Like most of the world, government intervention is the cornerstone of South Korea’s recovery. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has announced a massive relief package worth billions for South Korea’s key industries disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Preventing layoffs and creating jobs have become the top priorities for the government.
The funds are meant to help them weather the crisis, which the Korean president characterized as the worst since the 1997 IMF financial meltdown, and to help maintain employment. Moon also unveiled an additional job protection program to cushion the COVID-19 impact on the country’s overall job market. This includes new job creation in the digital sector.
Drilling Deeper
A significant portion of Korea’s economy and the backbone of the country’s employment is from export-driven sectors, especially in hard-hit key industries that include aviation, oil refinery, shipping, shipbuilding, and car production.
Noting the huge task for Korea amid global downturns with much of the country’s employment driven by export-driven sectors such as automotive, how Korea preserves its workforce and jobs will take considerable effort and savvy.
As in past crises, senior government officials recently met with a group of top chaebol executives. The participants included Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors, SK Holdings, LG Corporation, and Lotte Corporation. Although closed-door meetings, they seemed to have centered strongly on persuading the leading employers to maintain employment in the face of coronavirus-related challenges.
The Auto Sector
In a separate round of talks, senior officials from five local automakers and nine auto parts manufacturers met with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.
The five domestic automakers, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Ssangyong, and Renault-Samsung account for 150,000 jobs in Korea. Within their supply chain, their roughly 8,850 partner companies employ 240,000 workers.
An upswing in local sales is welcome news considering Hyundai, Kia, and the other automakers have weathered many challenges over the past few months.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the auto industry officials said they need a total of $34 billion to maintain their workforces, operate facilities, and keep up with fixed costs for the next three months. With $10 billion already secured, the local automobile industry asked the government to provide $26 billion in emergency loans to save automakers and associated companies struggling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Automakers also requested tax cuts to overcome the pandemic’s negative impacts on sales and production.
As a condition for the funding, the government pressed the automakers to maintain their employment numbers. To make up for overseas losses and boost domestic sales, the government will also expedite the order of 8,700 EVs and make an advance payment of up to 70 percent.
Strong Local Demand
Still, we are seeing strong demand in Korea’s domestic auto market. As COVID-19 cases have been dropping without mandating drastic measures such as a nationwide stay at home and remote work, Korean customers are again venturing back into auto showrooms.
Hyundai’s domestic sales in March hit their highest level in more than four years, up 80% from February 2020. Much of this was driven by attractive discounts and installment payment plans, as well as a cut in consumption tax. Hyundai also noted robust local pre-orders for new models like the Elantra and Genesis G80.
An upswing in local sales is welcome news considering Hyundai, Kia, and the other automakers have weathered many challenges over the past few months.
In February, Hyundai and Kia had to suspended operations — hamstrung by a lack of Chinese sourced parts with the coronavirus outbreak crippling China’s industrial output. As COVID-19 peaked in Korea some plants also closed briefly as a safety precaution.
More pressing, although local sales are a cushion, little has prepared the automakers for the drop-in demand overseas and the unexpected halt in their global production facilities.
Although domestic production in March was at 95%, with the slump in global sales and demand taking hold, we are beginning to see Korea’s production, too, take drastic moves. For example, Hyundai halted production for 4 days of the sport utility vehicles Palisade, Tucson, Santa Fe, and Genesis GV80.
Sister firm Kia Motors, too, is looking to suspend 4 of their Korean plants with a mix of closures to keep inventory levels manageable and stay flexible to overseas demands.
As an additional countermeasure, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have decided to halt all their domestic factory lines from May 1 for Korea’s Labor Day to May 5 for the nation’s Children’s Day — both public holidays. Korea’s other car brands and related industries are mulling similar moves, too. Some suppliers are now considering extended shutdowns into mid-May.
