When K.H. Kim joined South Korean conglomerate LG, he just wanted to raise some funds so he could study in the US. But after a while, a new dream materialised: he wanted to head the group! The regional director of LG tells Shalaka Paradkar of his ascent.
Funny as it may sound, there was a time when LG was more famous for making toothpaste than digital eye candy.
Formed in 1947 as Lucky Chemicals, it produced the Lucky brand of household cleaning products and laundry detergents in Korea.
Then in 1958, this company became part of Lucky-GoldStar a South Korean chaebol (conglomerate) that started making fans and radios and over time produced everything from household appliances to semiconductors and mobile phones.
In 1995, the group adopted the name LG and the slogan 'life's good'.
The success of this consumer electronics and IT colossus is due to the efforts of a highly dedicated team, many of whom have spent their entire careers at the company.
One such lifer is K.W. Kim, president, LG Middle East and Africa. Kim joined the Middle East and Africa office last year from South Korea, where he served as vice-president of LG's digital media overseas marketing division company.
One suspects the transition to the new post has been relatively easy. His predecessor was K.H. Kim, so members of staff probably had little trouble remembering their new boss's name. Not to mention the ease of replacing a 'W' with an 'H' on business cards, nameplates etc …
In his two decades at LG, Kim has played a pivotal role in the global success of its digital media products. He was a key team member when LG expanded into Europe and the first president of its offices in Austria and Hungary.
Kim's personal story verges on the heroic. He overcame a difficult childhood spent in dire financial circumstances as South Korea was limping back to normalcy after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
To make things worse, upon completing school, his mother's textile business went bankrupt and the family lost their home. But hardship only steeled his resolve to succeed.
Kim put himself through university then landed a job at LG. His initial plan was to save enough money to fund further university studies in the US, but after a while he established another goal - to one day be head of LG!
Kim has worked his way up the ranks and undertaken some unusual foreign postings, including spearheading operations in Eastern Europe immediately after the fall of communism. Kim describes his stint at LG as his "first and last job" and one suspects his lifelong passion as well.
When he's not driving, chipping and putting on the golf course, the 49-year-old father of two takes time off to travel and explore new countries. He has a deep interest in philosophy and applying Confucian wisdom to modern management, which has paid off well.
Today the smile on LG's happy face logo is just a little broader, as the company is the top consumer electronics vendor in the Middle East and Africa. In fact, last year it posted regional sales of $2.1 billion. It looks as if life will continue to be good for a long time to come.
I
I have extraordinary confidence in myself about making things work. Again it comes back to adapting oneself to suit the other person. It's also easy to make quick decisions if your groundwork is thorough.
I have made many decisions that have gone wrong. Not so much in my professional life, but in my personal life I have made many regrettable purchases because of my habit of making quick decisions.
When I went to Germany and had to rent a house, I just did a quick inspection and signed the contract. My thinking was that the architect who designed it was far more knowledgeable than me, so why would I need to second guess his wisdom?
But it was disappointing. When I moved to Dubai, I just spent one hour deciding on (my) house. I figured the time I would spend travelling to and fro (looking at others) would not make it worth my while.
I love languages. I am fluent in German. I also speak Hungarian, French and when I was handling LG's Spanish market, I picked up a smattering of Spanish. Apart from Korean, I am also fluent in Japanese and Chinese.
The most valuable thing I have learned in golf is self-control. When I am stable and happy, I perform well. My golf game is a good gauge of my temper. Anybody who cannot control himself mentally can never be a good golfer.
I need to be more modest and humble. I need to listen to other people more. I am trying very hard to improve these aspects of my personality.
ME
Me and my early years:
After the Korean War ended in 1953, Korea went through some very hard times. All the buildings had been reduced to rubble and people had lost all their money in the war. Like most Koreans of that generation, I grew up in what was a very harsh economic and social environment.
I was born in Daegu, one of the largest cities in South Korea, in 1958. My father was a teacher and my mother was a homemaker (and a businesswoman).
My mother passed away in 1999 and my father passed away two years later. I am the oldest of three boys. My younger brother is a doctor, a plastic surgeon - one of the best professions to be in South Korea (laughs). My other brother is a businessman.
At primary school, I wasn't too bad as a student. But from middle school onwards, I was not so good. The problem was that at the time I had started reading (philosophy) books. It was not the right age to read philosophy, being just 17. That was the time I also developed an interest in yoga and meditation techniques.
My parents had great expectations of me. As I had lost interest in my studies, I did not prepare well for university entrance examinations.
My parents expected a great deal of me, they thought I could reach the rank of a minister in the (South) Korean Government at least. Like all parents, they were not very objective! I disappointed them by not doing well in the university entrance exams.
What made matters worse was that my mother's business also floundered at the same time. She was a very aggressive businesswoman who ran her own enterprise in textile dyeing. Her business went bankrupt and overnight we became homeless, as our house had been mortgaged to creditors.
This happened at the same time that I failed my university entrance exams.
At the time, owing to our precarious financial condition, I was not in a position to continue my studies. So I told my parents that I would support my own education.
I applied to universities that would give me a full scholarship and a small stipend to support myself, so I wouldn't need to borrow money from home.
After three years or so, the situation at home improved and my mother was able to resume her business.
Me and university:
I was accepted by YongNam University, but I was not happy with (going there). My target had been Seoul National University where all my friends were studying. I wanted to study international economics.
At university, I was a reporter for the English campus newspaper for four years; it was a good chance for me to hone my English language skills.
(While I was studying) I saw people living the grand life, eating in restaurants and travelling abroad. That's why I decided to major in international trade. By then, trade was booming in South Korea and the best jobs were in trading companies.
But I also wanted to go abroad to study and I tried to (gain entrance to universities) in the US. But it was not easy to get in. The universities that agreed to give me admission with a full scholarship were not those of my choice.
