Coway
Overview, company details, product information, news, events, rankings and Rep listings for Coway.
Coway Current Status and History
Coway Co., Ltd. is a South Korean home-appliance and wellness company founded in 1989. The company began with water purifiers and door-to-door sales, later expanding into air purifiers and introducing its rental-and-service system in 1998. That model became central to Coway's business: customers rent products under multi-year agreements while company service personnel periodically maintain the equipment and replace filters. Coway entered the United States in 2007. Today its product lines include water and air purifiers, bidets, water softeners, mattresses, massage products and other home-wellness appliances.
Coway uses sales agents, authorized dealers and, in markets such as Malaysia, independent contractors called Health Planners (HPs) and CODY service representatives.
The U.S. business increasingly combines direct sales and rental representatives with conventional online and retail distribution through outlets including Amazon and Walmart.
In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor sued Coway USA, alleging that more than 180 employees who serviced Coway products were denied overtime wages and that the company falsified or failed to record hours worked. The department estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime were involved and sought an equal amount in liquidated damages. Court records show the case remained in active litigation into 2026.
Company timeline
- 1989 Yoon Suk-geum founds Woongjin Coway within the Woongjin Group as a South Korean water-purifier maker built on door-to-door selling.
- 1998 Coway introduces monthly rentals for water purifiers that bundle installation, filter changes, and in-home service, and builds its Cody field network to deliver them.
- 2007 Coway USA is created in Los Angeles as the company's U.S. sales, rental, and service subsidiary.
- 2013 Private equity firm MBK Partners acquires Coway from Woongjin Group.
- 2019 MBK Partners exits and sells Coway back to Woongjin Group.
- 2020 Netmarble completes its purchase of a controlling stake in Coway from Woongjin Group.
- 2024 The U.S. Department of Labor sues Coway USA in federal court in California, alleging that more than 180 service workers were denied overtime pay and that their hours were falsified or under-recorded.
Executive Team
Junhyuk Bang, Chairman
Jangwon Seo, Chief Executive Officer
Soontae Kim, Chief Financial Officer
Coway News
Coway Q3 Revenue Rises 14% to 1.43 Trillion Won as Overseas Growth Hits Record Operating Profit
SEOUL, South Korea - November 6, 2026 Coway Co., Ltd. reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of 1.4261 trillion won on November 6, up 13.7 percent from a year...
Coway Second Quarter Revenue Rises 14.6 Percent to 1.442 Trillion Won
SEOUL, South Korea -- August 7, 2026 Coway reported second-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of 1,442.2 billion won, up 14.6% from a year earlier, and...
Coway First Quarter Revenue Rises 13 Percent to 1.33 Trillion Won
SEOUL, South Korea -- May 8, 2026 Coway reported first-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of 1,329.7 billion won, up 13.2% from a year earlier, and operating...
Coway Shareholders Approve Board Slate and Cumulative Voting, Reject Activist Proposals
Coway said shareholders approved all of the board's proposals as submitted at its 37th annual general meeting, held at the company's head office in Gongju...
Coway 2025 Revenue Rises 15.2 Percent to Record on Overseas Growth
SEOUL, South Korea -- February 6, 2026 Coway reported 2025 revenue of 4,963.6 billion won, up 15.2 percent from the prior year, and operating profit of 878.7...
Related companies and people
These people and companies appear in the public record around Coway:
Sources
- KED Global — Founding by Yoon Suk-geum under Woongjin.
- Korea JoongAng Daily — 1998 launch of the Korean rental model.
- Coway USA — Company history; 2007 Coway USA in Los Angeles.
- MBK Partners — January 2013 investment in Coway.
- MBK Partners — March 2019 exit to Woongjin.
- Kim & Chang — Sale to Netmarble closed Feb. 11, 2020.
- U.S. Department of Labor — Sept. 24, 2024 overtime lawsuit release.
CowayRep Listings
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