Sang-il Lee, Mayor of Yongin, "To Succeed as a Leader, One Must Respond Agilely to Change"

Special Lecture for Over 100 Entrepreneurs at Yongin Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Seminar

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, was invited as a speaker to a breakfast seminar hosted by the Yongin Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the morning of the 11th, where he gave a special lecture.

At this event attended by about 100 local businesspeople, Mayor Lee presented successful cases based on humanistic imagination, observational skills, and originality under the theme "Conditions for Success Seen Through Cases."

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, is giving a special lecture to businesspeople at a breakfast seminar hosted by the Yongin Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 11th.
[Photo by Yongin City]

In his lecture, Mayor Lee explained cases such as 'Starbucks,' which uses the monster 'Siren' from Greek and Roman mythology as its logo and incorporates characters from Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" into its storytelling; 'Angel-in-us Coffee,' which derived its logo idea from Raphael Sanzio's painting "Sistine Madonna," symbolizing 16th-century Renaissance art; and 'Lotte,' which reflected the protagonist's name from "The Sorrows of Young Werther" in its company name.

Mayor Lee also introduced the story of Howard Schultz, who transformed 'Starbucks' from a simple coffee shop into a place "where people connect and enjoy romance and culture," expanding the six stores into a global chain. Schultz gained inspiration by observing Italian cafes during his visit to Milan, Italy, emphasizing the importance of observational skills.

He also spoke about Napoleon's successes and failures. Mayor Lee said, "Napoleon was a historical figure who achieved great success, but he fell because he underestimated the changes of the era and showed an arrogant attitude."

Mayor Lee explained, "One of the important conditions for a leader's success is to respond agilely to change without resting on past achievements. In today's rapidly changing world, even a little complacency after success can lead to failure."

Through his special lecture, Mayor Lee also emphasized the importance of imagination that can break old fixed ideas and observational skills that can create newness through imitation.

After the lecture, Mayor Lee held a meeting with local businesspeople. At this meeting, he spoke about relocation and compensation measures for companies accommodated in the Ildong-Namsa Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex, stating, "Since relocating companies are making way for the country's future and the development of the semiconductor industry, we are urging the government to provide tax relief on capital gains tax and acquisition/registration taxes related to relocation and compensation."