China Giving Fear to Korean Electronics Companies

The heads of the China operations of Korea’s top two electronics giants have spared no praise for elite Chinese bureaucrats.

The comments by the chiefs of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics draw attention as they come amid a series of corruption scandals involving of Chinese bureaucrats. Samsung posted sales revenue of 45.2 billion U.S. dollars in China last year and LG 10 billion dollars.

Park Keun-hee, president of Samsung China, said he was surprised when he met with a senior official at a province where the electronics maker had a television production plant. Park told The Dong-A Ilbo that the official had expert knowledge exclusive to those with experience in running a plant have.

“When I meet Chinese officials in their early or mid 40s, they make me afraid of China’s competitiveness,” he said.

Park, who took charge of Samsung China in January 2005, is known for his “field management,” as he spends more than 200 days a year on business trips. He attributed the competitiveness of elite Chinese officials to their overseas study, which gave them international sense and fluency in foreign languages.

In addition, the Chinese officials have expertise in business administration, as they oversee hundreds of state-run companies.

“On top of policymaking and supervisory capabilities, they have managerial expertise,” Park said.

mungchii@donga.com