Samsung speeds up practical management

By Lee Min-hyung

Lee Jae-yong Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman

Samsung Group is speeding up its corporate overhaul to shift its bureaucratic corporate culture into practical management.

Under the leadership of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the nation’s largest conglomerate has pushed for scrapping its deep-rooted hierarchical corporate structure in recent years.

This is shown at the group’s Hoam Prize annual award ceremony. The 26th edition of the event took place Wednesday, commemorating the spirit and public service of the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul.

This is the second time that Lee managed the ceremony since his father Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized in 2014 following a heart attack.

For this year’s event, Jae-yong halted its decades-long custom of holding an official banquet participated in by high-ranking political officials and Samsung owner family members.

The Samsung heir, instead, chose to hold a concert for some 900 Samsung employees and executives, which observers say shows the group’s strong drive to pursue practical and responsive management. The company invited a group of renowned artists to perform, including pianist Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Competition.

Some 150 middle school students of Samsung’s scholarship program, Dream Class, were also invited.

Most of the group’s family members made an appearance, including Lee Jae-yong, his younger sisters Lee Seo-hyun, CEO at Samsung Construction & Trading’s fashion division and Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Bu-jin. High-ranking political figure including Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn also celebrated the award ceremony.

In particular, Jae-yong’s attendance drew the media spotlight, as he rarely makes public appearances. Expectations were that he might deliver a congratulatory address at the event, but he and his sisters kept a low profile.

For this year’s event, the Hoam Foundation named six winners in recognition of their achievements in areas such as science, engineering, medicine, art and community service.

They include renowned physician Larry Kwak; Kim Myung-sik, a professor at Imperial College London; and Oh Joon-ho, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST). Each winner received 300 million ($252,300) in prize money.

The 38 member judging committee, consisting of renowned scholars and industry experts both from home and abroad, named the award winners.

The Hoam Prize has been awarded to a total of 133 people since its establishment in 1990, paying out 21.4 billion won in prize money.