Lee Jae-yong expected to attend WorldSkills closing ceremony

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong / Yonhap

By Kim Hyun-bin

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to make an appearance at the closing ceremony of the WorldSkills Competition Special Edition to be held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday.

The WorldSkills Competition is a world championship of vocational skills held every two years. Last year's Shanghai event was postponed for a year due to COVID-19 and eventually canceled. This Special Edition replaces the Shanghai event and encompasses 61 international skill competitions that are taking place across Europe, North America and East Asia from September to November.

Over 1,000 competitors from 56 countries have participated in the events held in 15 countries, while 133 participants representing 35 countries have participated in the competition in Korea.

Samsung Electronics is a Global Premium Partner of WorldSkills. This partnership has been ongoing since 2007 and supports both organizations' goals to empower future generations to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes, according to the company.

Vice Chairman Lee, who attended the 2009 WorldSkills held in Calgary, Canada, said, "Sponsoring skilled workers is systematically nurturing the young generation by creating high-quality jobs so that not only can the company prosper, but also all the people."

Lee has been putting an emphasis on tech-oriented management for future growth. On the way home from a business trip to Europe in June, the vice chairman said, "No matter how much I think about it, the first is technology, the second is technology and the third is technology."

In addition, at a groundbreaking ceremony for Samsung Electronics' next-generation semiconductor R&D center, he said, "Let's create a future with technology that is not in the world, continuing the tradition of focusing on technology and investing in the future."