Inauguration of Moon Young-pyo as the 17th President of Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation

Expressed Commitment to Key Initiatives Including Spreading Communication Culture, Serving as a Sound Mediator, Smooth Facility Modernization, Diversifying Transaction Systems, and Improving Innovative Distribution and Logistics Systems

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Moon Young-pyo, former CEO of Lotte Mart, was inaugurated as the 17th president of the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation on the 3rd.

In his inaugural speech, President Moon emphasized the importance of innovation to transform the corporation and wholesale markets into sustainable entities amid rapidly changing distribution environments. He expressed his ambition to work with the corporation’s executives and employees to make the wholesale market a “market leading the future distribution environment,” a “market of coexistence through empathy and trust restoration,” a “safe, reliable, and friendly market,” and thus “a market where people always want to visit.”

To create such a market, he stated, “I will prioritize communication and field-oriented management by operating a field-centered organization to spread a culture of communication within the market through collecting diverse opinions and engaging stakeholders.”

He also emphasized, “We must strengthen the function of stakeholder coordination and fairly and balancedly develop the corporation’s inherent role as a ‘mediator.’ Based on a future vision that is thoroughly public-interest-oriented and socially valuable, we need to build a foundation of trust for listening to various stakeholders’ difficulties, empathizing on-site, and resolving conflicts, thereby fostering a culture of coexistence and mediation.”

Furthermore, he pledged, “We will steadily advance the Garak Market facility modernization project. The longer the project is delayed, the more the damage inevitably falls on producers nationwide, wholesale market distributors, and consumers including 20 million metropolitan citizens. From now on, we will thoroughly communicate, manage, and prepare in advance to prevent any delays in project progress.”

President Moon also declared, “To protect the interests of producers and consumers, we must diversify transaction systems.” He explained, “Both auction and private transaction systems have their own pros and cons. In line with the legislative intent of the Agricultural Products Management Act, we will diversify transaction systems to establish a fair competitive system among them, thereby protecting the rights and interests of producers and consumers and actively responding to changes in the distribution environment.”

Additionally, he stressed the need for “clearly defining the role of the public wholesale market in meeting the needs of producers and consumers, establishing a product traceability and transparent settlement system based on a real-time transaction information system, actively supporting producers, expanding product structures that meet consumer needs, and innovating into a consumer-oriented business structure through expanding the role of a non-face-to-face public wholesale market.” He highlighted the necessity of “building an integrated data management system” and a “big data-based online platform,” and underscored the importance of “securing financial soundness in line with the facility modernization project.”

Finally, he urged employees to “transform into an organization culture centered on public-interest performance,” stating, “We must clearly define KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) based on the public interest of producers, consumers, and social contribution. For organizational communication and cooperation, mutual understanding and consideration among employees are more important than anything else.”

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Inaugural Address

Dear executives and employees of the corporation!

It is a great pleasure to meet you.

I am Moon Young-pyo, appointed as the president of the Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation.

Before my inaugural speech, the new year of 2022, the Year of the Black Tiger (Im In Year, 壬寅年), has dawned. I wish all executives and employees a prosperous new year.

Last year was very difficult and challenging due to COVID-19. I deeply thank all executives and employees who quietly fulfilled their roles and made efforts despite the difficult circumstances.

Now, I will begin my inaugural speech.

I am very pleased to join you, the executives and employees here, in carrying out the heavy responsibility of providing stable sales channels to 2.5 million farmers and fishermen nationwide to facilitate smooth distribution of agricultural and fishery products, and supplying safe agricultural and fishery products at reasonable prices to 20 million metropolitan citizens, thereby contributing to the stability of national life. However, at the same time, when I think about the various improvements and pressing issues of our corporation, Garak Market, Gangseo Market, Yanggok Market, and the Eco-friendly Distribution Center, I also feel a heavy sense of responsibility.

Former President Kim Kyung-ho led difficult and challenging projects such as the Garak Market facility modernization project, improvement of wholesale market transaction systems, establishment of fair trade order, and financial balance improvement over a long period of 3 years and 3 months with great achievements. As his successor, I will strive to refine and bring these efforts to fruition. I would like to take this opportunity to deeply thank former President Kim Kyung-ho and all executives and employees for their hard work.

