Former Samsung Electronics president says crisis should be dealt and overcome

A book “What is Work” written by Koh Dong-jin, former president and chief executive officer at Samsung Electronics

Crisis should be faced, not backed down, and overcome, urged Koh Dong-jin, former president and chief executive officer at Samsung Electronics Co.

“There is no trick or solution to a crisis,” he described, in his newly published book, “What is Work.”

“The only way to overcome a crisis is to face it, not back down, and overcome it,” he wrote.

The book comes at a time when Samsung Electronics is facing an unprecedented combination of crises, including the slump in the information technology (IT) industry and supply chain restructuring.

Koh describes in the book how the company overcame the 2016 Galaxy Note 7 crisis. He urges that if everyone works together to respond to the current crisis, they can overcome it just like they did in 2016.

The Galaxy Note7 fiasco, which broke out less than a year after Koh took office, was one of the worst experiences for the former CEO. After a series of battery explosions, the crisis spread throughout the company.

He took measures to solve the problem by recalling all products, compensating customers, and discontinuing devices. After a long investigation, it was revealed that the battery was defective.

“I came to believe that the Note 7 incident was not a crisis, but a trial that could be overcome,” Koh said.

Referring to Lee Young-hee as President L, who was promoted to president of Samsung Electronics last year, Koh said in the book that he is a talented person with exceptional organizational leadership, marketing experience, and a sense of understanding the whole picture.