Uncommon Career Leaps Unique to Korea
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
He started from the company's rank-and-file just like everyone else, from working in a dusty steel mill in Pohang to making pitches in the global sales division. But 34 years later, when Lee Ku-taek took POSCO's top seat in 2003, he became one of the most successful ``salaryman'' stories.
``His story seems special because such career leaps are so rare in Korea,'' said Park Doo-jin, a senior consultant at the Hay Group, a global human resources management consulting firm. ``So few, that they're countable.''
Aside from the 62-year-old chief of the world's fourth-largest steel maker, Orion Confectionary CEO Kim Sang-woo, Pulmuone CEO Nam Seung-woo and LG Electronics CEO Nam Yong are considered good examples to ordinary employees.
And among them, 60-year-old Nam is often highlighted for his modest beginning in the company's exports division in 1976. He crisscrossed multiple divisions, until getting tapped last year as the chief executive of the world's fifth-largest handset manufacturer.
``Nam is a good case of keeping solid ties with the group's owner, who helped him reach the top,'' said Lee Joo-hee, a consultant at a local personnel management firm, adding that such a skill is a must-have to overcome the ``chaebol'' (family-owned conglomerates) barriers.
She explained that there are those who get fairly evaluated for their input, but the ``connection factor'' still heavily weighs in.
Michael Conforme, the CEO of GCT, a global human resources development firm, agreed, saying the ``university, hometown and other personal connections'' are still big here.
``Proper evaluation should be placed so that more suitable people can move through the ranks without bias,'' he said, adding that rank-and-file climbing the ladder are significantly more common overseas.
GE Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Proctor & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley, Johnson & Johnson Chairman William Weldon are just some of many who started their early careers in the same companies they now steer.
``The company may feel that it's better to hire an outsider as its chief, but the important thing is for all organizations to train their employees to become good managers,'' said Conforme.
A recent Hay Group survey indicated that the baby boomer generation's retirement will leave a leadership vacuum in major companies, urging that more preparation is needed to train the next leaders.
``We have a good pool of people,'' said Park, ``but companies must empower those with potential and provide a more encouraging environment in which they can go further.''
A poll done last year by CEO Magazine ``Excellence Korea'' showed that an overwhelming number of local executives are dissatisfied with top management training programs.
``A `salaryman's success story' isn't anything special in advanced countries,'' said Lee, stressing that it shouldn't be a rare case here either.