Jo Unho, CEO of HiteJinro Beverage, Receives Industrial Medal at the Agricultural, Forestry, Livestock, and Food Science and Technology Awards

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] HiteJinro Beverage announced on the 18th that CEO Jo Un-ho received the highest honor, the Industrial Medal, at the '23rd Agricultural, Forestry, Livestock, and Food Science and Technology Awards,' which recognizes those who have contributed to technological development and the advancement of the agro-food industry.

The Agricultural, Forestry, Livestock, and Food Science and Technology Awards is an event hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and organized by the Rural Development Administration's Technology Planning and Evaluation Institute to discover and reward researchers, industry workers, and organizations who have contributed to increasing farmers' incomes and improving citizens' living conditions by developing and disseminating excellent practical technologies in the agro-food sector.

CEO Jo Un-ho was selected as an awardee in recognition of his contributions over the past 25 years in the beverage industry, developing and producing beverage products using domestic agricultural raw materials such as rice, maesil (Korean plum), barley, jujube, and black barley, promoting exports overseas, thereby increasing farmers' incomes, pioneering new opportunities in related industries, and revitalizing the domestic agricultural raw material beverage industry.

Since assuming the position of CEO of HiteJinro Beverage in February 2017, he has actively pursued the development of Korean beverages that appeal not only to the domestic market but also to the global audience. In December of the same year, he introduced 'Black Barley,' a barley tea beverage enhanced in taste and quality using domestically produced black barley. Black barley is a new colored barley variety first successfully bred in the world in 2012 by the National Institute of Crop Science under the Rural Development Administration. HiteJinro Beverage established cooperative models by signing business agreements with Jeollabuk-do Gochang-gun and Jeollanam-do Haenam-gun, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and the main cultivation areas of black barley, and promoted the development of the domestic barley industry and regional economic revitalization through continuous raw material procurement and active marketing activities.

In recognition of these efforts, HiteJinro Beverage was selected as an 'Excellent Company for Agro-food Win-Win Cooperation between Agriculture and Enterprises' by consumers in September 2019 and won the grand prize at the '2019 Agro-Enterprise Win-Win Cooperation Contest' in November.

Since its launch in December 2017, Black Barley has surpassed cumulative sales of 147 million bottles (340 ml standard), and in June, it became the first in Korea to export barley tea products made from black barley raw materials to the major U.S. retail chain Trader Joe’s, where it is sold under the brand name 'Korean Roasted Barley Tea.'

CEO Jo said, “I have managed the company with a sense of mission to realize the maxim that the most Korean is the most global in beverages,” adding, “I will strive harder to create products that benefit the world.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.