Preserving the Workforce
Noting the huge task for Korea amid global downturns with much of the country’s employment driven by export-driven sectors such as automotive, how Korea preserves its workforce and jobs will take considerable effort and savvy. It will be a difficult balance between mitigating business losses while holding on to jobs.
For one, as Korean groups have shifted manufacturing overseas, the lesson from COVID-19 is to have a less concentrated supplier and production base which ultimately means spreading things around. This does not, however, help Korean employment.
Next, government funding is but a part of the solution, more so may be an agile and scalable production model — one that can grapple with and carry on through the unforeseen and disruptive times. Again, countermeasures need to be in place as new situations unfold.
With unemployment spiking globally, the lessons learned if Korea as a first mover can successfully maintain their workforce in the wake of the crisis will be of the greatest interest as regions and nations emerge from COVID-19 — many facing the same tough challenges.
###
As always here for your comments, thoughts and questions. Open to interviews, webinars and new business opportunities.
South Korea – A Roadmap to COVID-19 Economic Recovery For many weathering stay at home and a remote office, how businesses will return to work weighs heavy on the minds of governments, employers, and workers worldwide. It’s a delicate balance between staying safe and an urgent need to re-open commerce.
For an economic recovery, South Korea could be a glimpse into future best practices.
The world has been watching and, in some cases, following as South Korea benefits from its social distancing guidelines, technology-powered testing, tracing and treatment, as well as measures to utilize data in fighting the virus.
How South Korea tackles rebooting their economy will also be closely followed — as Asia’s fourth-largest economy, it is considered a bellwether for world trade.
As a trial, in their recent election, South Koreans turned out in record numbers. The country after much discussion went ahead with elections as its massive and rapid testing and quarantine efforts have slowed the spread of COVID-19.
On one level the strong voter response is a sign of intense public interest in what may be seen as a referendum on President Moon Jae-in and his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
Perhaps more insightful, as a first step in COVID-19 recovery, it appears to have pushed more citizens to cast their ballots.
I believe all efforts will now turn to economic recovery.
For me, this was very apparent in recent in Zoom calls and correspondence with Seoul.
In one example following the election, a Korean colleague asked what was needed as the next step into jump-starting our marketing outreach for a stalled product launch. More so, sensing the urgency and some pressure, they shared leadership’s new and rather hefty quarterly goals for the product launch.
In another instance on a call with a team, senior leadership jumped in to get an update on a number of global business outreaches made in the last few weeks — leadership then asked to move forward ASAP with whatever support was needed from their teams and HQ.
Stepping back and pondering some, I feel we all need to have a plan in place — and be positioned to move forward fast.
As business and commerce recover, agreements will probably be revisited, terms subject to renegotiations, and above all expect partner and leadership requests for a detailed localized Recovery Plan!
To this, I’d add that it’s best to include some countermeasures for recovery. In weeks to come, and as economies emerge from COVID-19, early movers like South Korea may provide much-needed roadmaps for recovery and implementing return to work plans.
That said, we can assume recovery will be gradually phased-in, vary by location, industry sector, and the overall local health status.
It also will require continued social distancing, expanded use of personal protective equipment, and other preventative health measures. ###
With millions of people sheltering in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloud computing market is getting a serious usage boost.
Schools, corporations, and individuals are using cloud-based software to learn, collaborate, and stay connected.
The pandemic is changing the way the world operates, including how we work.
A significant number of companies deemed non-essential have transitioned to remote work environments to remain in operation, using cloud-based software to collaborate and work.
At the same time, a large segment of the population is practicing social distancing and turning to virtual tools to stay connected.
That demand for cloud-based services isn’t going to go away anytime soon, even if cities begin easing social distancing rules in the coming weeks or months.
One attractive alternative to Microsoft 365, is Korea’s Hancom suite of productive software. The company in business since 1990 offers a number of Cloud-based products, including Hancom Space and Hancom DocsConverter.
Hancom offers a number of Cloud-based products, including Hancom Space and Hancom DocsConverter.
