The Hyosung logo most people search for is the blue tree symbol of Hyosung, a South Korean industrial group founded in 1966. Motorcycle riders know the same name from a different context, because Hyosung’s former motorcycle business kept using it after leaving the group.
Within the broader history of Korean chaebol branding, Hyosung’s mark is more figurative than it first appears. The purpose of a logo like this is straightforward: tie many different businesses to one recognizable name.
The story has become harder to follow since 2024, when part of the group split off as HS Hyosung and launched its own star-shaped identity. So there is now more than one “Hyosung logo” in use.
What Is the Hyosung Group Logo?
The Hyosung logo is a blue circle containing a stylized giant tree, set beside the name in serif capitals. Korean sources date it to May 1, 1981, though one gives 1982. No designer or agency has been publicly credited, and it replaced no documented earlier version that we could find.
| Symbol | Stylized giant tree inside a blue circle |
| Designer/agency | Not publicly credited |
| Current version since | 1981 (May 1, per Korean Wikipedia; one source says 1982) |
| Colors (hex) | Blue, approx. #2E479B, sampled from the logo; white |
| Typeface | Not publicly named; serif capitals in the wordmark |
| Previous major version | — (no earlier logo documented in the sources we could check) |
How Has the Hyosung Group Logo Evolved Over Time?
There is less documented history here than most logo articles claim. We found reliable dates for the 1981 tree logo and the 2024 HS Hyosung identity, plus a separate badge linked to the motorcycle brand.
Decade-by-decade timelines of a 1966 “original” and a 1980s “transitional” logo have no source behind them, so we’ve left them out.
Hyosung’s Early Years (1966–1981)
Hyosung traces its group founding to November 3, 1966, when Cho Hong-jai established Tongyang Nylon. His trading company, the root of the wider business, goes back to 1957.
We could not find a reliable description of what the company’s marks looked like in this period.
Tree Logo (1981–Present)
Korean Wikipedia says the tree logo was adopted on May 1, 1981. NamuWiki gives 1982, so treat the exact year with some caution.
The design packs vertical trunk lines and spreading branches into a circle, and the wordmark sits alongside it in serif capitals.
The mark soon caused trouble. It looked similar to the bull’s-head logo of Korea’s National Livestock Cooperatives Federation, which led to a legal fight. In 1999 the Supreme Court ruled that Hyosung could not use its logo in finance, where the two overlapped. The dispute faded when the federation merged into the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in 2000.
HS Hyosung “Masteria” Logo (2024–Present)
In July 2024 the group restructured into two holding companies. The new one became HS Hyosung, and on September 11, 2024, it unveiled a new identity called Masteria.
The company describes a square star shape built around a “Leading Star” and a “Value Tree,” in three colors called HS Blue, HS Green and HS Orange. The name sits beside it in what the company calls HS Font. This identity belongs to HS Hyosung and its affiliates, and it did not replace the tree logo across the whole former group.
The Hyosung Motorcycle Badge
Hyosung motorcycles started as a group division in 1978, built Suzuki designs under license from 1979 and moved to in-house designs around 1987. That business left the group in 2003, became S&T Motors in 2007 and became KR Motors in 2014.
A separate badge circulates on motorcycle merchandise: a white swoosh with a wing-like shape beside bold capitals on a blue block. We couldn’t find an official date, designer or explanation for it.
What Do the Design Elements of the Hyosung Group Logo Mean?
The tree is the central idea of the Hyosung logo, and Korean sources describe it as a giant tree. Beyond that, we found no official statement explaining each line of the symbol.
The name has its own meaning. HS Hyosung’s 2024 announcement links the word Hyosung to the “morning star,” and that is the basis of its new star shape.
The visual hierarchy in the logo is simple. The circle comes first because of its dark, solid mass, and the name follows as the longer horizontal element.
What Does the Symbol in the Hyosung Logo Represent?
