Daedong Corporation

Is Daedong publicly traded?

Yes. Daedong trades on the Korea Exchange under ticker 000490.

What is the relationship between Daedong and Kioti?

Kioti is Daedong's export brand. The Daedong name is used in Korea; Kioti, pronounced like "coyote," was created for overseas markets and acquired fully by Daedong in 1993.

When was Daedong founded?

The company was founded in 1947 in Jinju, South Korea, and began producing motors in 1949.

Where is Daedong headquartered?

At Nongong-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, South Korea, with a Seoul office in Seocho-gu and North American operations in Wendell, North Carolina.

What is Daedong's revenue?

Consolidated revenue was KRW 1,484.7 billion in FY2025, with H1 2026 revenue reaching a record KRW 844.8 billion.

Does Daedong make tractors for other brands?

Yes. Daedong builds compact tractors for Doosan Bobcat under an OEM agreement signed in 2019, and it has supplied other makers historically.

How many employees does Daedong have?

Approximately 1,000 people as of late 2024, plus staff in overseas subsidiaries.

Daedong was founded in 1947 in Jinju, in Korea's agricultural south, and began producing motors in 1949 as the country rebuilt after the war. Through the following decades it added power tillers, tractors, and combines as Korean farming mechanized, building its own gears in 1973 and later chains and metal components.

The company moved its production center to a new Daegu factory in 1984 and began exporting Daedong-badged tractors to the United States in 1985. For Western markets it partnered with Dutch firm Lely under the Lely Kioti name, then acquired the Kioti brand outright in 1993 when it founded Daedong-USA, initially based in Wilson, North Carolina.

Export growth defined the following decades. Kioti opened a new North American headquarters in Wendell, North Carolina, in 2004, earned NAEDA Gold Level dealer recognition in 2015, and in 2018 became the first Korean agricultural machinery brand to sell more than 10,000 units in the US in a single year. Daedong added a Canadian subsidiary in 2019 and signed OEM deals, including a 30,000-unit compact tractor agreement with Doosan Bobcat in 2019 and a skid loader partnership with Hyundai Construction.

Financially, the company reported record consolidated revenue of KRW 844.8 billion in the first half of 2026, an all-time high, with Q2 2026 operating profit up 64 percent year on year. FY2025 revenue reached KRW 1,484.7 billion, though net results slipped into a loss of roughly KRW 16.8 billion on financing and market costs. The company is investing in autonomous driving, electric machines, and connected platforms.