Sole Candidate for President of the Korea Food Industry Association
To Be Officially Appointed at Extraordinary General Meeting This Month
Establishment of Rapid Response Team for Crisis Management
Platform to Address Export Challenges to Be Launched
Park Jinseon, CEO of Sempio Foods (pictured), has announced her candidacy as the sole nominee for the next president of the Korea Food Industry Association. The association plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting at the end of this month to officially appoint Park as the new president.
Park Jinseon, CEO of Sempio Foods, is posing before an interview on the 12th at Sempio Heritage Space in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
In her pledge submitted to the Korea Food Industry Association on July 15, Park Jinseon emphasized, "The association must break away from being merely symbolic and transform into an action-oriented organization that leads change and innovation." She also stressed, "The association should be able to strategically resolve common issues faced by each company, such as regulations, distribution, and quality control." Since its founding in 1968, the association has served as the leading private organization representing the domestic food industry and currently has about 190 member companies.
As a measure to enhance the association's effectiveness, Park proposed the establishment of a "rapid response team" as her top priority. She plans to actively respond to corporate damages and to set up a practical support system for food safety and industrial safety. She explained, "The association will take the lead to ensure that member companies are not left isolated in times of crisis."
Another key pledge is the improvement of the joint purchasing system for Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ). TRQ is a system that applies a lower tariff rate to a certain quantity of specific items, making it a crucial factor for food companies sensitive to raw material supply. Park stated, "To enhance supply stability, we will operate the joint purchasing method in a transparent and fair manner and establish a system for frequent consultations with the government." She also proposed moving away from the current "performance-based allocation" and improving the calculation method to reflect future potential, such as employment, export, and production growth rates of companies.
Support for export companies will also be strengthened. Park pledged, "We will operate a practical advisory body for companies seeking to export," and promised a package of support ranging from assistance with various certifications such as HACCP, Halal, and vegan, to providing country-specific guidebooks, and supporting booths, interpretation, and logistics for overseas exhibitions.
She also addressed the confusion caused by differing national regulations on food additives and other matters. Park mentioned, "To help food companies respond to each country's regulations without mistakes, the association will establish and share a national regulatory database." She also included a plan to create an "export difficulty reporting channel" to respond quickly to issues such as customs clearance delays and regulatory conflicts that may arise during exports.
Additionally, Park expressed her intention to strengthen communication with member companies to enhance the association's representativeness and effectiveness. She stated, "We will shift to a structure that reflects member companies' opinions from business planning to execution and feedback," and added, "We will connect voices from the field to policy by operating communication channels by sector and region and expanding participation of small and medium-sized enterprises on the board of directors."
Park emphasized, "When the association provides services that member companies truly need, more companies will voluntarily join," and added, "The association will play a central role so that food companies can earn the love of the public and contribute to society." The president of the association is a non-executive position with a three-year term and is eligible for one reappointment.
Born in 1950, Park is the third-generation owner-manager of Sempio Foods, which was founded in 1946. She has focused on expanding globally with products such as Yondu, moving beyond the domestic market for soy sauce and fermented foods. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in electronic engineering, Park earned a master's in electronic engineering from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Ohio State University. She worked as a professor at Villanova University in the United States before joining Sempio in 1994 and has served as CEO since 1997.
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