[Insight & Opinion] A Leader with Practical Know-How Is Needed

Execution Power Matters More Than Direction in National Innovation Tasks
Without Meticulous Know-How, Only "The Direction Is Right" Is Repeated
We Must Learn the Drive of Park Chung-hee and Chung Ju-yung

Having 'ilmeori' means having a way of working, know-how, and skills. Looking at those currently responsible for national affairs, they may have the brains to study, but they seem to lack 'ilmeori.' Ban-gye (磻溪) Yu Hyeongwon (柳馨遠), in his national reform book 'Bangye Surok,' stated that for the Way (道) to be practiced in the world, the general framework alone is insufficient; detailed steps are necessary. In other words, to achieve something great, the small details must be meticulous.

When addressing various urgent national innovation tasks, good intentions and directions alone cannot break through. Not everyone supports every innovation; there are always opponents or even those who suffer losses from the innovation. While preparing an excellent innovation plan is important, implementing it is an even greater challenge. Comparing it to urban redevelopment and reconstruction, a great design is important, but the planning and execution process to carry out that design can be much more difficult. A person who manages that process well is said to have 'ilmeori.' Among presidents, Park Chung-hee and Lee Myung-bak seemed to have 'ilmeori.' Among businesspeople, Chairman Chung Ju-yung is also notable.

President Park Chung-hee, with the aim of rebuilding the nation, established the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction after May 16, even naming a train 'Jaegunho' (Reconstruction Train) and civil servant uniforms 'Jaegunbok' (Reconstruction Uniform). To rebuild a country devastated by war and with nothing, he formulated economic development plans, devised ways to secure development funds, appointed top economists, and attracted foreign scientists, accelerating the necessary tasks.

When Lee Myung-bak was mayor of Seoul, he demolished the Cheonggye Elevated Highway to restore Cheonggyecheon Stream and reorganized bus routes that had been fixed for decades by introducing a semi-public operation system. As president, he undertook the Four Major Rivers Comprehensive Development Project. Although there was much criticism at the time, looking back now, these were tasks that could not have been done without 'ilmeori.' Dismantling the dangerous and unsightly Cheonggye Elevated Highway was no ordinary task, and there are anecdotes about meeting thousands of times with merchants of the Cheonggyecheon shops entangled in vested interests. The reorganization of bus routes with the introduction of the semi-public system was also impossible without smooth agreements with stakeholders. Although the Four Major Rivers project later faced partial dismantling and humiliation, it will be recorded as a great undertaking in the future.

There are many behind-the-scenes stories in the process of growing Hyundai into a global company, but the construction method using a large oil tanker for the final water-blocking work of the Seosan Barrage most reminds one of Chairman Chung Ju-yung. Though not an engineer, he solved the last difficult construction with a creative idea.

All of them knew what needed to be done and how to do it, and they were excellent leaders with the ability to select the right people to entrust with the work. Knowing the tasks to be accomplished and having 'ilmeori,' they could properly judge whom to assign the work to. They can all be called masters of personnel management.

In conducting national affairs, lacking 'ilmeori' means repeating only that 'the direction is right' without knowing how to proceed, leaving the country in confusion.

Kim Hong-jin, CEO of Work Innovation Lab

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