GS Caltex on Emergency Management Footing

Chairman issues a warning not to take things easy amidst the global economic crisis

GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo urged his executives and staff members to be on an emergency business footing to brace for the consequences of the global economic downturn that has continued to worsen since the second half of last year.
"Survival cannot be guaranteed unless precautionary steps are taken according to all scenarios," Chairman Hur said in a message he delivered on his company's website, adding, "The global economic crisis that began in the second half of last year is being prolonged with the spreading of its consequences at a quicker-than-expected pace." Hur issued similar warnings at recent executives' meetings to the effect that his company is not an exception in the face of the global economic crisis, but some of the company's executives seemed not to even sense the crisis.
His warning apparently reflects the current business situation facing the Korean refinery industry and his business tenets, industry analysts said. In fact, GS Caltex is forecasted to post a loss in the first quarter of this year for the second quarter in a row.
All Korean refiners are projected to report losses in the first quarter of the year and Chairman Hur's message may aim at not falling victim to the mindset that "Our company has no problem even though others collapse," GS Caltex officials said. Chairman Hur stressed the need to trim all excesses as much as possible, they said. One of the world-class companies Hur wants to take a cue from is Toyota of Japan, which has risen to No.1 in the American automobile market due to its schemes to cut down on costs and unit prices to secure a competitive edge and innovate across the board.
Hur's message is a reflection of his own way of talking straight from the shoulder, not beating around the bush and his management tenet of saving costs and pursuing innovation for the future in order to evolve into a world-class corporation, business sources said.
Hur delivered the message citing a Chinese saying: "Thoughts should be translated into action amidst determination and a sense of crisis."

GURU OF THE REFINERY BIZ
Hur Dong-soo took the helm at the nation's second largest refinery, GS Caltex Corp., after working for the company longer than anyone and with an unrivaled expertise in the Korean refining industry. He is an authority in theory and practice with a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin and 36 years of experience with the company. He still heads the Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development (KBCSD).
GS Caltex was awarded the sixth Top Blue-chip Company Prize from the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (KASBA) in recognition of its contribution to the development of the Korean petrochemical industry for the past four decades at a seminar held at the Jeju Convention Center last Aug. 20.
The company emerged as a major Korean exporter, which saw its exports accounting for 51.3 percent of the 21.47 trillion won in sales it posted during 2007.
Regarding the "low-carbon green growth" scheme unveiled recently by the Lee Myung-bak government, he said the plan will serve as a boon to develop new technologies in related industries and create national wealth.
Hur has repeatedly stressed that corporations will have to aggressively invest in R&D activities in the new and renewable energy sectors in the future. In particular, hydrogen is a futuristic, clean energy that emits no carbon dioxide, so GS Caltex has established a new energy research center and inaugurated the nation's first hydrogen station on the campus of Yonsei University last September. nw

GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo