Lee Jae-yong Continues 'On-site and Compliance Management' with 'Technology Management'... Likely to Visit International Skills Olympics

Possibility of Attending Closing Ceremony and Encouraging Athletes on the 17th

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Samsung Biologics Songdo Campus in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon on the 11th to inspect the production facilities of Samsung Biologics Plant 4. (Photo by Samsung Electronics) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to visit the site of the International Skills Olympics for the first time in 13 years. This is in line with Vice Chairman Lee's unique 'technology management,' which emphasizes "technology, technology, and more technology." Recently, through his 'on-site management' by visiting domestic and overseas workplaces, and meeting with the Compliance Committee, an independent legal supervisory and advisory body of Samsung Group after 1 year and 9 months, he is launching 'technology management' alongside 'compliance management.'

According to business circles on the 16th, Vice Chairman Lee is likely to attend the closing ceremony of the '2022 International Skills Olympics Special Competition' held at KINTEX in Goyang the next day and encourage the athletes. This will be his first time attending the Skills Olympics since the 2009 Calgary competition in Canada.

Hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Committee of the International Skills Olympics (Korea Industrial Human Resources Corporation), this competition, which opened on the 9th of this month, featured 133 athletes from 35 countries worldwide competing in eight categories including mold making, information technology, and cybersecurity. Although the competition is held every two years, last year's event scheduled in Shanghai, China, was postponed for a year due to COVID-19 and eventually canceled. Consequently, this year's competition was held in a distributed manner across 15 countries including Korea, Switzerland, and Germany.

Samsung Electronics, which signed a skills promotion agreement with the Ministry of Employment in December 2006, has sponsored the International Skills Olympics since 2007. From 2013 to this year, it has served as the top title sponsor (OEP) for five consecutive competitions. Since 2007, it has supported the National Skills Competition with 250 million KRW annually and provided 720 million KRW per competition for overseas training expenses of national representatives participating in the International Skills Olympics. The total accumulated sponsorship exceeds 10 billion KRW.

Samsung Electronics and other group affiliates continue to hire skilled technicians who have participated in national competitions. Skilled technicians hired by Samsung who have competed in the International Skills Olympics have won over 50 medals, including 28 gold medals.

When asked about his impressions after business trips to Europe, including Hungary and Germany, in June, Vice Chairman Lee emphasized the importance of securing technology, saying, "No matter how much I think about it, first is technology, second is technology, and third is technology." In August, as his first official activity after his reinstatement, he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Samsung Electronics' next-generation semiconductor research and development (R&D) and urged, "Let's continue the tradition of prioritizing technology and proactive investment. Let's create the future with technologies that do not exist in the world."

A Samsung official stated, "His attendance schedule has not been confirmed yet."