By Don Southerton Trusted Korea business advisor, culture coach, mentor, and consultant. Hyundai Whisperer…Incheon-IFEZ
A shift in support, coaching, and onboarding for Korean businesses.
In a conversation with a Korean American colleague supporting one of Korea’s top groups, our discussion shifted to the changing business model and the Chaebol’s newer approach to overseas development.
For example, early entries into the US and North America dispatched teams of expatriates to set up and manage their local operations. Although local teams were responsible for operations, Korean expatriates, often called Coordinators, acted as shadow management with considerable oversight, especially in Finance.
Moreover, as in Korea, the business model was to create their own local sister subsidiaries in marketing, IT, logistics, manufacturing, and design.
Today, many Korean groups new to the US market have taken a different path: acquiring their first entrants through M&A and building their local organizations through acquisition.
In most cases, Korean expats typically work on more temporary assignments and liaise with the Korea HQ.
Getting back to my conversation, much of my earlier work with Korean Groups involved providing support to local Western leadership and teams on how best to interact with the expats who, as I mentioned, had considerable oversight and could override well-thought-out decisions.
Today, we have observed Korean groups significantly reducing the dispatch of expats, although a few divisions still adhere to the old model.
What stands out today is the shift away from embedding expats with divisions acquired through M&A or partnerships.
There are still challenges. First and foremost, although local leadership manages their operations, they must report to a Korean HQ, and their teams must interact with Korean counterparts. The time difference is the least of the challenges.
This then requires a deep understanding of Korean business norms and expectations, which are vital for smooth global operations.
I recommend that 1) Western leadership be provided with ongoing coaching, frequent updates on Korea and the workplace, and a coach or mentor to discuss questions and issues that impact their company and work.
2) The local team needs immersion in Korean business norms, SOP, practices, and expectations… in general and with a specific Korea Group—and even their sister companies. Norms do vary, for example, between Hyundai, CJ, Samsung, LG, SK, and their startups. Not to mention that Korea is constantly changing.
As always, I am here to discuss… Let’s set a time to talk.
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You can register today to begin. $495.00. This includes one-on-one classes and a complimentary Korea 101 book.
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As U.S. tariff threats mount, South Korea’s key industries brace for impact, navigating shifting trade policies and economic uncertainty, writes Don Southerton.
When examining trade between nations, 2025 is particularly worrisome. Recent concerns are widespread. Specifically, the Trump administration’s threats of tariffs against countries like South Korea emphasize that there will be no exceptions, even with a Free Trade Agreement revised under Trump 1.0.
Newly appointed President Trump announced that he will introduce a 25% tariff on autos, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductor chips.
More immediately, levies on automobiles could be coming as soon as April 2.
We offer a full suite of programs, from executive-level Coaching to our popular group Korean Business Culture Workshops for the team and 6-week one-on-one individual classes.
Time proven since 2003.
All our courses provide participants with deep insights into Korean business, whether new hires, on a team assigned to Korea-related projects, or those of you who have been engaged for a long time.
Contact me today for the Executive, individual coaching, or group workshops.
All are excellent programs for anyone who works with Korea or Korean teams.
The classes will be solution-oriented and highly interactive, including Q&A and timely topics.
Call, Text, EM, or Message to discuss what program fits best…. Don
We are launching our 24/7 live stream. With nearly 200 YouTube and Korean-facing business videos, I’ve picked the top video for the new Bridging Culture Worldwide: 24/7 Korean Business Livestream 2025.
I invite you to visit anytime, 24/7. Link in Newsletter!
This is my annual update and insights on the Korean corporate shuffle.
Year-end promotions, restructuring, and new team assignments are part of Korean corporate culture, both past and present.
Changes occur from top to bottom within Korean companies between early December and early January. Changes to senior leadership are announced first, and team-level changes are usually made known the week before or during the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
For example, Samsung Electronics is the first mover this year, having made its annual high-level leadership changes last week. It carried out its year-end executive reshuffle, emphasizing a generational shift.
We can expect others to follow, so stay tuned. By the way, even if public announcements have yet to surface within the groups, these changes are in play internally.
Similarly, with Hyundai Motor Group, we have already seen top leadership changes, with José Munoz promoted to incoming CEO of Hyundai Motor Company and Michael Cole of Hyundai Motor Europe stepping away. We expect their organization-wide changes to be announced soon.
