By 2002, nearly a decade had passed since Chairman Lee made his New Management Declaration. Although Samsung’s digital businesses were performing remarkably well, he was not satisfied.

He knew that everything was moving fast in the new digital age, and that complacency or overconfidence could result in crisis. The company needed to carefully prepare for the future. Yet, as he cast his gaze five and ten years out in a search for the next winning innovation, he concluded there was no clear candidate.

June 2002: Executive workshop on key talent acquisition and development

In June of that year, he once again gathered Samsung’s top executives. This time they met at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center (HRDC) in Yongin, and the critical question that he put before them was simply how to acquire the best human resources possible.

His concept was elegantly simple. He wanted Samsung to put its best foot forward and hire the best people possible. No matter what the market did or how competitors reacted, as long as the company hired and trained the best possible people, it had nothing to fear. Future growth would be driven by outstandingly talented human resources with the flexibility to adapt to anything that the future may bring.

He was often quoted as saying that his appetite for top talent was second-to-none. When it came time to start a new business or acquire new technology, his first priority was always people - finding the best people for the job and not hesitating to offer exceptional compensation to bring them on board.

After that executive workshop in June of 2002, the CEO would directly lead many aspects of talent acquisition for the company. It was deemed a critical objective, and the talented people that the company hired went on to become key players in helping Samsung achieve global leadership across its major business lines.