So I suspended my plans. Although my parents had recovered economically, they still did not have enough to fund my studies in the US. I had to make money. I decided to work for two or three years, make some money then go to the US.
Me and early days at LG:
I joined LG in 1983 with the intention of saving enough money to go abroad. But even with the hand-to-mouth existence I led, it was still not possible to save enough. So I modified my plan - I changed my ambition to (that of) leading LG. (An ambition I still have!)
LG then was a comparatively small company. There were just five offices abroad, with one office in Germany catering to all of Europe. Yet in South Korea, being hired by LG was a big achievement.
My parents, friends and professors celebrated. But I wasn't happy. My plan was to leave as soon as possible. I was disappointed that I had not made it to university in the US.
Of course, my dream changed after encountering the reality of my situation. I wasn't able to work and save. Also, I began to value and enjoy my work. This was mostly because of one man.
Me and Michael Ahn:
My first assignment at LG was as an analyst and my section leader was a Michael Ahn. I was in the export department in charge of the French market.
Today Michael Ahn is the CEO of LG Electronics, North American Headquarters. He has been with LG for three decades. He is a Vietnam War veteran known for his straightforward management style and an intense focus on customer relations.
In a philosophical sense, he was my guide. He also had to work very hard to overcome the challenges of a difficult childhood spent in poverty. We would talk a lot after work about our personal struggles.
He was a mentor to me, professionally, but also the older brother I never had. He taught me how to modify myself to suit the environment I encountered. That lesson has made a huge difference to me.
It's also something I am teaching my people now. I have to modify myself to what a market or consumers need. I may not be able to control or change them, but I can change myself. It is not aggressive or passive, but a recognition of reality. I am a very aggressive, very emotional person.
But in my actions I have to be calm and objective. It's one of the most important lessons I learned while working with Michael Ahn in my first year. He was then appointed the head of the European office and he called me to Germany a few years later.
So in 1986, the company sent me to work in the European office. Our CEO decided to open a Vienna office and I became the first GM for the office. At the time, working abroad meant big benefits and great prestige.
In the late 1980s, with the collapse of the Communist Bloc countries, a lot of refugees fled from East Germany to Hungary and Austria. The worldwide issue then was how to deal with the new markets of the former Eastern Bloc.
I was appointed as the person to develop the strategy for Eastern Europe and was asked to open a new office in Budapest, Hungary. After two years in Germany and a year in Vienna, I moved there and set up the LG sales and subsidiary in Budapest, covering 17 countries in Eastern Europe.
Me, marketing and adjusting:
Marketing cannot be successful unless you recognise what life is - to understand and recognise human beings. As a consumer you buy certain products and your decision may not be marketing-led, it may be purely emotional, rooted in culture and history. I learned all these things in my first year at LG.
At the time, South Korea was still poor and South Koreans had some fears about foreign countries. At the time, I had some apprehension about leaving South Korea. But once in Germany, I could not spot any major difference.
Life everywhere is fundamentally the same - if I am good to you, you are good to me. All that people want everywhere is to be happy. In some countries shaking your right hand is polite, but in others it's a major faux pas. Even now that understanding helps me when I go to an unfamiliar country.
Compared to South Korea, Germany is much less flexible … Germans are incredibly precise. Two years later when I left Germany, I missed the precision, discipline and punctuality.
Me and my career high points:
In Eastern Europe, a manpower shortage meant that I worked very hard, usually doing 14-hour days.
In socialist countries, government tenders was the way to do business. The Romanian dictator (Nicolae) Ceausescu decided to buy 200,000 TV sets to distribute among the people and increase his popularity.
LG won the order and we captured a 99 per cent share of the market. It was the first time that Romanians enjoyed colour television. As a result, LG employees were treated like VIPs. It was a time of great excitement, but physically it was very hard.
(When I returned to South Korea,) I joined a division called ABC: Accelerated Behaviour Change, reporting to the CEO. At the time restructuring was the buzzword. I prepared strategies for many countries, including China, Italy and Spain.
MYSELF
Which people have influenced you the most?
I have been influenced in my life by my parents, but that's probably true for everyone. There are three (famous identities) who have shaped my personality: former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. All of them always placed the team's interest above themselves.
What's the most important thing you learnt when you worked in Eastern Europe, given it was a time of such historic, sweeping changes?
I learned many valuable things from my time in Eastern Europe. There were many valuable experiences and many challenges. I was a very lucky guy to get to experience all this. I was in the vortex of tremendous change.
From that time on, I learned that anything that sounds logically very appealing is destined to fail if it goes against basic human instinct. Socialism sounds reasonable and nice, but it doesn't satisfy a person's innate instincts of risk-taking and individualism as capitalism does.
At the time the people had no motivation and no hope. It made me realise that people are as much led by emotion as by logic. You cannot always be rational and reasonable. Logic doesn't work in every case.
There is a big part of humans that is purely 'animal'. I cannot lead my people based on theory alone, but must appeal to their non-logical, emotional side as well. There has to be a sense of balance, a golden mean - whether in leading organisations or countries.
In Budapest then, they did not even have the vocabulary of international business, let alone knowledge of what LG did. They had not experienced multi brands. I taught them how a company was registered in a country. It was a humbling experience.
After my time in Budapest, I started believing in God. You may see something as A, I see it as B, but only God knows the correct answer. It could be both A and B, or neither. As much as I insist it is B, I recognise and accept that you will identify it as A.
What challenges do you face now?
The Middle East and Africa are ripe for reform and change. My task is how to prepare for that change. My predecessor, Mr K. H. Kim, leaves behind a very impressive legacy.
My main aim is to strengthen LG's market leading position by rolling out technologically-advanced products to cater to the demands of this market.
