Park Jinseon, CEO of Sempio, Appointed as 23rd President of Korea Food Industry Association

The First Father-and-Son Presidents in the Food Industry
"We Will Strive for the Globalization of K-Food"

Park Jinseon, CEO of Sempio Foods (age 75), has been appointed as the 23rd president of the Korea Food Industry Association.

The Korea Food Industry Association announced on July 31 that Park was elected as the new president during the 2nd extraordinary general meeting held at the association’s main conference room in Seocho-gu, Seoul. This appointment was conducted in accordance with the guidelines for electing a non-executive president, which were approved at the 159th board of directors meeting on July 4.

Jinseon Park, the 23rd president of the Korea Food Industry Association, is delivering his inaugural speech at the 2nd extraordinary general meeting held on the 1st at the association's main conference room in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Korea Food Industry Association

Park, who registered as the sole candidate, was presented as an agenda item at the 160th board of directors meeting on July 23 and was officially appointed as president on this day. The president’s term is three years, with the possibility of one reappointment.

The new president, Park, is a third-generation owner-executive of Sempio Foods. He graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Seoul National University, earned a master’s degree in electronic engineering from Stanford University in the United States, and obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from Ohio State University. After serving as a professor at Villanova University in the United States, he joined Sempio in 1994 and has led the company as CEO since 1997.

In his inauguration speech, Park stated, “Our food companies are serving as a new driving force for the national economy by expanding their presence in the global market with K-Food as a growth engine. Moving forward, the association will faithfully fulfill its role as a partner to member companies in securing the global competitiveness of the food industry.”

With this appointment, Park becomes the first father-and-son duo to serve as presidents of the association, following his late father, honorary chairman Park Seungbok. The late honorary chairman Park served as the 15th to 17th president of the association’s predecessor, the Korea Food Industry Association, and is recognized for his contributions to laying the foundation for the growth of the domestic food industry.

Founded in 1969, the Korea Food Industry Association is the largest food industry organization in Korea, with over 190 food companies currently registered as members.