[People人] Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, "There Are No Bad Ideas" Leadership of Listening

Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem

[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] LG Chem struggled for a while as the yield at its major production base, the electric vehicle battery factory in Poland, hardly improved. Researchers and engineers exerted every effort to reduce the defect rate, but the dark period of slow progress lasted for about a year. Employees grew anxious. However, during this time, Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol did not pressure the staff. Instead, he focused on instilling confidence in employees through various channels such as video conferences, telling them "You can do it." Encouraged by Vice Chairman Shin, the yield at LG Chem's Poland plant has now returned to normal levels, and in the first half of this year, LG Chem rose to become the global leader in electric vehicle battery market share. An LG Chem official said, "Vice Chairman Shin is confident that LG Chem is an excellent company," adding, "He instills belief in employees that our company will do better and clearly explains the direction we are heading." A leader who listens to employees without prejudice and clearly presents the future direction. This is the internal evaluation of his one and a half years working at LG Chem.

Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, is already a legendary figure in the chemical industry. After graduating from Seoul National University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he joined Korea 3M in 1984, serving as the head of the Philippines branch, Senior Vice President overseeing Industrial Business at 3M's U.S. headquarters, and became the first Korean to serve as Senior Vice Chairman overseeing 3M's overseas operations. After joining LG Group as CEO of LG Chem early last year, he led the electric vehicle battery business?a future growth industry?to profitability within one and a half years. Despite the crisis caused by COVID-19 in the second quarter of this year, LG Chem recorded an 'earnings surprise' by securing quarterly operating profit exceeding 570 billion KRW. In particular, the battery business achieved record-high sales and operating profit.

Vice Chairman Shin's pursuit is clear. His CEO message released last April, when the global economy was sinking into a quagmire due to COVID-19, was especially talked about in the industry. He said, "We have experienced and overcome several life-or-death moments like the global foreign exchange crisis," adding, "The way to survive is always simple and fundamental." He introduced three simple secrets to not only survive but turn crises into opportunities. First, 'Preserve cash' as a top priority; second, 'Don't mortgage your future' by never giving up investments for the future under any circumstances; and third, 'Control what we can control' by doing what can be done immediately. This straightforward message became a clear guideline for LG Chem employees during the unprecedented COVID-19 situation.

He usually enjoys candid discussions with employees. Normally, people worry about receiving critical 'jabs' during debates and tend to raise their 'guard' defensively. Vice Chairman Shin, however, leads discussions in a way that eases such defensiveness, encouraging others to speak openly and honestly. He approaches discussions and conversations not as emotional or logical battles but with the belief that both parties share common goals and trusts the goodwill of others. Even in executive meetings, he listens to multiple opinions without interrupting until the end. He emphasizes, "There is no such thing as a bad idea," and "If a culture encouraging idea generation is repeated for 5 or 10 years, tremendous things happen in a company. Conversely, if a leader shows cynicism, new ideas in that organization disappear."

He asks many questions. Initially, he poses relatively easy questions like "Could you please explain this part?" or "Why does this happen?" Then, he asks further "Why?" questions to encourage deeper thinking. By repeating "Why?" three or four times in this manner, it becomes more likely to reach fundamental solutions and discover new ideas. Vice Chairman Shin calls this the '3 Why Rule.'

As a leader who makes decisions representing many people, he also continuously hones himself. Those around him have observed that he often reflects on questions like "Am I qualified for this?" and "What are my shortcomings?" and carries a strong sense of responsibility. In crisis situations such as the gas leak accident at the India plant, he voluntarily took on the role of emergency response committee chairman and mobilized domestic and international networks to manage the situation responsibly.

Vice Chairman Shin aims to make LG Chem a 'stronger company.' He has set a goal to double LG Chem's current sales to 60 trillion KRW by 2024. His motto is '치기언이과기행 (恥其言而過其行),' meaning 'Be ashamed when words exceed actions.' We look forward to seeing him not only achieve short-term results but also transform LG Chem into the world's 'strongest company.'

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