2025
Teams will report back to work after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Some assume new roles frequently in departments with little experience, requiring employees to acquire new skills—sink or swim. Hence, it’s called the “Shuffle.”
In the following days, those who have shuffled brief their replacements, while staff remaining in their jobs update new management teams on the status of projects and issues.
Meanwhile, others will be enroute to assignments in overseas operations, which can be stressful for local overseas operations and challenging for those working outside Korea for the first time.
The Disconnect
In particular, it is common for those newly assigned to be unfamiliar with or have minimal experience with the nuances of localized foreign business and their new roles and responsibilities. Not to mention, working outside Korea itself can be a learning curve that can take months or even years.
What works in Korea rarely transfers to managing overseas teams. Most still try to adapt to local norms and language. In fact, over the years, I have worked extensively to facilitate smooth transitions in many of the newly assigned overseas teams, and they will need support. I strongly recommend that Western and Korean leadership take countermeasures to mitigate transitional gaps.
So, what to look for…
The top Chaebol will begin to announce key promotions, which can provide some insight into future trends.
The Chaebol usually also comments on whether this year’s promotion number is more or less than in the past and the reasons “why.”
Top Chaebol will soon announce restructuring plans, ranging from granting business units more independence to consolidating control.
For example, some years, we see less change and stability than drastic changes in the face of economic uncertainty, as it may carry out in a modest year-end leadership reshuffle across affiliates.
New Year’s Message
That said, as in the past, with the new year, we can expect leadership to share their 2025 plans in an annual New Year’s company announcement, too. I monitor these closely and, as they are in Korean, will share them when appropriate and upon request. These New Year’s messages can be very insightful as they pose marching orders for the new year.
As a final note, for Western global teams, I suggest congratulating those who are promoted but also being sensitive to Korean team members who were passed over… or possibly moved to what may be seen as a less strategic assignment.
In this week’s Newsletter and YouTube, I look at Korean Business and ”Similar but Different Norms.”
Global business requires colleagues of different cultures to work together daily.
How we see each other culturally is often based on differences, like language, and similarities, such as shared values like family.
I like to focus on the latter, as differences can pull us apart, and similarities bring us together.
Particularly for Western teams engaged in all ways with Korean operations, I believe in the importance of deep learning about the workplace in Korea — the 2024 norms, practices, and day-to-day life.
They do change, and most often, we can fixate on what could have been tainted by hearsay or an altogether lack of understanding.
The same learning goes for Korean global teams assigned to support overseas operations. They must become savvy learners in the wide range of local overseas practices. Expecting global teams to bend to Korean business norms rarely works, too. It just leads to delays and stalled projects.
As I noted above, recognizing similarities is one of the most potent cross-cultural bridges.
In other words, how can you relate to the nuances in communications and day-to-day life? This requires identifying the local beliefs, values, expectations, traditions, and culture. These insights allow us better to understand our mutual teams’ thoughts and expectations.
Outcomes
Although there is bound to be friction between home and host country cultural values, a successful model accomplishes:
1. Awareness and appreciation of both the home and host country with the ability to gain an insight into one’s own personal traits, strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, and interests.
2. Realization of shared values, along with an awareness of and respect for cultural differences.
Call to Action
So, how do you see this applying to you and your experiences working with teams from another culture?
This brings me to recall a recent C-level meeting where I chatted with the local subsidiary’s Korean CEO. He asked if I’d shared with his team how the company in Korea and the U.S. differed from the Group’s many sister firms—many Westerners wrongly assumed high conformity across the Group.
I assured him that “yes,” and, in mentoring, I shared that I, too, had experienced each company’s unique culture within the group.
Not only did sister companies differ, but in some cases, the Koreans recruited and worked in different ways at companies within the group.
On parting, the CEO pointed out another key point to be shared: Over time, Koreans dispatched to support the division’s overseas operation came to see things differently than domestic Korea-based teams.
He ended having come to “See things differently, too.”
Participants will gain deep insights into Korean business, whether new hires, on a team assigned to Korea-related projects, or those of you who have been engaged for a long time.
This is a well-recognized program for anyone who works with Korean or Korean teams.
The virtual classes will be solution-oriented and highly interactive, including Q&A and timely topics.
This week, we examine how Culture shapes our Communication.
It influences how much information we share and whether specific topics are considered sensitive or beyond our boundaries. For example, in the West, we use “low-content” communications. Conversations are direct and can be confrontational.
