Now it’s time to take a close look at a small but competitive business making a difference for the Korean economy. This week’s spotlight is on Sun Safes Manufacturing, Korea’s No. 1 maker of fireproof safes.

Ranking fifth in the world, small but solid Sun Safes Manufacturing has focused on only one area since its establishment in 1972. Here’s its executive director Kim Tae-eun김태은 to explain more about the company.

Sun Safes Manufacturing is a safe company established in 1972 by the late founder Kim Yong-ho김용호. He was a war orphan and had joined a safe company in the 1960s to make a living. Back then, Korea imported used safes from abroad and fixed them before re-selling them. The Sun Safes founder realized then that he should produce safes locally with local technology. So he went over to the U.S. and Germany to work as a safe maker and to learn their advanced safe-making know-how. When he returned to Korea, he built a small factory, the predecessor to today’s Sun Safes Manufacturing.

The late Kim Yong-ho started the safe-making business with an ambition to turn Korea into a safe exporter. He continuously adopted new technologies and improved product quality to raise the reputation of Korean-made safes in the global market.

Sun Safes Manufacturing was the first safe company in Korea to disclose its fireproof tests to the public in order to demonstrate the products’ excellent quality. Sun Safes was also the first company in Korea to install electronic locks commonly seen in most safes these days. The company’s relentless technical development has led to the acquisition of the UL certification from the U.S. and the SP certificates from Europe. In most cases, Sun Safes was the first one in Korea or in Asia to gain such certification from world-renowned institutions. Now the company exports safes to roughly 80 countries around the globe.



Sun Safes Manufacturing is better known as Eagle Safes in the global market. The company’s global presence and excellent reputation can be attributed to its technology. Eagle Safes is the only fire-proof safe brand to have earned the UL certifications from the U.S. by satisfying both its fire-proof and shock-proof standards. The company has also won the remaining two of the three most prominent industry certificates – one from Sweden and the other from Russia. Having started exporting in 1976, Sun Safes Manufacturing now exports its products to some 100 customers in 80 countries. The real value of Eagle Safes was proven beyond doubt in two devastating fires in 2004 and 2005.

The two biggest fires had been the one that engulfed a large warehouse in Paju in 2004 and the Naksansa Temple fire in 2005. Both fires had lasted for more than 3 hours. In the supermarket warehouse fire, insurance papers and tens of thousands of wons in cash kept inside our safe were recovered intact. The warehouse owner visited our company personally to say how grateful he was. The 2005 fire that destroyed Naksansa Temple was a national disaster. The fire was so destructive that it had melted temple bells beyond recognition, but the documents and rare items were fully protected inside our safe. The preservation of important documents inside our safe even made news and was reported nationwide.

The quality of a safe is determined by how long it can protect the contents from fire and other external shocks. To that end, Sun Safes Manufacturing worked to find the optimal proportion of cement, concrete, and dozens of other fireproof materials to attain the best fire-resistant and anti-burglary properties. The company has also strived to develop new materials that prevent heat from penetrating inside the safes even in big fires. Not only that, Sun Safes Manufacturing is working to become the world’s first safe company to make designer safes.

Our Lucell lineup features a wide range of designs. The company has made huge investments in R&D and facilities to come up with hole-less safes. Conventional safes have locks and keyholes on the safe doors, but our Lucell safes have removed all these holes and locks to boost their fire resistance. They’re also theft-proof, since the safes don’t have any points of entry that safecrackers can attack. Also, the hinges are hidden to streamline the design and eliminate the possibility of taking out the hinges to break into the safes. In addition to such improved functionalities, Lucell safes have facades made of reinforced glass or featuring various designs, such as masterpieces by Van Gogh or Gustav Klimt, mother-of-pearl inlays, or Swarovski crystals.

When the founder Kim Yong-ho died in a car accident in 2004, his wife Kim Young-sook took over the company’s reign and released the world’s first designer safe Lucell in 2008. Instead of steel exteriors, bulky handles and number pads generally found in ordinary safes, Lucell safes are decorated with famous paintings and have the touch-screen key pads for locking mechanisms. At a glance these safes resemble small refrigerators, but they don’t just look beautiful. They also have anti-burglary features enhanced by removing holes or possible break-in points from the safe door. Having attained both design and security, Eagle Safes from Sun Safes Manufacturing are being sold in some 30 different department stores and multiple home shopping channels. In spite of all its achievements, Sun Safes Manufacturing still strives to develop safes that are more convenient to use as well as pleasant to see.