Hancom Space provides a full-featured suite of office productivity tools in a modern collaboration space for enhanced team effectiveness.
You can create and share documents conveniently from a desktop, mobile device, or web browser. You can work together on documents stored in the cloud.
You can even combine cloud storage services and manage them from one place.
Hancom DocsConverter is a server solution that enables you to convert MS Office documents into a variety of formats. It provides features such as document preview, content security, search keyword extraction, and more.
DocsConverter integrates with Groupware, EDMS, CMS, email systems, search engines, and more.
The Hancom DocsConvertor business application is available through the AWS Marketplace with a free trial period, too.
SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) — South Korean IT solution providers are introducing various artificial-intelligence (AI)-based solutions to help the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus, industry insiders said Thursday.
Hancom Group, South Korea’s leading software developer, said it has been offering an AI-powered phone calling system, known as Hancom AI Check25, for free to help local municipalities monitor those in self-quarantine.
The outbound call system asks people about their health conditions and can quickly analyze data from their answers. Its AI voice assistants can make many phone calls at once, allowing authorities to save time and check quarantined people efficiently.
The AI call center platform is currently used by cities, like Seoul and Daegu. Hancom said Naver Business Platform Corp., an IT infrastructure management firm, is also supporting systems by proving cloud infrastructure.
In the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s ICT ministry has since last month been supporting IT firms that develop AI algorithms or solutions for the containment of COVID-19. For more information, please contact Don Southerton
If times are a challenge or you have an urgent need to talk regarding Korea, text me and we can connect.
310-866-3777
Don
Don Southerton
To stay proactive here are some of my thoughts for this week
Like you, I miss meeting in person, travel and much of the daily routine. That said, after more than a decade + of 24/7 working remote, virtual and online support for teams in Korea, North America and worldwide, technology today allows us to stay very well connected.
I do however recognize the uncertainty most are experiencing and have blocked off time in my schedule to not only catch up with teams and leadership but feel free to reach out as a sounding board and for a strategic, culturally savvy perspective.
Here are a few examples… but not limited to these 🙂
1. Short term how will Korea HQ’s’ team and leadership respond globally vs, in their own Domestic market? i.e. Will HQ work to maintain their Korean workforce, but mandate overseas operations cut employment, budgets, etc.
2. As a caveat, what countermeasures can global subsidiaries recommend to their Korea-based / HQ organization as an alternative to drastic global cuts across the board? ( I always try to suggest 3 options) [Same goes for western operations in Korea for a western-based / HQ company who may be pondering cutting backs.]
3. How can western-based teams and organizations with new and/or ongoing ventures in Korea ensure their Korean partners do not pull back amid the uncertainty? (This has been common in the past with recessions, the China boycott, etc.)
4. Noting Korea’s cross-cultural high-risk avoidance, how do we structure re-assurances?
5. Noting western cross-cultural frankness, how do we structure constructive Korea facing dialogue and conversations dealing with the Crisis?
6. As a partner, service provider, or vendor, how can I mitigate Korea-facing / HQ budget cutbacks in programs and services?
As always, all communication is kept private and confidential.
Hancom Group in the news. Heading up their global PR, I look to share Hancom news with the world.
Korean media reports that South Korea’s Hancom Group plans to launch a drone pilot training academy in Korea in collaboration with Chinese drone maker DJI.
The Chinese partner, DJI is a leading drone maker, which currently owns roughly 70 percent of the world’s market share.
Under the joint agreement, the two companies will be tasked with developing new drones for public safety purposes together with new technologies used for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Hancom WITH division an online security arm of Hancom Group, which will be responsible for the education business, will also utilize Hancom’s virtual reality technology-based drone simulator.
DJI technicians control drones used to spray disinfectant in public areas in an attempt to control 2019-nCoV in China, Feb. 17. The Chinese drone maker said Monday it signed a partnership with Hancom to launch a drone pilot training school in Korea. / Courtesy of DJI Korea
The Year of the White Rat. South Korea (as well as China and Vietnam) celebrate two New Years’. One on Jan. 1 and the Lunar New Year celebration, which this year falls on Saturday, January 25.
