Kolon Manager Has Disappeared

Reduction of Rank System to Assistant Manager, Manager, and Senior Manager... Establishing a Horizontal Communication Culture

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] Kolon Corporation, the holding company of Kolon Group, has completely revamped its employee rank system. This is to foster a culture where employees can communicate horizontally regardless of their ranks.

According to industry sources on the 28th, Kolon Corporation reduced its existing five-level rank system to three levels: Assistant Manager, Manager, and Senior Manager. The previous positions of Deputy Manager and Manager were integrated into "Manager," and the positions of Deputy General Manager and General Manager were combined into "Senior Manager."

This is part of the organizational structure change initiative announced earlier this year by Yu Seokjin, Chairman of Kolon One & Only Committee and CEO of Kolon Corporation. In his New Year's address, Chairman Yu emphasized, "Reflecting on whether we have truly practiced the spirit of Honorary Chairman Lee Woong-yeol, who voluntarily stepped down from all positions, saying he could be an obstacle to change," and added, "We will change ranks and titles to be horizontal and apply more flexible work and performance evaluation systems."

Kolon Group interprets this rank system reform as an organizational change to flexibly respond to future market environments. Through changes in the personnel system that expand autonomy and opportunities, the group aims to achieve faster decision-making and strengthen future competitiveness.

A Kolon Group official said, "Kolon Corporation took the lead in this reform, and each affiliate will adjust their rank systems according to their circumstances in the future," adding, "Although Kolon Group has always had the advantage of a free corporate culture, we expect even more positive changes through this noticeable rank system reform."

Since the late 1990s, Kolon Group has been promoting a free and horizontal corporate culture, including proactively implementing dress code autonomy. The Kolon One & Only Tower, opened in 2018 in the Magok industrial district of Seoul, features a grand staircase connecting all buildings and floors of the office, symbolizing communication.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.