Four of Korea’s major conglomerate heads exchange consolations, blessings, share thoughts at special dinner

The heads of the four major conglomerates sitting at the same table at the New Year’s greeting session held by the government at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul last January.
From right, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. [Blue House press corps]

By Peter Jaegeul Song
Asia N Reporter

SEOUL: The heads of four of Korea’s most influential conglomerates, Lee Jae-yong, 52, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, Chung Eui-sun, 50, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Choi Tae-won, 60, the chairman of SK group, and Koo Kwang-mo, the CEO of LG Corporation, dined together to console Lee Jae-yong who was last month bereaved of his father Lee Kun-hee, the former Chairman of Samsung.

The dinner on November 5 was also used to discuss pending issues. The meeting was arranged by the eldest among them, Mr. Choi from SK group, at Aston House at the Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul run by SK group. The dinner that began around 7 p.m. lasted for four hours.

The conglomerate heads met at the mortuary of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee who passed away on October 25 to offer their condolences, with the chairman of Hyundai Motor Group Chung Eui-sun going first. They had also attended the funeral on October 28.

At the dinner meeting, blessings for Mr.Chung who became the chairman of Hyundai Motors last October, were also offered. Choi Tae-won of SK group, who hosted the meeting, was offered presidency at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; voices on the role of economic organizations such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also shared.

Some Korean newspapers reported that as all four business leaders had studied in the U.S., they would have exchanged opinions on the U.S. presidential election.

They had met last September, which means they met again within two months. Accordingly, it is anticipated that they will have regular gatherings in the future.

In May, they also had a series of meetings called by Mr. Chung, the chairman of Hyundai Motors that runs electric vehicle and battery business in which the four groups are involved, visiting other groups’ workplaces.

The business industry of Korea is paying attention to the fact that their meetings are becoming regular. Unlike the generation of their fathers, the generation of the sons is expected to be much more open to direct and regular communication.

They shared that “we exchange various ideas for business corporations that are difficult to discuss at the working-level” and that “it is positive in a sense that it can boost Korea’s overall industrial competitiveness”.

Last year, they met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Seungjiwon.

The heads of the business industry had gathered there nine years after the dinner of the chairmen of the Federation of Korean Industries in July 2010.

Seungjiwon is used as a meeting place for VIPs by Samsung after renovating the house in which the founder of Samsung, Lee Byung-chul, had lived.