Let me briefly introduce myself. I joined Lotte Group as a public recruitment employee in 1987 during my senior year at university and retired in December 2020 after serving as CEO of Lotte Mart. Over the past 34 years, I have had valuable opportunities to gain expertise through diverse experiences in distribution, logistics, planning, human resources, general affairs, audit, and overseas business management.

In particular, based on communication, cooperation, and expertise, I was able to achieve results in distribution and logistics innovation by acting as a mediator among various domestic and international stakeholders to resolve current issues.

However, there have been some concerns about my lack of experience in public sector organization management and agricultural and fishery wholesale market management, and I believe some of you here may share those concerns.

Nevertheless, I promise to study wholesale market distribution more deeply, maintain an open mind, and actively incorporate diverse expert opinions through communication with stakeholders and field-centered management.

Especially, through sufficient discussion and communication with you, the corporation’s executives and employees who are the best experts in agricultural and fishery product distribution in Korea, I will combine my experience and expertise to create the best synergy effect to contribute to and lead distribution development.

Dear executives and employees of the corporation!

As you well know, many difficult challenges lie ahead of us. In the process of advancing important and new tasks for the development of Korea’s agricultural and fishery product distribution, such as the Garak Market facility modernization project, diversification of wholesale market transaction systems, and improvement of distribution and logistics systems, conflicts and delays have occurred due to lack of communication among stakeholders.

To resolve this, I will devote all my capabilities, including organizational management skills, communication and cooperation, stakeholder mediation roles, and human networks for distribution and logistics innovation, which I have accumulated through experience.

To this end, I will perform a reasonable mediator role through continuous communication with stakeholders to resolve accumulated conflicts between the corporation and stakeholders, and together with you, the executives and employees here, we will gather wisdom to solve these issues one by one and fulfill the corporation’s mission in this era.

From now on, we will manage and improve the projects we have been pursuing so that they bear hopeful fruits, and at the same time, innovate to transform into a sustainable corporation and wholesale market amid rapidly changing distribution environments.

I intend to work with the corporation’s executives and employees to make the wholesale market a “market leading the future distribution environment,” a “market of coexistence through empathy and trust restoration,” a “safe, reliable, and friendly market,” and thus a market where people always want to visit.

To this end, I will focus on the following key points.

First, I will operate a field-centered organization to spread a culture of communication within the market by collecting diverse opinions.

So far, the corporation has faced many difficulties in smoothly advancing projects due to accumulated distrust between the corporation and various stakeholders during the facility modernization project and transaction system diversification process.

However, from now on, we will set a clear direction centered on public interest and social value improvement, establish new communication channels, and conduct continuous consultations and discussions with stakeholders to ensure thorough preparation. In particular, to restore trust by resolving conflicts with distributors and other stakeholders, we will prioritize communication and field-centered management.

I look forward to meeting you often on-site in the future.

Second, I will strengthen the stakeholder coordination function to fulfill the corporation’s sound mediator role.

Although the corporation has made progressive steps by deriving and executing major tasks over a long period, mutual distrust and conflicts have arisen amid various realistic stakeholder interests. Therefore, we must fairly and balancedly develop the corporation’s inherent “mediation” function, and based on a future vision oriented toward public interest and social value, create a foundation of trust that allows on-site resolution of issues through listening to stakeholders’ difficulties, empathizing on-site, and resolving conflicts. We must foster a culture of coexistence and mediation.

Restoring this mediation role will enable the corporation and distributors to actively respond to the rapidly changing distribution environment based on trust and consensus, allowing the wholesale market to lead the future and grow into a trusted and respected top public enterprise.

If necessary, I will carefully consider establishing a separate organization for communication.

Third, I will steadily advance the Garak Market facility modernization project.

The Garak Market facility modernization project has been delayed due to various internal and external conditions, extending the overall project period. The longer the delay, the more the damage inevitably falls on producers nationwide, wholesale market distributors, and consumers including 20 million metropolitan citizens. From now on, we will thoroughly manage and prepare in advance to prevent further delays.

In particular, distributors at Garak Market have various demands based on their individual expected interests regarding the project’s direction.

