[Mid-sized Business Master Series]⑧ Samjeong Special Gas Executive Director Pyeon Un-gi... The Safety Guardian Leading the Growth of the Gas Industry

Started Working at an LPG Sales Store at Age 21... 40 Years in the Gas Industry
"No Exceptions in Safety, Accidents Begin with Mistakes and Negligence"

"Work harder as it gets tougher and more familiar."

Pyun Woon-gi, Executive Director of Samjeong Special Gas and a top expert in the industrial gas industry, said, "There is no work that is not difficult. But once the work becomes even a little familiar, people tend to slack off. The more you do that, the more you should work with the mindset of 'just a little more,' and good days will surely come."

Vice President Pyeon Un-gi of Samjeong Special Gas Co., Ltd. is explaining the special gas charging process at the Hwaseong factory in Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

Samjeong Special Gas is the number one company in Korea in the field of manufacturing and filling industrial special gases, with annual sales of 50 billion KRW. It supplies special gases mixed according to their intended use to all factories and hospitals that use gas, operating eight factories and affiliates nationwide.

First Job at LPG Sales Store at Age 21... Delivered Through Tear Gas

His first job was at an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) sales store located in Imun-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in 1984 when he was 21 years old. The fourth of six siblings under a single mother, he dropped out of Seoul Buk Technical High School due to difficult family circumstances. With the help of his older sister, he attended an academy and obtained certifications as an 'Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician' and 'Gas Technician.' Although his dream was to work on foreign ships and earn a lot of money overseas, no foreign shipping company accepted him with just the certifications, so he was employed as a gas safety manager.

At that time, the 'safety manager' at the LPG sales store was no different from a laborer. All five or six seniors also had certifications, and as the youngest, his main job was delivery. While the seniors delivered by motorcycle, he had to deliver by bicycle to places like restaurants.

The lightest gas cylinder weighed 10 kg, and carrying two cylinders made the bicycle wobble. During the military regime, protests and rallies were frequently held at nearby Kyung Hee University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and he delivered through the thick tear gas smoke. After each delivery, he was soaked in sweat and tears, often walking around with red eyes for days. After working like this for nine years, he vowed never to work in the gas industry again and took a job at a remote sales store. However, it did not suit him.

He returned to the gas industry by joining Samjeong Gas Industry, the headquarters of Samjeong Special Gas in Incheon, after seeing a job posting in the Kyocharo Newspaper. He joined in January 1993 at age 30, and now at 62, he is the key contributor who made Samjeong Special Gas the industry leader.

Photo of Pyeon Un-gi, Executive Director of Samjeong Special Gas (back row left), taken in 1996 when he was a 33-year-old assistant manager during an employee workshop at Songnisan, together with Chairman Shim Seung-il (then CEO, back row right). Privately owned by Pyeon Un-gi.

Incheon Airport Construction Site, Delivering Daily Despite Seasickness

He also used his strength well. At that time, vehicles were not equipped with lifts, so he had to load and carry hundreds of gas cylinders weighing 150 to 200 kg purely by strength and skill. In 1998, during the final stages of Incheon Airport construction, he took a passenger ship daily to deliver one or two truckloads of gas. On bad days, despite seasickness, he delivered to ensure no delays in construction. After the start of Incheon Bridge construction in June 2005, he supplied gas daily by sea.

Due to the difficulty of the work, many employees resigned. He also struggled and caused many accidents. He often got into fights at drinking parties and was taken to police stations. Each time, Chairman Shim Seung-il personally came, regardless of midnight or dawn, paid fines, and took care of him by buying hangover soup. He recalled, "Even now, when I have drinks with the chairman, he teases me as a 'troublemaker.' I admit I caused a lot of trouble, but he never once mentioned firing me."

Executive Director Pyun said, "I think I relied a lot on the chairman, who was like an older brother close by rather than distant siblings. The youngest chairman also took care of me like a younger brother." He added, "Maybe because of that, I never once thought about leaving this company for another."

He was not originally lacking in work skills and had affection for the company, so he learned quickly. "The chairman supported me to study more by attending academies." He realized a lot from this. For several years afterward, he bought books on special gases every evening to study, searched the internet for online lectures to learn more about gas mixing processes, and went on several training trips to provinces. Even now, he attends online lectures related to special gases whenever available.

