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2006 VAN FLEET AWARD
LEE KUN-HEE
Samsung Chairman
CITATION
As the guiding light of Samsung, Chairman Lee Kun-Hee
is responsible for an extraordinary economic conglomerate that has contributed
enormously to the economic rise of South Korea. Samsung is the strongest economic symbol of today's
Korea, as is demonstrated by its ranking number 20 in the latest Business Week / Interbrand survey of the 100
"top brands" worldwide. This extraordinary ranking is supported by the stunning
surge in the value of the Samsung product line over the past five years. Over
this period, Samsung posted the biggest gain in value of any of the top 100
brands, with an explosive rise of 186-percent in value. Today its total assets
amount to more than $230 billion, with close to a quarter of a million
employees working in over 65 countries. Samsung currently has more than 25
offices in the United States alone.
Chairman Lee has played a
direct, hands-on role in shaping Samsung's approach to its people and its
products. He has long supported innovation in management, creating a more
dynamic corporate culture under the slogan "Change Myself First,"
based on his conviction that all progress begins with the individual. Today,
Samsung's corporate philosophy reflects Chairman Lee's belief that economic
success comes from a stress on quality, not quantity.
Educated in Korea, Japan and
the United States, Chairman Lee remains active in many areas, as a vice
chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, a vice chairman of the
Korea-Japan Economic Committee, a member of the International Olympic
Committee, a director of the Korean Youth Association and a philanthropist of
high standing. Under his guidance, Samsung made a $3.2 million contribution to
the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund last year and has contributed more than $30
million to American charities over the years. Truly, Samsung is an outstanding
global citizen.
When General James Van Fleet,
for whom this award is named, came up with the idea of establishing The Korea
Society, Korea itself still lay largely prostrate in the wreckage
of war. Samsung has played an enduring and significant role in Korea's recovery and rise to global prominence. It is for
his key role in that magnificent recovery that we honor Chairman Lee.
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