Cheong Kwan Jang, the Korean red ginseng brand name owned by Korea Ginseng Corp., saw its exports to overseas markets surpass $100 million this year.

The market leader in Korea said Wednesday that its exports reached $115 million as of October and were expected to exceed $128 million by the end of this year.

The highest-ever figure is a 75 percent jump from $73 million last year, the company said.

Cheong Kwan Jang has set up overseas operations in China, Taiwan, Japan and the United States and is currently running more than 100 brand stores in 45 countries.

Of Korea’s total red ginseng exports totaling about $150 million, the company’s overseas sales make up more than 70 percent.

The company also established a new brand store in Manhattan, New York, on Dec. 2, to target local customers directly.

“We used to open a store in areas where there are many overseas Koreans or Chinese-Americans. Considering the market potential there, we have decided to target the downtown area in New York,” said Lee Taek-keun, manager at the company.

The recently approved free trade pact between Korea and the U.S. was also an important factor to opening the new location, he added.

According to the company, its sales in the U.S. increased almost 27 times from $230,000 in 2002 to $6.24 million this year.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)