Fashion Group Hyungji chairman meets s.Oliver founder to push K-fashion into Europe

German fashion executives, including s.Oliver and Drykorn founders, visited Korea on Friday

Choi Byung-oh: 'Combining Korean and German strengths will create new growth opportunities'

s.Oliver eyes Korean market entry; German delegation to return in October

Fashion Group Hyungji Chairman Choi Byung-oh poses for a photo with Bernd Freier, founder of German fashion brand s.Oliver, during Freier's visit to Korea on Friday. [Fashion Group Hyungji]

Choi Byung-oh, chairman of Fashion Group Hyungji and the Korea Federation of Textile Industries, sat down with senior figures from Germany's fashion industry on Friday.

Fashion Group Hyungji said Monday that Choi met visiting German fashion executives on Friday to discuss strategies for expanding K-fashion into the European market and building substantive cooperation between the Korean and German fashion industries. Among those present were Bernd Freier, founder of German fashion company s.Oliver, and Marco Götz, founder and chief executive of Drykorn.

Choi stressed that Korean fashion companies must deepen their engagement with European counterparts and move beyond simple brand introductions to build concrete cooperation models spanning brand development, retail, design and content.

"Now is a critical moment for K-fashion to make a full-scale push into the European market," Choi said. "I intend to develop this meeting with German fashion executives into genuine cooperation between the two countries' fashion industries, not a one-off exchange." He added that combining the competitiveness of Korean fashion with the global experience of German fashion companies could open new avenues for growth.

Those present agreed that Korean fashion stands at a growth opportunity in Europe, riding momentum that extends beyond K-pop and Korean content. Participants shared the view that pairing Korean fashion's speed-to-market and design strengths — along with the global influence of Korean culture — with the international networks of European fashion companies could lay the groundwork for a new phase of expansion.

Freier expressed interest in the Korean market and raised the possibility of a future entry. Like Choi, Freier built a small clothing business into a major fashion company. Fashion Group Hyungji said the meeting between the two founders "carries symbolic weight for Korea-Germany fashion industry cooperation."

The German fashion executives are scheduled to return to Korea in October, when the discussions held Friday are expected to develop into more specific cooperation plans.

A Fashion Group Hyungji official said the company plans to continue expanding exchanges with major European fashion companies, including those in Germany, and to identify concrete opportunities to advance K-fashion's entry into the European market.

Fashion Group Hyungji Chairman Choi Byung-oh poses for a photo with senior German fashion industry figures, including Drykorn Chief Executive Marco Götz (far left) and s.Oliver founder Bernd Freier (third from left), during their visit to Korea on Friday. [Fashion Group Hyungji]

soho0902@heraldcorp.com