MEDIA / H-Story

– Hyundai Corporation has implemented an exceptional promotion to appoint a head in his 30s to five out of seven overseas corporations and branches of Hyundai Corporation Holdings –

– With the challenging sprit of Chung Ju-Yung, the heads of overseas corporations in their 30s overcame sarcasm such as “What can a rookie do?” and win “Jackpot” in sales less than two years after taking office alone –

 

< Source: The Korea Economic Daily >

 

The Hyundai Corporation Group established Smith Mushroom, a mushroom production and distribution corporation in September 2019 in the UK. Manager Kim Choong-Ki of 5 years of employment was appointed as the one who took a responsibility to lead the first corporation established in Europe. He was born in 1984 and appointed as the head of overseas corporation so called “Dream of Men in Trading Company” in his age of 35. People around him responded with sarcastic reaction saying, “What can a rookie do?”

He changed the ill reputation of “Rash Promotion” within 2 years. Last year, even under the unfavorable condition when major cities of the UK were locked down due to the COVID-19, he increased the number of stores from 800 to 1150 by 43% which supply mushroom to the global retail company TESCO. In less than about 2 years, the sales were expanded reaching 10 million pounds (about 15.9 billion won) twice the sales of 5 million pounds (7.9 billion won) in his first year of assignment.

“I went through a long unceasing hard work to persuade merchandisers (MD) of distributors. Whenever a transaction request was rejected by them, it reminded me of the phrase by Chung Ju-Yung, the founder of the Hyundai Group, “Hey, have you ever tried this?”,” Kim said.

According to the Hyundai Corporation Group on the 28th of this month, the heads of four corporations among seven overseas corporations of Hyundai Corporation Holdings are staffs in their 30s of MZ generation. Other than the UK, they were assigned “alone” in the corporations of Cambodia, Australia, and the US and have achieved excellent outcomes. 36-year-old Shin Dong-Jin, the head of the corporation in Cambodia has been managing a packaging factory where to manufacture corrugated cardboard and film and raised the sales by three times to 15 million dollars (about 17.8 billion won) in 2022 from 4.4 million dollars (about 4.7 billion won) in 2019 during his first assignment.

An authority of the company said, “The decision by the CEO Chung Mong-Hyuck to send a young expatriate with creativity and passion as the head of a new business in order to settle the business quickly has worked out.” While these young staffs have achieved successful results, “the experiments of rash promotion” has continued. The heads of overseas corporations in their 30s have emerged who run through business fields all alone including the head of Hyundai Agro in Cambodia corporation Lee Myung-Wu (Born in 1983) and the head of Bula Park corporation in Australia Lee Jong-Bin (Born in 1990). In early next year, manager Huh Kyul (Born in 1991) who is in his 4th year of employment since 2018 is supposed to be appointed as the head of an overseas corporation in the US. An authority of the company said, “We are flooded with candidates who are willing to overcome unfavorable conditions such as the COVID-19 Crisis and take their lifetime challenge in the export front.”

People of interest in the industry fully agree on the fact that the experiment of Hyundai Corporation is linked to the “challenging spirit” of Chung Ju-Yung the founder of the group. The evaluation reveals that it reminds us of the story when people around him tried to persuade him insisting to say “Impossible”, the chairman Chung dismissed the notion saying “Hey, have you ever tried this?”

 

■ “Assigned Alone” Men of MZ Generation in Trading Company Changed Overseas Corporation to Startups

– ‘Corporation heads in their 30s of Hyundai Corporation equipped with “Spirit of Chung Ju-Yung” –
– Overcoming such sarcasm, “What can young managers do?” by proving with outcomes of increased sales by 3 times through pioneering new businesses such as clothing and packaging materials and farming even in COVID-19 situation –

In October 2019, a manager in charge Shin Dong-Jin (Born in 1985) was appointed for the corporation head of packaging in Cambodia of Hyundai Corporation Group. He visited OEM companies (Original Equipment Manufacturing) of bag and clothing brands directly right after he was assigned alone. Previous target of a packaging corporation was the packaging materials of mid to small size companies of liquors and beverages. He had such a view that he must attract giant company clients to expand the size of the corporation.

He paid attention on the bag and clothing company. He emphasized that the packaging material is not only high quality, but has received ESG (Environmental, social and governance) and international eco-friendly certification. He said, “I visited clients with ambition to face them even if I might fail.” After many twists and turns, as soon as he successfully took an order of OEM for global bag and clothing brands, he received the proposals to contract from giant beer and beverage companies. The corporate sales were 44 million dollars (about 4.7 billion won) in 2019 when he was first assigned. In this year, it is expected to expand more than 3 times with 15 million dollars (about 17.8 billion won).

