Establishment of a New Fisheries Corporate Entity ‘Orion Suhyup’
Investing a Total of 60 Billion Won with a 50:50 Share Ratio
The labor union president (left in the image) is seen posing for a commemorative photo with Vice Chairman Heo In-cheol of Orion Group after signing a business agreement in July to establish a joint venture aimed at industrial advancement and securing a stable consumer base for seafood. / Provided by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.
Orion announced on the 18th that it will establish a seafood processing joint venture with the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC) in October.
According to Orion, both parties signed a joint investment contract for establishing a seafood processing joint venture at the NFFC headquarters on the same day. Orion and NFFC plan to each invest 50% of the total capital of 60 billion won to establish the fisheries corporate entity ‘Orion Suhyup’.
Furthermore, the two companies plan to globalize seafood by combining their seafood supply capabilities with global manufacturing and distribution expertise. NFFC will supply high-quality seafood raw materials, such as dried seaweed, to the newly established Orion Suhyup. Using these materials, Orion Suhyup will produce finished products to supply to Orion, which will then leverage its global food processing capabilities, marketing, and distribution strengths to brand and sell the products both domestically and internationally.
The first project undertaken by the two companies will be the production of seaweed products utilizing dried seaweed. They also plan to expand their business domain by developing products that match consumer trends, such as seafood snacks. To this end, they aim to commence the construction of seasoned seaweed plants both domestically and abroad within the year.
South Korea’s seaweed industry occupies more than 70% of the global seaweed market. In 2024, around 150 million packs of seaweed were produced annually, with exports reaching an all-time high of about 1 billion USD (approximately 1.4 trillion KRW). Although it is considered one of the most competitive export products in the Korean food industry, industry evaluations highlight the urgent need for added value and global industrialization for the systematic future growth of Korea’s seafood industry.
Meanwhile, the contract signing ceremony on the same day was attended by Vice Chairman Heo In-cheol of Orion Group and National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives President No Dong-jin, among other officials from both parties. Vice Chairman Heo stated, “We will actively expand our seafood’s overseas market and establish a global reputation,” and “This joint venture with the NFFC will become another future growth engine for Orion.”
President No also remarked, “We will strengthen strategic collaboration with Orion, a global food company, to ensure that this becomes a starting point for advancing the high-value-added seafood industry, including seaweed, beyond raw material distribution to processing, branding, and exports.”