[INTERVIEW] 'Employee-centered management drives success'

Nepes Chairman Lee Byung-koo speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the company's headquarters in southern Seoul, March 2. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Kim Bo-eun

Nepes, a leading firm in packaging and test services for semiconductors, have racked up a series a firsts in the parts and materials industry.

It became the first local company to commercialize fan-out wafer level packaging and also became the world's first company to commercialize panel-level packaging. In addition, it is the first in the industry to mass produce neuromorphic chips used to model the human brain.

Behind these achievements is Chairman Lee Byung-koo who founded the company in 1990. He attributes the results to a way of management that focuses on the hearts and minds of employees.

His management philosophy is outlined in his latest book, "An Attitude of Success," which was published in English on Amazon in December.

Lee says people are ultimately the drivers of a business and that businesses need to enable them to fulfill their potential by creating a culture that respects and encourages them.

He added the reason the book ― originally published in Korean in 2018 ― was translated into English was to share his thoughts with employees of Deca Technologies' Philippines manufacturing facility. Nepes took over operations of the facility in 2019.

Nepes is known for its corporate culture, which seeks to heighten the competitiveness of individuals through various employee programs including a book discussion group. The company encourages employees to sing every morning and express gratitude to each other at least seven times a day.

"This has developed resilience among employees and helped the company get through the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 as well as the Global Financial Crisis in 2008," Lee told The Korea Times in an interview, March 2.

"The year of 2020 was also a tough year, as we saw earnings brought down by the COVID-19 pandemic. But internally, we have been busy focusing on preparing for the future."

Nepes is now preparing to offer its services to top-tier global firms. The company launched an affiliate specializing in FOPLP service in March 2020 and listed Nepes Ark, which specialized in chip testing, on Korea's secondary KOSDAQ bourse in November.

Nepes also scouted a new executive, formerly with Samsung Electronics, to head its semiconductor division. Lee said the company brought in the new executive to further develop relations with global clients.

The photo shows Lee's latest book titled "An Attitude of Success," published on Amazon in December. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

W30 bil. dorm for employees

Some critics have questioned Nepes' investment decisions given the increasingly tough business environment, amid heated competition and greater uncertainty as a paradigm-changing era of cutting edge technology unfolds.

Nepes is investing 37 billion won into building a new dormitory in the rural county of Geosan, North Chungcheong Province, for staff at its packaging plant there. The scale of investment for the new facility, projected to house 500 employees, is considered to exceed the average cost for this kind of structure.

This is to attract and retain talent by providing a more comfortable living environment for employees, the chairman said.

"Up until now we have been renting accommodation facilities and offering bus rides to work, but the facilities are old and the transport arrangement is inconvenient for employees," Lee said.

"We have designed the new dorm so that each employee has his or her own room. Employees will feel like working if they are provided comfortable living quarters and access to their workplace."

This mindset of valuing employees, along with Nepes' special programs, are seen to have brought down the company's staff turnover rate, at a time when retaining talent has become an increasingly tough challenge for firms across various sectors.

Nepes also seeks to instill a sense of purpose in employees. Each morning they are provided time for reflection.

Employees are also responsible for drawing up their company's business plans for the following year ― a task that has conventionally been the domain of top-level executives.

"People naturally are interested and invested in matters they have taken part in, so this enables employees to become increasingly immersed in their work," Lee says in his latest book.

The singing, book discussion and gratitude programs are also intended to enhance the well-being of employees and raise their competitiveness.

"The morning singing helps employees forget about negative feelings that developed in the morning due to issues at home with family members or happenings on their way to work. This enables them to start work with a refreshed mind," Lee said.

Employees read one book a month, as part of the book discussion program. Once a month, they gather and discuss what they've read and how they can apply this to their work.

Nepes' turnover rate has steadily fallen in the past three years from around 15 percent to 9 percent in 2020. The average of comparable firms in the industry stands at 25 percent.

This has helped save critical time and expenses that go into training new employees.