Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

As I have shared before my ongoing book writing project “Korea 2020” will explore the most recent and ongoing changing Korean workplace. I look to provide “the what,” and “the why”.  Don Southerton Author The present corporate “restructuring” underway among the top Chaebol is beyond the scope of what many of us who have long supported Korea have seen before and should not be dismissed. I do not see it in the same regard as, for example, the annual year-end shuffling of teams and leadership, or the common Korean corporate practice “change for the sake of change. “ I see the current driver as something much deeper and more significant. I also feel that now more than ever with the wide range of changes underway and their potential implications that all working with Korean facing businesses to recognize, seek out and gain a deep understanding of what impact it will have on the local overseas operations and their work.  Something I do my best to provide amid an e...

Checking emails at 2:30 AM.   Trying to not doze off and miss a late evening phone or Facebook Message call. Responding early morning to a previous evening’s urgent Text. Waking up to a rather lengthy request for revisions on a multi-page document that the Korean team needs to finalize as is due that day in Korea.  Don Southerton This week we look at some of the new challenges as we’re finding more open and direct communications between Korean HQ and local teams. This is more and more commonly surfacing for teams.  By its very nature, Korean facing business is the interaction of worldwide teams operating in different zones—with Korea and North America—their working days beginning as our ends and visa versa. Beyond the different cultures globally working together on a daily basis, which I speak of often, we have seen the advancements in telecommunications as well as more open communications between working-level teams in the West and Korea. ...

Year-end timing for organization-wide promotions, restructuring, and new assignments are part of Korean corporate culture. Each year, high-level moves are the norm we see among the major Groups—the first of these we saw last week. We can assume there will be more senior-level announcements with new leadership taking the helm in their new positions and roles soon, while some leadership long in the ranks will be exiting or remain in advisory roles. Top to bottom within Korean companies they follow this annual transition, with the changes to senior leadership happening first, and team level changes made known the weeks just before or between Christmas and New Year's Day. After the Holidays, teams then report back to work. Some employees assume new roles frequently in departments in which they have little experience—requiring employees to acquire new skills—sink or swim. Meanwhile, some Koreans currently in an overseas assignment may be returning back to Korea or be en-route to...