Chairman Shin Dong-won of Nongshim. (Photos: Nongshim)

Nongshim Vice Chairman Shin Dong-won took office as chairman on July 1, about three months after the death of the late chairman and founder Shin Chun-ho in March.

Nongshim held a board of directors’ meeting and unanimously elected Vice Chairman Shin to be chairman of the company.

Under the stewardship of new Chairman Shin, Nongshim plans to pursue “a new Nongshim” through changes and innovation. The company plans to change its corporate catchphrase to “Lovely Life Lovely Food, Nongshim.”

The change is part of the company’s plan to retain its trusted quality and taste, its philosophy toward food safety. It’s also part of Nongshim’s move to be part of customers’ lives, in moments such as joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure.

As part of these efforts, Nongshim has already announced a plan to produce 50 percent of the bottled water “Baeksansoo” unlabelled.

The company has decided to change packing materials of ramyun and snacks to paper or recyclable PET plastic.

Nongshim has begun to produce bottled water “Baeksansoo” unlabelled as part of efforts to ramp up ESG management.

Nonshim plans to inaugurate an organ specializing in ramping up ESG management with a focus on executing and managing it.

Chairman Shin stressed that creating a horizontal corporate environment and digital-based work innovation should be done in the context of maximizing customers’ values.

He said Nongshim will devote itself to strengthening management in compliance of customers and staffers’ expectations.

Shin also emphasized the elevating of ramyun’s values to provide greater satisfaction and pleasure to customers. He called for changes of ramyun to create a new culinary culture.

Nongshim is expected to develop new ramyun products tailored to meet changing demographics, such as one-person households and a growing elderly population, as well as meeting the tastes of Millennials and Generation Z.

Nongshim should not rest on its laurels of becoming the global No. 5 ramyun company, Chairman Shin said.

He urged his executives and staffers to revamp production and marketing systems into global top-tier ones.

Nongshim is expected to dedicate a second ramyun plant in the United Sates by year-end. The upcoming plant will have a plastic bag ramyun line and two container ramyun lines.

The high-speed production plant will be capable of producing 350 million ramyun pieces annually. If the first plant is counted, Nongshim’s ramyun production in the United States will rise to 850 million pieces.

Nongshim has seen overseas ramyun sales surge 14 percent in the first half of this year compared to the previous quarter. The company logged the best-ever overseas ramyun sales last year.

Nongshim plans to expand exports using the existing production plants in Korea. The company has already upgraded plants in Gumi and Anseong to boost production.

Nongshim plans to upgrade a plant in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do. The company strives to shore up its global standing by raising the portion of overseas sales, standing at 30 percent.

Chairman Shin said, “Nongshim was a start-up back in 1965.” He called for his executives and staffers to become “young blood” to run the business like a startup.