[W Frontier] CEO Lee Yugyeong "Dream Big but Experience Small Successes Daily"

Interview with Lee Yugyeong, CEO of N2B
Joined POSCO as first female regular employee
30 years of service and appointed CEO this year
Emphasizes importance of 'collaboration' in workplace

CEO Lee Yugyeong of N2B is being interviewed on the 26th at N2B in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

"I never expected to be called the first female CEO of the POSCO Group. Sometimes when the media highlights it, I think, 'Oh, I am a woman.' After working for 30 years, I have long shed the stereotypes about women."

Last December, Lee Kyung, who had been with POSCO for 30 years as the head of the Equipment and Materials Purchasing Office, was appointed as the CEO of its subsidiary, N2B. At that time, the media rushed to report the news under headlines announcing the birth of the first female president in POSCO’s 52-year history. It was an unprecedented and fresh news in the business world. However, Lee herself found the label of the group’s first female CEO unfamiliar. She said, "Whether female or male, when you join a company, you establish yourself as an employee. The perspective of viewing things from a gender standpoint seems to be fading."

◆ Selected as the first female public recruitment batch... gave birth to four children = Lee joined POSCO (then Pohang Iron and Steel) in 1990 as part of the first female public recruitment batch. At a time when it was difficult to find female college graduates entering large corporations, an unprecedented move was made to hire 50 women all at once. Park Tae-joon, then chairman of POSCO, expressed his ambition to become a leading company in nurturing female talent. It was a big gamble for the company. The following year, the second batch of 50 female recruits was hired, resulting in 20-30% of the total employees being female college graduates. "I still remember the recruitment advertisement. It said, 'Do you still think women should only stay at home and take care of children after marriage? That’s no longer true. If you join POSCO, you will be treated equally to male employees in all tasks, so let’s work together.' In reality, women were assigned across all departments, including marketing, planning, public relations, and the steel mill."

There were some internal objections. Complaints about reverse discrimination and concerns that female employees would require more attention were raised. Some even said that if the first batch of female employees quit within a year, they should be held accountable. Fortunately, not a single person left the company within that year. As the number of female employees became statistically significant, changes came to the corporate culture. It became clear that making coffee or wiping water cups was not the role of female employees. Lee recalled, "There was some pain and growing pains, but the corporate culture changed dramatically in a short time and set a good precedent for other companies." Currently, 12 of Lee’s peers remain at POSCO. "Many quit one by one after getting married and having children. Out of 50, only 12 made it through that hurdle."

CEO Lee Yugyeong of N2B is being interviewed on the 26th at N2B in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

Lee gave birth to and raised four children while working. This year, her youngest entered university. She said, "When I unexpectedly became pregnant with my third child, I wondered whether I should continue working or not. At that time, my manager told me, ‘Take a leave of absence. I don’t want to hear you regret it later,’ and supported me." Thanks to that, she was able to live as a working mom and is very grateful to this day. "After taking a one-year leave of absence starting in 2001, I realized that working suited me better than childcare (laughs). Since then, I have devoted myself to work without rest." Now, her children even say they want to be people who love their work like their mother, making her a good role model.

◆ Breaking away from fixed gender roles... emphasizing ‘collaboration with others’ = In an era when the phrase ‘work-family balance’ didn’t even exist, it’s no exaggeration to say she persevered with determination to catch both rabbits. After working in export for six years, Lee moved to the Equipment Purchasing Office and Raw Materials Purchasing Office, handling procurement tasks. When collaborating with employees from general trading companies responsible for exports such as Daewoo, Samsung, and Hyundai, she built friendships by joking, "You’re amazing. You joined a great company." Not wanting to draw negative attention, she wore maternity uniforms only when she was seven months pregnant. "After writing reports all night, I had stomach pain. When I stopped by the hospital before going to work, they said delivery was imminent. The hospital faxed the report to the company, and I gave birth two hours later."

Lee has always broken free from stereotypes and built her own career. The same applies to business operations. Earlier this year, she became CEO of N2B, POSCO’s general materials supply affiliate, and no longer views the MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) business as one that takes work away from small and medium enterprises. "I approached it from the perspective of win-win growth, helping partner companies gain competitiveness rather than minimizing corporate profits. We aim to help SMEs, which find it difficult to break into large corporate supply chains on their own, by opening sales channels." N2B’s main business is connecting large corporations and small suppliers, defining both sides as customers, and striving to create a structure where both can ‘win-win.’

She advises juniors, "Dream big but experience small successes every day." She believes that the more small successes you experience, the closer you get to your big dream. Above all, collaboration is crucial in this process because there is not much one can do alone. "You need to share your ideas, listen to others’ opinions, and ask for help when necessary. I also contribute to others’ ideas to help their success. I believe that through this process, my success and the organization’s success are achieved."

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