For your Korean colleagues (living and working in Korea), you can wish them Happy Lunar New Year on Wednesday afternoon by phone, text, or email, which is Thursday AM in Korea and their last workday before the holiday.
Koreans this year will have a 4-day weekend starting Friday K time.
For expatriate Koreans working outside Korea/ globally, you can wish them a Happy Lunar New Year and Year of the White Rat on the day itself, Saturday, January 25, or at some time prior on Friday.
Here is the formal greeting.
Sae hae bok mani ba deu say yo
One more thing… The year of the rat opens up a new 12-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac. As the first animal to finish the Great Race of the Chinese zodiac legend, the quick-witted rat represents new beginnings and versatility.
According to legend, a Great Race was organized by China’s Jade Emperor to determine the order for the annual calendrical signs. The competition saw the small but clever rat crossing a final river race obstacle by riding on the back of the ox. Then nearing the finish line, the resourceful rat jumping off to cross before the other animals. Thus, being name first among the animals of the 12 Chinese zodiacs.
In Korean folk tales, though the tiniest among the zodiac animals, rats are seen resourceful, nimble, diligent and productive—this translates into 2020 being seen as a year of wealth and abundance.
As always, I appreciate your comments and thoughts, as well as any inquiries to support you and teams by steering through Korea facing business issues with a proven strategy, work throughs, and solutions.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Dec. 20, 2019 /Hancom Group, South Korea’s leading ICT company has announced it will unveil its next-generation Life Blockchain technology at the 2020 CES Show in Las Vegas.
How Hancom sees Blockchain Within the Group’s “Safe World” vision, affiliate Hancom WITH has built upon its 30 years of core competencies as a trusted and integrated information security provider. Ever evolving and steering the 4th Industrial Revolution IT ecosystems Hancom WITH offers convergence solutions that enhance productivity in both Blockchain and Intelligent City Platforms.
Next generation Blockchain Hancom provides a robust and trustworthy blockchain service by integrating security technology and blockchain technology. Within our lineup of products is HancomSLedger, a blockchain platform that allows privileged user access, providing electronic contracts, document notarization services, civic applications/certifications and public data access.
HancomSLedger optimized modules support various areas like supply chain, IoT and finance and can be easily configured for new services. As a result, it assures data integrity, transparency and service efficiency.
Next generation Intelligent City Platform Hancom’s Intelligent City Platform acts as an urban controller tower collecting and analyzing information from transportation, safety, and the environment to help make the most suitable decisions. Hancom simplifies the development process in the complex data processing and monitoring of literally thousands of devices. As Hancom provides a proven seamless rapid development process, Hancom Intelligent City Platform is scalable and customizable to fit each city’s environment.
Intelligent City Platform Stop by the Hancom 2020 CES booth located at South Hall 2, AI & Robotics, Booth 25628 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Media Contact Don Southerton +1-310-866-3777 Dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
About The Hancom Group Founded in 1989, today South Korea Hancom Group is a leader in creating innovative ecosystems that will lead the world through the convergence of technology.
With its reach of 13 affiliate companies covering Hardware, Software, and the Finance industry, the Group’s mission is to create a “Convenient World, Connected World, and Safe & Secure World.”
Convenient World Hancom Inc. Global smart work solutions from AI to productivity software solutions. Hancom MDS Intelligent convergence solution leader based on IoT and embedded technology IoT. Hancom Mobility Sensor-based smart parking sharing solution. Hancom Robotics Intelligent logistics and service robots.
Connected World Hancom Interfree Voice recognition and translation that remove language barriers. Hancom Teladin IoT-based wireless solutions. Hancom Talkafe Communication solutions. Accufly.AI AI-based solutions for barrier-free communication with the best technology from Korea & China.
