Christmas is a popular holiday in South Korea. I am incredibly impressed by the decorations in popular locations across Seoul city, such as Yeouido, Myeongdong, and Cheonggyecheon.
That said, it is also a distinctly Christian holiday.
As the holiday approaches, you may wish to greet Korean colleagues with a common greeting. Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo!
Hint: When speaking, break the greeting into: sae hae bok—mahne—bah deu say yo.
Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo! works well both in person, in a card, text, IM, or an email.
It is the best seasonal greeting for New Year’s, too.
Given the time differences, vacations, and work schedules, plan to wish Korea-based friends and colleagues a holiday greeting on Thursday, December 19 (USA/ EU time), Friday KST.
Another option is next week on Monday, December 23, USA/ EU, which coincides with Christmas Eve Day AM in Korea.
Questions on the holidays in Korea? Urgent business issues?
The National Assembly (Parliament) has passed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol for issuing a short-lived martial law on December 3rd. The motion suspends Yoon’s role as South Korea’s president.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo will step in as acting president to lead the nation until Yoon returns to office or until a new president is elected.
The Constitutional Court has six months to review the impeachment motion. If the court upholds the motion, a new presidential election will be held within two months of the court’s decision.
I assume he will be impeached, as most feel the reasons President Yoon’s grounds for martial law were political rather than his reason to “investigate election fraud manipulated by North Korea.”
His motives stem more from frustration with advancing the administration’s agenda and his desire to prevent the opposing party from meeting.
My takeaway is that South Korea’s democracy is vibrant after decades of authoritarianism. Politicians embrace free speech and confrontation, and massive public rallies are typical. What is apparent is that Korean democracy remains strong and resilient.
Concerns about potential trade restrictions regarding the impeachment’s international impact on business have been raised.
Although the incumbent Trump administration has not explicitly mentioned tariffs on South Korea, there is potential for tariffs on Korean-made goods and services.
More to the point, during the previous Trump administration, in which President Trump met with the former Korean president and engaged in ongoing negotiations, we saw exemptions for Korean products subject to punitive tariffs.
The status of the South Korean leadership in limbo could pose a challenge until the Korean presidency is resolved.
That said, in my opinion, President-elect Trump seems to have greater concerns about U.S. military troops in South Korea than about any bold mention of trade restrictions—unlike with the EU, China, Mexico, and Canada.
About Don
Don Southerton has a long history of offering Korea-facing market entry, strategy, and consulting services to businesses around the globe.
On business issues, Southerton has contributed to CNBC, The Economist, Automotive News, the BBC, CNN Fortune, Korea Times, Yonhap, tbs eFM, Wall Street Journal, Branding in Asia, and Forbes.
Southerton is the author of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, Korea 101: The Book (2023) and Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed (Third Edition, 2023).
The Incheon-IFEZ Promotion Booth to showcase innovative South Korean Incheon startups.
Special guest Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok will share his smart city vision and future strategies, showcasing innovative technologies and urban plans to the world.
The city of Incheon and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) will participate in the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Of particular interest and a not to miss event, on Tuesday, January 7, from 10:30 to 11:30 AM, at North Hall #9037, Incheon and IFEZ will host their “Unveiled Incheon” reveal: “Urban Renaissance: Building Tomorrow’s Smart Cities Today,” featuring special guest Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok.
Mayor Yoo will spotlight his vision, highlighting Incheon and IFEZ’s global leadership by presenting its smart city vision and future strategies, showcasing innovative technologies and urban plans to the world.
We are currently scheduling a limited number of media interviews with the visionary Mayor for January 7, 2025. (See media contact below to arrange an interview and RSVP).
“On behalf of the City of Incheon and IFEZ, we invite you to visit us in LVCC North. Booth # 9037 to learn more about our technology partners, our Innovation Award Honorees, and the opportunities we offer within the Incheon Startup and Tech Park ecosystem. I look forward to meeting you at CES 2025, as we enter the Renaissance of the Smart City.” Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok
Products and technology to be introduced and showcased at CES 2025:
Verses- A music-tech startup that develops user-driven music experience services. A 2025 CES Innovation Award Honoree.
Sheco- A maritime and inland water clean-up robot.
PABLO AIR- at the forefront of drone innovation, developing proprietary autonomous swarming technology and swarm control platform.
Motov- Based on real-time urban data collected and Edge AI technology, operates an Alot advertising and data-driven AI business.
ILias AI- a digital sniffer dog drug detection scanner utilizing olfactory AI technology. A 2025 CES Innovation Award Honoree.
