Jeju Samdasoo bets on online sales and exports to reclaim market dominance

About 40 minutes by car from Jeju International Airport, past a landscape dotted with volcanic cinder cones, a vast production site comes into view. This is the home of Jeju Samdasoo, the bottled water brand that has held an overwhelming lead in South Korea's drinking water market since its launch in February 1998.

The factory sits in Gyorae-ri, Jocheon-eup, one of the rainiest areas on the island, with average annual precipitation reaching 3,000 millimeters. Some 43.5 percent of the rainwater that falls here seeps through layered geological strata formed by Hallasan's volcanic activity. Filtered through the mountain's natural volcanic scoria, the water eventually becomes volcanic bedrock water.

Jeju Free International City Development Center draws the water from a depth of 420 meters underground and bottles it as Samdasoo. The journey from rainfall on Hallasan to finished product takes 31 years. Beyond simple filtration, UV sterilization and packaging, no additives or processing steps are involved.

On Wednesday, the factory was in the thick of construction on its new L6 smart factory line. The L6 line, which carries a total investment of 152.9 billion won ($113 million), is scheduled to begin full operation in July next year. The existing factory currently runs on an unmanned automated system, producing 21 bottles per second, 1,270 per minute and 76,000 per hour. Once the L6 line comes online, annual output will increase roughly 1.5-fold to 1.5 million tons. The development center plans to restructure its production portfolio after the launch, scaling back output from aging equipment.

The changes ahead for Samdasoo go beyond the factory floor. Competition has intensified as rivals have seized on a mandatory label-free requirement introduced for the domestic bottled water market. Kim Do-young, the development center's newly appointed president, said in an interview at his office that day that his mission during his tenure is to restore the brand's market dominance. "We intend to show sales performance befitting South Korea's leading water company in the online and overseas export markets," he said.

Kim, born in 1970, is a Jeju native with a career built entirely in the private sector. He rose through roles in sales, retail, new business development and management at LG Uplus and later GS Engineering & Construction, where he reached the rank of senior managing director. When he took office in September, he declared his vision a "second founding" of the company, with market share expansion through stronger online retail, accelerated overseas expansion and broader business-to-business sales at the core of his agenda.

"My top priority is strengthening competitiveness in distribution," Kim said, adding that the company would build its online presence through its own platform, Jeju Samdasoo Mall. He also said the company plans to deepen its relationship with its retail partner, Kwangdong Pharmaceutical. "Both companies, including myself, plan to communicate frequently at a high level," he said. "We will leverage private-sector expertise, innovation and speed while working in step with the development center."

In overseas markets, the company plans to emphasize the purity and premium image of Jeju's volcanic bedrock water. "We want to develop export-only products that put 'Jeju' more front and center than 'Samdasoo,' and respond aggressively to export markets," Kim said.

The company intends to focus on six key markets among the 16 countries where Samdasoo is currently exported, including China, the United States and the UAE. In China, the brand entered the market in May through a partnership with the local online platform JD.com. Kim said the company has set an ambitious target of expanding annual export volume from roughly 10,000 tons to 100,000 tons within three years. "If we leverage the 'K-premium' that Jeju and Korea carry, there will be a meaningful appeal to consumers," he said.

Kim drew a clear line against matching rivals on price or mimicking their product strategies. "As the No. 1 player in the industry, we have absolutely no intention of entering a price war," he said. "The market leader must keep thinking about new things and driving innovation — that is the role of the No. 1 player." He added that the company would also carefully consider entering new beverage categories such as sparkling water and mixed drinks.

The strategic shift appears to reflect a slide in sales over recent years. Samdasoo's market share fell from 40.3 percent in 2023 to 38.3 percent in 2024 and has yet to recover to the 40 percent mark. Last year, annual sales dropped to 296 billion won, falling below the 300 billion won threshold. Concerns deepened further when a mandatory label-free requirement took effect for domestically produced bottled water in January this year.

Kim spoke candidly about the challenges posed by the label-free policy. Under current rules, imported bottled water is exempt and may still carry labels, giving foreign brands a visibility advantage on store shelves. "Because imports are exceptionally allowed to keep their labels, they have an edge in consumer recognition," he said. "The label-free policy is a national initiative driven by environmental goals, so we cannot go against it. However, we would like to see the same standards applied to products competing in the same market." He added that the company plans to actively convey its position to relevant government ministries and step up its lobbying efforts to help create a level playing field.

Kim also outlined plans to improve talent development within the organization. "I want to build a company where employees are happy to come to work and feel they are growing," he said. He added that his personal goal is to be remembered by staff as a president who worked genuinely hard, and to be recognized as someone who helped establish the company as a leader in the water industry — one that contributes to the development of the national water sector through exports and beyond.