Safe World Hancom WITH Next-generation smart city platform creating a secure urban ecosystem based on blockchain. Hancom Lifecare Integrated safety solution ranging from personal safety equipment to social safety. Hancom GMD Mobile Forensic & AR/VR Solution based on Digital Data Analysis. Hancom Investment Investing in companies with excellent technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Who is Hancom? How does Hancom envision Robotics, Smart City and AI Life Blockchain technology?
For Immediate Release
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, Dec. 13, 2019 /Hancom Group, South Korea’s leading ICT company today announced that it will participate at CES 2020, Jan.7-10, 2020, in Las Vegas. The company will present its visions for making the world better through pioneering future innovation for an ever-evolving tech industry.
Rendering of the Hancom Group CES 2020 Exhibit
The new exhibit will be located at South Hall 2, AI & Robotics, Booth 25628 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Who is Hancom?
Hancom like the other highly recognized South Korean market leaders will share with the industry how it uniquely envisions Robotics, Smart City and AI Life Blockchain technology.
How Hancom sees Robotics
Led by Hancom’s Convenient World vision for work and life, Toki is one in a line-up of specialized robots for home and educational use. With customized AI conversations through face and voice recognition tailored to each family member, Toki also has home monitoring and video calling capabilities. Come experience Toki live at the Show.
Toki, Home and Education Robot
How Hancom sees Smart City and Blockchain
Driven by Hancom’s Safe World vision, the innovator has developed an Intelligent City Platform, the next-generation smart city platform creating a secure urban ecosystem by connecting everything to each other utilizing the latest technologies. This connectivity will improve city services and infrastructure, as well as the quality of life for urban dwellers.
The Intelligent City Platform acts as urban control tower integrating AI technology, blockchain and IoT, while utilizing real-time data for easy visualization.
Intelligent City Platform
On Life Blockchain, Hancom’s efforts are game changing and wide ranging. They include a seamless, private blockchain platform to allow privileged user access, providing electronic contracts, document notarization services, civic applications/certifications and public data access.
Life Blockchain
“As South Korea’s leading ICT company, we look forward to sharing at CES how Hancom will contribute to make the world Smarter and Better,” Dr. Peter Wonsok Yun, President of Global Business, Hancom Group.
Pre-show and Show media interviews are welcome.
About The Hancom Group
Founded in 1989, today Hancom Group is a leader in creating innovative ecosystems that will lead the world through the convergence of technology.
With its reach of 13 affiliate companies covering Hardware, Software, and the Finance industry, the Group’s mission is to create a “Convenient World, Connected World, and Safe & Secure World.”
Convenient World
Hancom Inc. Global smart work solutions from AI to productivity software solutions.
Hancom MDS Intelligent convergence solution leader based on IoT and embedded technology IoT.
Korea First Mover in COVID Recovery
South Korea: A Roadmap to COVID-19 Economic Recovery — Industry and Automotive First Mover
Apr 27, 2020
In this second segment COVID-19 recovery series, following up on the first, we look at how Korea as a first mover could be a model for best practices in maintaining the industrial workforce and preserving jobs.
Like most of the world, government intervention is the cornerstone of South Korea’s recovery. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has announced a massive relief package worth billions for South Korea’s key industries disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Preventing layoffs and creating jobs have become the top priorities for the government.
The funds are meant to help them weather the crisis, which the Korean president characterized as the worst since the 1997 IMF financial meltdown, and to help maintain employment. Moon also unveiled an additional job protection program to cushion the COVID-19 impact on the country’s overall job market. This includes new job creation in the digital sector.
Drilling Deeper
A significant portion of Korea’s economy and the backbone of the country’s employment is from export-driven sectors, especially in hard-hit key industries that include aviation, oil refinery, shipping, shipbuilding, and car production.
Noting the huge task for Korea amid global downturns with much of the country’s employment driven by export-driven sectors such as automotive, how Korea preserves its workforce and jobs will take considerable effort and savvy.
