8th Jangbogo Hansang Awards, 6 Recipients and 1 Special Merit Awardee Selected

Grand Prize Awarded to Jang Yong-jin, Chairman of US KISS Group, and Lee Ho-deok, Chairman of RS Group, Recipient of the National Assembly Speaker Award

Special Merit Award Presented to Hwang Byung-gu, Chairman of Chorus Orchid; 17 Winners from 17 Countries and 43 Recipients up to the 8th Edition

The grand prize winner of the 8th Jangbogo Hansang Award was Chairman Jang Yong-jin (62) of Kiss Group, a global beauty company located in New York, USA.

According to the Jangbogo Global Foundation (Chairman Kim Deok-ryong) on the 28th, a judging committee meeting was held on the 17th at the Korail conference room in Yongsan Station, selecting seven winners including six recipients of the 8th Jangbogo Hansang Award and one special merit award recipient.

This evaluation process involved prior written assessments, online evaluations, and reputation checks by 10 judges to determine the final awardees.

On the 17th, the Jangbogo Hansang Award judging committee was held, selecting six awardees and one special merit award recipient.
[Photo provided by Wando-gun]

Jang Yong-jin, chairman of Kiss Group, who was selected as the Jangbogo Grand Prize (dedicatee), founded the company in Flushing, New York, USA in 1989 and grew it into a global beauty group with 12,000 employees and an annual sales revenue of 1.4 trillion KRW over 34 years.

In particular, in the fashion sector, he captured 80% of the U.S. market with his nail (artificial nails) ideas and secured 65% of the eyelash market within seven years.

Chairman Jang designates Lunar New Year and Chuseok as holidays for employees and local communities to promote Korean culture, inviting government and institutional officials during holidays to share traditional food and presenting all employees with rice cakes and snack sets. Since last year, he has annually hosted a Respect Day by inviting 700 Korean-American senior citizens.

He donated $500,000 each to the Korean American Sports Festival and the World Korean Business Convention held this year in Orange County, USA, and provided $500,000 in support to Korean Americans who did not receive assistance from the U.S. government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Speaker of the National Assembly Award was given to Lee Ho-deok (74), chairman of Royal Sumatra (RS) Group in Indonesia.

Chairman Lee migrated to Indonesia in 1981 and established Seoul Medical Clinic in 1997, engaging in hospital management, medical device distribution, healthcare production and distribution, steel and resource development, defense industry, and venture investment.

RS Group employs 1,500 people and recorded sales of 126.1 billion KRW last year. Chairman Lee is actively developing real estate such as golf courses and resorts in Indonesia and Cambodia, and was awarded the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit by the government in 1984.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award went to Jung Sook-cheon (52), CEO of Totl Resources International in Dubai, UAE.

Jung, who worked as a flight attendant for Emirates Airlines in 1999, founded TOTL Resources International in 2010, held the first K-pop showcase in the UAE, and has continuously organized various Korean cultural events at local universities since 2013.

She built the UAE Love Korea community with 1,000 university students and has served as a Korean Wave ambassador in the Middle East. She currently serves as the head of the Sejong Institute in Dubai.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award was given to Yoon Deok-chang (63), chairman of Korea Trade in Singapore, who acquired Korea Trade in 2001 and operates nine Korea Marts, supplying Korean products to local foods.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award was awarded to Cheon Joo-hwan (54), chairman of CTK ASIA RUBBER Group, who built factories producing eco-friendly certified natural rubber in Mindanao and Zamboanga, the natural rubber barren areas of the Philippines, exporting to over 10 countries including the U.S. and Turkey.

The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Award was given to Eom Kwang-cheol (48), CEO of Seonseong Holdings, who established Dalian Seonseong Group in 1999 after a Korean logistics company withdrew from Dalian, China during the 1998 IMF crisis. For 24 years, he has maintained branches in 10 regions in China and six regions including Busan in Korea.

The special merit award (Foundation Chairman Award), selected for the first time this year, was given to Hwang Byung-gu (68), chairman of Chorus Orchid, the first new knowledge farmer in orchid technology.

Chairman Hwang moved to Orlando, Florida, USA in 2001, established a 4,800-pyeong house and a 4-acre orchid farm, and exported Korean orchid pots directly to the U.S. market.

Chairman Kim Deok-ryong stated, “The 8th awardees range in age from their 40s to 70s,” and “The total number of awardees has increased to 43 from 17 countries.”

The 8th Jangbogo Hansang Award ceremony will be held on November 27 at The Ocean Hotel in Yeosu during the ‘Hansang Homeland Entrepreneurs Win-Win Partnership Conference.’ The awardees will also participate in the Jangbogo Choi Kyung-ju Cup golf tournament on November 28 and a ‘Healing Tour’ experiencing marine therapy in Wando from November 29 to 30.

Wando = Honam Reporting Headquarters reporter Choi Kyung-pil just8440@asiae.co.kr

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