KOREA FOCUS

What greeted this reporter first upon entering the office of Lee Charm, 55, the German-born new CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), who began his term on July 30, were numerous congratulatory wreaths. One had a ribbon with the name of TV celebrity Choi Bul-am, who worked as a public relations ambassador for Seoul alongside Lee. Youngpoong Bookstore across the street from the KTO headquarters in central Seoul had hurriedly placed an order for copies of Lee's book "Korea: Stuffy with Unlimited Possibility,” published in 2007, and put them on the bookshelf on that day.

 

With a gentle smile on his face, Lee handed me a business card printed with his name and title, "Lee Charm, CEO of Korea Tourism Organization." He said it was his first card given to a visitor in his new post. I sat across a table from him. He had skipped dinner because he had been busy being debriefed by his staff. Maybe because of his Western face, his office didn`t have a formal feeling normally expected from one at his level.

 

My first question was what would be his management philosophy in leading the organization when he was drawing so much attention from across society as the first naturalized citizen to serve in such a high-ranking public post.

 

"Living in Korea for 31 years I've almost become a Korean myself but I still have my cultural background in Europe,” Lee said. “This is one reason I feel Korea lacks debate culture. No organization can be run by its leader alone. I will continue to have dialogue with my staff so we can get inspiration for new ideas and create an atmosphere for everyone to work in high spirits.”

 

In his book "Korea: Stuffy with Unlimited Possibility,” he scathingly criticized Korea as a "society with a flurry of opinions but no debate." Our conversation naturally moved to the government policy to improve the operations of public corporations to the level of advanced nations. As part of the move the KTO is tasked to reduce its staff by 28.9 percent by 2012. The staff cut is an important assignment Lee has to carry out during his tenure. KTO will probably need a culture of internal debate more than ever.  

 

Lee said, "It would be impossible to achieve the advancement of public corporations without sacrifice on the part of their staffs. Based on discussions with executives as well as rank-and-file staff, I'll come up with a win-win strategy whereby nobody would suffer. Of course, some people look at me with worried and wary looks but I can feel they are generally friendly to me. If they discriminate against me, it would in fact mean they discriminate against foreigners and that`s racial discrimination, isn`t it? (Laughter) I'll make the most of the amicable atmosphere that I can enjoy because I am a foreign-born CEO.”

 

Lee said he has always felt "invisible barriers" while living in Korea. “Korean society has allowed foreigners to take No. 2 posts but not the top posts. Now, at last, I can truly take Korea for my second home. I am so deeply moved that I`ve been finally accepted as a Korean. All my regrets about naturalizing have vanished.”

 

Tears seemed to well up in his eyes for a moment. Indeed, his children`s names show how much Korean he is. His son who is now studying at Heidelberg University in Germany is Bok-dan, and his daughter who is attending Ewha Womans University in Seoul is Hyang-rim. It may be said that there is almost no prejudice against international marriages in Korean society today but when his children were growing up, multiracial families didn`t get much sympathy from society. At last, Lee can say with confidence, “Now that my Western face has become the face of Korean tourism, don`t you think the world will regard Korea as a more globalized country?”