Footage from Chinese TV broadcaster CCTV, Sept. 9, shows the broadcaster's news crew visiting Samyang Foods' Miryang manufacturing plant in South Gyeongsang Province to observe the quality control process and automated operations for Buldak instant noodle products. Courtesy of Samyang Roundsquare

Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jeong-soo accepts the $700 Million Export Tower award from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at COEX, Dec. 5. Courtesy of Samyang Roundsquare

Samyang Foods plans to build its first overseas manufacturing plant for Buldak instant noodle products in China, aiming to directly meet nearly a quarter of the brand's global demand, according to DART, a corporate filings repository platform under the Financial Supervisory Service, Thursday.

To this end, the company will launch its Chinese subsidiary to oversee the plant construction in the city of Jiaxing, with completion slated for January 2027.

Samyang plans to invest over 201 billion won ($139 million) in building the manufacturing plant.

A Samyang Foods official said that the Chinese subsidiary and the manufacturing plant in Jiaxing will initially focus on meeting demand from China and Southeast Asian countries. Another objective is to localize Buldak products and develop new offerings tailored to consumers in these two key markets.

"Once the plant is operational, it will oversee exports to China and the Southeast Asian region," the official said. "However, it remains to be seen in the long term whether the facility will also meet demand from other global markets."

The decision for Samyang Foods' productive overseas expansion came from the company's board of directors meeting on Monday.

Samyang Foods currently runs a Chinese subsidiary dedicated to sales in Shanghai. The company also has similar subsidiaries in Japan, Indonesia, the United States and the Netherlands.

Samyang Foods currently runs manufacturing plants in Wonju, Gangwon Province; Iksan, North Jeolla Province; and Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province. The company is now building additional production lines at the Miryang plant's new second factory. The expansion, scheduled for completion in the first half of next year, will be dedicated to supplying Buldak products to the North American market. Market experts, however, speculate that even with the Miryang expansion, it may not be sufficient to meet the surging global demand for Buldak products.

On Dec. 5, Samyang Foods Vice Chairman Kim Jeong-soo received the $700 Million Export Tower award from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The honor, which was aptly awarded during the commemoration of Korea's Trade Day, is bestowed on a Korean food company with the highest export record from June 2023 to June this year. The export figure was a 74 percent jump from the previous year.

Samyang Foods' sales are mostly led by exports. Until the third quarter of this year, the company logged 963.8 billion won in exports, accounting for 77 percent of its total sales. In 2016, the figure was 93 billion won, accounting for 26 percent of total sales.