Bodyfriend Selected as No. 2 'Caring Company 2.0'... "Supporting Re-challenging SMEs"

Bodyfriend Establishes 30 Billion Won Fund Over 5 Years
CEO Park Sang-hyun: "Will Fully Support Re-challenging Companies"

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is taking a commemorative photo with Park Sang-hyun, CEO of Bodyfriend, at the considerate company business agreement ceremony held at the Bodyfriend headquarters on the 27th. Photo by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 27th that it signed a business agreement for ‘Caring Companies’ (voluntary win-win cooperation companies) with Bodyfriend at Bodyfriend’s headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, to support the success of re-challenging companies.

This agreement is the second case of ‘Caring Companies 2.0,’ which connects companies in the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and Korean New Deal sectors with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. The Ministry added that it was realized through Bodyfriend’s proactive willingness to sponsor SMEs re-challenging amid difficulties caused by COVID-19.

In fact, Park Sanghyun, CEO of Bodyfriend, is a figure who overcame the bankruptcy experience of Hyunju Computer in the past and challenged the massage chair market dominated by Japanese companies, growing the company into the world’s number one massage chair company.

According to the business agreement with Bodyfriend, the Ministry plans to provide comprehensive support to re-challenging companies. When the Ministry and related organizations recommend re-challenging companies, the recommended companies will undergo public investor relations (IR) and other processes to select final supported companies and provide commercialization funds.

Bodyfriend will assist in expanding sales channels for re-challenging companies by utilizing its affiliated show hosts and merchandisers (MDs) to enter home shopping and live commerce, as well as more than 120 directly operated stores nationwide. Additionally, it will support research expenses for biohealth ventures and startups and provide opportunities for collaboration with medical professionals and consulting through sharing facilities and analyzing research results at Bodyfriend’s medical research and development (R&D) center.

Furthermore, Bodyfriend plans to build an ecosystem for SMEs and domestic massage chair manufacturing together. It will promote win-win cooperation for localization from parts production to finished product manufacturing through supporting partner companies’ productivity improvement and joint technology development projects. To this end, Bodyfriend will establish a fund of 30 billion KRW over five years.

Park Sanghyun, CEO of Bodyfriend, said, “It is an honor to participate as a Caring Company, and at the same time, I feel a heavy responsibility to help other companies re-challenge,” adding, “We will continue to make every effort to provide full support for companies that actively re-challenge without being discouraged by failure.”

Minister Kwon Chilseung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “The win-win cooperation activities of successful re-challenging companies will be a message of hope that ‘we can overcome the crisis and rise again’ to SMEs and small business owners struggling due to COVID-19,” and added, “We will strengthen the role of connectors to make the win-win cooperation of Caring Companies more tangible.”

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