Although the facility modernization project faces many challenges, we must boldly accept demands that can be accepted and strongly negotiate on matters requiring concessions to gain distributors’ cooperation.

This is why a sense of ownership is necessary for all of us.

Fourth, we must diversify transaction systems to protect the interests of producers and consumers.

To respond to rapidly changing distribution environments and fulfill the function of a future wholesale market, we must clarify the direction of transaction systems before the facility modernization project. Since both auction and private transaction systems have their own pros and cons, the corporation’s role and direction are to diversify transaction systems to establish a fair competitive system in line with the legislative intent of the Agricultural Products Management Act, thereby protecting the rights and interests of producers and consumers and actively responding to changes in the distribution environment.

Fifth, we must improve the innovative distribution and logistics system and transform into a business structure that guarantees the future.

With large distribution companies rapidly growing online, if the public wholesale market cannot efficiently provide services desired by consumers, its future is bleak and survival in the competitive era will be difficult.

Therefore, we must clearly define the role of the public wholesale market in meeting the needs of producers and consumers, establish a product traceability and transparent settlement system based on a real-time transaction information system, actively support producers, expand product structures that meet consumer needs, and innovate into a consumer-oriented business structure by expanding the role of a non-face-to-face public wholesale market. This will allow proactive response to rapidly changing market environments and lead the future distribution market amid external competition.

To this end, there are five implementation tasks.

1) Completely reorganize individual distributor logistics within the market into a joint logistics service concept, develop an integrated shipping system, and build an integrated data management system to digitalize the entire production, distribution, and consumption process.

2) Strengthen the role of the public wholesale market by expanding cold chain-based low-temperature warehouses, processing, and packaging facilities for safe product supply, diversifying wholesale transaction structures, and supplementing institutional measures to activate eco-friendly agricultural products.

3) Due to physical space limitations at Garak Market and accelerated withdrawal of large buyers from the existing offline face-to-face transaction structure, it is urgent to combine an online B to B business structure. To this end, we must create an innovative business model by establishing a big data-based online platform exchange and expanding the role of a non-face-to-face online public wholesale market to lead distribution development.

4) As a mid-term task, normalize Garak Mall by redesigning its MD to the level of private shopping malls and systematically managing leases, transforming it into a shopping mall that Seoul citizens can enjoy and securing competitiveness.

5) For export businesses based on the wholesale market, carefully diagnose the current level and strengthen exports through role redefinition to advance Garak Market as an export forward base and externally expand the role of the public wholesale market.

Sixth, we must secure financial soundness in line with the facility modernization project.

The corporation has been paying only interest until now, but since 2019, principal repayment has begun, and approximately 543.5 billion KRW must be repaid by 2051.

Market and facility usage fees, the corporation’s main income sources, are set by statutory rates, and rent and parking fees are also limited in increases to revitalize the market. Therefore, strengthening financial soundness due to principal and interest repayment for the facility modernization project is essential.

Going forward, by introducing ZBB (Zero Base Budget) and establishing a dedicated department for revenue generation, we must actively discover and implement financial soundness measures at the corporate level to become a sustainable and competitive corporation. We will also focus on efforts to reduce external borrowings.

Finally, we must transform into an organizational culture centered on public-interest performance.

By clearly defining KPIs based on the public interest of producers, consumers, and social contribution, we will refine individual goals and thoroughly reward excellent performance and employees accordingly.

Moreover, for organizational communication and cooperation, it is more important than anything else to overcome barriers between departments, job groups, ranks, and generations and foster mutual understanding and consideration.

I will also break down the physical and psychological walls of being the president, approach employees first, listen carefully to your valuable voices, and actively strive and support creating a warm, humane, heartfelt, and loving happy corporation.

I will faithfully fulfill the role of a reliable partner and supporter so that all executives and employees of our corporation can confidently and sincerely perform their duties. I will not neglect creating a happy workplace atmosphere where you can work more comfortably and pleasantly.

Dear executives and employees of the corporation!

I believe that if we unite our strength, we can overcome and accomplish any difficulty and challenge. I trust your potential.

Finally, I sincerely wish you and your families health and happiness always, and with this, I conclude my inaugural address.

Thank you.

January 3, 2022

President Moon Young-pyo, Seoul Agro-Fisheries & Food Corporation

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