Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, No.1 in On-site Management Despite COVID-19

Source: Global Big Data Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Amid the ongoing surge of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this year, it has been revealed that among the heads of the top 10 conglomerates, 'Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics' garnered overwhelmingly high interest for his 'on-site management.'

The Global Big Data Research Institute announced on the 18th that an analysis of the volume of on-site management information of the heads of the top 10 conglomerates was conducted across 12 channels including news, communities, blogs, cafes, and YouTube from January 1 to December 15 this year, revealing these results.

Vice Chairman Lee ranked first with an overwhelming 9,890 pieces of information. The institute explained that this signifies his sincere care for on-site workers despite COVID-19 and judicial risks.

Starting with a visit to the Brazilian production subsidiary during the Lunar New Year holidays in January, Vice Chairman Lee visited many sites shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak, including the Gumi plant, Asan plant, and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in Suwon. From May 17, he also visited Samsung’s semiconductor factory in Xi’an, China, enduring the inconvenience of undergoing COVID-19 tests three times over two nights and three days, each taking more than six hours.

In October, he visited Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display production plants in Vietnam and met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. After his father’s passing, he held an integrated design strategy meeting at the Seocho-gu R&D center, continuing numerous on-site management activities throughout the year despite concerns over COVID-19 infection.

Lee Seong-hee, who took office as the President of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation on January 31, recorded 2,146 cases, ranking second, despite having a survey period one month shorter than other heads. This is analyzed to be due to the large number of local cooperatives and members requiring attention.

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, ranked third with 1,702 cases, followed closely by Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, who ranked fourth with 1,678 cases. After returning to Korea in May, Chairman Shin started on-site management by inspecting major nearby business sites such as Lotte World Mall, Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart, and Lotte World Adventure in Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

Chairman Chung attended the international electronics exhibition CES 2020 at the beginning of the year, unveiling the group’s future mobility vision, and in April, he observed a demonstration of new technology by the mobility platform Code42.

Gu Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, ranked fifth with 1,492 cases. This year, he continued visits to LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul, the LG Chem fire site in Daesan, Chungnam, and meetings with Chung Eui-sun, Senior Vice Chairman (current Chairman) of Hyundai Motor, at LG Chem sites.

A representative from the institute stated, "Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the on-site management by the heads of conglomerates stood out remarkably this year," adding, "Unlike in the past, the leaders shed their reclusive images and were notably seen presenting future visions with leadership that breathes together with on-site workers."

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