Can gentleman of Korea Inc. turn FKI around?
By Kim Da-ye
Can GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo restore the nation’s most powerful business lobby to its former glory?
In an encounter with reporters on the first day after he took the job as chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), Huh said, “I will do my duty with a sense of service.”
The FKI needs the service. Its top post has remained unfilled since Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Suck-rai stepped down for health reasons in July last year.
The lack of leadership for the last eight months has weakened the voice of conglomerates while the government increasingly pressed and reprimanded large companies, outwardly implementing policies friendly toward commoners and small- and medium- enterprises.
The federation ended up passing an eventful year, which saw the G20 Seoul Summit and the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) re-negotiations, quietly.
The federation has attempted many times to nominate influential industrialists, but each, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee rejected taking up the post. Huh, who accepted the position after many refusals, is in many respects the person the FKI was looking for.
Coming from a loyal family of the business world and leading the nation’s seventh largest conglomerate, Huh’s network ― solidified with the “blood relations” ― is extensive.
Chang-soo is a grandson of Huh Man-jung who gave the seed money to Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Samsung.
His third son Huh Joon-koo, the late honorary chairman of LG Engineering and Construction, married a niece of Koo In-hwoi, the founder of LG Group, fortifying the cooperative relationship between the two families. Between them was born Huh Chang-soo.
Such a pedigree, outstanding even among “owners” of conglomerates, is expected to carry on the status enjoyed by former chairmen including Lee Byung-chull; Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the Hyundai empire; and Kim Woo-jung, the founder of the bankrupt Daewoo Group.
Furthermore, the GS Group has 78 affiliates while Chang-soo is a first cousin of Huh Dong-soo, the chairman and CEO of LG-Caltex Oil, a separate entity.
The industry is now interested in whether LG Group, which left the federation, will come back. In 1999, LG Group saw its semiconductor business ― now called Hynix Semiconductor ― taken over by Hyundai Electronics. The FKI is known to have stood by Hyundai, infuriating LG. Chairman Koo Bon-moo hasn’t participated in FKI-hosted meetings since then.
Huh’s family and LG Group had worked together for 57 years across three generations until GS Group separated from it in 2004. GS and LG are on good terms with each other.
Nicknamed the gentleman of the business world, GS Group says, Huh is expected to work his charm on moderating between business leaders.
“The chairman is easy-going and considers others rather than prioritizing himself. He always makes other people comfortable and softens the atmosphere,” GS Group said in a statement.
Having worked in Hong Kong and Tokyo for a long time at LG International, Huh is fluent in both English and Japanese.
He is also said to have a good understanding of the global economy and to be an avid reader of international publications including the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business Week. “He cuts out important articles and shows them to others,” LG Group said.
Born in 1948 in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Huh studied business at Korea University and received an MBA from Saint Louis University in the U.S.
He joined LG Group in 1977 and served as the vice president of LG Chem and the chairman of LG cable, the former LS Cable.
Since he became a member of the FKI in February 2009, he has participated in every meeting as its vice chairman.