In the 4th Industrial Revolution Era, "New Entrepreneurial Spirit" is the Driving Force of Korea's Economic Growth

'First-Generation Venture Legend' Hwang Cheol-ju, CEO of Juseong Engineering, Delivers 'CEO Insights' Lecture at KCCI

Hwang Cheol-ju, CEO of Juseong Engineering

"In the past, South Korea grew into one of the world's top 10 economies based on a hungry spirit, but in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, where knowledge and information are infinitely shared and expanded, rapid response to innovation is a company's competitiveness and a new growth engine. What is needed for this is the spirit of the 'new entrepreneur.'

Hwang Cheol-ju, the first-generation venture legend of South Korea and founder and CEO of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Juseong Engineering, said this in an online lecture titled 'KCCI CEO Insights' released on the 27th.

CEO Hwang emphasized, "Entrepreneurial spirit is akin to the spirit or leadership of the head of a household," adding, "Growth is achieved through innovation, and unlike in the past when hard work alone was enough, now leadership that creates an environment to perform better than competitors first and continuously guides is important."

He continued, "The way to enhance the value of innovation is differentiated innovation such as 'world's first' or 'world's only,'" and said, "To win the time race for market dominance, emphasis should be placed on 'result innovation' through collaboration rather than 'principle innovation' and bold decision-making for success."

CEO Hwang highlighted the new entrepreneurial spirit for sustainable corporate growth as ▲ redefining standards suitable for the times, ▲ drawing a map of innovation and success, ▲ making judgments and bold decisions for success, and ▲ overcoming risks and sharing hope for success.

He recalled, "When Korea was growing from a poor country to a developing country in the past, it was a market where everyone coexisted without distinguishing who was first or last in specific products due to lack of information," adding, "At that time, the economy was labor-centered and grew through imitation, a period when the hungry spirit shone."

However, Hwang evaluated, "After the 3rd ICT Industrial Revolution, our economy was able to secure the market through rapid technological innovation," and added, "Now, it is important to have differentiated strategies for sustainable growth, such as reading the continuous flow of change, developing technology, building division-of-labor cooperative relationships, and forming good relationships with customers and local communities."

This lecture can be viewed on the KCCI Insights YouTube channel and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.