KOTRA President Recognized for Substantive, Speedy Management

Cho is rated on top in the government’s evaluation of public enterprise CEOs for the 2nd consecutive year

Cho Hwan-eik, president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), has a penchant for substantive and speedy management. He has urged his executives and staff members to focus on substantive management for performance-oriented work rather than showy and transient business. His management style has received raves from the government, making him one of the public enterprise CEOs rated at the top by the latest evaluation of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF). Cho was given the honor for the second consecutiv e year.
KOTRA also received an “A” rating in the organization category, boosting the morale of KOTRA employees. A KOTRA official said it was the first time the president of KOTRA has been rated on top for the second consecutive year since its establishment. Cho has been credited with having successfully established a master plan for ensuring a sustainable growth through substantive and speedy management.
An example of his innovative management is the reorganization of KOTRA, a sensitive issue to KOTRA employees. KOTRA completed its manpower reduction plan in no time flat in accordance with the government’s guidelines. He axed higher-level officials and raised the lower-level employee quotas in order to minimize employees’ complaints. Cho also lowered the job classification of 311 employees, accounting for nearly half of all employees, to reorganize the pot jar-shaped manpower structure to a pyramid-shaped one.
The KOTRA president also introduced a competition system on a regular basis to enhance organizational efficiency.
Cho opened communication channels with lower-level employees, who had their job standing lowered, in an effort to reduce the side effects of the reorganization. He put KOTRA on an emergency footing since its pivotal role in the business area is to serve as an organization that gives a helping hand in boosting exports in a time of hardships.
Despite the dwindling foreign direct investments amidst the global economic crisis, KOTRA has conducted an aggressive campaign to lure foreign investments.
Born in 1950, Cho served as the vice minister of the predecessor of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy for two years before he was appointed KOTRA president in July 2008. nw

KOTRA President Cho Hwan-eik