Lee Kun-hee Named Top CEO of Decade

By Kim Tong-hyung

Staff Reporter

Former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee was named top chief executive officer (CEO) of the decade by Fortune Korea.

The magazine, published by Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, based its list of the best business leaders of the 2000s on a telephone survey of 105 economic experts.

Lee received more than 46.2 percent of the votes, and the only other business executive to score in the double digits was Chung Mong-koo, chairman of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, who got 26 percent of the support.

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo came in third by receiving 9.8 percent of the votes, while Ahn Chul-soo (6.2 percent), the founder of computer security software maker, AhnLabs, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (5.1 percent) completed the top five, Fortune Korea said.

The survey was conducted from Dec. 1 to 2 and was participated in by 34 stock market analysts, 30 economists and 41 experts from banks and insurance firms, who were asked to name their first-, second-, and third-place candidates, the magazine said.