PurrSong- dedicated to improving the “lives of cats” through an AI-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) healthcare ecosystem.
ZipShowKorea- A smart content production company that produces innovative content including online exhibition halls, VR, AR, media walls, artificial intelligence (AI) content, ultra-high resolution 8K content, realistic experience zones, and entertainment fields.
Nine Watt- A key player in urban energy savings, its flagship platform, Watti, uses geographic information system data and simulation tools to diagnose the energy efficiency of buildings and factories across cities.
Future Sense- Leveraging blockchain-based data-driven food safety and supply chain management to create an efficient manufacturing and distribution ecosystem.
Deep Fusion AI-Providing 4D image radar applications for the real environment.
Additionally, Twelve companies supported by the City of Incheon have received Innovation Awards.
Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more about our partner companies and schedule one-on-one meetings.
Incheon has become a global business hub boasting an ideal international business environment. It includes Incheon International Airport, the rapidly growing Incheon Port, world-class foreign universities located in the Songdo Global Campus, and an international business and bio-hub. The Incheon-IFEZ is where everything from bio to logistics, medical care, education, and high-tech industries can be enjoyed.
This is my annual update and insights on the Korean corporate shuffle.
Year-end promotions, restructuring, and new team assignments are part of Korean corporate culture, both past and present.
Changes occur from top to bottom within Korean companies between early December and early January. Changes to senior leadership are announced first, and team-level changes are usually made known the week before or during the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
For example, Samsung Electronics is the first mover this year, having made its annual high-level leadership changes last week. It carried out its year-end executive reshuffle, emphasizing a generational shift.
We can expect others to follow, so stay tuned. By the way, even if public announcements have yet to surface within the groups, these changes are in play internally.
Similarly, with Hyundai Motor Group, we have already seen top leadership changes, with José Munoz promoted to incoming CEO of Hyundai Motor Company and Michael Cole of Hyundai Motor Europe stepping away. We expect their organization-wide changes to be announced soon.
2025
Teams will report back to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Some assume new roles frequently in departments with little experience, requiring employees to acquire new skills—sink or swim. Hence, it’s called the “Shuffle.”
In the following days, those who have shuffled brief their replacements, while staff remaining in their jobs update new management teams on the status of projects and issues.
Meanwhile, others will be enroute to assignments in overseas operations, which can be stressful for local overseas operations and challenging for those working outside Korea for the first time.
The Disconnect
In particular, it is common for those newly assigned to be unfamiliar with or have minimal experience with the nuances of localized foreign business and their new roles and responsibilities. Not to mention, working outside Korea itself can be a learning curve that can take months or even years.
What works in Korea rarely transfers to managing overseas teams. Most still try to adapt to local norms and language. In fact, over the years, I have worked extensively to facilitate smooth transitions in many of the newly assigned overseas teams, and they will need support. I strongly recommend that Western and Korean leadership take countermeasures to mitigate transitional gaps.
So, what to look for…
The top Chaebol will begin to announce key promotions, which can provide some insight into future trends.
The Chaebol usually also comments on whether this year’s promotion number is more or less than in the past and the reasons “why.”
Top Chaebol will soon announce restructuring plans, ranging from granting business units more independence to consolidating control.
For example, some years, we see less change and stability than drastic changes in the face of economic uncertainty, as it may carry out in a modest year-end leadership reshuffle across affiliates.
New Year’s Message
That said, as in the past, with the new year, we can expect leadership to share their 2025 plans in an annual New Year’s company announcement, too. I monitor these closely and, as they are in Korean, will share them when appropriate and upon request. These New Year’s messages can be very insightful as they pose marching orders for the new year.
As a final note, for Western global teams, I suggest congratulating those who are promoted but also being sensitive to Korean team members who were passed over… or possibly moved to what may be seen as a less strategic assignment.
In this week’s Newsletter and YouTube, I look at Korean Business and ”Similar but Different Norms.”
Global business requires colleagues of different cultures to work together daily.
How we see each other culturally is often based on differences, like language, and similarities, such as shared values like family.
I like to focus on the latter, as differences can pull us apart, and similarities bring us together.
Particularly for Western teams engaged in all ways with Korean operations, I believe in the importance of deep learning about the workplace in Korea — the 2024 norms, practices, and day-to-day life.
They do change, and most often, we can fixate on what could have been tainted by hearsay or an altogether lack of understanding.
The same learning goes for Korean global teams assigned to support overseas operations. They must become savvy learners in the wide range of local overseas practices. Expecting global teams to bend to Korean business norms rarely works, too. It just leads to delays and stalled projects.
