Hear Samsung's intimate story through the voice of Seomun Lee Kun-hee.

Part 1.
Change Samsung

The 1990s were a period of profound change, unlike any other period of change in the past.
Do you have a proper understanding of the concept of your own karma?
If multiple defective products come out of one factory, it's a sin. Build a factory!
We need to select smart kids from middle and high school and raise them according to our industry.
Please don't sell a $100 item for $80.
The yen is our opportunity
Even if the quantity is lower than that of Venus-Daewoo, resolve the quality issue.
Please utilize experts, eliminate seniority, and prioritize talent.
The financial services industry needs to shed its conservative and authoritarian tendencies and come to its senses.
We need to change the perception that accidents are inevitable at construction sites.
Why don't the Lee Kun-hee tapes remain?
Why the Frankfurt Declaration is Called the Beginning of New Management

Part 2.
Change the organization

Without change, the country will perish.
Samsung has grown 1000 times in 20 years.
The level of change must be different
Never create factions.
Look at the one-on-one meeting
Make the salary gap bigger according to ability.
You have to treat people well to make them want to work
Create an information-related team to analyze information from overseas economic research institutes and foreign magazines.
If it's at a level where an accident might occur, we shouldn't build it at all!
Handwritten reflections from Samsung Group CEOs
Industries that hurt and make people sick should be closed.
Show that if something unpleasant happens at Samsung, the Chairman's Office apologizes.
In my spare time after 7-4, I enjoy my hobbies or play golf.
Please don't make any paperwork.
If possible, please do it verbally, over the phone, or in a note.
Buy cigarettes for the female employee, don't tell her she's pretty.
Prepare thoroughly for your business trip, learn properly, and spread the word.
Kindness is not just being nice.
If you don't know the basics, training and education are a waste.
Companies where HR managers frequently visit the field have fewer employee complaints.
Give your employees something physically visible.
Lee Kun-hee's concept of the semiconductor industry
[Lee Kun-hee as I See Him] Hyun Myung-kwan, Lee Kun-hee's first choice as Chief of Staff, a partner in new management.

Part 3.
Change people

Let's honestly promote capable high school graduates.
Greetings are 9 in quality and 1 in quantity
Find all the Koreans working for the Big 3 American automakers and bring them over.
If you have the ability, give me 10 billion won in cash.
One A-level talent worth 1.5 billion won is better than ten second-level talents worth 1 billion won.
Provide mental training to executives and above.
Experts treat you well before you ask for it, so you can work with enthusiasm.
Don't scold your subordinates when they make mistakes at work.
But you can't keep making the same mistakes.

In the future, even high school graduates and women can become CEOs.
This is the foundation for the 21st century.
In the past, when you became a manager, director, or executive, you would sit at your desk and stamp your seal, but that was really a waste of national power.
Basically, you need to know technology, management, and sales management to survive in the 21st century.
Praise and reward those who quickly reveal their mistakes.
People who cover up small accidents end up causing big ones.
We need both people who bloom in their 20s and people who shine in their 40s.
In the service industry, people are important.
Don't skimp on manpower
Lee Kun-hee, who was active in fostering female talent
Employee satisfaction after new management
[My View of Lee Kun-hee] Lee Soon-dong, Samsung's PR Pioneer for 32 Years

Part 4.
Thinking about the country and society

The company must bring the food, clothing, shelter, health, and children's education of its employees into the company's domain.
Samsung executives must have a sense of responsibility to the country and society as well as loyalty to the company.
Why do I, who has enough to feed three generations, worry all the time? It's for the future of our nation, Samsung.
Whether a country is first-class or second-class depends on how well its 40-50-year-olds change and perform.
The government knows that if large corporations buy land, the country will be ruined.
If a country is not prosperous, its citizens cannot act human outside the country.
Those who want to work should be allowed to work.
If children are wrong, there is no future.
Instead of giving me a present for my birthday, donate to a nursing home.
Spend 10% of your profits helping the socially disadvantaged.
Why is funeral culture so chaotic?
Create a culture of cleanliness and solemnity.
Invest in the stability of small and medium-sized enterprises and build training centers.
If Samsung doesn't get into the automobile industry, it's because they have no conscience as a businessperson.
Q&A with Lee Kun-hee and new executives
[Interview with Lee Kun-hee] Lee Kun-hee, Seven Years After Launching New Management (2000)

