Recognition for corporate innovation, talent development and job creation
![Hyungji Elite CEO Choi Jun-ho (right) poses with former Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Seok-woo at the 14th Korea Global Leader 2026 awards ceremony held Tuesday. [Hyungji Elite]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/10/news-p.v1.20260610.9e5b9c37c576438f93698483ba8d26e9_P1.png)
Hyungji Elite announced Wednesday that CEO Choi Jun-ho was named a Global Leader and received the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy minister's award at the 14th Korea Global Leader 2026 ceremony.
Choi was appointed president of Hyungji Elite in 2021 and rose to CEO in 2024. Under his leadership, the company expanded beyond its core domestic school uniform business into sports merchandise, workwear and overseas markets. It established a foothold in China's premium school uniform market through a joint venture, Shanghai Elite, and this year became the first Korean school uniform maker to supply uniforms to Kyoto International Junior and Senior High School in Japan.
Hyungji Elite's sales nearly doubled over the past three years, rising from around 90 billion won (about $59.3 million) to more than 160 billion won. In its 24th fiscal year (July 2024–June 2025), consolidated sales reached 166.7 billion won, up 26 percent from the previous fiscal year.
The company has also expanded hiring. It has maintained a new-graduate recruitment ratio of roughly 30 percent over the past two years as part of a push to boost youth employment. Hyungji Elite has also built a talent pipeline through academic-industry programs and internships with domestic and overseas institutions, including Ghent University and the State University of New York, with participants channeled into full-time roles.
"We will continue to lead the way in industrial innovation, talent development and job creation, and do our utmost to raise the global standing of South Korea's fashion industry," Choi said.
andy@heraldcorp.com
