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Hankook & Company Group recently distributed "global language principle" guidelines to its employees worldwide, asking them to communicate in English during important meetings involving executives.
The tire maker's latest attempt to designate English as the company's official language has drawn attention from industry insiders, who remember the failed attempts of other major Korean companies a decade ago to mandate the use of English among their employees.
According to the new guidelines distributed by the parent firm of Hankook Tire & Technology, English is required for verbal communication and documents used in all meetings involving department leaders.
Korean employees are also asked to use English when they communicate verbally or share documents with their non-Korean colleagues abroad. The group's Chinese operations are the only exceptions to the rule, as they are allowed to share documents written in Chinese.
Hankook & Company Chairman Cho Hyun-bum, who graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in New Jersey and Boston College in Massachusetts, is said to have repeatedly called for the use of English to live up to his company's status as a global enterprise — hiring 34,000 non-Koreans among the group's entire 50,000 employees.
"The global language principles will eliminate language barriers, improving the efficiency in collaboration among our group's employees," said a Hankook & Company official in charge of drawing up the guidelines.
Hankook & Company Group Chairman Cho Hyun-bum, front row right, takes a selfie with new employees during an event at the group's R&D facility in Daejeon, Feb. 12. Courtesy of Hankook & Company Group
In the early 2010s, however, multiple Korean conglomerates scrapped their designation of English as an official language for executive meetings, which followed then-President Lee Myung-bak's push for so-called "English immersion education programs" to encourage wider use of the language in Korea.
LG Electronics, which encouraged the use of English in business meetings and documents in 2008, abolished the policy in 2010, as then-Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon ordered employees to use English only if necessary. The decision was attributed at the time to inefficiency in communication.
In 2008, Asiana Airlines quit its yearlong efforts to use English during executive meetings, citing difficulties in discussing detailed matters. POSCO, which ordered executives to use English in meetings under the leadership of then-Chairman Chung Joon-yang in 2009, said it now uses Korean during executive meetings.
Last year, Hyundai Motor was expected to encourage its employees to use English in business meetings and documents, considering its appointment of Jose Muñoz as CEO.
However, the carmaker's first non-Korean chief executive told its employees in December that they can communicate through the language of data and performance, and can rely on interpreters and new apps to assist in translation.
"I'm committed to learning more Korean in the new role. Colleagues who don't speak English shouldn't worry," the Spanish national wrote on social media.
Amid remaining skepticism about the success of Hankook & Company's global language principles, the group touted its own artificial intelligence translator as a solution.
"Blue-collar employees in overseas plants will be allowed to use both English and their local languages," the company said. "Documents related to government relations and legal issues will also be exempt from the English-only policy."