쌍용건설

Kim, S.Joon is the Chairman & CEO of Ssangyong E&C. Whenever he meets someone, there are always thick books and brochures in his hands. They are introductory booklets that show skyscrapers, hotels and civil construction projects with high level of difficulty that have been constructed by Ssangyong E&C all over the world.

"When you do business, it is the surest way to let the client see what we have done with their eyes instead of saying we are good in construction a hundred times." Brochures are the best sales tactics for him. With this one book, he could verify that Ssangyong E&C is the world’s best in building complex and advanced architecture and civil construction projects. He even started his interview with a reporter first showing the brochure.

Mr. Kim, who was appointed as the CEO of Ssangyong E&C in 1983, was famous for personally taking care of everything from the orders of the construction to the construction process of domestic and overseas construction sites.

"In the overseas construction market, the fight to win the orders of construction is the same as the battle of 'special forces' in the military. When the ‘special forces’ charge forward, regardless of whether you are the platoon leader or the company commander, you have to rush out with your guns. Likewise, the CEO of a company has to run out towards the battle of sales with his guns.” Mr. Kim, a former marine said.

Recently, there is a new photo of a large-sized building in his brochures which are used for sales presentations. It is the photo of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel that was built by Ssangyong E&C for which it won the order singlehandedly. The 55-storey hotel is given the nickname of “the Leaning Tower of Pisa of the East” for being built inclined at a maximum 52 degrees with respect to the ground, and it is the largest single construction project in the history of overseas construction by the Republic of Korea (US$ 686 million/ approx. KRW 900 billion ).

When bidding for the order of this construction project, Mr. Kim came to terms with the decision makers of the ordering company by showing them the brochures. He flew over to Singapore 2~3 times a month to personally participate in the construction process and solve all of the problems through a one-stop process to reduce the construction period to 18 months.

Mr. Kim said, “The Sands Hotel will be remembered as landmark architecture in the construction history of the Republic of Korea, which made rational profit while using an advanced method of construction built in Singapore’s symbolic location."

His passport is full of immigration stamps of visiting Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This is because the boundary of overseas business has widened greatly. Mr. Kim said, "Ssangyong E&C will penetrate the overseas construction market based on our specialized technology acquired from building advanced architecture and the environmental and freshwater plants of North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia."