Samyang Food


Samyang Food Industrial Co., Ltd is an international South Korean food manufacturer and the first instant ramen company in South Korea.

History

Samyang Food was founded in September 15, 1961 by Jeon Jung Yoon. In 1963, Samyang Food debuted the first Korean instant noodle.
In the early 1970s, Samyang Food converted a 20 km2 Daegwallyeong forest into a grassland to raise livestock.
In 2010, Jeon In Jang became the company's chairman. The company is now placed third to fourth in the instant noodle market of Korea. Samyang Food started exporting their products, increasing the company's profits. Recently, the company took over several restaurant chains to expand into the food service industry.

Legal Issues

In the 1980s, Samyang Food began producing other products such as snacks, dairy products, and sauces. The demand for instant noodles in Korea increased, followed by increasing exports to Japan and the United States. In 1989, allegations arose that Samyang used unsafe industrial oil in their noodles. Although ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, this scandal harmed the company's reputation, and contributed to ending its dominance in instant noodle market.
On 25 January 2019, Samyang chairman Jeon In Jang was sentenced to prison for 3 years for embezzling $5 billion Won of his company's funds. His wife and CEO of Samyang, Kim Jung-soo, was given a 2-year prison term, albeit suspended for 3 years, on the same charges. Since Jeon's imprisonment, Kim has assumed her husband's leadership duties.

Chronology

Products