LG Chem seeks to foster more flexible corporate culture

LG Chem CEO and Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol pose for a photo alongside employees as part of the company's mentoring program connecting top executives and junior members. (LG Chem)

South Korea’s largest chemical company LG Chem said Friday it is accelerating efforts to create a more flexible corporate culture and foster better communication between executives and employees.

As part of related efforts, the company recently launched its new initiative called the CEO Discussion Table, which brings together CEO Shin Hak-cheol and junior employees to freely exchange their opinions on the company’s key strategies and business directions.

Through the non-hierarchical discussion, employees can directly communicate with the CEO about issues and challenges faced by each business division, while the CEO gains creative solutions and ideas from employees.

The company said direct involvement in the key decision-making process is expected to spur a high sense of responsibility, ownership and motivation among employees.

The new initiative comes as part of LG’s ongoing efforts launched in 2019 with the aim of reducing generational gaps and nurturing a “speak-up” culture where employees can openly discuss working conditions and corporate culture with their superiors.

LG Chem said it plans to expand this program in phases by first implementing it to departments that wish to voluntarily participate or those which require direct problem-solving with the CEO. In the future, it also aims to arrange separate discussion “tables” by involving executives in various leadership levels.

CEO Shin has stressed better communication with younger employees, especially those in their 20s and 30s. He has been joining diverse activities such as a co-mentoring program, a two-way interactive mentoring program where executives and employees alternate the role of a mentor.

LG Chem is ramping up efforts to enhance work productivity and efficiency on core tasks by actively reducing overtime work and holiday work among its employees through various measures.

For example, it has been encouraging its employees to freely take leave while also introducing a flexible working-hour scheme to allow its employees to efficiently manage their work hours by setting their own start and end hours down to the minute.

By Song Jung-hyun(junghyun792@heraldcorp.com)