"Samsung, Once Like a Street Food Stall, Became a World No.1 Hero"
"A Philosopher Who Acts Before Being a Manager," Chairman Lee's Conviction Sparks 'New Management' Innovation
"I Will Create a Heaven for Salaried Workers," Inspiring Ownership with Unimaginable Rewards
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] "He is a hero and a great man of the era who dreamed of becoming the world's number one at Samsung, which used to be like a street food stall, and achieved it in his time. His determination and breakthrough ability are remarkable, and he is fearless."
This is the character assessment of Chairman Lee Kun-hee of Samsung by a CEO who assisted him closely for decades. Thinking of Chairman Lee, who lay bedridden for over six years before suddenly passing away, the CEO sighed, saying, "It breaks my heart."
This CEO praised Chairman Lee as a miraculous manager who planted the seeds of being number one in South Korea in TVs, smartphones, and semiconductors, turning crises into opportunities even in limiting situations.
He especially valued the late chairman's far-sighted vision. Chairman Lee's perspective was always set 10 to 30 years ahead. When he became the second chairman of Samsung Group in 1987 after the death of founder Hoam Lee Byung-chul, he boldly suggested growing Samsung, which had a pre-tax profit of about 200 billion won, to a scale of 1 trillion won. Everyone doubted the possibility, but it soon became reality. When Samsung surpassed 1 trillion won, Chairman Lee again called for breaking through 10 trillion won, and he witnessed that achievement shortly after.
Another former CEO of a Samsung affiliate recalled Chairman Lee as a "philosopher in action." He described Chairman Lee as a practitioner and philosopher before being an outstanding manager. He recalled, "Most corporate innovations are carried out by leaders accepting proposals from their staff, but Samsung's New Management was exactly the opposite."
This means Samsung's innovation began through Chairman Lee's conviction. The atmosphere at the time vividly conveyed that hardly any staff agreed with Chairman Lee's New Management strategy. After the Frankfurt New Management declaration, Chairman Lee conducted a two-month training for about 1,800 employees, which was essentially a persuasion effort. The famous anecdote is that Chairman Lee invested 350 hours in explaining the New Management philosophy, which corresponds to about 8,500 pages of A4 paper when written out.
The CEO emphasized, "When the leader gives freedom and responsibility and pushes forward, it later gains several times the acceleration, and this is the core secret of Samsung New Management's success." To properly understand Chairman Lee's numerous achievements, such as instilling a top-tier DNA, dramatically improving quality, and growing Samsung into a truly global company, one must first understand the late chairman's personal trait as a "philosopher in action."
Yoon Jong-yong, former Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who assisted Chairman Lee for over 30 years, also described him as a "philosopher." Yoon recalled in an interview with the media, "He embodied the meaning of 'Gyeokmulchiji' (格物致知, the Confucian concept of investigating things to acquire knowledge). Whatever he did, he wanted to understand the nature of the work and act accordingly."
Park Geun-hee, former Vice President of CJ Logistics, who was known as a "New Management evangelist" during his time at Samsung, cited the moment Chairman Lee declared New Management with the phrase "Change everything except your wife and children" as the most shocking scene in a past interview with this publication. He was in charge of carrying out Chairman Lee's orders to "make books, create glossaries, and produce related content in cartoons so that all young employees could see them."
Another CEO said that Chairman Lee's New Management declaration, promising to "create a paradise for salaried workers," firmly instilled a sense of ownership as a partner and that the unimaginable rewards became another driving force behind today's Samsung.
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