Taekwang Group Founder Ilju Lee Eui-yong's 100th Birth Anniversary Online Commemoration Event Held

The Nation's First Vertical Integration of Textile and Petrochemical Industries... Establishing Group Foundations through Business Diversification into Finance, Electronics, and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Taekwang Group celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Ilju (一洲) Lee Im-yong.

Taekwang Group announced on the 16th that it held an online commemorative event for the 100th anniversary of Chairman Lee Im-yong's birth. The event included a screening of a commemorative video produced to mark the centennial for employees and executives, and a live Zoom lecture by the author of the management philosophy book "Great Worker Ilju, Great Light Taekwang," which was published in 2016.

Additionally, a commemorative book about Ilju will be published in October to coincide with the anniversary of Taekwang Industrial's founding. The Pohang Mathematical Institute (PMI) will also hold an international symposium at the end of July this year to commemorate Ilju's birth. The Ilju Academic and Cultural Foundation, where Ilju served as the first chairman, has been supporting PMI annually since 2009 and operates the Ilju Mathematics School.

Chairman Lee was born on May 7, 1921, in Yeongil-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. In October 1950, he officially entered the textile business by acquiring shares of Dongyang Industrial, which produced woolen fabrics, along with his wife, Mrs. Lee Sun-ae. In July 1954, he established Taekwang Industrial in Munhyeon-dong, Busan, and began independent management. In September 1961, Chairman Lee launched Taekwang Industrial as a corporation with a capital of 100 million hwan.

Taekwang Industrial became the first domestic company to produce acrylic fiber (1967) and spandex (1979), and grew into the only textile company in Korea producing all chemical fibers including acrylic, polyester, spandex, and nylon. Chairman Lee was not satisfied with this achievement. In the 1990s, when he was over seventy years old, he ventured into the petrochemical sector for a greater leap forward. In 1995, the first petrochemical plant (PTA production) was completed in Ulsan, followed by the second and third petrochemical plants (propylene and acrylonitrile (AN) production) in 1997, completing Korea’s first vertical integration of textile and petrochemical industries.

As the existing businesses grew steadily, Chairman Lee expanded into finance and electronics. In 1973, he acquired Heungkuk Life Insurance, and in 1978, he acquired Goryeo Mutual Credit Union (now Goryeo Savings Bank) and Cheonilsa. Heungkuk Life Insurance surpassed 2 trillion won in contract holdings in 1977, up from about 1 trillion won in 1975. Goryeo Mutual Credit Union became the most sound credit union in Busan within three years of acquisition, with a capital scale of 639 billion won and equity capital of 1.5 billion won in 1983. Cheonilsa, famous for its Byulpyo phonograph, was renamed Taekwang Electronics Co., Ltd. after acquisition and launched innovative designs such as the Taekwang Eroica audio system, telephones, and walkie-talkie brands.

Chairman Lee had a strong desire for national prosperity and military strength. He firmly believed that education was the key to the country's future. In 1977, the Ilju-Sewha Foundation contributed funds to establish a school foundation, and in 1978, Sewha Girls' Middle and High Schools were opened, followed by Sewha High School in 1987. Chairman Lee said, "The poorer the country’s resources, the more effort must be put into nurturing talent," and donated an additional 10.2 billion won of his personal fortune after establishing the foundation.

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