[Chungbuk Ilbo] "We will build the future of agriculture together through ceaseless innovation and growth."
Koo Ja-kyun, CEO of Nongkyung Co., Ltd., who has been leading a company specializing in potting soil manufacturing for 34 years, is continuing innovation based on potting soil, the starting point of agriculture.
Potting soil is an artificial soil made by mixing organic and inorganic materials, serving as a growing medium for seedlings.
Nongkyung Co., Ltd. realizes the value of sustainable agriculture through high-quality, eco-friendly raw materials for its potting soil, including coco peat, peat moss, zeolite, weathered granite soil, vermiculite, and perlite.
Starting as Nongkyung Industrial Co., Ltd. in 1991, the company rose to become the number one domestic producer and seller of potting soil in 2015 through growth and the strengthening of its technological capabilities.
Currently holding a 17.4% share of the domestic market, it has the production capacity to cover 167,200 hectares, or one-quarter of the total national rice cultivation area of 697,000 hectares.
Having taken over the business that his father started in an 800-pyeong office about 20 years ago, he began by wearing a production department work uniform.
CEO Koo Ja-kyun said, "I think the early six years that I hated so much have become the flesh, bone, and blood of the changes we see today."
Having served in production, sales, management, and as Vice President before assuming the position of CEO in 2015, he explained, "As the only person in the agricultural industry to have consistently maintained a single company and business for 34 years, I believe my accumulated technology and experience have been infused into this."
His innovative DNA manifested early on. He has been at the forefront of new changes, even operating an early model startup for "social commerce" during his studies abroad in the early 2000s.
CEO Koo's commitment to innovation was realized in the digital smart factory completed in September 2024. As the industry's first smart factory, it began production within six months and entered full operation within a year.
The smart factory, which consolidated factories and facilities previously scattered across a 30,000-pyeong site into a 1,000-pyeong facility, is the result of CEO Koo's direct involvement in the design.
He explained, "I personally contacted every single supplier to set up the processes," adding, "Through the automation of production processes, we have maximized efficiency and quality and established a system capable of responding quickly to customer orders."
Following the actual implementation of the smart factory, employees' working environments improved significantly, and the ability to rapidly produce a variety of products on any line led to an approximately 20% increase in productivity.
Currently, Nongkyung is pursuing smart factory advancement and carbon-neutral dissemination projects, while seeking AX (AI Transformation) manufacturing innovation through the introduction of AI into manufacturing processes.
Building on its domestic success, Nongkyung is actively expanding into overseas markets. The goal is to contribute to global agricultural development by exporting specialized manufacturing technologies developed through its Central Soil Research Institute to developing countries.
CEO Koo stated, "We are preparing measures to disseminate customized manufacturing technologies or the processes Nongkyung can implement to countries that require our soil," adding, "This year, we supported eight projects utilizing KOTRA support programs."
"Six of these are currently in progress," he stated.
The management philosophy of Koo Ja-kyun, CEO of Nongkyung Co., Ltd., is summarized in three words: 'Justice, Fundamentals, and Harmony.'
This stems from the belief that any management activity starting from the fundamentals must be just. The final element is harmony achieved through working together with people.
Reflecting this, Nongkyung's CI is also changing. The new CI, which visualizes the initials NK, is designed to look like two Chinese characters for "person" placed side by side.
CEO Koo stated, "The brown color embodies soil (topsoil), while the green represents the image of seeds and plants. Along with this, it expresses the value of 'respect for people' through the image of people leaning against each other," adding
"I pledged to continuously strive to uphold the best working environment and salaries that I promised my employees about three years ago," [he/she] said.
/ Reporter Seong Ji-yeon