The 46th National Productivity Conference Held
Gold Tower Medal Awarded to Park Woo-dong, CEO of Pungsan · Silver Tower Medal Awarded to Gong Gyeong-yeol, CEO of Giduk Industry
Park Woo-dong, CEO of Pungsan, is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from Choi Nam-ho, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, at the 46th National Productivity Conference held on the 3rd at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center in Seoul.
“Productivity-Driven Growth, Korea’s Leap Forward Again” is the slogan of this year’s National Productivity Competition. Organized by the Korea Productivity Center and hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, this competition actively discovered and awarded exemplary cases that contributed to national economic development by enhancing corporate competitiveness through productivity improvement in industrial sites. This year’s event was especially meaningful as the awards for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies, which form the foundation of economic development and job creation, were expanded.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Lee Chang-yang) and the Korea Productivity Center (Chairman Ahn Wan-gi) held the “46th National Productivity Competition” on the 3rd at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center in Seoul. The National Productivity Competition is the most prestigious domestic event in the productivity field that raises awareness of the importance of productivity innovation, a core factor in strengthening national competitiveness, and discovers and awards leading productivity companies and contributors. Since its inception in 1975, it has recognized and awarded individuals and organizations that have achieved exemplary productivity improvements.
This year’s event was held in a solemn atmosphere with a memorial for the victims of the large-scale Itaewon disaster. About 200 people attended, including Choi Nam-ho, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Ahn Wan-gi, Chairman of the Korea Productivity Center; Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Jung Gap-young, former president of Yonsei University and chairman of the judging panel, along with award-winning companies and industry executives. For those unable to attend, the event was simultaneously broadcast live on YouTube.
At this competition, 24 contributors and 39 companies were honored, including Park Woo-dong, CEO of Poongsan, who received the Gold Tower Industrial Medal, and Gong Kyung-yeol, CEO of Giduk Industry, who received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal. Park, the recipient of the Gold Tower Industrial Medal, has contributed to industrial development and productivity improvement in the basic materials industry through 46 years of work in the defense industry sector, including the development and innovation of completed ammunition, ammunition components, and copper alloy technology. He was recognized for raising quality and technological competitiveness through innovative activities such as the introduction of TPM (Total Productivity Management) in 2006, the first in the domestic defense industry, resulting in sales growth of about seven times compared to 2006. Based on his extensive production experience and accumulated technological expertise in the non-ferrous metals field, he developed various copper alloy materials and played a leading role as the largest supplier in the domestic copper products market, driving the construction and development of industrial infrastructure. His products are also exported worldwide. For example, he entered the highly entry-barriered U.S. sports ammunition market in 2007 and currently holds a 3rd to 4th place market share in the U.S.
Gong Gyeong-yeol, CEO of Giduk Industry, is receiving the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit from Choi Nam-ho, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, at the 46th National Productivity Conference held on the 3rd at the Seoul Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center.
Gong, CEO of Giduk Industry and recipient of the Silver Tower Industrial Medal, contributed to improving productivity and competitiveness in the shipbuilding industry through the localization of bending equipment for shipbuilding and automation of manual processes. Since founding Giduk Industry in 1994, he has contributed to the development of the shipbuilding industry by supplying essential parts for ship construction and molding technology to shipyards through research and development and production innovation activities. Notably, Gong has invested heavily in technology development since the early days of the company and continues to invest about 10% of annual sales in R&D for several years. Emphasizing the importance of new technologies, he holds numerous patents related to various production technologies.
This year’s competition saw a significant increase in awards for SMEs and mid-sized companies compared to last year. While 30 companies were awarded last year, this year the number rose to 37. Daemo Engineering, which received the Presidential Citation, is a representative example. This SME designs and manufactures construction heavy equipment and achieves over 70% of its sales through exports by continuously developing new technologies in line with global construction machinery market trends. Duzon Bizon, a mid-sized company awarded the Presidential Citation as a leading company of the 4th Industrial Revolution, has contributed to the development of the domestic IT industry and achieved technology localization to respond to the global market by proactively incorporating new technologies such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, fintech, and healthcare into its products.
The Small and Medium Business Corporation, a representative support organization for SMEs, was also notably awarded the Presidential Citation for fostering SMEs as key players in economic structural transformation through focused support in new industries, promotion of innovative growth, response to industrial restructuring, expansion of ESG (environment, social, governance) management, and regional industry innovation.
The Korea Productivity Center explained that the expansion of awards in the SME sector actively participated in fostering SMEs and mid-sized companies and laid the foundation for motivating productivity improvement and boosting morale. Choi Nam-ho, Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “In the current complex economic crisis situation with high inflation and expanding risks in financial and foreign exchange markets, the importance of productivity innovation is more highlighted than ever. The government will actively promote regulatory reforms to revitalize the real economy, foster advanced industries, digital transformation, and R&D innovation to support this.”
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