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In a special report, Newsweek, a U.S. weekly, has named Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung group, as one of the "godfathers" of the global business circle. Samsung is the largest business conglomerate in Korea.
According to the definition by the magazine, the "godfathers" are the global businessmen with the "most clout, an intriguing example of the roles corporate titans play in a global era."
They play the role of crisis fixers, social reformers, even populist advocates for the poor, the weekly said.
The article said that the Samsung tycoon has been described as ¡°a hermit with charisma,¡± whose utterances carry weight because they are so rare.
After a visit to Europe last year, Lee urged South Korea to become ¡°a small but powerful nation¡± like Sweden or Finland, and many government officials have adopted the phrase, the article said.
Lee has been sending recruiters around the world to hire the most talented workers possible, and many other businesses are following suit, Newsweek reported.
Samsung group's listed subsidiaries account for 61 percent of the total value of the Korea Stock Exchange, the magazine added.
Other "godfathers" were Claude Bebear, the CEO of the French insurance group of AXA; Zhang Ruimin of Haier Appliances of China; Carlos Slim, chairman of Telefonos de Mexico in Mexico; John Browne, CEO of British Petroleum; John Browne, CEO of British Petroleum; Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Japan¡¯s top carmaker, Toyota; Gilberto Benetton of Italy's Benetton; and Gustavo Cisneros, chairman of Venzuela's Cisneros group.
(Choi Hong-seop, hschoi@chosun.com )
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