Pyeon Un-gi, Executive Director of Samjeong Special Gas Co., Ltd., is explaining the mixed gas manufacturing process at the Hwaseong plant in Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

He mastered the mechanism of manufacturing industrial gases by mixing oxygen, hydrogen, argon, helium, and others in appropriate ratios to meet the needs of major customers. He found the best mixing ratios to deliver the highest quality, formalized them, and created manuals. He also played a role in manufacturing new lightweight gas cylinders suitable for various capacities depending on use and demand. Demonstrating capabilities in production, management, and sales, he became a core talent.

"Chairman Like an Older Brother"... 'Troublemaker' Employee Becomes a Swan

The once troublemaking employee accumulated about 20 years of experience and became a trusted mid-level executive and a key talent in the gas industry. Whenever new factories were established in places like Paju and Hwaseong, Executive Director Pyun took the lead and showed remarkable results. He helped establish the Pocheon factory founded in 2002 and was assigned to the Hwaseong factory in 2009, which had only 2 billion KRW in sales, and grew it into a profitable factory with 11 billion KRW in sales.

In 2017, he proposed investing in factory facilities to produce medical gases and obtained the 'European Medicines Manufacturing Quality Management Standard (GMP)' certification. This means that medicines made with gases supplied by Samjeong Special Gas can be exported to Europe.

Since 2021, he has served as a member of the Gas Technology Standards Committee in the high-pressure gas manufacturing and filling sector at the Korea Gas Safety Corporation. Executive Director Pyun devoted himself to revising the 'KGS Code,' which codifies detailed technical standards for facilities, technology, and inspections in gas-related laws.

Pyeon Un-gi, Executive Director of Samjeong Special Gas Co., Ltd. (second from the right), took a photo while accompanying company executives, including Chairman Shim Seung-il (second from the left), during a trip to purchase a business site in Yeongheungdo, Incheon in 1999 when he was a manager. Personal collection of Pyeon Un-gi

He also revised the High-Pressure Gas Safety Control Act, which directly affects the special gas industry. Although the law was strengthened to prevent unlicensed businesses with high accident risks from selling special gases, the standards for medical institutions' use of special gases were relaxed. Hospitals were not allowed to use two liquid oxygen cylinders simultaneously for patients.

Each cylinder weighs 165 kg, but the High-Pressure Gas Safety Control Act Enforcement Rules set the reporting threshold for specific high-pressure gas use at 250 kg or more. Therefore, when oxygen ran out in one cylinder, it had to be resupplied, putting patients' lives at risk during the interval.

Executive Director Pyun said, "Together with Chairman Shim, who serves as president of the Korea High-Pressure Gas Industry Cooperative Federation, after three years of effort, we raised the enforcement rule threshold from 250 kg to 500 kg." He added, "The high-pressure and special gas sectors have more diverse types than LPG or city gas sectors, so laws often lag behind the field. Laws should be revised to strengthen risk factors more strictly and relax safer regulations more appropriately."

The Importance of 'Trust'... Supplying Gas at a Loss to Keep Customer Factories Running

Vice President Pyeon Un-gi explaining the safety equipment at Samjeong Teung Gas Co., Ltd.'s Hwaseong Plant in Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kim Jong-hwa

In recognition of these efforts, he received a commendation from the Minister of SMEs and Startups in 2021. This year, he serves as chairman of the arbitration committee launched by the cooperative to improve the management environment of industrial gas filling industry members and stabilize the market through dispute resolution and mediation.

He values 'trust' highly. During the 2020 carbon dioxide gas crisis, when customers' factories faced shutdowns due to the inability to obtain carbon dioxide needed for welding, he urgently imported carbon dioxide from China at nearly twice the market price, supplying it at 700 KRW per kg instead of 1,000 KRW. He emphasized, "Our duty was to supply gas. The loss was not the issue; maintaining trust with them was more important than anything."

The industrial special gas sector is known as a 3D (dirty, dangerous, difficult) industry, making it hard to nurture talent. Most technicians are over 50, and some are in their 70s. Therefore, recruiting younger generations is urgent. Executive Director Pyun said, "The special gas field requires gas-related certifications and specialized chemical knowledge, so it is not an easy field to challenge. But precisely because of that, the sense of achievement through challenge will be greater. It is a field where you can bet your life’s success and take on a challenge."

◆Words of a Master

Rules that must be followed should be strictly observed. There should be no exceptions. Safety is paramount in workplaces handling gas. Most accidents stem from minor mistakes and complacency due to familiarity. When work becomes familiar, workers may momentarily lose focus during gas mixing and filling operations, but such incidents must never occur. Although automation has made the workplace safer, workers must never let their guard down.