Chairman Koo Ja-yeol of the Korea Invention Promotion Association has been coming to the KIPA office at least once a week since he took over as the chairman of the association last October.
The entire staff at the association has been very impressed by the new chairman’s visits, despite the fact that he has so much on his plate as the CEO of LS Group, which is engaged in diverse areas of businesses. The conception among staff was that the new chairman did not have his heart in his new position, as it is a non-standing position, meaning that he isn’t obligated to come to the office every day.
During an interview with a local business paper, Chairman Koo said KIPA did a great job over the past 40 years in leading the knowledge areas of industry, accumulating diverse experience and professional capacities. In order for the association to be reborn and recover its old form, Koo said its business has to be handled correctly in detail and communication among staff must be improved, which is why he comes to the office as often as he can.
In the new chairman’s mind, inventions are inside the minds of ordinary people — just as the triangular milk container was invented by an ordinary person. The invention removed inconvenience from our lives. Anyone can be an inventor if an appropriate environment is created, Koo stressed.
On its 50th anniversary on May 19, KIPA selected the top 10 inventions that changed the lives of the Korean people. The list included the Galaxy S, Digital Cast, MP3 Player, refrigerator for kimchi and instant coffee mix, among others. Stick balloons for cheering, milk pack design and Italian towels were excluded from the selection, but they were included in the best inventions by period.
The chairman said the general public should forget the idea that only inventors can invent. He said that common misconception is a wall that should be destroyed. He said to invent is to develop something that can be used more conveniently. An outstanding invention is the one that removes inconvenience from everyday life.
Koo then introduced DNA as the easiest way to approach inventing something: “D” stands for Discover, “N” for New and “A” for action. “All of us just have to think we all have DNA in us,” he said, “so that we can always try to turn the ideas into invent something.”
He also said the tendency to recognize the intangible assets has been rising, with the value of the knowledge assets moving up with the new chairman adding, “If the creative economy is an engine, the invention is the fuel that powers the engine.”
If an idea that everyone can be an inventor spreads all over Korea and creates a boom for inventions, it will create new value-added goods and jobs around the country, thereby boosting the dynamism for the sustainable growth of the economy.
LS Group is a Korean chaebol (conglomerate). It is composed of LS Corp., Gaon Cable, E1 (LPG), YESCO (LNG) and LS Asset Management (formerly Delta Asset).
LS Corp. is a holding company, which comprises LS Cable & System (power & communications cables), LS Industrial Systems (electrical equipment & automation systems), LS-Nikko Copper (copper smelter & refiner) and LS Mtron (machinery & components).
LS Group was spun off from LG Group in 2003. LS Group and its subsidiaries have approximately $25.2 billion in revenue worldwide with about 100 subsidiaries in 25 countries. The company is controlled by the Koo family, the founding family of LG Group.
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