Korean business chiefs’ Year of the Rabbit messages: Keep investing

South Korea’s top business leaders on the first business day of the year stressed the importance of active investment and concentration of resources on new growth drivers to tide over the current economic difficulties, including inflation and global trade slowdown.

In their New Year speeches, heads of the country’s top business conglomerates said the Year of the Rabbit could herald the start of an unprecedented economic depression.

“The recent series of business data, including global oil prices, dollar-won exchange rates and inflation, point to business conditions going from bad to worse, GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo said in his New Year’s speech to employees.

Digital innovation and the group’s business ecosystem, including active investment in promising startups, must continue, turning the current crisis into an opportunity to find new growth businesses, he said.

Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won said in his New Year’s speech that prudence shouldn’t be interpreted as avoidance of new business opportunities.

“We shouldn’t be too cowardly cautious about meeting new challenges. While strengthening our financial strengths, we must keep moving forward, developing new business models and looking for new growth drivers,” he said.

He particularly urged employees to achieve technological advancements in growth areas such as collaborative robots, hydrogen-powered drones, 3D printing and gas and hydrogen turbines, as well as existing flagship businesses such as nuclear power and hydrogen.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Business leaders cited “overcoming the crisis” and “sustainable growth” as the topics of the new year, presenting “customer engagement” as this year’s business keyword.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said a company’s competitiveness is closely linked to the “depth” of stakeholders’ trust in the company.

Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung Group, declared 2023 the year of putting customers at the center of the conglomerate’s business activities.

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo asked employees to do their best to find out customer value in all business transactions LG does with individuals and business partners.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun will become the only business leader among the country’s top four conglomerates to hold an offline ceremony to welcome the year 2023 on Tuesday.

Jay Y. Lee, chairman of Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung, won’t deliver his New Year’s speech following the group’s tradition that chief executives of group affiliates make their own speeches on the first business day of the year.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at Kkm1026@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.