Part 5.
Designing the future

Steel, semiconductors, automobiles, electronics, roads… even mobile communications.
If you don't do it now, future generations will resent you.
The healthcare industry will flourish in the 21st century. As incomes rise, medical costs inevitably rise.
Research the water business.
Even if it costs 100 or 200 billion won.
Water becomes more important in the 21st century.
By 1997-98, Korea would be facing a real recession due to a lack of basic competitiveness.
Do Samsung PR in the US.
If you succeed, the results will be multiplied by millions.
In 10 to 15 years, everyone will have a phone and be able to travel anywhere in the world, and a single card will be used as a credit card and make phone calls anywhere in the world.

National competitiveness will be greatly enhanced if the metropolitan area becomes more complex.
[First Public Release] Samsung Group's Seoul Development Plan Document
There are plenty of ways to utilize Busan, the gateway to Southeast Asia.
Special lecture for CEOs of financial and service industries
[Interview with Lee Kun-hee] Samsung's New Leader, Chairman Lee Kun-hee (1989)

Part6.
Samsung family story

Bringing back Korean fertilizer
Lee In-hee's Hansol Group
Lee Maeng-hee's CJ Group
Lee Myung-hee's Shinsegae Group
Lee Chang-hee's Saehan Group
The Story of the Lee Kun-hee Collection
Until Lee Kun-hee's voice was revealed to the world

Conclusion
Lee Kun-hee's chronology

The voice recording tape contains management philosophy, future predictions, and human suffering.

Chairman Lee Kun-hee took office as chairman of Samsung Group in 1987, but due to internal dynamics within the group and health reasons, he did not actively engage in external activities until 1992.
Also, starting in the late 1990s when New Management had become somewhat established, rather than directly managing the group's major and minor affairs, much of the authority was delegated to the Secretary's Office, and the Secretary's Office changed its name to the Restructuring Headquarters, Strategic Planning Office, and Future Strategy Office, becoming the real power behind Samsung Group.


Therefore, the period from 1993 to 1996 was the most active period in Chairman Lee Kun-hee's life, a time when he established and pursued a vision for the future, laying the foundation for Samsung as a global enterprise.
It is no exaggeration to say that the foundation of Samsung's new management is contained in the recording tapes of Lee Kun-hee's voice during this period.
The tape contained Chairman Lee Kun-hee's management philosophy, concerns about the Republic of Korea, vision for the future, and human suffering.
When things don't go well, I often complain like this:


“What if my wealth increases by 1 trillion or 2 trillion won?
Am I spending all night agonizing and screaming like this because I want Samsung to do well? I'm saying that South Korea needs to do well so its citizens won't be ignored outside.
As a Samsung executive, you must also have a sense of national and social responsibility.
“If we don’t change completely now, we will never be able to live well in the turbulent 21st century.”

Chairman Lee Kun-hee was the type of person who would call or call his close associates, including his chief of staff, day and night, whenever an idea came to mind, and talk at length about his thoughts.
Contrary to the image he has shown in the media, he is a versatile speaker, and it is common for him to speak alone for over an hour.
The book organizes the numerous stories told by Chairman Lee Kun-hee into five themes (▲Changing Samsung ▲Changing the organization ▲Changing people ▲Thinking about the country and society ▲Designing the future) and adds background and explanations.


The contents of the recorded tapes, which were produced by the Secretary's Office and Public Relations Office for use as materials or educational materials, including ▲special lectures by executives of the financial and service sectors, ▲Q&A with new executives, and ▲reports on employee satisfaction surveys after the new management, were included as transcripts.
These are materials that allow us to vividly feel how Chairman Lee Kun-hee carried out his work on a daily basis.


