Kihak Sung to head Zurich-based textile body

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) unanimously elected Kihak Sung, chairman of South Korea-headquartered Youngone Corporation, as the new president of the Federation for 2018-20.

A statement issued by the Youngone Corporation yesterday said its chairman assumed the presidency of the Federation at a gala event held on September 7-9 in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 300 textile luminaries attended the conference.

Sung was one of the two vice presidents of the previous committee.

The ITMF is one of the oldest non-governmental organisations founded in 1904 with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

Sung's meteoric rise in the textile arena is associated with the success of Youngone Corporation as a pioneering investor in RMG and textile sector.

Youngone was the first foreign investor in the textile and apparel sector in Bangladesh. Almost all other subsequent investors from Korea followed in Youngone's footstep to invest in Bangladesh. Its production of world famous brands has greatly enhanced the image of Bangladesh in the garment and textile sector, according to the statement.

Because of his invaluable contribution to the development of apparel and textile industry and the national economy of Korea, Sung was conferred upon the highest class of the “Order of Industrial Merit Gold Tower” by the President of Korea in 2008. This was followed later by his election to the top post as chairman of the Korean Federation of Textile Industries, a post which he still holds.