[New Year's Address] Shin Hak-cheol: "Wisely Prepare for the Future with the Kyotosamgul Posture"

Six Key Tasks for This Year Including Internal Efficiency Presented

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, emphasized, "Let us wisely prepare for the future with the mindset of 'Gyotosamgul' (교토삼굴, meaning 'a clever rabbit has three burrows')."

In his New Year's address on the 2nd, Vice Chairman Shin stated that just as a rabbit prepares three burrows, adopting the Gyotosamgul mindset is necessary to successfully navigate the journey of 2023. He then presented six key tasks that must be prepared for and achieved this year.

First, he urged continuous improvement of internal efficiency, saying, "We cannot create better results by continuing the same methods." Vice Chairman Shin said, "We intend to continue promoting Project A+, an emergency management system to turn crises into opportunities," adding, "Improvements in cash flow and purchasing costs should be advanced with precise and sophisticated methods, and our unique Connect-i activities, which combine Lean Six Sigma and digital transformation, should be expanded to non-manufacturing sectors."

He emphasized the need to prioritize between maintaining financial soundness and fostering future businesses to efficiently allocate limited resources. Vice Chairman Shin said, "To improve working capital and cash flow, resources must be invested by prioritizing all aspects of business operations," and added, "Investments for preparing the future, such as the three major growth engines and environmental safety, should be executed as top priorities, while manageable working capital should be internally managed to improve cash flow."

Reiterating the importance of customers, he said, "The breakthrough in crisis lies with the customer." Vice Chairman Shin stated, "We must turn customers into our Big Fans," and urged, "To achieve this, establish a 'customer-centric way of working' and firmly shift the mindset to 'enhancing customer value is my job'." He has consistently emphasized that "the compass and essence of business is the customer." He also identified accelerating the commercialization of the three new growth engines, securing sustainability competitiveness, and strengthening global marketing capabilities as core tasks.

In conclusion, Vice Chairman Shin said, "Now, when everyone talks about crisis, it will be a time of growth and leap for us," and added, "Let us create a year of challenge and achievement with our unique strong execution power."

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