It represents a large tree. Claims that the shape stands for motion, precision or interconnection are not backed by any company statement we could find.
That tree idea carried into the newer HS Hyosung identity, where the “Value Tree” stands for enduring growth and shared prosperity. That explanation was written for the 2024 mark, though, and shouldn’t be read back onto the 1981 logo.
What Are the Hyosung Logo Colors?
The logo uses one blue with white. We found no published color code, so the best answer is approx. #2E479B (RGB 46, 71, 155), sampled from the logo file.
The previously quoted #0046AD doesn’t match that file and has no source. We also dropped the Pantone and CMYK figures for the same reason.
Hyosung hasn’t explained the choice. General color psychology links blue with stability and reliability, which suits a business selling industrial materials and power equipment, but that is interpretation rather than company history.
What Typography Style Is Used in the Hyosung Logo?
Despite what many logo sites say, the Hyosung wordmark in this logo is not a sans-serif. It uses wide serif capitals with sharp, flared endings.
The font has not been publicly named, and it may be custom lettering. No close free alternative is widely agreed on.
The contrast with the motorcycle merchandise badge is clear. That one uses a heavy sans-serif font style, so the typography changes a lot depending on which version you’re looking at.
What Are the Hidden Meanings in the Hyosung Logo?
There are no documented hidden meanings in the Hyosung mark.
The most interesting visual fact is an accidental one. A shape meant as a tree looked enough like a bull’s head to end up in a Korean court. That says a lot about how abstract the symbol is.
No designer statements about hidden intentions have been publicly released.
How Does the Hyosung Group Logo Compare to Competitor Logos?
Hyosung’s logo sits among large Korean groups with a simple symbol and a dark or saturated color. Compared to Samsung or LG, it is less widely recognized around the world, and its serif wordmark feels more traditional.
Within the motorcycle segment, it contrasts with the Kawasaki and Ducati logos, which have a much sportier character. Bikes such as the GV and GT series carry the Hyosung name, though their maker has been outside the group since 2003.
In the ATM business, Hyosung TNS has exported more than 910,000 machines to over 30 countries, so the name reaches plenty of people who have never heard of its textile or power businesses.
Looking at other business brands, the SAP logo and Salesforce logo also use blue for institutional audiences, although both feel lighter and more modern than Hyosung’s tree.
What Cultural Impact Has the Hyosung Group Logo Had?
The Hyosung logo is best known in South Korea, where the group’s businesses have been part of the economy for decades.
Abroad, many people meet the name on an ATM or a motorcycle rather than through the corporate brand. Those two audiences may not even realize the name has one origin.
Among riders, Hyosung has been known as a more affordable alternative to Japanese brands, helped by models like the Comet series and the GT250. The fan T-shirts show the name has some following of its own, well beyond factory branding.
The logo also has a small place in Korean trademark history thanks to the bull’s-head dispute, one of the odder footnotes in the country’s corporate design.
How Does the Hyosung Group Logo Fit Into the Overall Brand Identity?
The tree logo served a group that, from 2018, was organized as a holding company over Hyosung TNC, Hyosung Heavy Industries, Hyosung Advanced Materials and Hyosung Chemical.
The 2024 split changed that picture. Hyosung Advanced Materials moved to the new HS Hyosung side and changed its name in September 2024, with other affiliates expected to follow.
We couldn’t review the brand guidelines for either side, so we won’t guess at their rules. Any brand style guide behind these identities appears to be internal.
KR Motors is a separate story. It is no longer part of the group, and Wikipedia lists it as a subsidiary of Synergy Partners, citing a 2025 profile, although the ownership chain is hard to confirm.
How Should the Hyosung Group Logo Be Used?
This is generic advice for designers and writers, not Hyosung’s own rulebook.
Editorial use, such as an article about the company, is generally treated differently from commercial use. For merchandise, advertising or anything implying a partnership, ask the company that owns the mark first.