Chairman Lee Kun-hee's interests were not limited to management and economics, but ranged widely, encompassing culture, welfare, the nation, and the future.
In particular, stories that predict the future attract attention.
It may seem so obvious now that it's not surprising, but it's important to note that this was in 1993, when the internet and smartphones were barely widespread.
▲A real recession will come to our country in 1997-1998 ▲The era of 4 and 5 mobile communication will soon come from the current 1st and 2nd mobile communication ▲In 10-15 years, a world will come where you can make payments and phone calls all over the world with just one card ▲In the 21st century, everyone will have a phone and you will be able to make calls anywhere in the world ▲Cars are not machines, but information and communication (IT) products, etc. They all accurately predicted the future.
“Research the water business even if it costs 100 to 200 billion won.
He also said, “Water will become more important in the 21st century.”
If we hadn't anticipated and prepared for this future, Samsung, which dominates the global semiconductor and smartphone markets today, would not exist.


Changing corporate culture through anti-discrimination, employee welfare, and social contribution.

Chairman Lee Kun-hee's value is not limited to making Samsung a world-class company.
He has definitely changed the corporate and social culture of South Korea.
The person who established the concept of corporate social responsibility in practice was Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
The chairman talked about his sad experience of living abroad as a child and said, “If a country is not prosperous, its people cannot act like human beings abroad.
He said, “For my company to do well and for me to be treated well, our country must develop,” and he constantly researched how South Korea could become a powerful country recognized on the international stage.


Also, as Lee Kun-hee said, “If Samsung does it, it becomes the standard,” the changes that started at Samsung, such as the abolition of discrimination against high school graduates and female employees, employee welfare, and social contribution, gradually spread to other large corporations.
Few would disagree that Chairman Lee Kun-hee virtually laid the domestic foundation for ESG (Environment, Social, Governance: non-management factors of a company), a current global hot topic.
Chairman Lee Kun-hee said, “Companies should bring the needs of their employees, including food, clothing, shelter, health, and children’s education, into the company’s domain so that salaried workers can take care of their families’ health, children’s education, and the rest of their lives after retirement.” He also said, “If children are not well, there is no future,” and “Samsung should do enough to help the underprivileged in our society survive.”


In addition, Chairman Lee Kun-hee took care of not only the management of each affiliate but also human resources, real estate, media, public relations, and government affairs. In terms of business areas, in addition to the existing affiliate businesses that had been passed down from the previous generation, there was no area he did not touch, including medical care, pharmaceuticals, childcare, senior citizens, culture, arts, sports, pets, fashion, and funerals.
The tape clearly shows the voice giving instructions, pointing out each and every field.
He also took an interest in artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and the space industry to prepare for the future, and even ordered the scouting of high-level personnel from Soviet research institutes after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
He emphasized, “In the 21st century, only industries with strong creativity and individuality will survive,” and “We must utilize the ideas and thoughts of young people and make them truly energetic and motivated.”


The author provides a detailed introduction to Chairman Lee Kun-hee's voice recordings, while also explaining why numerous "Lee Kun-hee speech tapes" produced in the past for training Samsung employees have disappeared and their existence has been kept hidden.
In addition to the audio material, the book also contains content that helps you understand Chairman Lee Kun-hee more deeply.
In its December 1989 issue, Monthly Chosun interviewed Chairman Lee Kun-hee for seven hours, revealing everything about the "human Lee Kun-hee."
In this interview conducted by interview master reporter Oh Hyo-jin, it was revealed that Chairman Lee loves movies and owns over 1,000 videotapes, that he is particularly fond of dogs, and that he enjoys rice cakes and half-body baths.
In this book, you can see at a glance the interview with ‘Oh Hyo-jin’s Human Exploration’ and articles related to Lee Kun-hee that were published in Monthly Chosun.


The confidential internal documents of Samsung Group, revealed for the first time in this book, also attract attention.
These include the Seoul City Development Plan prepared by the Samsung Group Chairman's Office under the direction of Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and the self-reflection and statement of account handwritten by Samsung Group CEOs to Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
The documents vividly show how deeply Chairman Lee Kun-hee thought about the future of the Republic of Korea and how much charisma he possessed.


For those who miss Chairman Lee Kun-hee, for businesspeople advancing into the global market, and for young people seeking to change the world in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this book containing his voice will be a valuable resource.