Download Lee Kun-Hee: The Visionary Leader Behind Samsung's Transformation and more Schemes and Mind Maps Electronics in PDF only on Docsity! NEWSLETTER MARCH 2013 BREAKING THE MOULD Lee Kun-Hee: Innovation for Transformation Lee Kun-Hee is not only the person primarily responsible for transforming an agricultural firm into the electronics giant, Samsung, but also, in good measure, the person behind Korea’s economic boom. Without doubt, one of the primary traits which define Lee Kun-Hee is his determination to constantly transform his firm. The latter began as an agricultural conglomerate until becoming the world’s leading producer of computer chips, flat screens and latest generation mobile phones. His vision is perfectly reflected in a letter he dedicated to Samsun clients, employees and friends: “We live in passionate times of digital revolution, characterised by change and constant creative innovation. […] To maintain our leadership in these turbulent times, we have to be able to adapt quickly to the setting around us and transform changes into opportunities. The 20th century was moved by advances in productivity. The new era in which digital technology is transforming all of society will be pushed by creativity and innovation.” Lee Kun-Hee is not only the person primarily responsible for transforming Samsung from an agricultural firm into an electronics giant but also, in good measure, the person behind South Korea’s economic boom, a phenomenon in which Samsung has played an enormous part. This role is well illustrated by the fact that the group accounts for a fifth of all the country’s exports. As tends to occur with highly charismatic and influential people, Lee Kun-Hee’s name has not eluded controversy. These include a long legal battle with the company’s main competitor, Apple, embodied by Steve Jobs’ will to fight until the very end and the sentence which found him guilty of tax evasion though he was finally pardoned by the Korean Government in 2010. This pardon was another example of the power Lee Kun-Hee wields in his country where, as a member of the Olympic Committee, many feel he was responsible for Korea having been named to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, his conviction for tax evasion ended up having a much higher price, eventually leading him to resign as President of Samsung. Since 2008 Samsung has been managed by professionals who don’t belong to the family, though the latter has always been in control. Even more so after Lee Jae Yong, Lee Kun-Hee’s son, was named President of Samsung Electronics Ltd last December, the group’s leading company. Many believe that Lee Jae Yong’s new post reflects his intention to soon fill the President’s chair which is still vacant after his father abandoned it. Finding a leader in each generation capable of adapting the firm to the times is necessary to be able to ensure the firm’s continuity. The Lee family has been able to do so in the past thanks to the model they apply to structure the business group’s governing bodies. It basically consists of a complete symbiotic relationship between the family and the company, in which the family is involved in almost every day-to-day decision. In this case, the family is an added value, providing management talent and institutional relations at every level.
