Siblings Challenge 'Gold Spoon' Image, Work Factory Floor to Preserve Family Business Legacy
Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Siblings Lee Jaewon and Lee Seonghyun manage Fine Defence and Woobang Electric Wire, challenging the 'gold spoon' image of second-generation business leaders.
- They work on the factory floor, wear work clothes, and earn less than their employees, prioritizing the company's survival and technology transfer.
- Lee Jaewon emphasizes that inheriting a family business is a difficult path, not a comfortable succession, and involves immense pressure to secure livelihoods.
Lee Jaewon, CEO of Fine Defence and Woobang Electric Wire, and his younger brother, Lee Seonghyun, head of strategy and planning, are actively working in their family's manufacturing businesses. They are challenging the public perception of 'second-generation' leaders as 'gold spoons' who inherit wealth and power effortlessly.
Instead of comfortable offices, the siblings are found on the factory floor, clad in work attire. Lee Jaewon revealed that they earn less than their employees, demonstrating a commitment to the company's operational realities. Their focus is not on personal gain but on preserving the decades-old technology and ensuring the company's continuity for the next generation.
The reality is the opposite. First-generation leaders don't want to pass on such hardship to their children, and children are reluctant to take it on because it opens up a path of suffering. The pressure of securing the livelihoods of numerous families is indescribable.
"The reality is the opposite," Lee Jaewon stated, refuting the notion of easy succession. "First-generation leaders don't want to pass on such hardship to their children, and children are reluctant to take it on because it opens up a path of suffering." He highlighted the immense pressure associated with securing the livelihoods of numerous families tied to the company's success.
For Lee Jaewon and Lee Seonghyun, inheriting the business is more than just taking over ownership. It is a profound responsibility to safeguard the accumulated expertise and the jobs the company provides. Their daily work reflects a dedication to the craft and a deep understanding of the challenges involved in sustaining a manufacturing enterprise.
Is it about how much we will have? Or how we will save it?
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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