Food & Health · Core · The brand

HiteJinro: how its people are moving

An alcoholic beverage company making beer and soju.

PEOPLE · PENSION REGISTER

We are collecting the pension register for this company. Its team size and one-year change show at the next update.

ROLES IT WILL LOOK FOR

Brand manager →This role decides to whom and with what story a brand is sold, and pulls product, marketing and distribution in one direction. It exists in fashion, food and health functional foods alike.
Food quality and production →This role keeps the same taste and safety in the plant every day. It covers production management, quality assurance (QA), and hygiene and certification (such as HACCP).

Banseog note

HiteJinro — Reducing and combining plants to set up its next move ↓

Outside Korea

United States

Subsidiary Its US subsidiary Jinro America Inc., set up in September 1986, sells its alcoholic drinks from Cerritos, California. Source (2025-12)

Japan

Subsidiary Its Japanese subsidiary JINRO Inc. (founded 1988 as Jinro Japan) is based in Roppongi, Tokyo, and imports and sells its drinks in Japan. Source (2026-10)

Only presence confirmed on a public page is listed, with its source and month; a market that is not listed may still be served.

Banseog note · Oct 25, 2026

HiteJinro — Reducing and combining plants to set up its next move

Where it stands now

Reorganization — changing its structure through plant consolidation and overseas production as domestic beer shrinks

Consolidated revenue in the first half of 2026 was KRW 1.2094 trillion, down 3.9% from a year earlier, and operating profit was KRW 120.8 billion, down 5.0%.

Beer segment revenue in the first half was about KRW 336.4 billion, down 11.9%; in Q2 alone it was KRW 176.3 billion, down 15.3%.

The soju segment held Q2 revenue at KRW 382.7 billion (+0.1%), and operating profit rose 18.4% to KRW 58.2 billion.

Three decisions within a year

Consolidation of the Iksan plant: it halted the soju plant in Iksan, North Jeolla, built in 1957, from October 16 and moved production to the Jeonju plant. Staff are moving to the Jeonju plant with their jobs kept, and Jeonju becomes the company's first plant to make both soju and beer.
First overseas production base in Vietnam: the Thai Binh Province plant is scheduled to go through trial runs in November and enter full mass production within Q1 2027, supplying several Southeast Asian countries.
Domestic production of Kirin beer: under a technical tie-up signed in July 2026, it produces 'Kirin Ichiban Shibori' cans at the Jeonju plant and began shipping in October. Next year it plans to supply 75% of domestic Kirin sales volume from domestic production.

Three people it will look for

Production and plant consolidation managers — designing operations to run soju and beer together in one plant after the Iksan–Jeonju consolidation
Overseas plant start-up and quality heads — managing the transition from trial runs to mass production at the Vietnam plant
Licensed production and technical cooperation — meeting quality standards to raise the share of Kirin products made in Korea

For HR

Large alcoholic beverage and drinks companies are also pursuing plant efficiency and overseas production, so there will be competition for people with plant consolidation and overseas start-up experience. Now, before mass production in Vietnam, is the time to secure a local operations leader.

For job seekers

Production and quality experience directly handling a plant consolidation or the move from trial runs to mass production at an overseas plant is worth the most at this company right now.

A reading written from public sources. Sources: Korea Financial Newspaper 2026-09-21 (H1 results, segment results and Vietnam plant schedule), Newspim 2026-09-09 (Iksan plant shutdown and Jeonju consolidation), Newsian 2026-10-12 (domestic production of Kirin beer). Team size is from Korea's pension register.

HiteJinro: frequently asked questions

What does HiteJinro do?

An alcoholic beverage company making beer and soju.

Where does HiteJinro stand now?

Reorganization — changing its structure through plant consolidation and overseas production as domestic beer shrinks. Large alcoholic beverage and drinks companies are also pursuing plant efficiency and overseas production, so there will be competition for people with plant consolidation and overseas start-up experience. Now, before mass production in Vietnam, is the time to secure a local operations leader.

Which roles will HiteJinro look for?

Roles such as Brand manager, Food quality and production. The role guides explain the work, the experience that leads there and what hiring teams check.

How can we hire people like HiteJinro's in Korea?

Banseog Search is a Korean executive search firm. Tell us the role and we look for the people in Korea who have done the same work.

For HR teamsKey people for companies like HiteJinro, found firstTalk to our search team →For strategy & business developmentRead Korea's consumer companies with usTalk to Banseog →

Outside Korea

HiteJinro — Reducing and combining plants to set up its next move

HiteJinro: frequently asked questions

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