Samsung Introduces Incentives to Boost Employees' Foreign Language Skills
Up to 1 Million Won for Significant Improvement
Jay Y. Lee Regrets Not Studying Chinese and French
Samsung Electronics has revamped its foreign language assessment system and introduced an incentive program to strengthen its global capabilities.
According to the industry on October 3, Samsung Electronics recently overhauled its foreign language conversation assessment grading system for employees and, for the first time, established an incentive program. Employees who significantly improve their grade can receive a gift certificate worth up to 1 million won.
Under the revised plan, which will take effect in January, three new top grades-▲1+, ▲1++, and ▲S-will be added above the existing grades 1 through 4. Employees who achieve one of these new top three grades will be eligible for incentives: ▲1+ grade receives a 200,000 won gift certificate, ▲1++ grade receives 300,000 won, and ▲S grade receives 500,000 won. Grades are determined through external language speaking assessments such as OPI. The recognized languages include English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian, and Spanish, among others acknowledged by Samsung Electronics.
Previously, with the aim of developing employees into global talent, Samsung Electronics has consistently invested in improving language skills by subsidizing the exam fees for language tests such as OPI and OPIc up to twice a year for employees.
Jay Y. Lee meets new employees: "I regret not studying foreign languages more"
In the past, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee also emphasized the importance of studying foreign languages. When meeting new employees at Digital City in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in February 2023, Lee said, "I regret not studying foreign languages more. I speak English and Japanese, but I try not to forget them. I also wish I had studied Chinese and French." He added, "Learning a foreign language means learning that country’s way of thinking, values, and history, so I hope you will study foreign languages even more."
Meanwhile, starting in the second half of the year, Samsung Electronics has been turning the tide by signing a series of major contracts with global big tech companies. Following a 23 trillion won contract with Tesla in August for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor foundry services, the company won orders for image sensor chips for Apple’s iPhones and signed an advanced memory supply agreement with OpenAI. It is known that Chairman Jay Y. Lee personally negotiated with the CEOs of these companies, activating a direct business line. This recent introduction of the in-house foreign language incentive program is also interpreted as being influenced by these business developments.
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