We require background information or an update—little is assumed to be known, including why an issue may need to be deemed sensitive.
Transparency means fewer boundaries, too, but often we may say, “Let’s keep this between us” or “Keep this private.”
Within Korean organizations, the very nature of the Asian “high content” culture means less is shared in explicit verbal and open communication. This is because teams have long-lasting relationships, much is shared informally within their circle of close, trusted colleagues, and much is accumulated knowledge.
This means issues require little background explanation or even “catch-up” discussion.
Yes and No… and the need to clarify
Koreans often acknowledge what they hear by saying “Yes” or nodding (the Korean term for yes is Ne), but this does not necessarily signal agreement. They tend to avoid open disagreement and confrontation..
In Korean culture, it is rare for people to respond to a question or request with a direct “No.”
In negotiation and decisions, Koreans rely on nonverbal signs such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. They look for meaning and understanding in what is not said and even in the greater content beyond the conversation, such as disruptive business events that could impact decisions.
This non-explicit communication can indicate a firm “no” or rejection of an idea or plan. Many Westerners may miss this, waiting for a verbal or written “no” or “yes.”
In many situations, especially during negotiations, there is often a non-confrontational response, such as “if possible” or “that is difficult.” Understanding the Korean and Western perspectives is vital for global organizations. No culture is right or wrong; it is simply different.
Our aim should be to foster a deeper understanding of each other’s communication styles and their implications for global business.
Questions, comments, feedback, and business inquiries are always welcome. Let’s set a time.
Back by popular demand: Korean Business– Executive Level Coaching.
In this October YouTube episode, we look at Korean Business– Executive Level Coaching.
We have offered executive-level Korean business coaching to major Korean Groups, including Hyundai, Kia, MOBIS, Hyundai Capital, and Innocean, as well as key partners and top Western companies.
Many see this as an ambitious step towards career enhancement and job security.
The program covers key issues and what to expect for the rest of 2024 and into 2025.
Each program is tailored to your unique needs and work experiences, ensuring a personalized, compelling learning journey.
The program is for leaders with experience working with a Korean group or those new to the company.
We’d like to invite you to schedule a time using our Calendly to discuss details, taking the first step toward your career enhancement and job security.
Again this is Don Southerton… wishing you all the best.
The Shift – The Korean Business Model: Build from Within or Through M&A
By Don Southerton
Trusted Korea business advisor, culture coach, mentor, and consultant. Hyundai Whisperer…Incheon-IFEZ
A shift in support, coaching, and onboarding for Korean businesses.
In a conversation with a Korean American colleague supporting one of Korea’s top groups, our discussion shifted to the changing business model and the Chaebol’s newer approach to overseas development.
For example, early entries into the US and North America dispatched teams of expatriates to set up and manage their local operations. Although local teams were responsible for operations, Korean expatriates, often called Coordinators, acted as shadow management with considerable oversight, especially in Finance.
Moreover, as in Korea, the business model was to create their own local sister subsidiaries in marketing, IT, logistics, manufacturing, and design.
Today, many Korean groups new to the US market have taken a different path: acquiring their first entrants through M&A and building their local organizations through acquisition.
In most cases, Korean expats typically work on more temporary assignments and liaise with the Korea HQ.
Getting back to my conversation, much of my earlier work with Korean Groups involved providing support to local Western leadership and teams on how best to interact with the expats who, as I mentioned, had considerable oversight and could override well-thought-out decisions.
Today, we have observed Korean groups significantly reducing the dispatch of expats, although a few divisions still adhere to the old model.
What stands out today is the shift away from embedding expats with divisions acquired through M&A or partnerships.
There are still challenges. First and foremost, although local leadership manages their operations, they must report to a Korean HQ, and their teams must interact with Korean counterparts. The time difference is the least of the challenges.
This then requires a deep understanding of Korean business norms and expectations, which are vital for smooth global operations.
I recommend that 1) Western leadership be provided with ongoing coaching, frequent updates on Korea and the workplace, and a coach or mentor to discuss questions and issues that impact their company and work.
2) The local team needs immersion in Korean business norms, SOP, practices, and expectations… in general and with a specific Korea Group—and even their sister companies. Norms do vary, for example, between Hyundai, CJ, Samsung, LG, SK, and their startups. Not to mention that Korea is constantly changing.
As always, I am here to discuss… Let’s set a time to talk.
Don
https://www.bridgingculture.com