 

■ Exceptionally Selected for the Corporation Head Less Than 5 Years After Joining the Company

▲ Lee Jong-Bin the corporation head (on the right) of Bula Park in Australia carefully examined mushroom growing in a farm with local employee

 

Four corporation heads among seven branches of overseas corporations of Hyundai Corporation Holdings are employees in their 30s born in between 1980s and 1990s. Including Shin Dong-Jin corporation head (born in 1985), those are the heroes of the accomplishment: a corporation head of Smith Mushroom in the UK Kim Chung-Ki (born in 1984), a corporation head of Hyundai Agro in Cambodia Lee Myung-Wu (born in 1983), and a corporation head of Bula Park in Australia Lee Jong-Bin. Their careers are less than 5 years. It is general to assign veterans of management in their 40s to 50s with at least more than 15 years of field experience for the head of overseas corporation in the sector of trading company.

The predecessor of Hyundai Corporation Group was “Hyundai Corporation” established in 1976 by the founder and chairman of Hyundai Group Chung Ju-Yung. The major business of Hyundai Corporation Holding is the overseas food sector. The company has started the food business as a judgment was made to see the limitation of the growth solely with the existing trading business that sell products and receive the commissions through the brokerage between a manufacturer and a customer. Different from trading, the food business is a new business to pioneer the market from the beginning and build the local network. It is required of building a distribution center for agricultural products in overseas country and operating a farm to make a profit. It was necessary to innovate with different method from the previous work of general trading company.

Chung Mong-Hyuck, the chairman who leads the Group, has paid attention on MZ generation (Millennial + Z Generation). He is the only son of Chung Shin-Young who is the fifth brother of the founder Chung Ju-Yung. The chairman Chung predicted that the company would demonstrate unlimited synergy if the creativity of MZ generation in the 30s who are sensitive to the business trend could be added to the competency and resources retained by the trading company. When he appointed the heads of corporation, he focused on the understanding of business and the point if they could develop the business well regardless of the ages. Fluency in foreign language and sociability to build the network were the major criteria of evaluation. As a result, the company explained, employees in their 30s were selected for right person for each position.

 

■ Operate as Startups

– By experiment of exceptional promotion by Chung Mong-Hyuck, the corporation heads demonstrate their creative ideas without orders from HQ –

The promotion experiment by the chairman Chung started with the appointment of a manager Kim Chung-Ki for the corporation head in the UK in September 2019. In October in the same year, he appointed manger Shin Dong-Jin for the head of packaging company where to make corrugated cardboard and film in Cambodia. The chairman made a special order to them, “Operate overseas corporations as startups with the global hubs.” He asked them to discover creative ideas while the headquarter would not instruct every detail.

▲ Shin Dong-Jin, Head of Hyundai Packaging Corp., inspects corrugated cardboard and film at the factory in Cambodia

 

Internally, a voice was raised for the uncertainty of the decision to send employees in their 30s to the heads of corporations. There also was sarcasm such as “What can those young do?”. An authority of the company said, “All heads of corporations in their fifth year of employment have achieved remarkable results, and complaints have disappeared completely.”

In October last year, the chairman Chung assigned a manager in charge Lee Myung-Wu for the head of Hyundai Agro Corp. in Cambodia which is the largest overseas base of the Group. The Hyundai Agro has been cultivating the tropical fruit such as mangoes and exporting them to Korea and overseas countries. The corporation head Lee said, “A challenge on a new business approached me as the greater burden than the position itself. I engaged in the work with a positive mind, thinking I’m sure I can do it well.” In October last year, the chairman Chung assigned a manager Lee Jong-Bin for the head of Bula Park Corp. which is the corporation for organic mushroom in Australia. In the early of next year, manager Huh Kyul in his fourth year of employment will be dispatched for the head of the mushroom company in the US. He has shown the high understanding of work and unique sociability from the evaluation equivalent to that of his predecessor.

The Hyundai Corporation Group plans to expand such promotion experiment to other affiliated companies. The chairman Chung said, “It will be a “Win-Win Strategy” that the company will give young generations the new opportunities to work with passion while it can also discover new business opportunities.

December 29, 2021, The Korea Economic Daily