As I noted above, recognizing similarities is one of the most potent cross-cultural bridges.
In other words, how can you relate to the nuances in communications and day-to-day life? This requires identifying the local beliefs, values, expectations, traditions, and culture. These insights allow us better to understand our mutual teams’ thoughts and expectations.
Outcomes
Although there is bound to be friction between home and host country cultural values, a successful model accomplishes:
1. Awareness and appreciation of both the home and host country with the ability to gain an insight into one’s own personal traits, strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, and interests.
2. Realization of shared values, along with an awareness of and respect for cultural differences.
Call to Action
So, how do you see this applying to you and your experiences working with teams from another culture?
This brings me to recall a recent C-level meeting where I chatted with the local subsidiary’s Korean CEO. He asked if I’d shared with his team how the company in Korea and the U.S. differed from the Group’s many sister firms—many Westerners wrongly assumed high conformity across the Group.
I assured him that “yes,” and, in mentoring, I shared that I, too, had experienced each company’s unique culture within the group.
Not only did sister companies differ, but in some cases, the Koreans recruited and worked in different ways at companies within the group.
On parting, the CEO pointed out another key point to be shared: Over time, Koreans dispatched to support the division’s overseas operation came to see things differently than domestic Korea-based teams.
He ended having come to “See things differently, too.”
Participants will gain deep insights into Korean business, whether new hires, on a team assigned to Korea-related projects, or those of you who have been engaged for a long time.
This is a well-recognized program for anyone who works with Korean or Korean teams.
The virtual classes will be solution-oriented and highly interactive, including Q&A and timely topics.
It’s common for a Korean company’s leadership to decide on direction and major issues. These can range from a shift to Smart Manufacturing to greater SWP (software-based production) or a new business line. In turn, they can request a TFT (task force) and local teams to gather and prepare needed information.
Then, if approved, the dedicated staff will report back to HQ on implementation and progress.
In cases where overseas leadership and teams hope to offer an idea, new service, or program, local Korean and Western management’s role is to prepare—gathering supporting information, the reasoning behind, and ROI, then sharing it with the appropriate senior team members, who are often in Korea.
The local opinion is valued, but review and final approval may come from Korea.
My suggestion…
When conducting a meeting where a decision must be made, please know that your local Korean team(s) will have a significant say in the outcome. This may include both the operations and finance teams. Their primary concern will be risk.. so do your best to mitigate.
Since the topic and subject matter may be new to your Korean team, I recommend you share the needed background documents (best provided in PPT format) before any meetings.
In addition, have an informal pre-meeting Q&A with the Korean team leader to brief and update them on any specifics. Note: they may need a day to review proposals and agreements, so timing is critical.
Even in the best cases, expect that the Korean team may want to postpone any decision until they can carefully review and perhaps confer with Korea. I suggest all documents and meeting PPTs be immediately forwarded to the Korean team. I’d create a sense of urgency with a timeline for execution and implementation.
Regardless, expect some delays and be patient. Over the years, I’ve found that Korean teams appreciate when their overseas co-workers recognize that the internal approval process takes time and be ready to offer as-needed supportive data or documents.
In our next edition, we will examine the 2024 Approvals. So stay tuned and follow our Newsletter and YouTube videos.
Are you engaged in high-priority projects or business proposals?
I can give you some perspective to make sure it works well. Let’s talk.
This week, we examine how Culture shapes our Communication.
It influences how much information we share and whether specific topics are considered sensitive or beyond our boundaries. For example, in the West, we use “low-content” communications. Conversations are direct and can be confrontational.
We require background information or an update—little is assumed to be known, including why an issue may need to be deemed sensitive.
Transparency means fewer boundaries, too, but often we may say, “Let’s keep this between us” or “Keep this private.”
Within Korean organizations, the very nature of the Asian “high content” culture means less is shared in explicit verbal and open communication. This is because teams have long-lasting relationships, much is shared informally within their circle of close, trusted colleagues, and much is accumulated knowledge.
This means issues require little background explanation or even “catch-up” discussion.
Yes and No… and the need to clarify
Koreans often acknowledge what they hear by saying “Yes” or nodding (the Korean term for yes is Ne), but this does not necessarily signal agreement. They tend to avoid open disagreement and confrontation..
In Korean culture, it is rare for people to respond to a question or request with a direct “No.”
In negotiation and decisions, Koreans rely on nonverbal signs such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. They look for meaning and understanding in what is not said and even in the greater content beyond the conversation, such as disruptive business events that could impact decisions.
