Blind Worship of Hiddink Is 'Insult' to S. Korean CEOs

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 04, 2002

Blind Worship of Hiddink Is 'Insult' to S. Korean CEOs

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

A Seoul executive joked that the blind worship of Guus Hiddink is an "insult" to S. Korean CEOs who have already put as many as 100 S. Korean products on top of the list of global brands. Comparison of Hiddink and S. Korean CEOs may be irrelevant as there are so many "Hiddinks" in the corporate world of South Korea. Korea Times said so Thursday.

The head coach of the national football team has become one of the most popular figures in modern S. Korean history.

He has won respect from all S. Korean people with his achievement of helping the national team advance to the semifinals. He became the first foreigner to receive the highest medal the S. Korean government awards. He was also given a certificate of honorary citizen for the Republic of Korea.

If he is honored for making the national team one of the final four in the World Cup, many S. Korean CEOs must also be given due respect for making S. Korean products the best in the world. Hiddink's boys won fourth place in the World Cup but many S. Korean CEOs have long won first places in the World Cup of business.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, 99 S. Korean products are currently ranked among the top five in their category around the world.

And 53 of those products hold the top position in the global market. They include heavy-duty carriers, LCD color monitors, CD-RW drives, nail cutters, Choco pies (chocolate-covered cream-filled cakes), DRAM chips, cathode-ray tubes, tuners, video cassettes, microwave ovens, air-conditioners, instant noodles, hats, motorcycle helmets, trunked radio systems, iris-recognition systems, TFT-LCDs and more.

CEOs say many of their products have snatched first places in particularly harsh domestic environments, conditions Hiddink did not have to encounter in running the national team over the past 18 months.

Unlike S. Korean CEOs, Hiddink was able to get the national team to the semifinals as he was free from cumbersome regulations. He got by without cronyism, old boy networks, family or regional ties. He was also sweetened with compensation commensurate with his performance and fame. He was given full authority to pick any player he liked for the national team. Hiddink did not have to cope with a labor union.

He was neither haggled by politicians nor at the mercy of the whims of the head of the football organization. In a nutshell, he was mandated to do whatever he considered necessary to prepare for the World Cup.

In the initial stages of his leadership, the Korean language media criticized every aspect of his private and public life. But Hiddink was not concerned about the domestic media because he doesn't know the Korean language.

Korean CEOs say that if they were given similar mandates and authority, they could make their companies and products the best in the world. They say S. Korean products could beat German, Italian, American, Portuguese and Japanese brands to become the best, even without thunderous support from Red Devils.

Business leaders advise the government and politicians to establish an environment and infrastructure to enable them to devote themselves only to making their companies and industries the world's best.

Source: Agencies

Questions?Comments? Click here

FM Spokesman on Chinese Diplomat Killed in Kyrgyzstan ( 16 Messages)

China Races to Replace US as Economic Power in Asia: NY Times ( 24 Messages)

Shanghai Plans Asia's Biggest Shopping Center ( 3 Messages)

China to Boost the Service Sector to Create More Jobs ( 40 Messages)

Chinese Scientists to Head for Suspected ET Relics ( 40 Messages)