Korean Executive Training Programs

In LG Group’s training for new executives this year, foreign executives will take part for the first time.

LG Electronics’ managing director John Herrington of its U.S. subsidiary, managing director Eric Surdej of the French subsidiary, and managing director Dominique Oh of the mobile communications division are to participate, without exception, in the executive training that begins in late January. Simultaneous interpreters will be hired for the foreign executives. This is interpreted as the conglomerate’s move to stress global business.

SK Group, which plans to provide training for new executives around March, will strengthen “media training” for new executives this year. It entrusted a foreign media consulting firm to provide newly appointed execs with education on how to effectively deal with the media.

Major businesses that finished their personnel changes on executives around late 2006 and early 2007 will soon begin their training camps on new execs. As one becomes a member of the top management as soon as he or she newly becomes an executive, large businesses’ training of new executives is aimed at nurturing business managers. Breaking away from lecture-based education with emphasis on “loyalty,” growing numbers of recent training sessions are now based on discussions, asking execs themselves to find out problems on the spot.

Tough training for new execs-

Samsung Group offers a six-day training session for new executives in early March.

The group’s training is a tough one that runs from 8:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. The training is largely focused on discussions, covering organizational management, leading employees, security education and labor-management relationships.

Hyundai-Kia Motor Group plans to provide four-day training for new executives in late January or February. The main characteristic of the training is that it includes the methodology of motivating subordinates.

SK Group, which offered new executive training in May last year, provides education for four days in March this year. The training will include effective ways of internal and external communications and exec volunteering activities.

Samsung Group and SK Group’s training sessions for new executives will be attended by their spouses, too. On the last day of its five-day training for new executives, Samsung Group will hold a dinner with spouses included. The execs and their spouses will watch a performance together at Hoam Art Hall; the executives’ spending a night with their spouses at Hotel Shilla rounds up the training.

On the last day of SK Group’s training, spouses of new executives will visit the training center, take a cultural lecture and participate in a dinner together, which will also be attended by Chairman Choi Tae-won. The dinner session includes a “dialogue with the chairman.”

In-service training and self-development: a must for senior execs-

When one becomes an executive of a large business, he or she has to get in-service training and make self-development efforts almost every year to have his accomplishments evaluated. Hyundai Motor Group lets executives read business-related books that its talent development team picked. It holds short essay tests twice a year—by distributing checklist sheets—and separately notifies each of the execs what their grades and ranks are.

LG Group has made it mandatory for executives to take the three-day “EnDP or Entrepreneur Development Program.” Out of nine themes, they take one or more courses every year.

Executives at SK Group choose certain areas for themselves and get tested by relevant experts. By doing so, they assess their capabilities in those areas and improve their weaknesses. The company pays the costs.

An executive in his third year, who takes Chinese courses twice a week, said, “I am confident that I am an expert in financial and business theories. However, I think my foreign language skills are not good enough, so I am working on them.”

If picked for the global competency enhancement program, SK Group’s executives leave their business for six months to undergo overseas training.

At Samsung Group, managing directors or higher-ranking officials receive separate “senior executive” training. The goal of the training is to find a solution to on-site tasks.

“We go on a business trip abroad for about five days for the training, searching for relevant data or meeting with major figures,” stated one executive of Samsung Group.