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S. Korean Business Leaders Bound for China
Chairmen of South korean top business groups are making concerted efforts to learn more about the Chinese market. They plan to visit the fast-developing country one after another in late October and early November to experience first-hand the Chinese market.
Observers commented that the leaders of Korean business conglomerates are going to take into consideration aspects of the Chinese market in their management strategies for next year, noting the visiting schedules largely coincide with the groups¡¯ usual period for setting up operation plans for next year.
Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee is due to visit China Oct. 24 with plans to tour the firm's affiliates there. Lee¡¯s trip to China will mark his first in six years, Samsung group noted. Top Samsung executives, including most of the CEOs at electronics units, are going to accompany Lee in the trip, including Vice Chairman Yoon Jong-yong of Samsung Electronics. The chair will be refining the group¡¯s overall marketing strategies in consultation with his top assistants.
LG group¡¯s chairman Koo Bon-moo is also making the trip to China on Oct. 22, along with the top executives of core subsidiaries of the group. LG said the top decision-makers of the group will review the group¡¯s management strategies in the most populous country in the world, particularly, in the IT field of the country. According to the group, Koo has acknowledged the mounting pressure from Chinese businesses on Korean firms, saying that Koreans had once regarded China as a grand market to be explored but Chinese firms have been catching up with rival Korean businesses in terms of price competitiveness and technical expertise.
SK group is due to hold a marketing strategy seminar in Shanghai in which presidents of the group¡¯s subsidiaries in Korea will participate. One executive of the group said the seminar will be an opportunity for them to flesh out the group¡¯s overall business plans.
A bunch of chairmen of other business groups are also visiting China. About 10 heads of top groups, including Kumho, Korean Air, Tong Yang Major, POSCO, Hyosung and TirGem Computer, plan to participate in the top business executives¡¯ forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Council (APEC), due to be held in Shanghai between Oct. 18 and Oct. 20.
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