Best Practices of Digital Transformation Strategy of the Republic of Korea (on the Example of the Food Industry)

Thesis: “Best Practices of Digital Transformation Strategy of the Republic of Korea (on the Example of the Food Industry)” Keywords: Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0, South Korea, Food Industry, Korean companies. This study deeply explores the process of digital transformation in the Republic of Korea's food industry, identifying and analyzing the key benefits, challenges, and opportunities that arise during this process. The aim of the research is to analyze the strategic implementation of digital transformation within the Republic of Korea's food industry, evaluate the identified key benefits, challenges, and opportunities, and propose specific strategies and recommendations for the sustainable development of the food industry. This will help to understand how technological advancements affect the food industry, especially how cultural and contextual factors influence the digitization process, and what potential obstacles arise during the implementation of digital transformation. The Republic of Korea is leading the integration of digital technologies in the food industry. For example, companies like "Orion" are using IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, and artificial intelligence (AI) to increase production efficiency and improve consumer experience by adopting innovative methods. These technological advancements enhance the overall competitiveness of the food industry and enable the creation of new business models and marketing strategies. This study includes a review of various literature sources, such as the works of Kho et al. (2020) and Sen et al. (2017), to analyze technological advancements and their applications. It also explores cultural and contextual influences through the work of Yongseok (2020) and Wiktorsson et al. (2018), and identifies the challenges of the digitization process based on the studies of Hasan et al. (2022) and Yang et al. (2022a). There are several issues with existing research. For example, there is a lack of comprehensive studies covering all aspects of digitalization in the Republic of Korea's food industry. Moreover, even if such studies exist, they focus on the entire Korean industry as a whole, not specifically on the food sector. Therefore, this paper is focused on addressing these issues. The study uses qualitative and comparative analysis methods, performing content analysis through various sources such as academic journals, corporate annual reports, government documents, and media articles. Special attention is given to the case study of the "Orion" company for a concrete analysis of the success factors and obstacles of digital transformation. The conclusions of this study show that the digital transformation process in the Republic of Korea's food industry has a positive impact on productivity increase, supply chain optimization, and consumer satisfaction improvement. In particular, the application of advanced technologies, such as Big Data, AI, and IoT, plays a crucial role in process automation and quality control, enhancing food safety and enabling personalized food offerings. It was also found that active government support and collaboration with research centers are important factors accelerating the success of digital transformation. However, digital divide and technological challenges remain issues that need to be addressed. Based on the experience of digital transformation in the Republic of Korea's food industry, this study provides practical recommendations for other countries in developing their industry digitalization strategies. Thus, it will serve as an important reference material for understanding the impact and potential of digitalization in the food industry and provide practical guidelines for relevant stakeholders.