Central Organization Necessary for Unity
Lee Chan-hee, chairman of Samsung Group’s independent corporate compliance oversight committee, has raised the need for a group control tower. Given the immense scale of Samsung’s organization, he argues that having a control tower is essential to ensure efficiency and unity.
According to industry sources on Aug. 27, Chairman Lee expressed the view, based on his personal perspective rather than as a representative of the Compliance Monitoring Committee, that in the current unique circumstances, Samsung requires a control tower.
He said, “Small sailboats do not need control towers, but Samsung is an enormous aircraft carrier. Without a control tower, there would be issues in terms of efficiency and unity unless many organizations are entirely separate. The national economy can progress only when Samsung becomes a global company without being solely absorbed in domestic competition. To achieve this, we need a captain, which is the control tower.”
This is not the first time Chairman Lee has emphasized the need for a group control tower at Samsung. After a meeting with Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and members of the Compliance Monitoring Committee in October last year, he met with reporters and stated, “Personally, I believe it is necessary (to restore a group control tower).”
In the past, Samsung had a group control tower known as the Future Strategy Office (FSO). However, controversy arose as the FSO, rather than the boards of directors of each affiliate company, made critical business decisions without also taking responsibility for them. Ultimately, the FSO was disbanded in February 2017 amid the aftermath of a national political scandal. Since then, Samsung has been operating three separate task forces focused on specific business areas: business support for Samsung Electronics; enhancing financial competitiveness for Samsung Life; and strengthening engineering, procurement, and construction competitiveness for Samsung C&T.
Chairman Lee acknowledged past shortcomings of the FSO but emphasized that the circumstances have changed. He said, “The era has evolved, and our perspective on the need for a control tower should also evolve with the changing times. History always advances when we follow that flow.” He further added, “We have established the Compliance Monitoring Committee, so we cannot regress or completely return to the past as in bygone eras.”