Check which Hyosung you mean, too. The Hyosung tree logo, the HS Hyosung star and the motorcycle badge now belong to different contexts, and using the wrong one is an easy mistake.
Keep the proportions and color of whatever artwork you use. A vector graphic holds up at any size, while a bitmap copy can lose quality when enlarged. For print, a raster file needs enough DPI for its final size.
FAQ on The Hyosung Logo
What does the Hyosung logo look like?
It’s a blue circle holding a stylized giant tree, beside the name in blue serif capitals.
The tree is built from vertical trunk lines and branches that spread sideways.
What does the Hyosung logo symbol mean?
Korean sources describe it as a giant tree. We found no official line-by-line explanation of the symbol.
The name itself is linked to the “morning star,” according to HS Hyosung’s 2024 announcement.
What color is the Hyosung logo?
It’s a mid-dark blue with white, approx. #2E479B, sampled from the logo file.
We found no published official color code.
Has the Hyosung logo changed over time?
The tree logo has been in use since about 1981. In 2024 the newly separate HS Hyosung introduced a different star-shaped identity called Masteria.
We found no reliable record of what came before 1981.
What font does the Hyosung logo use?
The font has not been publicly named. The wordmark uses wide serif capitals that may be custom-drawn.
No close free alternative is widely agreed on. HS Hyosung’s 2024 identity uses its own HS Font.
Who designed the Hyosung logo?
No designer or agency has been publicly credited for the 1981 logo.
The 2024 HS Hyosung press release doesn’t name a designer either.
Is the Hyosung motorcycle logo the same as the group logo?
Not necessarily. The tree belongs to the corporate group, while motorcycle merchandise often shows a white swoosh with bold capitals on blue.
We couldn’t find an official explanation for that badge.
Who makes Hyosung motorcycles now?
They come from KR Motors, based in Changwon, South Korea.
The business left the Hyosung Group in 2003, became S&T Motors in 2007 and took the KR Motors name in 2014.
Why was the Hyosung logo in court?
Its tree looked similar to the bull’s-head logo of Korea’s livestock cooperative federation.
In 1999 the Supreme Court barred Hyosung from using it in finance, where the two overlapped. The dispute ended after a 2000 merger of the federation.
What is the difference between Hyosung and HS Hyosung?
HS Hyosung is the holding company created in the July 2024 split of the group.
It uses a new star-and-tree identity, while Hyosung remains the name of the original holding company.
What file format should I use for the Hyosung logo?
Use a vector file such as SVG or EPS for print and large formats.
For web use, a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background works well. Avoid low-resolution JPEG versions, as compression artifacts become visible against clean backgrounds.
Conclusion
The Hyosung logo is a tree that has been sitting in a blue circle for more than 40 years, with a much stranger history than its serious look suggests.
It survived a court fight over a bull’s head, outlasted the group’s own motorcycle division, and now shares the name with a newer star-shaped identity from HS Hyosung.
The blue color, tree symbol and serif wordmark are simple pieces, and basic logo design principles explain why they still work across such different businesses.
You can compare it with similar marks in our roundup of motorcycle logos.
Sources
- Wikipedia (Korean), 효성 (기업) – https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%9A%A8%EC%84%B1_(%EA%B8%B0%EC%97%85)
- Wikipedia, Hyosung – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyosung
- PR Newswire, HS HYOSUNG Unveils New CI and Vision, Embracing “Star” and “Tree” Symbolism – https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hs-hyosung-unveils-new-ci-and-vision-embracing-star-and-tree-symbolism-302245080.html
- Kyodo News PR Wire, HS HYOSUNG Unveils New CI and Vision – https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/202409116270
- Newsis, HS효성, 별·나무 의미 담은 CI 공개 –https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20240911_0002884696
- Wikipedia, KR Motors – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KR_Motors
- Viking Bags, The Remarkable History of Hyosung Motorcycles – https://www.vikingbags.com/blogs/news/the-remarkable-history-of-hyosung-motorcycles
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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