New Era for Public Housing

President Lee M.B. attends opening of Korea Land Housing Corp., stresses need for expanded construction of public housing

The Korea Land Housing Corp., born of a merger between the Korea Land Corp. and Korea National Housing Corp., officially launched its operations on Oct. 7 with a ceremony at its office with a slew of dignitaries in attendance led by President Lee Myung-bak.
Attendees included Rep. Lee Byung-sok, chairman of the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, heads of state-owned firms related to land and housing affairs and construction firms, totaling some 800 altogether to congratulate the new company.
The Chief Executive, in his congratulatory address, said the launch of this new company is a test bed for upgrading state-owned companies, calling on officers and staff of the new company to forget about their feelings for the old companies that no longer exist and work for a good chemistry of the newly merged company, so that the merger is not just a formality, but also a substantive one with a sharing friendship among its employees.
President Lee Ji-song, who previously worked with the Korean president at Hyundai Construction, said he will run the new company so that it will win the trust and love of the people, by building “nests” or public houses for the general public and do its utmost for the success of the government’s green-growth policies to make the environment clean and healthy.
Pres. Lee, known for bruising working habits, following his official inauguration as the CEO of the new company, set out to launch various programs to reform the new company based on an on-the-spot management style. He did not take days off for the Chusok holiday and toured the four sites for the construction of public housing including the Woomyun and Segok districts in Seoul and Misa and Wonhung counties in Gyeonggi Province.
The new CEO has his own unique experience for substantial and transparent management, which he gained during the long years he put in at Hyundai Construction, the nation’s top builder founded by the late chairman Chung Ju-yung.
To show that he really means business, CEO Lee presided over a meeting of officers at 7:30 a.m. and spent most of his time touring project sites around the country, sometimes alone. The officers meetings on Mondays and Fridays will now be held at 7:30 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. It seems CEO Lee is determined to continue to stick with his hard working style he has been known for and give all he has to running the company as he used to when he was with Hyundai Construction.
Lee also got briefings from department managers on their work and plans for the future, not in his chair, but by making the rounds of each department of the company, unlike the CEOs who sit in their chairs listening to briefings stiff necked.
During a media interview he held jointly with Kwon Do-yeop, first deputy minister of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs on Sept. 8 since his designation as the CEO, he said about 24 percent of the newly merged company’s employees will be reduced either through retirement or voluntary retirement step-by-step by 2012 and the payroll will be changed to an annual pay system for officers and staff of the company.
The CEO designate said he will try to make the company’s operation more effective by taking on only the core businesses including the construction of houses that middle or lower income households can afford, setting up a land bank, pursuing a new green deal and reducing or totally doing away with other businesses, such as the development of land for housing, the development of new cities, the development of urban areas, reconstruction, redevelopment and urban landscaping, and others.
He said he will also push the reorganization of the company’s setup including the reduction of business headquarter from 12 to six and the number of local branch offices from 24 to 13 through mergers or closures.
Lee said a special accounting task force will be set up directly under him to push the financial reform of the company. The debt ratio of the company is projected to run up to 400 percent by 2014 if left alone, he said.
A graduate of Hanyang University with a degree in civil engineering. He passed the high-level public examination and worked for the government for a while. He worked closely with President Lee Myung-bak when he was with Hyundai Construction for over 15 years. He was chancellor of Kyongbuk University when he got the call to head the new company. nw

A group of dignitaries led by President Lee Myung-bak, 3R, clap hands in front of the name board for the new company. Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is 2R.

President Lee Myung-bak gives a speech at the opening ceremony for the newly merged Korea Land Housing Corp. on Oct. 7.

President Lee Ji-song of the Korea Land Housing Corp. makes a speech at the opening ceremony for his company.