Product
Quality
Improvement

National Quality Management Convention presents awards, citations to companies and individuals

The 32nd National Quality Management Convention took place November 24th at the COEX auditorium in southern Seoul with Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook among some 1,600 dignitaries, including heads of economic organizations, government officials and industry executives. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Korea Standards Association(KAS) jointly hosted the annual event designed to spur the quality management activity nationwide since its establishment in 1975.
Prime Minister Han, in her congratulatory speech, said consumers have been demanding high-level quality products with the diversification of market and the companies that survive from the tough competition for quality will be major players in the 21st century.
She said she would like to thank those who worked hard to improve the quality of our products, especially the award and citation winners. The prime minister went on to say that the quality of our products have had a lot to do with a dynamic increase of the country's exports and the miraculous growth of our economy, which now ranks as the 10th largest in the world, making Korea an economic power house. The country's two-way trade now amounts to $547.7 billion, although the country's per capita GDP stood at a pitiful $67 in 1953. Korea is leading technologies in a number of areas including semiconductors,
shipbuilding, and digital appliances, and steel, among others. This is a result of many of you who are here at the ceremony designed to spur quality management to improve the quality of our products.
But, she said we have to move faster in the new century because of the efforts by underdeveloped countries like China and India to catch up with us and the worsened international economic environment due to high oil prices, and escalating prices of raw materials, shackling further growth of our economy.
She warned also against domestic problems like low birth rates, aging, the widening wealth gap, and labor conflicts, among others. But the prime minister said they cannot keep us from moving further ahead to become an advanced country because the will of laborers, businessmen, and the government is solid to move in that direction by improving the quality of our products. The government will provide support to technology innovation, strengthening competitive edge in quality by training human resources,
and R&D efforts. Quality competitiveness is a key capacity for Korea to become an advanced country, she said.
The heavy responsibility to lead our country's future through quality management rests on your two shoulders, she said. Korea will stand on its own two feet as a strong nation in terms of producing quality products.
At the rally, 15 companies including the LS Industrial Systems Co. won top awards and others citations for contribution to quality management activities and upgrading corporate competitive capacities and protection of consumers.President Kim Jong-shin of Korea Western Power Co. and two others won the Industrial Medal Golden Tower for their contributions to the expansion of quality management activity and 60 others won citations and prizes. Additionally some 213 production groups won the excellent team awards for strengthening their companies'competitive strength through their hard at the jobsites for the promotion of quality management.
The quality management program started in Korea in 1961 with the promulgation of the Industrial Standardization Law and the 1973 launch of the Industry Promotion Office. It has made a great contribution to strengthening the industrial structure and upgrading product qualities as a nationwide campaign,
With the help of business and workers, it had been instrumental in overcoming the financial crisis early following its outbreak in 1998.
So far, 376 companies were awarded for excellent quality management, along with 3,031 groups, 1,151 "quality commanders and 1,312 persons winning prizes for making contribution to the growth of the quality management. nw

President Lee Gye-hyung of the Korea Standards Association makes an opening speech at the Korea Quality Management Convention.

Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook delivers a congratulatory speech at the 32nd Korea Quality Management Convention.

President Lee Gye-hyung of the Korea Standards Association.