This non-explicit communication can indicate a firm “no” or rejection of an idea or plan. Many Westerners may miss this, waiting for a verbal or written “no” or “yes.”
In many situations, especially during negotiations, there is often a non-confrontational response, such as “if possible” or “that is difficult.” Understanding the Korean and Western perspectives is vital for global organizations. No culture is right or wrong; it is simply different.
Our aim should be to foster a deeper understanding of each other’s communication styles and their implications for global business.
Questions, comments, feedback, and business inquiries are always welcome. Let’s set a time.
Don Southerton here…I work with Korean and Western teams daily.
It’s common in Western meetings to first discuss the issues, some background, and potential repercussions as part of the work-through
Then, after discussions—sometimes at length—the team will ponder what steps must be taken, including individual input with a range of choices and potential countermeasures, all of which may require more thought and pushing things to further discussion.
In contrast, Korean teams are aware of the issue and prefer to focus talks on the solution and immediate steps, then report these plans and actions to leadership.
When tackling an issue, I recommend a collaborative approach in which teams are transparent, clearly state the challenges, and agree that potential downsides may exist.
Then, it’s best to move on quickly and devote the meeting to actionable steps and a solution-oriented discussion.
Streamline
In advance, solution-oriented talks can be streamlined by sharing a PowerPoint that states Point 1—the Issue—and Point 2—any concerning downsides—and then asking for feedback.
For the meeting limit or sidebar, any deep discussions on either point, ask the team to dedicate the meeting to Point 3—actionable and solution-oriented steps.
Timeline for Execution
The final step for any meeting is to determine and set a feasible timeline for execution and outcomes.
This is very important, as it will give the Korean team deliverables to report to leadership—a norm and expectation.
Questions, comments, just ask.
I, too, am always open to new projects and opportunities.
To schedule a time to talk, please use my Calendar.
Cultural differences can create misunderstandings and stress, impacting productivity and smooth business operations. Cross-cultural education is recognized as the chief solution to workplace challenges.
We have a long history of training executives and teams in a wide range of Korea-focused mentoring, coaching, and strategy services.
We offer a six-week Korea 101 Korean Business Culture program for teams. The theme is “Working within the Cultures.” The cost is US $4800.00.
Additionally, we provide situational mentoring and coaching as needed on issues that surface, focusing on negotiations and meeting expectations.
The workshops and mentoring aim to build upon the team’s experiences while providing new understandings.
We invite you to schedule a time to discuss the details using our Calendar.
Again, this is Don Southerton wishing you all the best.
The Impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and the International Business Implications
By Don Southerton
The National Assembly (Parliament) has passed a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol for issuing a short-lived martial law on December 3rd. The motion suspends Yoon’s role as South Korea’s president.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo will step in as acting president to lead the nation until Yoon returns to office or until a new president is elected.
The Constitutional Court has six months to review the impeachment motion. If the court upholds the motion, a new presidential election will be held within two months of the court’s decision.
I assume he will be impeached, as most feel the reasons President Yoon’s grounds for martial law were political rather than his reason to “investigate election fraud manipulated by North Korea.”
His motives stem more from frustration with advancing the administration’s agenda and his desire to prevent the opposing party from meeting.
My takeaway is that South Korea’s democracy is vibrant after decades of authoritarianism. Politicians embrace free speech and confrontation, and massive public rallies are typical. What is apparent is that Korean democracy remains strong and resilient.
Concerns about potential trade restrictions regarding the impeachment’s international impact on business have been raised.
Although the incumbent Trump administration has not explicitly mentioned tariffs on South Korea, there is potential for tariffs on Korean-made goods and services.
More to the point, during the previous Trump administration, in which President Trump met with the former Korean president and engaged in ongoing negotiations, we saw exemptions for Korean products subject to punitive tariffs.
The status of the South Korean leadership in limbo could pose a challenge until the Korean presidency is resolved.
That said, in my opinion, President-elect Trump seems to have greater concerns about U.S. military troops in South Korea than about any bold mention of trade restrictions—unlike with the EU, China, Mexico, and Canada.
About Don
Don Southerton has a long history of offering Korea-facing market entry, strategy, and consulting services to businesses around the globe.
On business issues, Southerton has contributed to CNBC, The Economist, Automotive News, the BBC, CNN Fortune, Korea Times, Yonhap, tbs eFM, Wall Street Journal, Branding in Asia, and Forbes.
Southerton is the author of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, Korea 101: The Book (2023) and Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed (Third Edition, 2023).
https://www.bridgingculture.com
https://www.bridgingculture.com
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