Samyang Foods said on Feb. 25 that its Vice Chair Kim Jung-soo (김정수) won the 41st Korea CEO Award presented by the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration. It is the first time a female executive has received the prize since it was established in 1987.

The company said Kim was recognized for shifting a traditional domestic-demand-focused food industry structure to an export-led global business model and for presenting a new growth direction for South Korea's food industry.

The Korea CEO Award is a management award selected by the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, an academic organization in the field of business administration in South Korea. It evaluates sustainable growth, contributions to industry and society, entrepreneurship and management philosophy. The ceremony was held on Feb. 24 at the 60th Anniversary Memorial Hall at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

The society cited as key reasons for selecting Kim her expansion of K-food into global markets through a consumer-experience-based brand strategy and her strengthening of competitiveness in South Korea's food industry. It also said it considered her modern reinterpretation of Samyang Foods' founding philosophy to set business direction and her establishment of an ESG committee under the board to institutionalize socially responsible management.

Kim said, "I accept this award not as an assessment of achievements so far, but as a responsibility going forward." She added, "I will use it as an opportunity not to rest on current growth, but to stand again at the starting line."

She added, "I learned that protecting our own identity, rather than aligning with universal choices in the global market, is long-term competitiveness." She said, "We will become a company that creates sustainable value through an authentic connection with the world."

Kim joined Samyang Foods in 1998 and served as head of the sales division, vice president and senior vice president before becoming president in 2010. She served as co-CEO from 2018. After being appointed vice chair in 2021, she established an environment, social and governance (ESG) committee under the board to institutionalize sustainability and socially responsible management.