A total of 93 products manufactured by 106 Korean companies have been listed as “World-Class Korean Products of the Year.”
On Dec. 28, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy unveiled a list of 93 of the best items that stood out in 2016 on the global scene. The items range from flu vaccines and brands of chickens through to color-plated steel sheet metal. The ministry also officially designated the 106 manufacturers as “Makers of World-Class Products.”
These World-Class Korean Products come in two categories: Today’s World-Class Products and Next-Generation World-Class Products. Today’s World-Class Products cover ones whose international market share reaches more than 5 percent, ranking in the top five places globally, and which record an annual revenue of more than USD 5 million, equivalent to about KRW 6 billion. Next-Generation World-Class Products, meanwhile, include ones that have great potential to grab one of the top five spots in global markets in less than seven years.
A total of 29 items produced by 37 companies joined the ranks of Today’s World-Class Products, including Samsung Electronics’ “Digital Signage,” a device that displays digital images. There were also reactive dyes, color-plated steel sheet metal used as building materials and camera modules for mobile devices. A total of 64 products from 69 companies were on the list of Next-Generation World-Class Products. In this category, there are flu vaccines developed in 2009 by Green Cross, auto-focus portable microscopes and chicken franchises.
The selected items mainly cover franchises, health and medical services, agricultural and marine industries, textiles and daily staples. Electronics and semiconductors topped all other industries, with 21 items included on the list, followed by the health industry, with 20 entries, and then the textile industry and the daily staples industry, with nine items each.
Smaller companies stand out on this year's list. Among the 106 “Makers of World-Class Products” for 2016, there are 78 small companies which account for 73.6 percent of the list, much more than conglomerates (13.2 percent) or mid-sized firms (13.2 percent).
The JoongAng Ilbo, a newspaper, too, pointed this out in a recent article on Dec. 29, titled, “Items made by smaller-sized companies account for 53 percent of the total of 739 ‘World-Class Korean Products of the Year.’” The newspaper said that, “There’s been a constant rise in the number of small companies that boast great competitiveness on the global scene.” Companies like Daechun Industrial, a Gimhae-based firm that manufactures multi-core tubes, despite being small has distinguished itself in global markets, showcasing its first-class products, the newspaper said. “The number of such small companies that have tapped into global markets successfully is at an all-time high this year,” it said.
The article continued. “Among the 739 ‘World-Class Korean Products,’ 391 are manufactured by small companies, which have taken an increasing share of the total number of entries on the list over the past few years, to this year's 52.9 percent. This means that smaller companies are producing higher-quality goods than medium- or large-sized companies.”
The article then quoted Lee Chang-hyeon from the SME Support Team at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), who said, “A great portion of this year’s ‘Next-Generation World-Class Products’ was made by small companies. Even though conglomerates have yet to show any sign of faltering, we will still have hope for these small companies that make up for the other losses across world markets.” He then stressed that, “This phenomenon will force the unequal distribution of exports that is currently in favor of conglomerates, to be realigned in the future for sure.”
The World-Class Korean Products of the Year campaign is a joint project launched in 2001 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA, with the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of Korean exports, as well as diversifying the range of items exported and helping small- and medium-sized firms to further make inroads in markets overseas.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: JoongAng Ilbo
jiae5853@korea.kr
On Dec. 28, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy unveiled a list of 93 of the best items that stood out in 2016 on the global scene. The items range from flu vaccines and brands of chickens through to color-plated steel sheet metal. The ministry also officially designated the 106 manufacturers as “Makers of World-Class Products.”
These World-Class Korean Products come in two categories: Today’s World-Class Products and Next-Generation World-Class Products. Today’s World-Class Products cover ones whose international market share reaches more than 5 percent, ranking in the top five places globally, and which record an annual revenue of more than USD 5 million, equivalent to about KRW 6 billion. Next-Generation World-Class Products, meanwhile, include ones that have great potential to grab one of the top five spots in global markets in less than seven years.
A total of 29 items produced by 37 companies joined the ranks of Today’s World-Class Products, including Samsung Electronics’ “Digital Signage,” a device that displays digital images. There were also reactive dyes, color-plated steel sheet metal used as building materials and camera modules for mobile devices. A total of 64 products from 69 companies were on the list of Next-Generation World-Class Products. In this category, there are flu vaccines developed in 2009 by Green Cross, auto-focus portable microscopes and chicken franchises.
The selected items mainly cover franchises, health and medical services, agricultural and marine industries, textiles and daily staples. Electronics and semiconductors topped all other industries, with 21 items included on the list, followed by the health industry, with 20 entries, and then the textile industry and the daily staples industry, with nine items each.
The JoongAng Ilbo publishes an article on Dec. 29 with the title 'Items made by smaller-sized companies account for 53 percent of the total of 739 ‘World-Class Korean Products.’' The article says that smaller companies have more ‘World-Class Korean Products’ this year than conglomerates or medium-sized companies.
Smaller companies stand out on this year's list. Among the 106 “Makers of World-Class Products” for 2016, there are 78 small companies which account for 73.6 percent of the list, much more than conglomerates (13.2 percent) or mid-sized firms (13.2 percent).
The JoongAng Ilbo, a newspaper, too, pointed this out in a recent article on Dec. 29, titled, “Items made by smaller-sized companies account for 53 percent of the total of 739 ‘World-Class Korean Products of the Year.’” The newspaper said that, “There’s been a constant rise in the number of small companies that boast great competitiveness on the global scene.” Companies like Daechun Industrial, a Gimhae-based firm that manufactures multi-core tubes, despite being small has distinguished itself in global markets, showcasing its first-class products, the newspaper said. “The number of such small companies that have tapped into global markets successfully is at an all-time high this year,” it said.
The article continued. “Among the 739 ‘World-Class Korean Products,’ 391 are manufactured by small companies, which have taken an increasing share of the total number of entries on the list over the past few years, to this year's 52.9 percent. This means that smaller companies are producing higher-quality goods than medium- or large-sized companies.”
The article then quoted Lee Chang-hyeon from the SME Support Team at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), who said, “A great portion of this year’s ‘Next-Generation World-Class Products’ was made by small companies. Even though conglomerates have yet to show any sign of faltering, we will still have hope for these small companies that make up for the other losses across world markets.” He then stressed that, “This phenomenon will force the unequal distribution of exports that is currently in favor of conglomerates, to be realigned in the future for sure.”
The World-Class Korean Products of the Year campaign is a joint project launched in 2001 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA, with the goal of enhancing the competitiveness of Korean exports, as well as diversifying the range of items exported and helping small- and medium-sized firms to further make inroads in markets overseas.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: JoongAng Ilbo
jiae5853@korea.kr
