Kim Jung-soo, CEO of Samyang Foods, whose K-ramyun products have conquered global markets, has topped the female CEO category of the K-Brand Index, a big data ranking compiled by the Asia Brand Research Institute.
The survey, covering July 1 through July 31, saw Kim unseat Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin, who had held the top spot for a considerable stretch.
Samyang Foods traces its roots to a ramyun factory in Wonju, founded in leaner times to feed a hungry public through low-margin, high-volume supply. The company rose to become the country's most respected food brand before suffering serious damage from what was ultimately ruled a wrongful prosecution — charges that ended in a final acquittal. Through it all, the company pressed on with research and development, eventually claiming dominance in global markets. Rival brands picked up market share during the turbulent period.
More recently, Samyang Foods has leveraged its commanding overseas presence to reassert itself in the domestic ramyun market, recapturing some of the glory it once held as the country's first ramyun company.
The full top 10 in the K-Brand Index female CEO category: Kim Jung-soo of Samyang Foods (No. 1), Lee Boo-jin of Hotel Shilla (No. 2), Chung Yoo-kyung of Shinsegae (No. 3), Choi Soo-yeon of Naver (No. 4), Lee Soo-yeon of Xexymix (No. 5), Kim Seul-ah of Kurly (No. 6), Chung Shin-ah of Kakao (No. 7), Yoo Myung-soon of Citibank Korea (No. 8), Kim Ji-won of Hansaemk (No. 9) and Kim Sun-hee of Maeil Dairies (No. 10).
The K-Brand Index is a big data system developed by the Asia Brand Research Institute in collaboration with domestic and international researchers. Unlike conventional big data analysis systems, it subjects every stage of the process — from candidate sampling to index selection — to verification by a panel of field-specific advisers.
For the female CEO category, the institute analyzed 520,068 online big data entries from July 1 through July 31, drawing from the top 30 female CEOs by portal search volume.
Han Jeong-geun, head of the Asia Brand Research Institute, said Kim reclaimed the top spot on the strength of overseas business expansion and improved earnings, while Shinsegae's Chung Yoo-kyung surged to third place with a standout trend-response strategy, broadening her footprint in the retail sector. "The advances by these two female executives confirm a trend in which a company's growth and its leader's public recognition combine to create new brand value," Han said.
The female CEO rankings reflect online index figures only and do not incorporate offline data. Detailed index information and further analysis are available on the institute's official website and Instagram.
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