Quality Reform As Tool

Medals, citations presented to 71 biz leaders for outstanding quality management

The 33rd National Quality Management Competition Conference for corporate quality management activities this year took place Nov. 23 at COEX in southern Seoul. Some 1,700 government officials and business leaders attended the annual event, led by Kim Young-ju of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE), which was operated by the Korea Standard Association with the support of MOCIE.
MOCIE Minister Kim said in this age of global competition, customers buy products for their quality, not because they are necessary, borrowing from a well-known scholar, and therefore, the customers'ultimate basis of choice is the quality of a product.
He said the free trade agreements signed with major world trading blocs make the business environment global, and competition in product and service quality will become very intense. China and India have been challenging Korea with their competitive edge in product prices, helped by their cheap labor and rich natural resources. A country like Korea, without natural resources, must produce the best quality products to win.
Looking back at the financial crisis the country experienced a decade ago, he said, he wondered if it could have been caused by the uncompetitive nature of the economy.
He called on the nation to work hard together to make the economy competitive, and not see a repeat of the crisis that hit Korea in 1997.
At the event, companies and business leaders were presented awards for their exemplary contributions to quality management this year to promote and upgrade QM in the country.
Eleven firms won the national quality management awards, including Aju Industrial Co., MS Auto Tech, Korea Southeast Power Co., Samsung Life Insurance Co., and Hyundai I-Park Mall.
Individual awards went to President Shin Sang-hoon of Shinhan Bank, and Vice Chairman Kim Chung-man of LS Industrial Systems Co. They won Industrial Merit Gold Medals in recognition of their achievements for the spread and development of quality management this year. The LS Industrial Systems CEO was credited with his promotion of the company's 3P campaign, calling for perfection in the areas of product, business execution and human resources.
The Shinhan Bank CEO was recognized for running an integrated reform, combining a Blue Ocean strategy and Six Sigma program to make the bank to stand out in the financial sector.
Chairman Lee Myung-keun of Seongwoo Hi-tech Co., President Lee Chang-bae of Lotte Engineering and Construction, and President Lee Sam-sup of Kumho Rent A Car Co. won the Industrial Merit Silver Medals. A total of 71 companies and individuals won medals, awards, and citations for their contributions to QM around the country.
Corporate QM award winners included Samsung Life Insurance Co. President Lee Soo-chang for focusing quality management on customers and recognizing their rising value in the rapidly changing management environment. The citation for the award went on to note that the company introduced the strategy to make caring for its customers an exceedingly important business in 2003, along with the Six Sigma program. As a result the company has been able to increase its sales and profits every year, and cost reduction and reform activities have become part of the company's life since the launch of the programs.
Korea Southeast Power Co. President Kwak Young-wook won the QM award for creating an independent unit in the company to direct quality management. The goal is to strengthen activities related to quality management by setting up a global quality management system, benchmarking MBNQA as a model. nw

KSA Chairman Lee Gye-hyung

MOCIE Minister Kim Young-ju delivers a speech at the 33rd National Quality Management Conference at Coex, southern Seoul Nov. 23.