelin Guide, is a globally recognized gourmet evaluation guide. It selects the world’s top 50 restaurants and will announce the "2025 World’s 50 Best Restaurants" in June this year in Turin, Italy. The chairperson is selected as a key figure in the gourmet field of the respective region.

Director Choi led the "Jang Project," which researches Korean flavors and introduces traditional Korean fermented sauces to the world. They systematically analyzed jang, the foundation of Korean cuisine, and applied local ingredients and cooking methods to complete over 150 recipes. Until now, we have focused on naturally integrating Korean food culture into overseas food cultures. We judged that properly promoting our food culture worldwide is more important than just selling one more bottle of soy sauce. We will support Director Choi to perform her role as chairperson well. Recently, Korean food has been gaining popularity overseas. The problem is that many restaurants are run by Chinese people. We will create various sauces and products to improve the quality of Korean restaurants priced between 10,000 and 30,000 KRW overseas.

Park Jin-sun, CEO of Sempio Foods, poses ahead of an interview on the 12th at the Sempio Heritage Space in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

-Food companies must pay attention to safety management.

▲Sempio considers customers and employees the foundation of the company’s existence and growth. We prioritize the safety of customers and employees. Recently, the number of companies experiencing safety accidents has increased. About 10 years ago, I thought the Icheon plant producing soy sauce in Gyeonggi Province was unlikely to have a fire, but small accidents occurred three to four times a year. So, we hired a consulting company to conduct fire safety inspections. They said it would cost 2.5 billion KRW to renovate the facilities. The plant was built in 1986, and employees opposed the construction, saying there was no problem if they followed the fire safety laws at that time. Although it was a desire to save money, it was something that had to be done unconditionally for the safety of employees. At Sempio, all safety accidents must be reported directly. Reports even come up when "an employee slipped on snow."

-You are attracting attention as a candidate for the Korea Food Industry Association president.

▲My father also served as president of the Food Industry Association for 10 years. At that time, the president received a salary of over 100 million KRW and had a car and driver. During his tenure, my father changed the position to non-full-time and abolished the salary. He mostly used his personal money for business expenses. He believed the association needed a financial foundation to thrive and built a research institute in Busan. He had great affection for the association. I hope the association grows and promotes many initiatives that help Korean food culture. Actually, I was offered the presidency six years ago but declined because I couldn’t take on the role. Now, I believe I can work for the development of the food industry with a spirit of service.

-What are the roles and virtues of the association president?

▲The association has 192 food companies as members. The president must work for the member companies. It is not a position for personal gain or security. The association must handle difficult tasks that individual companies cannot, such as relations with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and reforming regulations that hinder the food business. It must also look after the difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs lack financial power, execution ability, and promotional power. If the association supports them during the economic downturn, their competitiveness will improve. The association must also maintain flexible relations with consumer groups. To perform this role, a company trusted by consumers must take charge. The association’s budget is about 50 billion KRW, with profits of 16 to 17 billion KRW. These funds can be used to boost the food industry.