Hwang Cheol-ju, Chairman of Jusung Engineering, "Owners Must Distinguish Between 'Mass Production' and 'R&D'" (Comprehensive)

Martial Arts '183rd KITA CEO Breakfast Meeting' Lecture
"Korea's Sustainable Growth Law, Only Technological Innovation"

Hwang Cheol-ju, chairman of Juseong Engineering and a first-generation venture entrepreneur, emphasized on the 28th that the only way for South Korea to survive is technological innovation, and for this, company owners (heads) must clearly distinguish between 'mass production' and 'research and development (R&D).' He stressed that it is the owner’s role, not executives or employees, to set new standards so that high-income talents do not perceive work as 'hardship.' He raised his voice that to create world-class innovative new products like High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), vested interests and fixed ideas within the organization must be eliminated.

Hwang Cheol-ju, Chairman of Jusung Engineering, is giving a lecture at the "183rd KITA CEO Breakfast Meeting" hosted by the Korea International Trade Association at the Grand Intercontinental Parnas in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Moon Chae-seok

Chairman Hwang made these remarks at the '183rd KITA CEO Breakfast Meeting' hosted by the Korea International Trade Association at the Grand Intercontinental Parnas in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the same day. About 200 representatives from trading companies and member companies, including Yoon Jin-sik, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, attended the breakfast meeting.

In his lecture titled 'The New Growth 1% and 99%?', he stated that the only way for South Korea to achieve sustainable growth is technological innovation. This is because South Korea accounts for only 0.07% of the world's land area, 0.64% of the population, and has almost no natural resources.

Chairman Hwang emphasized that owners must clearly establish and share management standards so that members do not feel work as hardship. He said that instead of 'skilled workers' who honed standards such as knowledge and speed set during the post-1950s era when Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, the company should nurture 'technicians' who understand the five senses of the field. Skilled workers mass-produce identical products, but engineers conduct R&D to create innovative products that do not exist in the world.

He said, "People who have knowledge but lack the five senses are skilled workers, and those who have both are technicians. In Korea, there are many skilled workers but very few excellent technicians. Turning skilled workers into technicians comes only from the five senses learned on-site, which is the foundation of R&D." He added, "Owners must clearly distinguish between mass production, which makes the same products cheaply, and R&D in laboratories that create new products."

Chairman Hwang said that to create excellent technicians, a system to protect them must be established. Like professional athletes who receive transfer fees and high salaries when they perform well, world-class technicians should be properly treated. They are the only ones with the potential to create innovation. Chairman Hwang said, "'Technology,' no matter how good, has competitors, so buyers determine the price, but 'innovation,' even if insufficient, has no competitors, so sellers set the price." He added, "When the maker (seller) sets the price, the company can enjoy economic leeway."

Yoon Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, is speaking at the '183rd KITA CEO Breakfast Meeting' hosted by KITA on the 28th at the Grand InterContinental Parnas in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Chae-seok

Yoon Jin-sik, chairman of KITA, said, "The deep insights and wisdom conveyed by the protagonist who created a global success story through challenge and innovation will be an important key to navigating the era of change." He added, "Through Chairman Hwang’s lecture, who has globalized South Korea’s materials, parts, and equipment industries including semiconductor equipment and other advanced industries, we hope attendees will be helped to become '1% leaders' again."

KITA has been holding CEO breakfast meetings since 2005 to support knowledge sharing and networking among member companies. Speakers at the breakfast meetings have included senior government policy officials, CEOs of influential companies, and prominent figures in economics, culture, society, and the arts.