INTERVIEW Food biz CEO who rejected Japanese request on Dokdo logo sees exports rise

Employees at Sung Gyung Food's manufacturing plant in Daejeon sort and stack dry seaweed before packaging, as seen in this photo from August. Courtesy of Sung Gyung Food

Sung Gyung Food CEO Yuk Hyun-jin / Courtesy of Sung Gyung Food

In 2021, the Korean dry seaweed producer Sung Gyung Food rejected a Japanese buyer's request to remove the image of Korea's easternmost islets, Dokdo, from its logo, opting to turn down the export deal instead.

Since then, the Daejeon-based company has seen increasing exports to the rest of the world, according to the head of the company.

CEO Yuk Hyun-jin has never regretted the decision that made headlines in Korea, with most praising him for his patriotism in giving up a potentially lucrative deal. He remains steadfast in keeping the logo unchanged. The logo, featuring an illustrated topography of the Korean Peninsula, including Dokdo, symbolizes his determination to grow Sung Gyung Food into the nation's largest dry seaweed producer and exporter.

Sung Gyung Food's current exports account for over 35 percent of its entire sales. Last year, it registered 97 billion won ($71 million) in sales with an operating profit of 10 billion won. Since exports first reached 1 percent of total sales in 2018, the share has steadily grown, surpassing 20 percent in 2020 and exceeding 30 percent in 2023.

Sung Gyung's performance overseas came after Yuk turned down the deal with the Japanese food importer.

Although CEO Yuk Hyun-jin declined to identify the Japanese company, fearing it might attract criticism against the Japanese company, he admitted that the deal could have been a significant boost for Sung Gyung Food. It would have connected the company to one of the largest dry seaweed markets in the world.

"We have never had a chance to enter the Japanese seaweed market before," Yuk said in an interview with The Korea Times, referring to the fizzled deal in 2021.

"Japan was Korea's second-biggest seaweed export market last year. If we had chosen to accept the deal and entered the Japanese market, I was going to expand our market there step by step, with soaring sales within our grasp."

Korea's dry seaweed exports to Japan have further increased this year. According to Kati, an online statistics portal for Korean agricultural and fishery exports under the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp., Japan imported $144 million worth of dry seaweed last year, making it the second-largest market behind the United States. However, this year, Japan has moved to the top of the importing countries' list, with imports totaling 5,823 tons of seaweed worth $160 million as of September. Following Japan are the U.S., Thailand, Russia and China.

Although Sung Gyung remains disconnected from the country's largest overseas dry seaweed market, it has successfully established a robust network with American companies instead. As a result, U.S. firms account for over 90 percent of Sung Gyung's international sales.

Sung Gyung produces and exports for U.S. local dry seaweed distributor Gimme, which, according to Yuk, currently dominates the American dry seaweed market. Asian supermarket chains in the U.S., including H Mart, Mega Mart, Lotte Plaza and Zion Market, currently stock Sung Gyung products on their shelves. The company also produces for Oh! My Gim, a brand for global dry seaweed distributor Haesan.

"We're currently exporting to 15 countries, including Canada, China and those in Southeast Asia, Oceania and Europe," Yuk said.

"We export the most to North America, followed by countries in Asia and Oceania in terms of trade value. Unlike Koreans, people overseas tend to eat dry seaweed as snacks rather than as side dishes for meals. Next year, we plan to launch our first brand specifically for exports, targeting consumers of all ages. We are currently processing halal certification to expand our overseas markets into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe as well."

Yuk, who has served as the company's CEO since December 2022, said that although Sung Gyung hasn't been able to break into the Japanese market, he sees other global regions as potential major markets.

"There's no doubt that Japan is a mega market in dry seaweed. But I also reckon Southeast Asia and Europe are just as significant global markets as Japan. Those regions are our current targets," Yuk said.

Sung Gyung Food's dry seaweed products with an illustrated topography of the Korean Peninsula / Courtesy of Sung Gyung Food

Irreplaceable logo

Sung Gyung Food's official logo

Yuk's vision is reflected in Sung Gyung's logo, as he believes that the company will become the country's largest dry seaweed maker and exporter of seafood in the world. In the company name, which is a compound of Chinese letters — "Sung," meaning accomplishing and "Gyung" referring to Seoul, or a capital city. To deliver an impression coherent with the company name's meaning that Sung Gyung products will become No. 1 in the country, it had chosen an image of the Korean Peninsula for the logo.

"When people check our products, they instantly recognize our logo because it represents the topography of Korea. Including the Korean Peninsula, along with Dokdo and Ulleung Island, was only natural. This logo embodies our pride and faith," Yuk said.

"Removing Dokdo from our logo would compromise our company's very identity. That's why I had to turn down that trade in 2021."

Sung Gyung started as a street market stall in Daejeon in 1981 and built its first manufacturing plant there in 1999 and another one the following year. The famous logo earned the company recognition from the president of Independence Hall of Korea in 2006. In 2014, the company received its first national plaque for outstanding export record in commemoration of the country's Trade Day.

Yuk joined the company as chief strategic officer in 2018 when private equity fund Affirma Capital acquired Sung Gyung and scouted him from a cosmetic company in Seoul. Following the successful expansion of Sung Gyung's overseas markets and sales under Yuk's strategy, Affirma promoted him to CEO in December 2022.

"As for the name of the Japanese company or companies in other countries that asked us about our famous logo, I cannot disclose them to the public as doing so might impact their ongoing trades," Yuk said. "However, I want to assure you that we will continue producing dry seaweed based on the beliefs and values represented in our logo."

Who is Yuk Hyun-jin?

Before joining Sung Gyung Food in 2018, Yuk led strategic planning at B&B Korea, an original development and design manufacturing cosmetic company in Seoul, from 2015 to 2017. Before that, he co-founded Isis, an idea-to-business incubator, and represented the company from 2010 to 2015. From 2006 to 2010, he was a consultant at Arthur D. Little, a business consulting agency, where he met a colleague with whom he later founded Isis.

Yuk studied business at Korea University and graduated in 2006.