As in past crises, senior government officials recently met with a group of top chaebol executives. The participants included Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors, SK Holdings, LG Corporation, and Lotte Corporation. Although closed-door meetings, they seemed to have centered strongly on persuading the leading employers to maintain employment in the face of coronavirus-related challenges.
The Auto Sector
In a separate round of talks, senior officials from five local automakers and nine auto parts manufacturers met with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.
The five domestic automakers, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Ssangyong, and Renault-Samsung account for 150,000 jobs in Korea. Within their supply chain, their roughly 8,850 partner companies employ 240,000 workers.
An upswing in local sales is welcome news considering Hyundai, Kia, and the other automakers have weathered many challenges over the past few months.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the auto industry officials said they need a total of $34 billion to maintain their workforces, operate facilities, and keep up with fixed costs for the next three months. With $10 billion already secured, the local automobile industry asked the government to provide $26 billion in emergency loans to save automakers and associated companies struggling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Automakers also requested tax cuts to overcome the pandemic’s negative impacts on sales and production.
As a condition for the funding, the government pressed the automakers to maintain their employment numbers. To make up for overseas losses and boost domestic sales, the government will also expedite the order of 8,700 EVs and make an advance payment of up to 70 percent.
Strong Local Demand
Still, we are seeing strong demand in Korea’s domestic auto market. As COVID-19 cases have been dropping without mandating drastic measures such as a nationwide stay at home and remote work, Korean customers are again venturing back into auto showrooms.
Hyundai’s domestic sales in March hit their highest level in more than four years, up 80% from February 2020. Much of this was driven by attractive discounts and installment payment plans, as well as a cut in consumption tax. Hyundai also noted robust local pre-orders for new models like the Elantra and Genesis G80.
An upswing in local sales is welcome news considering Hyundai, Kia, and the other automakers have weathered many challenges over the past few months.
In February, Hyundai and Kia had to suspended operations — hamstrung by a lack of Chinese sourced parts with the coronavirus outbreak crippling China’s industrial output. As COVID-19 peaked in Korea some plants also closed briefly as a safety precaution.
More pressing, although local sales are a cushion, little has prepared the automakers for the drop-in demand overseas and the unexpected halt in their global production facilities.
Although domestic production in March was at 95%, with the slump in global sales and demand taking hold, we are beginning to see Korea’s production, too, take drastic moves. For example, Hyundai halted production for 4 days of the sport utility vehicles Palisade, Tucson, Santa Fe, and Genesis GV80.
Sister firm Kia Motors, too, is looking to suspend 4 of their Korean plants with a mix of closures to keep inventory levels manageable and stay flexible to overseas demands.
As an additional countermeasure, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have decided to halt all their domestic factory lines from May 1 for Korea’s Labor Day to May 5 for the nation’s Children’s Day — both public holidays. Korea’s other car brands and related industries are mulling similar moves, too. Some suppliers are now considering extended shutdowns into mid-May.
Preserving the Workforce
Noting the huge task for Korea amid global downturns with much of the country’s employment driven by export-driven sectors such as automotive, how Korea preserves its workforce and jobs will take considerable effort and savvy. It will be a difficult balance between mitigating business losses while holding on to jobs.
For one, as Korean groups have shifted manufacturing overseas, the lesson from COVID-19 is to have a less concentrated supplier and production base which ultimately means spreading things around. This does not, however, help Korean employment.
Next, government funding is but a part of the solution, more so may be an agile and scalable production model — one that can grapple with and carry on through the unforeseen and disruptive times. Again, countermeasures need to be in place as new situations unfold.
With unemployment spiking globally, the lessons learned if Korea as a first mover can successfully maintain their workforce in the wake of the crisis will be of the greatest interest as regions and nations emerge from COVID-19 — many facing the same tough challenges.
###
As always here for your comments, thoughts and questions. Open to interviews, webinars and new business opportunities.
Don