Founder's compassion won people's hearts

Hanjin Group founder Cho Choong-hoon plays a tug-of-war with the group’s employees at a workshop in 1969. The late entrepreneur won people’s hearts by trusting and respecting them. / Courtesy of Hanjin Group

By Kim Jae-won

Hanjin Group founder Cho Choong-hoon was a man of compassion who treated his employees as his own children, according to the biography “Business as an Art” written by journalist Lee Im-gwang.

The late entrepreneur practiced his compassionate management skills during his entire life, moving people’s hearts with faith and respect. He could win logistics deals from the U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) thanks to his communication style focusing on trust and respect.

His generosity even extended to people of Vietnam during the war. Cho offered jobs to Vietnamese and provided welfare services for them while Hanjin was working for the U.S. military there.

“One popular joke at the time was that you could tell how many years a local woman had worked at Hanjin merely by looking at her from the back. During the war, most Vietnamese had little to eat and so were as thin as a rail, but a woman who had worked at Hanjin at three or four years would have a thicker waistline from sharing the rich diet of the Korean employees,” wrote Lee in the book published in October.

As news about Cho and Hanjin’s generous policy spread far and wide across the country, attacks by the Viet Cong against Hanjin employees decreased drastically. Also, Hanjin suffered no damage during the fierce anti-American protests that swept across Vietnam.

Cho’s consideration for local employees and residents, his proactive refugee relief work, and other civic projects carried out by Hanjin helped improve Korea’s image in Vietnam. “Hanjin Number One” became popular phrase among the Vietnamese, according to the biography.

He also took care of family of his employees, paying attention to their difficulties. Cho had a trusted advisor with whom he had shared joys and sorrows for over 30 years. In 1998, the advisor’s son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and was hovering between life and death.

Cho asked the chief of Inha University Hospital’s cancer center to save the son. He asked for daily updates on the son. However, two months later, the hospital chief reported that there is no hope for him.

“Cho called for the advisor. When he came, Cho was unable to speak and could only she an endless stream of tears. In 30 years, the advisor had never seen Cho cry,” wrote Lee in the book.

In 1991, Hanjin Shipping became the first shipping company to implement a plan whereby crewmen’s family members could come on the ship along with them. The system was devised for crewmen who struggled with loneliness during the long sea voyages.

It was nothing less than revolutionary at a time when women were not even chosen as crewmen, because of the widespread belief that women on board a ship would bring misfortune.

Such a system could be implemented thanks to Cho’s consideration of employees and his efforts to make them satisfied with their works. With the family ride-along system, the rate of crew turnover reduced considerably, helping the company run its operation more stably.