Comedian Jang Dong-min's invention moves closer to market commercialization

South Korean comedian and businessperson Jang Dong-min said Monday his start-up firm inked a memorandum of understanding with local pharmaceutical and packaging companies who have agreed to use Jang's patented easy-bottle label removal.

The label removal technique, developed by Jang's Blue Sky, involves a label that automatically loosens when the bottle is opened by being attached to the bottle cap. This allows consumers to easily remove the label when recycling.

The memorandum was signed between Blue Sky, Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical and Samyang Packaging. Jang's company will provide the patented system, Kwang Dong will be in charge of the business model using it, while Samyang will review the productivity and develop a product based on it.

Jang said his system, developed in 2021 and patented the following year, will mitigate environmental problems by allowing easy recycling of the bottles and labels. The label removal system was commended at the 2023 Eco+ Startup Challenge held by the Ministry of Environment.